Bob Roper to lead Nevada Division of Forestry beginning in February
Firefighter turned administrator Bob Roper has been named Nevada's new Division of Forestry leader, the director of the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Tuesday. He starts the job Feb. 2, 2015.
Roper, now the chairman of the International Association of Fire Chief’s Wildland Fire Policy Committee, was Fire Chief for Ventura County, Calif., for 15 years prior to his retirement in 2012. He worked his way up through the county organization beginning in 1980 as a firefighter.
“Bob Roper is a strategic thinker who believes in teamwork, setting and achieving goals and facilitating organizational development that includes preparing a diverse workforce for the future,” said Leo Drozdoff, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “Bob was extremely successful in leading a very large government organization in the successful delivery of services to both urban and rural constituencies and he looks forward to helping NDF build even more on its success to date.”
As administrator, Roper will serve the state as its State Forester Fire Warden. Together with a team of NDF experts in the areas of Resources, Fire and Conservation Camps, and complemented by support services, Roper says hs prepared to lead the agency.
“I am extremely pleased to have been offered the opportunity to take the helm of NDF,” said Roper. “All aspects of this critical State of Nevada agency are equally important and valuable to meeting its mission. I look forward to working with NDF staff, and the agency’s many external partners, to maximize services and set the organization on a clear and shared path for current and future success.”
Roper is a Harvard Fellowship Alumni, holds Executive Fire Officer Certification from the National Fire Academy and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands.
NDF Deputy Administrator Dave Prather is currently the Acting Administrator for the agency following the retirement of State Forester Firewarden Pete Anderson. He will continue in this role until Roper’s arrival.
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