Mike Schlafmann

Michael Schlafmann serves as the Public Services Staff Officer on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, host to over 4 million people a year engaged in outdoor activities across 1.7 million acres of public land, stretched between Tacoma, WA and Vancouver, BC, and less than an hour from 5 million people. Mike oversees wilderness, recreation, outfitting and guiding programs on the Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie with a deep passion for engaging people directly in the management of open space and wild lands.

A graduate of Yale University, Mike’s 24 year Forest Service career has afforded him the opportunity to ski, climb and kayak across the west and even get paid for it! Mike has worked as an Archeologist, Recreation Planner, Winter Sports Specialist, and District Ranger across the west facilitating community-based and led public land recreation planning, figuring out how to turn over of construction and management of Forest Service Trails and facilities to municipalities and NGOs; developing sustainable regional public transit links to public land; and working with local, state and federal agencies in ongoing cross-jurisdiction planning and for sustainable outdoor recreation.

Moving to the Puget Sound region provided Mike with an opportunity to upscale his work in an urban context. He is currently working with NGO partners and local governments on expanding transit opportunities and connections between urban Seattle and adjacent state and federal lands; working with a cadre of a dozen partner organizations on directly engaging the public in setting priorities for future road maintenance and access management across 2300 miles of roads. Mike is a key team member in the Forest Service’s efforts to define a regional framework for sustainable recreation across the Pacific Northwest. Recently, Mike’s team on the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie was asked to form a national pilot for new approaches to engaging the public in managing resource and social capacity on the National Forests while streamlining the permit process for outfitter and guides and youth oriented organizations. He currently resides a block from Puget Sound in Mukilteo, WA.

Mike will speak at the panel ‘Public Lands and Sustainable Recreation: A Collaborative Future‘ on Friday, October 14 at 3:30 PM as part of the SHIFT Summit.

Tickets for the 2016 SHIFT Festival can be found here.