NEVADA CITY, CALIF. (April 15, 2024) — Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Eli Ilano is departing the forest after 14 years. Ilano will join the Forest Service’s national office to lead the agency’s timber and biomass utilization initiative.  

 “Working with the communities, organizations and staff of the Tahoe National Forest has been the highlight of my career,” said Ilano. “I feel lucky to have had the chance to work here.” 

During his tenure, Ilano had a particular focus on building partnerships between the Forest Service and a wide range of organizations and government entities. 

“Eli Ilano elevated the partnership between the County of Nevada and the U.S. Forest Service to new heights during his tenure as Forest Supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest, which occupies 195,000 acres of our heavily forested community,” said Nevada County Executive Officer Alison Lehman. “Together, we tackled not only forest health and wildfire prevention but also major recreational initiatives. Eli’s been an exemplary partner and friend – I will miss him and wish him well in his latest endeavors.” 

Tahoe National Supervisor Eli Ilano signed the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project record of decision today in the Sierra County board chambers in Downieville, Calif. Community members and North Yuba Forest Partnership members commemorated the accomplishment.
Tahoe National Supervisor Eli Ilano signed the North Yuba Landscape Resilience Project record of decision on July 12, 2023 in the Sierra County board chambers in Downieville, Calif. Community members and North Yuba Forest Partnership members commemorated the accomplishment.

“With Eli’s innovative leadership the Tahoe National Forest has demonstrated an effective model of landscape-level shared stewardship, a model being adopted by forests across the West,” said Matt Millar of the National Forest Foundation. 

Ilano served as Forest Supervisor on the Tahoe National Forest from 2016 to 2024. Previously, he worked as Deputy Forest Supervisor for both the Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Ilano also served in an acting role as Deputy Regional Forester for the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region.  

Previous to the Forest Service, Ilano served in roles for the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Senate and in the non-profit sector in various communities around the country.  

As the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region conducts recruitment for the Tahoe National Forest Supervisor role, Matthew Jedra will serve as acting Forest Supervisor. Jedra joined the Tahoe National Forest as Deputy Forest Supervisor in 2020.