New ranger for the mountaintop

Acting Forest Supervisor Lesley Yen has announced that Josh Direen has taken over as the Mountain Top district ranger as of Feb. 17.

Direen has worked in engineering on the San Bernardino National Forest for more than 22 years. He has been the forest engineer for the last three years. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and a Professional Engineer license in California.

Direen – who is looking forward to helping the district tackle the unique challenges it faces – fills behind Mike Ho, who will return to his regular duties as forest administrative officer. “I thank Mike for his commendable and steady leadership of the district over the past few months, during some especially challenging times,” Yen said.