"I believe National Forests and public lands are America's greatest idea!"
BIO
Sam Pankratz joined the NFF in 2023 as a Rocky Mountain Region Program Manager. Sam grew up in Northeast Wisconsin on the coast of Lake Michigan exploring the many lakes, rivers and woodlands of the north. Sam earned a bachelor's degree in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point after traveling and working in New Zealand, Alaska and New Hampshire. Upon graduation Sam worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a Forester for three years until higher ground and less mosquitoes called out west. In 2010 Sam started working in the Gunnison Field Office of the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) as a Forester eventually moving into a Supervisory Forester role and most recently as a Forestry Program Specialist managing the Good Neighbor Authority Program, Best Management Practices for Water Quality and serving as the liaison to the Colorado Timber Industry.
Sam has a wide breadth of forestry experience including assisting landowners and agencies with forest health and fuels reduction projects as well as running a seedling tree nursery and providing Certified Arborist services to communities on the West Slope. Sam loves solving highly complex natural resource issues through partnership and collaboration and is excited to be a part of the NFF team!
Sam lives in the beautiful Gunnison Valley of Colorado enjoying the basin’s amazing public lands with his wife, son and puppy. In his free time you’ll find Sam hunting, fishing, gardening, or playing music.