Lolo National Forest Supervisor set to retire

After spending the last six years of her career on the Lolo National Forest, Forest Supervisor Carolyn Upton will retire at the end of the year.

Deputy Forest Supervisor Jeremy Casterson will step in as acting forest supervisor while the process of finding Upton’s permanent replacement is underway.

Upton is retiring after spending 35 years in public service with the Forest Service. She began her career as a cooperating education student while attending Colorado State University.

During her time on the Lolo, Upton led the Forest through the very difficult time of the pandemic and the resulting changes in recreation and uses of public lands, as well as the overall effects on society especially within our communities.

“One of my values is being a transparent leader with both my employees and fellow coworkers, and the public we serve,” said Upton.

This was a value she used every day to guide her in making decisions and building trust and respect as an effective leader.

For the last two years she has been leading the way through the difficult task of revising the Lolo’s Forest Plan that’s been in place since 1986. Through this effort, she has been very instrumental in facilitating engagement with the public, Tribes and partners as the Forest works through the steps of plan revision.

“When I started on the Lolo one of my focuses was to build and foster relationships with the local community and our partners,” said Upton. “These relationships are extremely important and the foundation that leads us to working effectively together and I am grateful to all of you who made that possible.”

Upton began her career with the Forest Service in 1989 and worked in a variety of positions throughout her career. Some of her more noteworthy positions included serving as the Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grasslands in Colorado, District Ranger for the Walker Ranger District on the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota and the Ecosystem Staff Officer on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest in Idaho.

She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and has enjoyed spending most of her career in the west sharing her passion for working collaboratively with community members, other agencies, Tribes and local and state governments.

Interim leadership

Casterson, who will step in for Upton after the end of the year, came to the Lolo National Forest as Deputy Forest Supervisor in 2022. He previously served as the Field Manager for the Bureau of Land Management’s Upper Snake Field Office in Idaho for 11 years.

Casterson has brought significant leadership capacity to the Forest over the last two years especially in areas of hiring and organizational structure, planning and implementation, and external coordination, communication and partnerships.

“I am looking forward to continuing to build upon the foundation that Carolyn has established for the Lolo in managing public lands, collaborating with partners and engaging with the public,” said Casterson. “We have great staff on the Lolo and we will continue to work together to accomplish the great work we have planned for the new year.”