Meet Tom Owens, Blackrock District, Toppings and Spread Creek Ambassador
Since retiring 10 years ago, Tom has done significant amounts of volunteer work on public lands. The day after we chatted with him last spring, he was headed off to volunteer at Gila Cliffs National Monument.
Tom first volunteered on the BTNF in 2024, as the Camping Ambassador at Spread Creek. Previously he had done similar volunteer work for the Hegben Lake Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest on the other side of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. “At Hegben, I was doing a lot of educating about grizzly bears and camp safety,” he says. “What I’m doing at Spread Creek is an extension of that.”
As a retired wildlife biologist—Tom worked for Washington Fish & Wildlife for 35 years—when not actively performing his duties as a camping area Ambassador, Tom enjoys wildlife watching. “My career was in Washington state, so I think bison and bears are cool,” he says. “And I think moose are wonderful. I’m easily entertained by all forms of wildlife.”
In addition to his volunteering on the Custer Gallatin NF, Tom has spent five winters in a row volunteering on the Coconino National Forest (outside of Flagstaff, Arizona). There his job was interpreting petroglyph sites. He has also volunteers at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Nevada.
Fun Fact: As a wildlife data manager for Washington Fish and Wildlife, Tom got to work in the projects of wildlife biologists statewide. “My experience went from western pond turtles to bald eagles and everything in between. I had a glorious 35 years of doing data management and research,” he says.