Outstanding Public Lands Professional Employee Award
Managerial/Administrative Category
James “Todd” Forbes

The Public Lands Foundation is proud to present the 2025 Outstanding Public Lands Professional Employee Award in the Managerial/Administrative Category to James “Todd” Forbes.

A wildlife biologist at heart, Mr. Forbes is a seasoned leader and land use practitioner, having served both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service. Todd joined the BLM in January 2000 serving as Wildlife Biologist, Assistant Field Manager, and Field Manager in the Lakeview District prior to accepting his current role as District Manager in 2018. Before coming to the BLM, Todd was a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service in central Oregon. He attended Oregon State University and holds a degree in wildlife science.

Each day, Mr. Forbes brings experience and passion to his job as the Lakeview District Manager in administering approximately 3.5 million acres of public land in Lake, Klamath, and Harney counties in south-central and southeastern Oregon, varying from the mixed conifer forests on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains to the beautiful high desert country of Oregon’s Outback. Todd has spent his career devoted to serving the American people and being a steward of public lands. His work will leave a lasting legacy.

Bringing partners to the table and resources effectively to the ground in a well-informed and reasoned manner are best practices by which Mr. Forbes lives daily. His many years of field experience, commitment to working with partners, and immense love for the region make him an exemplary leader and collaborator. He is responsible for programs of foundational importance to the BLM and communities in south-central Oregon, including forest and rangeland health, fire suppression, wild horses and burros, habitat and associated fish and wildlife species, and recreation, to name a few. Mr. Forbes’ collaboration with local leaders in prioritizing and planning restoration projects and stewarding restoration activities across the landscape is significant and a model for others across the BLM.

Mr. Forbes never shies from complexity or controversy, consistently demonstrating outstanding leadership with employees and collaborative partners to successfully implement the BLM mission.

For his demonstrated leadership as a professional administrator, manager, and leader; his commitment to collaboratively implementing FLPMA; his development of future leaders; and his proven ability to make a sustained difference time and time again, The Public Lands Foundation recognizes James “Todd” Forbes with its Outstanding Public Lands Professional Award in the Managerial/Administrative category for 2025.

/s/ Mary Jo Rugwell
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Mary Jo Rugwell, President October 8, 2025