PFC Members - An Introduction



John Robision

John Robison is Public Lands Director of the Idaho Conservation League. John has been working on forest restoration issues for ICL since 2002. In addition to serving on the Payette Forest Coalition, John is a member of the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership and the Owyhee Initiative.

John is originally from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. He first came to Idaho in 1991 on an 11-day kayaking and fishing trip. John has a master’s degree in botany from the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program and a BA in biology from Bowdoin College. Before moving to Idaho in 2001, he ran a river education program for the Canyonlands Field Institute in Moab Utah and taught natural history at the Teton Science School.

When not working to protect and restore Idaho’s public lands and rivers, he is out enjoying them with his wife and twin daughters.

Gloria Pippin



I am a member of the Heartland chapter of the Back Country Horsemen.  As an organization, we are interested in keeping our forests accessible. But we also are concerned that our forests be healthy and able to offer to all a wonderful outdoor experience in our Idaho Mountains. We have partnered with the Forest Service in the past to clear and improve trails, not just for horses but for all who wish to enjoy our forests. I have been riding horses for 30 years.  I have lived in Idaho since June of 1975. All my children are Idaho natives and we instilled in them love and respect of our forests through hunting, hiking, backpacking, snowmobiling, horseback riding, and skiing. 

Ron Hamilton



Ron Hamilton represents the Adams County Natural Resources Committee, a group established by county ordinance to advice the Commissioners on natural resources issues influencing Adams County. I am currently chairman and contracted consultant.

Following  time in the Army and with a BS in Forest Mgmt I begin my career with the Forest Service on the Payette Forest in 1966. I moved to various jobs in the Intermountain Region that were primarily in timber management, specifically silviculture and tree improvement.  I retired from the agency in 1998 on the Payette Forest as the Ecosystems Resources staff officer. Since retiring I have done some forest management consulting. 

My wife and I built our retirement home near Cambridge, Idaho near her famiy’s ranch. I like to raise a garden, hunt, fish and enjoy areas forests. Helping my neighbors and my church keeps me active.  The PFC helps me meet one of my retirement goals, to aid the local Forest Service to become a functioning management agency in all resource areas with less litigation.

Diane Evans Mack


I'm a Wildlife Biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, where I work on nongame species such as grebes, ground squirrels, forest carnivores, and the occasional ba t. I'm a transplant from New England, deciding to make Idaho home in 1990 after landing in McCall for a seasonal job with bald eagles. I worked on the Payette Forest in the early 1990s and did a stint with the Pacific Northwest Research Station before returning to McCall 16 years ago. Floating big rivers, hiking small peaks, and skiing what's in between anchors me to this community. I've been a member of the Payette Forest Coalition for 5 years.

Wendy Green

I've been a member of the PFC since its inception in June 2009. I represent the Adams Soil and Wate Conservation District. If you want to know what a conservation district is and does, External link opens in new tab or windowcheck out our website.


I have a BA in English and geography and environmental studies from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.  After a thirty-year career in radio broadcasting in Idaho, Oregon and Colorado, I moved home to Idaho in 2000 to be closer to family, to write and engage in community service. My black Labs and I enjoy the peace and quiet and good neighbors in Indian Valley, where the proximity to the Payette National Forest affords plenty of opportunity to practice hunting and gathering. We're more successful at the latter.


Rick Tholen

I retired in 2009 after a 34 year career as a Foresterfort the Bureau of Land Management. I have worked in California, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Idaho again, and finished my career as Senior Advisor on Forestry and Fire in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. I managed the BLM's Forest Health program for 9 years and worked in fire and hazardous fuels policy at NIFC for 10 years.

 

I am active in the Society of American Foresters, currently as the Chair for the Intermountain Society covering Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho and western Wyoming. As the Snake River Chapter Chair in 2010 I helped form the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership (IFRP) which helps support forest restoration collaborative groups throughout Idaho. I joined the Payette Forest Coalition in 2011 and served on the Steering Team for 5 years.

 

While I still maintain a home in Eagle, I like to spend time at my cabin in Meadowcreek north of New Meadows. My wife Sue and I like to hike, ski, ride road bikes and walk out dog Bailey. I also hunt, fish.