April 29, 2025
Kansas Forest Service, Partners in Engagement
“The Kansas Forest Service exemplifies the engagement-focused mission of K-State, which aims to integrate engagement across all the university does. By building direct connections with communities and landowners statewide, the service represents exactly the kind of real-world impact K-State envisions in leading as a next-generation land-grant university.”
Those are the lines written by K-State News and Communications Services writer Rafael Garcia in an article on the Kansas Forest Service released last week. (https://www.k-state.edu/news/articles/2025/04/kansas-forest-service-protects-sustains-enhances-community-tree-resources.html)
Going into my 21st year with the agency and my sixth as state forester, I wholeheartedly agree with those words. In my time with the agency, I have seen increases in our staff, support and our impact.
Some of you who read this work regularly with KFS staff, and have done so for many years. A few recent and upcoming examples of agents partnering with KFS staff include upcoming emerald ash borer informational workshops in Nemaha and Lyon Counties; KFS fire and forestry staff worked with local K-State Research and Extension staff to contribute to the Douglas County Rural Living Guide; and a couple weeks ago our forest health coordinator presented at a callery pear event co-hosted by K-State Research and Extension.
I also know some are unsure about the Kansas Forest Service and our connection to K-State Research and Extension. I won’t go into all of that here; the article I referenced above does an excellent job of giving an overview of KFS. I will take the opportunity to share a little about where KFS staff are around the state. Perhaps there’s a potential partnership just around the corner from your office that you aren’t aware of.
KFS has several staff members with statewide responsibilities in various specializations. Most of these positions are based out of our Manhattan state office. Today, I will focus on our staff with a specific geographic area of responsibility. The size of their area of responsibility, or district, varies across the state and by program area. Breaking the state down into four quadrants, I can most easily share the office locations and duties of field staff around the state.
In northeast Kansas, KFS has two district foresters. Thad Rhodes is based in Manhattan, and EJ Jamison is in Oskaloosa. District foresters focus on providing technical forestry expertise to Kansas landowners.
We also have a community district forester in the northeast, Blaine Stroble, who is based out of Manhattan. The community district forester works with municipalities to assist in managing all the benefits trees bring to our communities.
KFS’s fire program representation for the northeast is Bryce Haverkamp, who is based out of Seneca. The district fire management officer provides Kansas fire departments with training, planning and incident support services.
In southeast Kansas, district forester Howard Freerksen is in Reading, and Jaryn Adamek is in the extension center in Parsons. Community district forester Kody Kraemer is based in the John Pair Center near Haysville. KFS is currently recruiting for a district fire management officer to be assigned somewhere in the southeast part of the state.
In southwest Kansas, we have only two field staff. The duties of district forester and community district forester are filled by John Klempa, who is based in Garden City. Our southwest district fire management officer, Aaron Williams, works out of an office in Ulysses.
Like the southwest, there is only one district forester in the northwest, Chelsea Hanson, who is based in Stockton. As with the southeast, recruitment is underway for a northwest district fire management officer.
More details on the locations of our staff and their contact information can be found here: https://kstate.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=009b44f03db24f6db566ab0b1d278897.
Thank you for the partnership to those who have worked and continue to work with KFS staff. For everyone else, I want to ask you, now that you may have a better idea of where we are, can you think of a way that, together with KFS staff, we can build more connections with communities, landowners and fire departments?
I’m sure that is a goal we all share, so if anyone has an idea, please reach out. I’m confident that there are many ways in which collaborations between KFS staff and local extension staff can increase.