Bill Hahnenberg

Bill Hahnenberg retired in January of 2021 after 47 years of federal service. He concluded his career as Deputy Director for Fire and Aviation Management for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.

For five years he served as an incident commander for a US Forest Service National Incident Management Organization. For nine years he was the fire management officer for the Upper Colorado Fire Management Unit in Grand Junction, Colorado. He turned to fire management full time after 23 years as a District Ranger on the White River and Mark Twain National Forests. During his career he served as an incident commander for more than fifty complex fires.

Currently, Hahnenberg is part of a cadre to present incident command classes. After decades of working to protect communities, he has become an advocate of the Cohesive Strategy and serves on the Board of Directors for an active professional support organization, “Fire Adapted Colorado.”

From 2021 to 2024 Hahnenberg served as a deputy incident commander for a Rocky Mountain Incident Management Teams. Since September of 2024 on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Hahnenberg has supported a group of researchers studying wildland fire management practices. In this work he has functioned as a “practitioner” advising and supporting ongoing research activities.

Hahnenberg is thankful for an interesting and challenging career. He graduated with a bachelors's degree from Michigan State University with majors in forestry and soil science. He enjoys living in Grand Junction and relaxing outdoors with his wife Liz.