Top official in America’s most-visited national forest takes federal buyout

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners learned on Thursday that White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams has resigned. Fitzwilliams, the top official for the most visited national forest in the United States, is among a growing list of federal employees to opt into the deferred resignation early buyout program.

As a result, he will be on administrative leave until the end of the fiscal year this September.

The White River National Forest, which includes a significant portion of Eagle County, is home to 12 of Colorado’s ski areas. The U.S. Forest Service is now tasked with finding someone who fits Fitzwilliams’ pay grade who can replace him in an interim role until a new district supervisor is permanently in place.

Fitzwilliams, on Thursday, did not respond to an email for questions.

All employees within the Forest Service received the “Deferred Resignation Email to Federal Employees,” sent out on Jan. 28, and within the White River National Forest, as many as 20 employees are suspected to have taken the deal (although official numbers have not been announced). Deputy Supervisor Heather Noel is reported to have also taken the deal.

During the recent round of layoffs targeting probationary employees, the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District lost four employees, two wilderness rangers, a trails ranger, and a developed recreation ranger.

More cuts don’t just have the potential to result in a reduction of public services or a closing of public facilities, but also includes a slowdown of projects headed through the forest. The White River National Forest supervisor is the signatory official on all projects within the jurisdiction, which includes the ski areas of Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Sunlight, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin. Ski Cooper, which borders Eagle and Lake counties, is divided between the White River National Forest and the San Isabel National Forest.

Since Fitzwilliams started as supervisor in 2009, any project requiring a National Environmental Policy Act review has required his signature. That includes some major ski area expansions like Peak 6 in Breckenridge, McCoy Park in Beaver Creek, and Bergman Bowl in Keystone.

The Forest Service cuts, however, have come along with an effort from the Council on Environmental Quality to roll back the NEPA process. A Council on Environmental Quality rule filed for public review on Tuesday “removes the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) from the Code of Federal Regulations,” as of April 11, according to the filing.

Public comment is being accepted through March 27.

Before his tenure at the White River National Forest, Fitzwilliams served as the deputy forest supervisor on the Willamette National Forest in Eugene, Oregon.