The publication is reproduced in full below:
COMMEMORATING THE RETIREMENT OF JULIE THOMAS FROM THE U.S. FOREST
SERVICE
______
HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON
of idaho
in the house of representatives
Friday, February 11, 2022
Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, along with my colleagues, Senator Mike Crapo and Senator James E. Risch, I rise to call attention to retirement of Julie Thomas from the U.S. Forest Service.
Like many Forest Service employees, Julie started her career in 1980 as a seasonal employee. She was hired as a Seasonal Recreation Technician/Fire Technician on the Twin Falls Ranger District in Sawtooth Forest. Julie worked in a seasonal capacity on the District until August 1990, when she was offered the Resource Assistant position on the Twin Falls District.
In October of 1994, while still a Forest Service employee, Julie became the Mid-Snake Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Coordinator. She was one of only two Forest Service employees shared with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the position of RC&D Coordinator. As coordinator, she worked and developed relationships with many local community leaders and initiated projects to help south central Idaho. During her tenure as coordinator, she accomplished many worthwhile projects, including spearheading a $2.5 million request for a congressional funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helped producers in Minidoka County address closing antiquated drain wells and partnering with the Shoshone District Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Power, South Central Idaho Tourism and Recreation Development Association, and the College of Southern Idaho to update the Mid-Snake Recreation Study.
Julie worked as the RC&D Coordinator until November of 2009, when she accepted the position as Public Affairs Officer on the Sawtooth National Forest. In this role, she worked with Incident Management Teams throughout the country, grew and maintained the South-Central Idaho Resource Advisory Committee, built relationships between the Forest Service and the Idaho Congressional Delegation, was a leader in Forest Civil Rights, and was recognized in the Forest Service Intermountain Region as leader in employee deployment and engagement. Above all, Julie was a friend to all in the Forest Service. On December 31, 2021, Julie retired from the Forest Service after a 41-year career.
We thank Julie for her loyal service to the Forest Service and south-
central Idaho. We have enjoyed working with her. We hope she enjoys her well-deserved retirement.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 28
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