Sonora, CA…Sarah LaPlante was selected as district ranger for the districts along the Highway 108 Corridor, Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken announced. Her duty station will be Pinecrest and she will be responsible for ranger duties at Mi-Wok and Summit Ranger districts. LaPlante, who is currently the deputy district ranger for the High Sierra Ranger District on the Sierra National Forest, is no stranger to the Stanislaus. “Sarah spent four months at Summit Ranger District last winter as the acting ranger,” Kuiken said. “Her familiarity with Summit’s operations and her diverse past experience make her a great fit to take on this new challenge.” LaPlante will arrive on the Summit Ranger District on Jan. 8, 2018.

LaPlante has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than 10 years. She worked with the National Roundtables for Sustainable Forests in Washington D.C. and spent five years managing recreation, wilderness, and special uses in her home state of New Hampshire. Since 2014 she has worked on the Sierra National Forest, where, in addition to providing district leadership, she was the primary Forest Service representative with the Dinkey Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project. The group consists of stakeholders representing diverse public, private, local and state government, and tribal interests, and has had great success finding common ground to plan forest restoration projects.

“Collaborative groups like Dinkey are vital to our forest’s success,” Kuiken said. “Her experience in groups like this will help us plan and complete restoration work together with our partners.” LaPlante also brings multiple years of experience working in a Forest heavily impacted by tree mortality. “We’re excited that she’ll arrive ready to hit the ground running, and will be a valuable part of the team and the community.”
LaPlante received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 2000, where she studied Environmental and Evolutionary Biology. She received a Master of Environmental Management and a Master of Forestry from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University in 2007.

###

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender