PINEDALE – Part of Monday morning’s meeting of Sublette County Board of Commissioners took a somewhat somber, bittersweet turn.

Sandwiched between typical agenda items, the board welcomed supervisor Trisha O’Conner and Rob Hoelscher to the table so it could give Hoelscher special accommodations for his years of service to the U.S. Forest Service Pinedale Office.

Hoelscher previously announced he’s leaving his post with Oct. 8 being his last day.

“I thought it was appropriate to, we’ve had a really good working relationship with Rob Hoelscher, district ranger of Pinedale, for a lot of years that he’s been here,” commission chair Joel Bousman said. “The commission feels it is appropriate to recognize you, Rob, for your willingness and the way you work with local government. We’ve had input on anything we desired that we thought we should have input on, Rob has been proactive in reaching out to the county and to local government to participate.”

Bousman also said Sublette County has maintained a good working relationship with the U.S. Forest Service and most of that relationship can be attributed to Hoelscher.

So, the board presented Hoelscher with a plaque to commemorate his service and thank him for that service.

“In appreciation to Pinedale District ranger Rob Hoelscher for your many years of service and commitment to Sublette County,” the plaque read. “The Sublette County commission offers their sincerest thank you and wishes you all the best in your future endeavors.”

O’Conner, Bridger-Teton National Forest supervisor, was also there for the presentation and talked about the high bar Hoelscher has set in his time at the Forest Service.

“This is a great honor,” O’Conner said. “It’s not common that district rangers get recognized like this from our county cooperators. On behalf of the forest, I really do appreciate it.

“I agree Rob has done an outstanding job here and has worked very hard with you all. To get this is pretty special.”

O’Conner and Bousman agreed that, despite the county and Forest Service not always agreeing on the issues either face, the two institutions have been able to work together for the benefit of each.

Commissioner Tom Noble said Hoelscher set an especially high bar and left some exceptionally large shoes to fill. The board and O’Conner talked briefly about what could be expected from a new district ranger and what the county would appreciate in terms of working relationship.

Hoelscher, when presented with the opportunity to speak, said he’d been thinking about what he was most proud of in his time. He said, almost without exception, it’s been the relationships built in Sublette County. He said that would be important to see in a future district ranger.

“I just wanted to thank you all for being a great commission and, like everybody else, the commission has changed in the eight years since I’ve been here,” Hoelscher said. “Being able to approach you all with confidence that it’s not an adversary relationship, that it’s a working relationship, that made things easier.”

One of the things Hoelscher was told in his time is that a bad district ranger is remembered forever and a good one is forgotten by the time they leave.

“So I’m hoping none of you will remember me,” he said with a laugh.