Photo submitted to Times Observer Andrea Hille.

The USDA Forest Service/Allegheny National Forest has selected Andrea Hille to be the new Ecosystems Management Staff Officer. Hille has been the Forest Silviculturist for the past 10 years. She replaces Nadine Pollock who retired October 3, 2018.

“The Allegheny National Forest is very excited to welcome Andrea to her new position,” said Deputy Forest Supervisor Christopher Cook. “She brings decades of experience and a tireless passion for the silviculture of the Allegheny Plateau to her role. We are lucky to have her!”

Hille holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management from Colorado State University. She began her career as a season with the National Park Service in Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Her assignments include the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, the Sequoia National Forest, California, and here at the Allegheny National Forest for the past 26 years. She has served in various roles in the Forest Service, ranging from recreation planning to silviculture.

Hille will begin her role as the Allegheny’s Ecosystem Management Staff Officer September 3.

“My number one priority includes continuing our collaboration and work with the great organizations, agencies, research, and other forest land managers here across the Allegheny Plateau, to address forest health and forest management issues together,” said Andrea Hille. “Forest health issues do not follow land ownership boundaries, so we really do need to work together to learn from one another and develop strategies that provide us new efficiencies, such as partnering with other agencies and land owners to tackle forest health issues together.”

Hille is one of the founding members of the Allegheny Forest Health Collaborative (AFHC) and the Forest Service’s lead staff member for the AFHC. The AFHC focusses on forest health issues on all forests across the Allegheny Plateau.

Hille said, “We are working more with other partners, such as the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry to implement some of our forest management activities; continuing that work is a very high priority for us. I do believe that we all can do more together by sharing stewardship of our forested landscapes.”

Hille has worked for the Forest Service for 31 years. She attributes her success to the number of colleagues and mentors that provided guidance or contributed great work to projects she has worked on, not only within the Forest Service, but in other agencies and organizations as well.

“I encourage others to reach out and help guide others in their career, no matter what your field is, particularly those of us with more experience. It truly does make a difference,” said Hille.

The Ecosystem Management Staff Officer provides oversight to a staff group responsible for the Forest’s ecosystem resources, including forest management, ecology (terrestrial and aquatic), wildlife, hydrology, soils, air quality, Forest Plan monitoring, environmental coordination (planning), and geographic information systems (GIS and spatial data/mapping).

The Ecosystem staff group has the responsibility of the management of ecosystems here on the Allegheny National Forest to ensure the Forest’s overall health and that is around for future generations to come.

Photo submitted to Times Observer

Andrea Hille.