Please join us on Tuesday, April 7th at 6PM for our first official meeting of 2026! District Ranger Ken Born will be our guest speaker. We look forward to hearing about SRD priorities to include the recently announced Sandia Crest "Switchback" Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project as well as the Sandia Crest Recreation Area Renovation Project.

Program Abstract - Ken will share district, forest, and national priorities for the year – and how he sees the district and FOSM strengthening its own partnership to achieve those priorities in the months and years to come. Topping the priority list will be the recently announced Sandia Crest "Switchback" Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project as well as the Sandia Crest Recreation Area Renovation Project. The need for the Sandia Ranger District to focus on the Crest site is for health and safety concerns, upholding agency special use permit requirements, hazardous fuels reduction, scenic integrity objectives – and to improve the overall recreation experience for visitors. More details can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/newsroom/stories/sandia-crest-area-projects

Speaker bio - Ken is the District Ranger of the Sandia Ranger District, a position he has held since January 2025 after being appointed as Acting District Ranger in October 2024. Previously, Ken worked at the US Forest Service’s Southwestern Regional Office in Albuquerque from 2018 to 2024 primarily serving as the region’s Recreation Special Uses Program Manager. In this role, he supported administration of commercial permits which authorize ski areas, resorts, marinas, outfitters and guides, and recreation events on National Forest System lands. He has more than 15 years of federal service and has also served in local government, spending his early career working as land use planner. He began his time with the Forest Service as the Forest Planner for the Tonto National Forest in Phoenix, AZ and has been a District Ranger previously on the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, from 2015-18. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental planning from Northern Arizona University, and a Master of Arts degree in public policy from Stony Brook University.