Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest welcomes new Carson District Ranger
CARSON CITY — The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest welcomes Matthew Zumstein as the new District Ranger for the Carson Ranger District. In his new position, Zumstein will provide oversight of the staff and resources needed to manage over 400,000 acres of National Forest System lands in the eastern Sierra region of northeastern Nevada and eastern California.
“We are excited to welcome Matt to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest,” said Forest Supervisor Bill Dunkelberger. “Matt’s diverse experience working with a multitude of stakeholders to provide sustainable benefits from our National Forests will serve him well as our new Carson District Ranger.”
Zumstein began his federal career following a stint in the Peace Corps where he worked in the Dominican Republic helping to promote and develop sustainable agricultural practices in Playa Cabeza de Toro. His service in the Peace Corps allowed Zumstein the opportunity to apply in 2004 for a Peace Corps Fellow position with the USDA Forest Service’s Washington Office where he worked as a NEPA Specialist for a year.
This fellowship helped start Zumstein’s Forest Service career when the Washington Officer offered him a permanent NEPA Specialist position. While in this position, he was able to detail as a Recreation Ranger on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest’s Salt Lake Ranger District in northeastern Utah for four summers.
Zumstein became a full-time Salt Lake Ranger District employee when he was hired as a Natural Resource Specialist in 2009. Zumstein’s primary responsibilities in that position focused on dispersed recreation, travel management, roads, trails, wilderness, winter sports and artillery program for avalanche control.
He was promoted in 2014 to the Salt Lake Ranger District’s Recreation Staff Officer position, then two years later accepted his first District Ranger job on the Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest’s Norwood Ranger District in southwest Colorado.
“I am excited for the opportunity to serve as District Ranger for the Carson Ranger District. I look forward to getting to know district staff, as well as the amazing landscapes we are responsible for stewarding,” said Zumstein. “I am eager to continue the development of strong relationships with local governments, partner organizations, and external stakeholders, as we promote collaborative and creative approaches to land management.”
Zumstein earned a Master of Science in Forestry from Michigan Technological University in northern Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of California at Davis in northern California. He and his wife and two children are looking forward to relocating to Carson City and being closer to family in California. He will report to work at the end of September.
He succeeds Irene Davidson. Davidson recently retired after nearly 31 years of federal service, 28 years with the Forest Service, and five years on the Carson Ranger District.
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