Zach Behrens is the new public information officer for the San Bernardino National Forest, replacing John Miller who retired at the end of
July.
Behrens left the National Park Service’s Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to join the U.S. Forest Service.
He also previously served as the acting public information officer at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks and is the former communications person for the Mediterranean Coast Inventory and Monitoring Program, which include the Santa Monica Mountains, Channel Islands National Park and Cabrillo National Monument.
Before entering federal service, he had spent a decade as a journalist. As the director of news at KCET-TV, Behrens focused on the station’s migration to a digital environment where he produced “SoCal Connected.” Before that, he was the editor-in-chief of LAist.com. He also worked in the parks department at the city of Santa Clarita.
In 1999, Behrens came west from the Chicago area. He attended California Institute of the Arts for music and is currently a half-time grad student pursuing a master’s in Natural Resource Management from the University of Denver.