Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Congressman Glenn Thompson and U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen speak with visitors Friday morning following a press conference at the Allegheny National Forest Headquarters.

The Chief of the United States Forest Service made her first formal visit to a national forest on Friday, and it was the Allegheny.

Chief Vicki Christiansen and Congressman Glenn Thompson met with stakeholders and had a formal press conference Friday at the Allegheny National Forest Headquarters at the Farm Colony in North Warren.

Christiansen was sworn in as the 19th Chief of the Forest Service on Oct. 11. She had served as interim chief, deputy chief, and deputy director of fire and aviation management since she joined the Forest Service in 2010.

“What makes me tick is connecting people with their natural resources,” Christiansen said.

She has some changes in mind.

“The Forest Service can’t do business as usual,” Christiansen said. “We’re going to innovate. We’re going to take some risks.”

“We have to actively steward these lands” in order to provide the services “that flow from these lands,” she said.

Christiansen responded to a question about harvesting ash trees before they die of emerald ash borer infestations, a question that has been at the forefront of the Warren County School Board for months.

“We’re well aware of the ash decline,” she said. “It’s scattered across the forest. We have ramped up where we can get that ash.”

While “we need to be mindful of recovery,” going out of the way to find ash trees is not the path the Forest Service intends to take to increase the timber receipts and bring money to local governments. Ash is not a particularly high-value species.

“We’re increasing holistically across the landscape,” Christiansen said.

“Twenty-five percent of the receipts” from actions including timber harvesting, “go back into the communities,” she said. “The decline of active management has reduced those receipts. We’ll be increasing our timber harvest.”

She said finding new markets for the forest’s products is another priority.

Thompson, who serves on the House agriculture and natural resources committees and the subcommittees on conservation and forestry; energy and mineral resources; and federal lands; among others, said of Christiansen, “she brings a wealth of experience to this position. She truly is the right person at the right time.”