Eleanor S. Towns

Discouraged from pursuing a career in the sciences, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, a master's degree from the University of New Mexico, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Denver's College of Law, Ellie worked for the Bureau of Land Management before joining the Forest Service in 1978 as Director of Civil Rights in the Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Denver, and worked in a number of progressively responsible positions. Before becoming regional forester, other positions included Director of Lands, Soils, Water, and Minerals for the Rocky Mountain Region and Director of Lands for the Forest Service in the Washington Office. She received numerous awards from special acts and services.

During her time as regional forester, she authorized construction, in the Kaibab National Forest, of the controversial Canyon Forest Village as a $330 million lodging-and-services "gateway" to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park stopped a controversial land-swap deal that would have benefitted a develop and not the Forest Service; and helped establish the Valles Caldera National Preserve. She proved such an effective supervisor and collaborator in Arizona and New Mexico that when she retired in 2002, Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico thanked her for her service and praised her career in the Congressional Record.