Ousted ranger alleges issues among Forest Service leadership

<p>Last April, Scott Snelson was quietly transferred from his post at the Spotted Bear District to a desk job at the Flathead National Forest headquarters at the behest of then Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele. Snelson finished his career as a staff officer of recreation, engineering, heritage and land. He retired a few weeks ago.</p> <p>Snelson had a long career with the Forest Service before being named district ranger in 2017, </p> <p>He expected to spend his final years of his career managing one of the most coveted ranger districts in the U.S. The Spotted Bear is more than 1 million acres, with 850,000 of those acres part of the 1.6 million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.</p> <p>But instead of being a dream job, it became increasingly difficult under Steele’s leadership, Snelson told the Hungry Horse News in an interview last week.</p> <p>That’s an excerpt from a <a href="https://hungryhorsenews.com/news/2023/dec/06/ousted-spotted-bear-district-ranger-speaks-out/?fbclid=IwAR1H4gPymJ6vF8Ju9yDs2cpJhK2_8b0HHkLfewa7xxJKzLWNPMdHt07GL9A">piece written by Chris Peterson</a>, editor of the Hungry Horse News, and he’s with me today to discuss his reporting.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>