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<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Courier New"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Ore</st1:State>gon</st1:State> Department of <st1:place
w:st="on">Forest</st1:place>ry</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">NEWS
RELEASE</FONT></P>
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= "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT
face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">For
immediate release<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Courier New">October 22, 2008<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN>Contact: Rod Nichols, 503-945-7425, or<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Courier New">08-43<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 6">
</SPAN>George Ponte, 541-447-5658<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Courier New">George Ponte selected as new Central Oregon District
Forester<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">The
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has selected George Ponte (say ‘pont’) to
head up its Central Oregon District. Employed by ODF since 1989, Ponte succeeds
Travis Medema as District Forester. Medema accepted a staff position in the
headquarters office in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Salem</st1:place></st1:City> earlier this year.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">Since
March, Ponte has been gaining on-the-job experience as acting District Forester
of the sprawling District that spans 11 counties. During the year prior he
served as Assistant to the Eastern Oregon Area Director, helping with oversight
of the administrative unit that includes the <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Oregon</st1:place>, Klamath-Lake and Northeast Oregon
Districts.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">The
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> graduate began his career with ODF on the
westside as a State Lands Forester administering timber sales and overseeing
reforestation in the <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Coast</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Range</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Mountains</st1:PlaceType> west of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Eugene</st1:place></st1:City>. <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">In
1993, he was promoted to Forest Practices Forester stationed in Veneta, where he
worked closely with private landowners to ensure compliance with the Oregon
Forest Practices Act. Three years later, he moved to the east side of the
Cascades to fill a similar slot in Prineville. <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">Ponte
was promoted to Protection Unit Forester of the Central Oregon District’s
Prineville-Sisters Unit in 2003. In that position, he built on his firefighting
experience by supervising the Unit’s initial- and extended-attack organization.
In that period, Ponte was also actively involved with implementing the National
Fire Plan, and he assisted in the development of Community Wildfire Protection
Plans as well as implementation of the Forestland-Urban Interface Fire
Protection Act.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">In
2005, a five-month staff assignment to ODF headquarters in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Salem</st1:place></st1:City> provided him
experience with legislative issues and biomass energy
initiatives.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">As
Central Oregon District Forester, he will administer ODF programs on 2.3 million
acres of forestland. Ponte works out of the District office in
Prineville.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman">###<SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
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face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">For
questions or additional information about the ODF Private Forests News service –
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Courier New"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">Kevin
Weeks<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Courier New">ODF
Agency Affairs / Private Forests Division<o:p></o:p></FONT></P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">(503)<SPAN
class=947342815-24102008> 945-7427</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>