Tricia O’Connor has been appointed acting regional forester of the Rocky Mountain Region, announced U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen Wednesday.

O’Connor will replace Jennifer Eberlien who has served as acting regional forester since October 2019 and accepted a new position as Associate Deputy Chief for National Forest System in Washington D.C.

The temporary appointment will go into effect on Oct. 19.

As acting regional forester, O’Connor will lead over 2,000 employees and supervise 22 million acres of national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and 48 affiliated tribes.

O’Connor began working with the Forest Service in 1988 as a wildlife biologist at Mt. Hood National Forest.

Most recently, she served as Forest Supervisor for the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, managing 3.4 million acres of public land.

Some of O’Connor’s other roles included district ranger, forest staff officer, deputy forest supervisor, Deputy Director for Ecosystem Management Coordination and Deputy Regional Forester in Montana, Utah, Alaska and Washington D.C.

O’Connor has a master’s degree in natural resource management from Humboldt State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University.