Native Montanan new Kootenai Forest Supervisor

A fifth generation Montanan and a third generation member of the U.S. Forest Service, Chad Benson was recently named as the new Supervisor for the Kootenai National Forest.

The Plains native is very pleased to be able to be near home. Benson’s career in the Forest Service began while he put himself through college. He gained experience in TSI, timber marking, silviculture, recreation, trails, and firefighting.

“When you are in the Forest Service, you really don’t know where you may end up, so to be near home and family, we’re really happy,” Benson said. “We’re very fortunate to be here and we’re happy to work to support our communities.”

Benson’s dad and one of his grandfathers both worked and retired from the Service.

“You leave it and then return because there is a pull there, the familiarity,” Benson said.

In 1998, Benson received a Bachelor of Science from Montana Tech in Engineering Science.

After working with the Service during college, Benson left to join a large construction company building infrastructure for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was the Project Engineer/Project Manager.

“There, you’re supervising hundreds of people and multi-million dollar budgets and living a more urban life, so the pull of returning to something simpler, back to Montana was very appealing,” Benson said.

In the fall of 2001, Benson and his spouse Aubree moved back to Montana, where he was hired as an Engineer on the Kootenai National Forest at the Cabinet Ranger District.

After a short stint on the Kootenai, he moved to Missoula and worked for Engineering in the Supervisor’s Office on the Lolo National Forest.

In the spring of 2006, Benson accepted the Powell District Ranger Position on the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho. In November of 2009, he accepted the Ninemile District Ranger position on the Lolo National Forest.

In 2014, Benson had detail assignments as a Legislative Affairs Specialist in Region One Headquarters and a Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Bozeman.

In the spring of 2015, Benson accepted the Deputy Forest Supervisor position permanently on the Custer Gallatin National Forest and in the fall of 2018, served as the acting Forest Supervisor on the Kootenai National Forest.

Benson seeks to build relationships in the office and in the community.

“Those relationships are important because when there are tough times, it helps getting through them,” he said.

He said his focus will be on creating balance in the Kootenai National Forest.

“There is the tug of managing for the ecosystem and all the other things that go on in a National Forest,” Benson said. “We realize the importance of timbering, recreation and mining to our local economy.”

Benson also hopes that there can be balance.

“Our national goal is for forest ecosystem management and hopefully we can make our communities more prosperous. We know that not everyone will always be happy, but we’ll strive for balance,” he said.

Chad’s spouse Aubree is a Fisheries Biologist and is currently working as a Grants Management Specialist for Region One. They have two boys, 6-year-old Brett and 8-year-old Lane, four quarter horses and two dogs.

As a family, they spend most of their time following sporting events with their boys, riding horses, fishing, hunting and hiking.