New ranger named for Fortine district

Bryan Donner will be the new district ranger for the Fortine/Rexford District of Kootenai National Forest.

Donner is the interdisciplinary planning team leader on the Tally Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest, where he has led the planning efforts for a variety of projects, including large-scale vegetation and fuels treatment projects as well as projects involving special use permits.

“His wealth of experience in several regions, leadership skills, and engagement with the community and partners, internally and externally, will benefit the district and forest immensely,” Kootenai Forest Supervisor Chris Savage said in making the appointment of Donner.

Prior to coming to the Flathead, Donner worked on the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon as a silviculturist and with the Southern Forest Experiment Station in five southern states, as a forest inventory and analysis project forester. 

He also was acting district ranger on the Kootenai National Forest in Fortine, the Lewis & Clark National Forest in Neihart and the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Challis, Idaho. Donner has also worked with the Forest Service’s International Programs office with assignments to assess biodiversity and tropical forest conditions in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and South Africa.

Donner is a native of Indiana but moved to Phoenix at an early age. He graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s degree in forestry and the University of Montana with a master’s degree in forestry.

Donner’s wife, Linda, is the safety and occupational health officer for the Flathead Forest. They have three children, one of whom is a wildland firefighter for the Forest Service; the other two are in college.

The Donners enjoy kayaking on northwest Montana lakes and attending Montana Grizzly football games in the fall.

Donner’s report date is Aug. 11.