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Recalling 18 years on KNF

Teri Cleeland, Williams Ranger District public services branch leader, will soon spend her last day on the job here prior to moving east to take a Forest Service recreation position in Washington, D.C.

Although reluctant to pinpoint an exact last day, she will be at Camp Clover close to another two weeks.

Cleeland, who arrived in northern Arizona two year’s prior to the Interstate 40 bypass, said she has seen Williams change dramatically.

"When I started here in 1982 as a seasonal archeologist, Route 66 still came through the middle of town," she said. "It’s amazing when I look back at pictures of that time, to see how the community has improved so much.

"All the work owners have put into their buildings has really paid off. Williams has a great looking downtown."

Cleeland got her bachelor’s of arts in anthropology at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"I came here from Tucson and fell in love with northern Arizona and worked on my masters in anthropology at Northern Arizona University and worked my summers at Wupatki, the Grand Canyon and other parks in Nevada and northern Arizona," she said.

In 1989, Cleeland nailed a permanent position with the Forest Service as assistant archeologist on Kaibab National Forest, but she had already moved to Williams in 1985.

In 1991, she became a forest historian and recreation manager based in the Forest Service Supervisor's office on Sixth Street. In 1995, she moved to the Williams Ranger District office and took on the added duties of public affairs.

"I’ve spent my whole career on the Kaibab and have had so many great opportunities to try out so many different jobs in the Forest Service," she said.

New position

Cleeland said she is excited about being in the D.C. area.

"I will be managing business plans, marketing and fees for the recreation program, which will give me a national perspective," Cleeland said.

She discussed the fees program recently initiated on National Forest land on a temporary basis in Sedona and the controversy it has stirred. She said the fees program is very decentralized and relies on local boards to decide where it needs to be introduced.

"Allocations from Congress have not been enough to keep up with maintenance and infrastructure at heavily used sites such as Sedona," she said. "The fees go right back into the site where they’re collected.

"People are used to paying fees at National Park sites but not so much on open country."

On the Kaibab National Forest, fee programs currently include a winter cabin rental program in Spring Valley near Parks and the $10 per site campground fees at Ten X near Grand Canyon National Park, which will be used to make improvements.

"We used to send these fees to Washington and get a small portion back, but now we get about 80 percent back," Cleeland said. "Another example closer to home is the Forest Service/Williams Visitor Center, which was able to stay open longer hours last summer as a result of park service fees."

Rather than closing at 5 p.m. daily, the visitor center was able to hire additional employees and remained open until 6:30 p.m. during the peak summer tourist season.

Kaibab projects

Cleeland listed three projects she’s proud to have been a part of in Williams — the visitor center, Route 66 and serving as interim district ranger in Tusayan.

"What I like best about the visitor center is everybody said it couldn’t be done, that building had structural problems and was not suitable," she said. "But we had our grand opening in 1994 after three years of intensive construction."

Cleeland described the visitor center as a true partnership and listed many of its contributors.

"Sen. Dennis DiConcini pledged $150,000 seed money toward the project, but it also included a state heritage grant and federal, city, chamber of commerce and Forest Service Interpretive Association funds," she said. "All these entities were involved."

People she mentioned as instrumental in the process are Dennis Lund, former Kaibab National Forest Service public services branch leader; Jim Hoffman, former Williams mayor; Eleanor Addison, city clerk; and John Holst, former city building inspector.

"I’m proud to be part of the team that made the visitor center happen," she said. "It continues to be a great partnership.

"It’s hard to believe it’s in its sixth year of operation and working so well."

Route 66

Cleeland described Route 66 as being the most fun out of the projects she tackled.

"The Kaibab has been a leader in identifying and preserving significant stretches of the road," she said. "I enjoyed meeting so many people whose lives are attached to Route 66, whether Williams residents or people passing through who had special memories of the road."

There are seven sections of old Route 66 on the Kaibab listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Cleeland pointed out. These stretches serve as hiking and biking trails with interpretive signs allowing people to rediscover the Mother Road.

Acting ranger

Cleeland said she enjoyed the six months she served as acting Tusayan District ranger from April to October in 1999.

"I really enjoyed being in this position because it was during the time the decision came out on the Tusayan Growth Environmental Impact Statement," she said. "I also really enjoyed working with Grand Canyon National Park."

Although Cleeland said she has achieved all the goals she had set here, she noted she won’t be around to see the outcome of the proposed expansion of Williams Ski Area, a project she has been heavily involved in.

"We went public on the ski area expansion in November 1997 and found it to be far more controversial than Forest Service leadership anticipated," she said. "It’s a disappointment to me to not see it through."

Local ties

"I’ve lived in Williams longer than anywhere in my whole life and love it here," she said. "It’s a wonderful community."

She said she has loved the people here as well as being involved in various civic groups but feels it’s time for a change.

"I met my husband, Larry Lesko, here; his son, Jesse went to Williams High School," she said. "We have a lot of emotional ties and friends we will miss."

Lesko will be moving to the Washington office as well, where he will put his expertise on tribal relations to work on the Forest Service National Fire Plan.

The couple has purchased a home in Vienna, Va., about 13 miles west of D.C.

"My office is right on the National Mall overlooking the Washington Monument, which will be a big change from Williams," she said. "But I grew up in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois.

"I always wanted to come west and I’m looking forward to having this opportunity in the D.C. area with its historic sites, shopping and conveniences."

Cleeland said John Eavis will serve as acting Williams Ranger District public services branch leader until a permanent replacement is determined.


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