Staff Spotlight: Greg Houle
Greg Houle leads our private forestlands conservation work, with the goal of restoring healthy, resilient forests that support thriving communities.
“Our resources do need management, but we also need to make sure it’s sustainable and supports both ecological health and economic health.”
How did your childhood influence your decision to work in sustainability?
I grew up in a mining and mill town in northern Michigan. I moved around Michigan a bit, but pretty much everywhere where I lived was the same – rural, reliant on natural resource economies, and by the 1990s, left in both economic and environmental ruin. That sparked my interest in natural resources. My first job in natural resources was leading a Tribal youth crew that cleaned up sites on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, part of the Lake Superior Band of the Ojibwe Nation, that had been polluted from mine tailings left from the early days of copper mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In my work, I’ve always been looking to find that balance between extraction and conservation. Our resources do need management, but we also need to make sure it’s sustainable and supports both ecological health and economic health. It’s crazy to go back now and see the towns where I grew up. It’s bleak.
How did your educational and career path lead you to Sustainable Northwest?
My interest was always in environmental science because I grew up in a rural area and spent a lot of time outdoors. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree during the peak of the Great Recession, so it was hard to get a job. I decided to pursue a master’s degree studying wildfire and carbon cycling. In 2015, I got a job working for the U.S. Forest Service on Mount Hood. Then, I worked for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. I’ve always been interested in forest health treatments and restoration, and around here, that work is heavily focused on wildfire – basically, how we can use beneficial fire and forest management to reduce the risk of large catastrophic wildfires. I came to Sustainable Northwest to lead several wildfire projects and then ultimately became the director of our private forestlands team.
What do you like most about your position at Sustainable Northwest?
Working at the Forest Service and the state, it’s so much about particular districts or regions. At Sustainable Northwest, I get to work across the entire region and across different forest ecotypes, which is cool. Being a director now means I also get to learn about all of our forest programs and use my knowledge and experience to support a lot of different kinds of projects that are conserving or restoring forest health.
Passions outside of work: I love trail running, hiking with my dogs, and, in general, enjoying the outdoors with my wife and our two dogs. I also like snowboarding, surfing, and most activities on two wheels.
Something you think is overrated: Streaming and subscription services
Favorite thing to do on a day off: In the winter, snowboarding, but in general, it’s spending time with my family
Favorite place in the PNW: That’s a tough one. Oregon Coast.
Book recommendation: Sphere by Michael Crichton and most of the other Crichton novels
Cats or dogs? Do you have to ask?
