What is a Green Team?
Green Teams are dedicated groups of employees, regardless of discipline or organizational level,
which facilitate the pragmatic implementation of sustainable operations principles on their unit.
Green teams range from the informal – a few employees working together to increase recycling
opportunities for themselves and their community, to the formal – a group specifically chartered
by leadership to promote and foster sustainable operations that reduce a unit’s environmental
footprint. Successful green teams are very place-based, that is the issues they choose to work on
are meaningful to their specific community and geographic location. What is sustainable in one
location may be very different then in another location because the natural resources, culture and
economic situations are all different. While many green teams begin as an internal effort, often
they grow to include members of the local community or other state, federal, or local agencies so
that sustainable operations efforts can become successful on a larger more community or
ecosystem connected basis.
Most place-based green teams choose to work across many environmental footprint areas (water
conservation, energy conservation/renewable energy, waste prevention/recycling, green
purchasing, fleet/transportation, sustainable leadership). However, some green teams have been
created with membership across geographic units to specifically to foster dialog about the
sustainable operations opportunities within a particular topic area such as recreation or energy
management.
Current green teams that exist, or in the process of forming within the Forest Service include:
(I’m sure there are others that I don’t know about and many individual employees who are
moving things forward without the structure of a green team.)
1. Pikes Peak Ranger District – Jeff Hovermale, Lands, Special Uses
2. Bighorn National Forest – Lexie Carroll / Phil Fessler – Engineering
3. Medicine Bow Routt National Forest - Mike Ross, Engineering / Priscilla Foster,
Property
4. San Juan Public Lands Unit (BLM/USFS) – Laurie Yeager, Engineering
5. Pagosa Ranger District – Kevin Khung, Ranger (may not have actual green team but are
doing stuff)
6. Bessey Nursery – Nebraska National Forest, Randy Gage Forest Engineer, Richard
Gilbert, Nursery Manager (may not have actual green team but are doing stuff)
7. Rio Grande NF – Lynn DiFore, Forest Engr, intends to get a team going but not formed
yet.
8. Rocky Mountain Region Regional Office – Jeff Sorkin, Air
9. Rocky Mountain Region Energy Management Team (USFS, BLM, NREL) - Todd
Michael, R2 RO Engineering
10. Sustainable Ops and Recreation- Joni Packard, R1 Recreation or Chris Sporl – R2 RO
LA
11. Mulit-Regional Green Purchasing Team - not yet well formed Anna/Lexie leading calls,
Barbara Lynn Johnson – R1
12. Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee – Sustainable Operations Subcommittee Becky Aus – Line Officer Rep, Anna Jones-Crabtree – Co –Chairperson, Jim Evanoff
NPS CO-Chair
13. Rocky Mountain Research Station – Jen Hayes
14. Northeastern Area / Northern Research Station – Sherri Wormstead / Rebecca Whitney
15. Pacific Southwest Research Station / Region 5 - Larry Rabin (may not have actual green
team but are doing stuff) Larry can tell you more about other R5/PSW activities and
contacts
16. Pacific Northwest Station – Donna Wiens, Station Engineer (they may not have a formal
green team but are doing lots of things related to EMS)
17. Lassen National Forest - Tim
18. Willamette NF- Marci Rider eng / Marci has contacts for Siuslaw, Mt. Hood and the
Willamette.
19. Siuslaw NF – Marci Rider …..
20. Mt. Hood National Forest – Malcom ? - Recreation
21. Northern Region Regional Office – Tom Pettigrew – Engineering Director
22. Intermountain Region Regional Office - Jeanne Evenden Lands Director (Jeanne can
probably tell you if there are other efforts in R4)
23. Tongass National Forest – Erin Uloth
24. Chippewa National Forest – Joe Alexander Deep River Ranger District Ranger
25. Superior National Forest - not a fomal team but Art Johnston eng, Trent Wickman air,
Rosanne Eaton AO are implementing activities
26. R2, R1, R3, R4, BLM, EPA, RMRS Sustainable Operations Board of Directors – Glenda
Wilson, Board Chair
27. R9 Sustainability Board – Paul Stockinger or Sheela Doshi (PMf)
28. R6 Sustainability Board - KJ Silverman (deputy on the Mt Hood.)
29. Green Mountain National Forest – Cathy Rider – purchasing
30. International Institute of Tropical Forestry – no team but employee education – Maribelis
Santigo
31. USFS Headquarters Office - Linda Parker
32. Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center- Steve????
33. USDA FS International Programs – Chris Farley
34. White Mountain NF – may not have a team but very active Forest Engineer – Bill
(William) Dauer
35. Aerial Fire Depot / Missoula Fire Cache – not sure a team was ever formalized – talk
with Edmund Ward – Base manager, or Bruce Crockett, RO Architect
36. McCall Smokejumpers Base – not sure if formalized a team – Frankie Romero – Base
Manager
37. Payette National Forest - not sure if formalized a team, Frankie Romero – Fire
38. Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre, Gunnison NF – not yet formed but intends to soon, Charlie
Richmond – Forest Supervisor
39. Grey Towers – don’t think there is a formal green team but I know the Northeastern Area
team has prompted conversations about how to green grey towers – Dick Patteson
Director of Grey Towers could provide more info
40. Lincoln Ranger District – Helena NF, just getting started, Emily Gilbert
41. National Integrated Environmental Footprint Team – Glenda Wilson lead (this team isn’t
formally chartered yet but Glenda could tell you the number of employees on her mailing
list and who they are which might give you some more leads….many on the footprint
mailing list are already involved with groups listed above.