Weed and pest supervisor brings life, work experience to Saratoga

Carbon County Weed and Pest has had a new assistant supervisor for Saratoga since the end of September, Eric Trumbull.

Trumbull, 23, worked at the Grand Teton National Park for four summers while attending college in Chadron, Neb. He graduated last December with a ranch-land management degree with a livestock option.

"While I was out there in Jackson, I met some people and my former boss there at Jackson is the head supervisor for Carbon County," Trumbull said of his newest position. Before taking the spot in Saratoga, Trumbull was a soil conservation tech in Kansas for the National Resources Conservation Service.

Trumbull has taken over hay certification and the job of leading three crews in the Saratoga area–a mapping crew, a leaf and spurge crew and a forest service crew.

Originally from central Nebraska, Trumbull grew up in a ranching family. Their land covered 900 acres and he tended to about 100 cow-calf pairs with his father.

Trumbull said the best part of his position is meeting landowners and helping them return to their native grasses in the face of invasive weeds, and hopes to keep the weeds well under control while working in the department.

Trumbull loves Saratoga so far. "It's just what I've been told by friends and family. I haven't been able to do much yet but hopefully I'll be able to do a lot more come next year when I become a resident," Trumbull said, adding that he's looking forward to hunting, trapping and snowmachining when the time is right.

Trumbull started at the beginning of Wyoming winter, which has meant that he has spent most of his time "mapping and killing time" since arriving in Saratoga, Trumbull said. He is looking forward to the start of their active season, which he said usually begins in May, weather depending.