Emily Platt named as new Supervisor for Helen-Lewis and Clakr Nat'l Forest

HELENA, Mont. (January 28, 2022) - Emily Platt has been named the new forest supervisor of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and is expected to start in March. Platt currently serves as special project coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service.

"I am very excited to announce Emily Platt as the new Forest Supervisor for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest," said Regional Forester Leanne Marten. "Emily has a wealth of experience and a strong passion for working collaboratively with community members, other agencies, Tribes and local and state governments.  I look forward to Emily joining us in the Northern Region."

Platt earned a PhD in forest resources at Oregon State University's College of Forestry where she studied Forest Service governance and landscape management for wildfire resilience.   She recently led a team that completed forest plan amendments for six forest plans in eastern Oregon. 

Prior to her work as a special project coordinator, she served as district ranger for the Mt. Adams Ranger District where she and her team worked with partners to create a landscape more resilient to disturbances, such as wildfires, and managed a range of other issues from huckleberry harvest to dramatic increases in recreation use. The district also developed an effective partnership with Washington State that supported projects in the district's most fire-prone forests. Platt began her career with the Forest Service though the Forest Service's Washington Office policy analysis shop in 2012 and became a permanent employee in 2014.

Platt is an avid trail runner, loves reading, and enjoys anything that gets her twin three-year-olds outside – puddles, bikes, skiing, camping.

The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest stretches over 2.9-million acres through central and north-central Montana. The Forest is comprised of island mountain ranges bisected by the Continental Divide and Missouri River and includes six ranger districts: Lincoln, Helena, Townsend, Judith - Musselshell, Rocky Mountain, and Belt Creek - White Sulphur Springs and two Forest Supervisor's offices located in Helena and Great Falls to oversee forest management across 17 counties.