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Video Clip of Musical Number performed at the Dedication
PowerPoint Presentation of Paul Sjoblom (113 M)
Paul L. Sjoblom
Former Utah State Forester, 1961 - 1981
Paul Sjoblom received his B.S. degree in Forestry and Range Management from Utah State University in 1951. He began his career with the Soil and Conservation Service before taking a position with the Bureau of Land Management as a range management officer. His area of responsibility included most of northeast Utah.
In 1957 he accepted a position as an assistant state forester to J. Whitney Floyd, who held the title of Chief Forester/Fire Warden for the State of Utah. Paul was working towards a Masters Degree in Forest Management when he was offered the opportunity to fill the new position of Utah State Forester, as created by the Legislature, in 1961. He served in this position for the next 20 years.
Several important programs were instituted during this time. Paul and his staff organized the state prison wildland firefighting program. The fledgling program began with 30 ill- equipped and poorly trained prisoners and grew into a nationally recognized and respected Type I “Hot Shot” crew. What is now known as the Federal Excess Property Program also took root during Paul’s tenure. The program grew from early attempts to secure military surplus property and organize community volunteer fire departments throughout the state, a process that was embraced and fully supported by the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Park Service. One of Paul’s first assignments was relocating the state nursery from the USU campus. The nursery eventually found a home at its present location on the grounds of the Utah State Prison and is now known as the Lone Peak Conservation Center.
Paul left his position as State Forester in 1981 and worked as a realty specialist for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program in the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining until his retirement in 1987. Following retirement, Paul continued to volunteer his time with the abandoned mine program until 2005. He is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserve with service during World War II and Korea. He and his wife Lois have three children.
The naming of the Wildfire Service Building after Paul Sjoblom is a fitting tribute to his leadership and pioneering efforts in forestry and fire management for the State of Utah.