Forest Service names new Caribou-Targhee supervisor

Garth Smelser has been named the new supervisor of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Idaho Falls. Regional Forester Nora Rasure said Smelser’s diverse leadership experience prepared him for the job.

Smelser has been deputy forest supervisor of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington since December 2011. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995 and served as a naval flight officer for eight years.

“I am excited to work with the employees and the communities surrounding the Caribou-Targhee National Forest,” said Smelser. “The Caribou-Targhee is a beautiful forest, and I am honored to be able to contribute to this treasured landscape.”

Smelser and his wife, Julie, have three daughters.