Kevin Larkin, Kevin Stock chosen to fill 2 key leadership roles on Deschutes National Forest

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Deschutes National Forest Supervisor Holly Jewkes has tapped two local candidates for key leadership positions on the forest.

Kevin Larkin, Bend-Fort Rock District Ranger since 2012, is the new Deputy Forest Supervisor for the Deschutes National Forest and Kevin Stock, currently the Central Oregon Fire Management Service Fire and Aviation Staff Officer, will take a four-month assignment to become the Acting Bend-Fort Rock District Ranger.

Prior to his position as Bend-Fort Rock District Ranger, Larkin previously spent five years on the Kaibab National Forest in Northern Arizona and four years on the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and Maine. Before working for the Forest Service, Larkin taught recreation management and social science in the Department of Forestry at Virginia Tech.

Larkin spends his free time hiking and skate skiing on the Forest and takes over as Deputy Forest Supervisor following Shanda Dekome’s promotion to Director of Natural Resources in the Intermountain Region of the US Forest Service in Utah earlier this year.

Kevin Stock started his career in wildland firefighting after being inspired to serve following the Awbrey Hall Fire in Bend that burned 22 homes in 1990. Stock worked as a seasonal firefighter on the Lolo National Forest in Montana and later the Mt. Hood National Forest before settling in to Central Oregon in 1995 and working his way up the ranks from Engine Captain to the Fire and Aviation Staff Officer in 2021.

Stock has an Associates of Applied Science degree in Forest Resources from Mt. Hood Community College and a Professional Certificate in Biological Science from University of Nevada at Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children recreating on the public lands he protects and loves.

“I’m excited to welcome Kevin Larkin into our executive leadership team on the Deschutes National Forest and know that Kevin Stock will provide a high level of complex management experience on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District while we work to permanently fill that position,” said Jewkes. “Both individuals bring so much knowledge and experience to these positions, and I look forward to their continued service to the National Forest and Central Oregon communities.”