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Trust Land Management Division Administrator
Shawn Thomas
Shawn was born in Butte, Montana. His childhood was split between living there and in the Flathead Valley where his family relocated in the early 1980’s. He attended Columbia Falls High School and later the University of Montana where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry with an emphasis in Resource Management. Shawn’s passion for the outdoors led him to pursue a career in Forestry.
Shawn’s career in forestry started out with Plum Creek Timber Company in 1994 where he worked as a seasonal inventory and GIS intern in Columbia Falls, and later as a forestry aide with the Flathead Unit in Kalispell. In 1999 he went to work as a procurement forester for Thompson River Lumber in Thompson Falls. Shawn came to DNRC as the forest management supervisor of the Plains Unit in 2003, and in 2006 became the trust lands program manager at the Northwestern Land Office in Kalispell. In the fall of 2008, he was selected to be the Chief of DNRC’s Forest Management Bureau. In November of 2011, he accepted his current position as the Division Administrator for Trust Lands after Tom Schultz departed to become the Director of Idaho Department of Lands.
Shawn is married to Deana, his lovely wife of 20 years. They have one child, Danica, who is two years old and keeping both of them busy and proud. Shawn and Deana have spent much of the past two decades raising and showing American Paint Horses throughout the Northwestern US and Alberta. They also enjoy spending time with family, camping, travelling, hiking, skiing, and generally enjoying Montana.
