New OHV Recreation Specialist @ TNF

I had the honor of working with Susanne Jensen on the Tahoe National Forest (TNF), Truckee District for at least a dozen years. She was the OHV Recreation Specialist, and back then, I was the new guy just getting in to OHV trail maintenance. Susanne Jensen has now retired. She will be greatly missed as she was a pleasure to work with.

She understood OHV and what needed to happen to properly manage it. She was open to ideas regardless of where they came from and was very professional about getting back to people in a timely fashion. She was always willing to roll up her sleeves and get dirty to get the job done. She trusted those who had proven themselves.

The other day, I had the opportunity to sit down with the new OHV Recreation Specialist on the Tahoe National Forest, Truckee District, Sam Donahue.

Sam comes from 14 years in fire suppression and has a degree in Recreation Management. He’s an OHV guy as he rides snowmobiles. He day after I sat down with him, he was off to get certified on a motorcycle as part of the job requirement. There is rumor that the TNF has bought or will be buying another Rubicon for the Truckee District, so he could be out on the trail on any number of vehicles.

There was no specific agenda to the meeting, I just wanted to do a face to face with the new guy. I brought John Briggs, the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR) Tahoe Side Lead along with me. We talked about what the volunteers had done in the Rubicon area over the years, the different “Adopt-A-” type programs in place and the great working relation between the volunteers and the Forest Service and Placer County.

Sam came across as open mined, respectful of the volunteers past accomplishments and ready to continue the success we have had with the TNF over the years.

Sam can be reached through the Truckee District office, where he is taking over Susanne desk. He got her phone number and extension but hasn’t changed the phone message, it’s still Susanne’s voice. Don’t let it throw you. Leave a message, Sam will get back to you.

Rubicon Ronin