Press release
McCombs Appointed Appalachian District Ranger
MARS HILL, N.C., June 26, 2013 – Kristin Bail, forest supervisor of the U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina, today announced that Matthew McCombs has accepted the position of Appalachian District ranger in the Pisgah National Forest.
“During his tenure with the Forest Service, Matt has worked with a wide range of partners on numerous natural resource issues in Colorado and Washington State,” said Bail. “His breadth of knowledge and varied experiences in government will serve him well as the next Appalachian District ranger.”
As ranger, McCombs will be oversee management of the 161,000-acre Appalachian District, including the district office in Mars Hill and staff, as well as recreation areas, trails and other operations. He will report for duty Aug. 26, 2013.
Since 2011, Matt has served as the deputy district ranger for the 652,000 acre Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District on the White River National Forest near Vail, Colo. Earlier this year, Matt served for several months as acting ranger of the Cheoah and Tusquitee Ranger districts in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. Matt joined the White River National Forest after completing a Presidential Management Fellowship while working in Washington State on the Olympic National Forest. In the position, he served in a variety of roles including forest partnership specialist; forest recreation, heritage, lands and minerals program manager; and as the trail administrator for the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.
A Colorado native, Matt earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado. McCombs has been a member of the Armed Forces, recently separating from the Air National Guard in the rank of Captain. Matt enjoys camping, biking, skiing and taking advantage of all America’s great outdoors have to offer with his wife, 7-year old son and 4-year old daughter.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.