PINEDALE — Bridger-Teton National Forest Supervisor Chad Hudson recently hired Kate Olsen to serve as the Pinedale District Ranger. Olsen has been with the Bridger-Teton National Forest as a fisheries biologist since 2017. 
Olsen grew up in central Pennsylvania and moved out west in 2008 after she completed her undergraduate degree in environmental studies and biology from St. Lawrence University. She spent a few years working in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park before going back to school. She earned her Master’s of Science in Fisheries Biology at Utah State University in 2013 while working at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Logan, Utah.
Olsen has worked on several national forests, starting with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, where she spent two summers in the field as a fish biologist trainee with the Forest Service. Additionally, she worked on the Malheur National Forest in Oregon as a fisheries biologist for five years and a temporary assignment in Idaho on the Sawtooth National Forest as a deputy area ranger for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Olsen spends most of her off days in and around the water, fishing or floating when it’s melted, and on her skis when it’s frozen. Most of her vacations are spent back east with family. Olsen is usually accompanied on adventures by her two pups, Ole and Nylander. When she is not in the woods, she hopes to be tying flies to chase cutthroat and creating food or art to share with friends.
“I am really grateful that I've been given the opportunity to learn and grow in this new role,” Olsen said. “ I am excited to start to manage some of the challenges we know this district is faced with and to help the district to prepare for those we haven’t yet faced.”