District #5
District Forester: Jacob McCarthy jacob.mccarthy@wyo.gov
307-763-2969
Assistant District Forester: Daniel Tomlinson daniel.tomlinson@wyo.gov
307-763-3073
GNA Forester: Michael Garibotti michael.garibotti@wyo.gov
Wyoming State Forestry Division
600 Veterans' Lane
Buffalo, WY 82834
307-684-2752
The District 5 Buffalo Field Office is located in Buffalo, WY in the old historic hospital building of Fort McKinney, which is known today as the Veteran’s Home of Wyoming. The office consists of a District Forester and an Assistant District Forester. The District encompasses Johnson, Sheridan, and Campbell Counties.
The primary objective of managing state trust lands is to generate revenue for the public schools and other state institutions. This is done in a way that promotes forest health, provides forest products, promotes the forest products industry, provides habitat for both domestic stock and wildlife, and provides recreational opportunities to the public such as hiking, hunting, and fishing. State trust lands differ from federal lands in that overnight camping is not permitted and fires of any kind are never allowed.
In addition to managing forested state trust lands, the District provides many other services to the numerous communities that it serves including technical assistance to private landowners on managing their forested lands, education and outreach to the public on proper tree planting and tree care, and assisting communities with their community forestry programs.
The District has direct fire protection responsibilities on all state trust lands within the district and works cooperatively with other agencies on their lands. The District coordinates the annual operating plan of how interagency fire protection will be conducted and also provides technical and financial assistance to the counties.
The District is also responsible for administering various federally funded grants which are used for projects that benefit state, county, and municipal lands, as well as for administering programs available to the public as funding allows.