Beum Appointed New Regional Forester of the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region

USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen announced the appointment of Frank Beum as the new regional forester for the Rocky Mountain Region, effective April 12. Beum will lead more than 2,000 permanent and seasonal employees and share stewardship of 22 million acres of national forests and grasslands with partners and forty-eight affiliated tribes in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

“Frank will provide essential leadership carrying out agency and regional goals to work across landscapes with partners to regain ecological function, reduce the risks of damage to forests and grasslands and the surrounding communities, enhance the user experience, and manage the multiple uses and interests of these public lands,” said Christiansen. “His work will support national priorities such as our role in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring racial justice and equity, rebuilding the rural economy, and addressing the impacts of climate change.”

Beum is currently the deputy regional forester for natural resources for the Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service in Atlanta, overseeing 13 southern states and Puerto Rico. He has also served in acting roles as the associate deputy chief of the national forest system and the national director of forest management in Washington, DC, as well as the acting regional forester in the Intermountain Region in Ogden.

Beum has worked in forestry for 40 years in various roles on seven national forests and five ranger districts in the Rocky Mountain and Southern Regions, as well as in the Southern Regional Office, the Washington Office, the Ohio Division of Forestry, and a college fellowship with the Wilderness Society. He began his Forest Service career in the Rocky Mountain Region as a seasonal forestry technician in 1981. After six summers of seasonal work on the Rio Grande, San Juan, and Shoshone National Forests, his first permanent job was on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, serving for eight years in both Colorado and Wyoming.

Beum holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry at Ohio State University and a master’s degree in recreation resource management from Colorado State University. He and his wife, Jan, have two grown sons, who were born in Wyoming, a daughter-in-law, and one grandson.

Beum replaces Tammy Angel, who has served as acting regional forester for the Rocky Mountain Region since January. Angel will return to her position as deputy regional forester for the Rocky Mountain Region.