PENDLETON — Tara Mackleit is the new Pomeroy District ranger on the Umatilla National Forest.

The U.S. Forest Service in a press release Jan. 15 announced Mackleit is the fire management officer for the Pomeroy Ranger District and this promotion provides a seamless transition for the national forest and the district.

Mackleit is a native of Dayton, Washington, and has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 28 years.

As district ranger, Mackleit brings years of experience to the Umatilla National Forest working with a variety of public stakeholders, partners, tribal governments, county commissioners and federal agencies, according to the Forest Service. She has been the Pomeroy fire management officer since 2021 and has worked on the Pomeroy Ranger District since 1997. She has served in several leadership roles in the fire and fuels management program and in supporting planning and implementing vegetation management projects across the landscape.

“I look forward to working with all of you and I am excited to continue to be a part of the Umatilla National Forest and continue to develop our relationships with the local communities and organizations of Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon,” she said in the press release.

In her free time, Mackleit volunteers for 4-H and Lewis Clark Neptunes Swimming. She enjoys weekends of camping, vacationing with friends and family, and time spent on the bleachers at swimming and volleyball events.

Find out more about the Umatilla National Forest at www.fs.usda.gov/umatilla.