Cara Boucher, a 25-year employee of the Department of Natural Resources, recently was named Assistant Chief of the Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Division. Boucher also will serve as State Forester for the DNR.

"Cara Boucher has a strong background in forestry management issues in Michigan," said DNR Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Chief Lynne Boyd. "She brings a depth of experience to this position, and will help oversee management of the state's forest system."

The DNR currently manages 3.9 million acres of dedicated state forest land -- the largest state forest system in the nation, with three state forests in the Upper Peninsula and three in the Lower Peninsula. In addition, the Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Division administers 6.3 million acres of mineral estate ownership and leasing rights to explore for oil, gas and other minerals on state-owned lands, which contribute $30-40 million each year in royalties to the Natural Resources Trust Fund for recreational land acquisition and development, and for deposit into the Park Endowment Fund. In addition, the DNR provides wildland fire protection to private and public lands across the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula, and manages 145 state forest campgrounds through the Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Division.

Boucher holds bachelor's degrees in Forestry and Communications from Michigan State University, and a master's degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. She is a Michigan Registered Forester and a Society of American Foresters Certified Forester. She began working for the DNR in 1984 as a forester, and has worked in urban and community forestry; private forest, cooperative and state forest management programs, overseeing a broad range of forest management activities.