SWEET HOME - Ed Keith grew up in the high desert of Nevada, but his family often spent summer vacations in scenic Jackson Hole, Wyo.

That's where Keith - the new unit forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry's South Cascade District based in Sweet Home - gained an appreciation for all things outdoors.

"I figured that I had to come to work every day, I might as well enjoy it," Keith said of his decision to study forest management at Utah State University in Logan.

The 1996 graduate's first job with the forestry department was out of Tillamook.

"I laid out timber sales on state forest ground," Keith said. "We worked on about 350,000 acres, mostly on trees planted after the big fires. These were the first big commercial thinnings."

Keith moved to Prineville five years ago to become a forest practices officer.

"I helped private landowners comply with state rules," Keith said. "It was a great job. I got to meet new people every day and helped the landowners accomplish their goals."

Keith started in Sweet Home in late May. He said he took the job to round out his career and because the office has an excellent reputation throughout the state.

"This is a great job," Keith said. "This unit has a good mixture of public and private land and the relationship between the Department of Forestry and the private landowners is outstanding. It's a level of support you just won't find anywhere else."

Keith is in charge of eight full-time employees, 12 seasonal employees and 650,000 acres that stretch from the valley floor high into the Cascade Mountains.

"I like living in a small town. I like going to the grocery store and meeting people I know," Keith said. "I can live in Sweet Home and yet be close to so many things. I love rafting, backpacking, hiking, photography, hunting, fishing and skiing. It's all right here."

Keith said he is looking forward to working with the Linn Forest Protective Association, which was formed in 1911. Private landowner members pay an annual assessment - this year $1.18 per acre - to help fund forest firefighting crews and equipment.

Keith said his goal is to "create an environment where people want to come to work and to provide quality service to our area landowners. We have a direct tie with our customers. They pay us for a service and we can take pride in providing that service to the best of our ability."