Moving on Up

Bob Roberts

By KRISTI SHELLONER, TRT

Bob Roberts, the son of Glen and Bonny Roberts, and an enrolled member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, moves to NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) in Boise, Idaho, to begin his tenure as Assistant Director of the Wildland Fire Branch of the BIA. He has a long and diverse background in forestry and wildland fire management.
BIA Fire Director Lyle Carlile said in a press release from the BIA dated Sept. 12, that “Fire management in Indian Country has always been closely tied to the resources, particularly timber assets. Bob’s familiarity with forest management and understanding of Indian Affairs trust mission will complement BIA’s Fire Management program. I am pleased to have him as my new Deputy.”
Roberts started his forestry career in 1977 as a co-op student for the Yolla Bolla ranger district in the Shasta-Trinity national forest where he gained experience in forest management and then became a professional forester working for the Olympic Peninsula Agency in Washington. He worked in the Nez Perce national forest on the Salmon River and in Red River and Elk City ranger districts in Idaho.
He got his first taste of fighting wildland fires here in Hoopa in 1975 working on the tribe’s fire crew. He began his federal firefighting service with the USFS on the Silver Lake ranger district in the Fremont national forest as an engine crew member. Roberts said he credits Hoopa Wildland Fire with giving direction to his career.
“Working on the Hoopa fire crew exposed me to my first taste of wildfires and gave me enough direction to know I wanted to be in a resource-related field where I could continue to pursue my interests in fire,” said Roberts via email. “As my career progressed as a professional forester, I took as many opportunities as possible to work the firelines. I never considered, or even imagined, I would one day work in the position I have now. I’ve learned that working “in fire” is about supporting our neighbors, sister agencies and building relationships that transgress reservation boundaries. When we work together, more is achieved, through training, gaining experience and qualifications, and learning from each other.  That’s where I come from, and I want to carry forward that tradition,” he said.
The HSU forestry graduate has spent 12 years working for the BIA where he began as the assistant fire manager for the Southern Ute Agency in Colorado in 1999. He progressed to FMO at the same agency and then transferred to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office as a fuels specialist and then as the regional fire management officer.
Bob has two sons, Byron and Derek, and has been married to his wife, Becky, for 34 years. Byron, 25, and Derek, 20, will be moving to Boise with the family, said Bonny Roberts. “The whole family is such a delight,” she said. “Bob has been so diligent in his work and he always keeps in touch with Hoopa. He cares very much about Hoopa and its forests and fisheries.”
Greg Moon is on a similar trajectory. He started at Hoopa Wildland Fire in about 1994. Prior to that he had done fisheries work for the USFS at El Dorado ranger district and Lower Trinity ranger district. Moon is now the Fire Management Officer (FMO) for the Southern California Region of the BIA. His goal is to become the FMO at the regional level for all of California before transferring to the national level of the BIA at the NIFC.
Moon credits Gary Risling and Hoopa Wildland Fire with his success. “Gary has been my mentor all along,” said Moon. “He gave a guy off the street a chance and gave me the advancement and training at Hoopa Wildland Fire which has allowed me to make it to where I am and to advance to the national level,” he said.