Meet the new deputy district ranger

SMELTERVILLE — Phillip Blundell has been selected as the new Deputy District Ranger for the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District in Smelterville on Jan. 8.

Blundell comes to the Forest Service from the Bureau of Land Management where he was the Landscape Planning Coordinator for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative. Originally from Oklahoma, Blundell enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served five years of active duty in the field of communications.

Blundell holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Juris Doctoral Degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

He has also worked in realty for the BLM in Rock Springs, Wyo., before working as a project manager and NEPA coordinator.

Blundell brings a great deal of experience in working collaboratively with local, state and federal partners to accomplish on the ground results.

He and his family are excited to become part of the Idaho Panhandle community.

“I look forward to the challenges of this new position and to working with the local communities and stakeholders,” Blundell said.