You may have seen this in the news, but I want to take a moment to thank the United States Forest Service for honoring two of our finest prosecutors. From the press release: BEND–Forest Service law enforcement officials in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service recently honored two attorneys with the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in resolving criminal cases brought forward by the Forest Service.
John Byas, Patrol Commander for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service, recognized the work of Deschutes County Chief Deputy Attorney Stephen Gunnels and Deschutes County Deputy Attorney Brandi Shroyer of the District Attorney’s Office for their significant contributions to protecting both natural resources and the public on National Forest lands in Deschutes County.
Both attorneys were given letters of recognition and certificates of appreciation from the Forest Service. Dan Smith, Patrol Captain for the Deschutes, Ochoco, and Fremont-Winema National Forests, stated, “ Attorney Gunnels, in addition to many other significant cases, was key to resolving the recent vandalism of Hidden Forest Cave and attorney Shroyer helped resolve a complex case of vandalism and theft of Forest Service vehicles on three different Forests in Oregon.” He continued, “We truly could not be successful in our work of protecting the land and serving visitors to the National Forest without their assistance.” Many folks outside of the law enforcement community do not realize the time and effort that prosecutors put in working with our law enforcement partners outside the courtroom. I am extremely grateful to have the United States Forest Service recognize Chief Deputy District Attorney Gunnels and Deputy District Attorney Shroyer for their superlative support of USFS agents.