Forest Service photo by Christopher Leeser Retired Forest Protection Officer Joe Langianese was recently awarded a national U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations Director’s Impact Award.

An officer who served for 40 years on the Allegheny National Forest was recognized with a national U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations Director’s Impact Award.

Joseph Langianese joined the Bradford Ranger District in 1982 and retired from the Marienville Ranger District in 2021 as a recreation manager.

Throughout that time, Langianese was a Forest Protection Officer.

He was recognized for “his decades of dedicated service as a collateral duty Forest Protection Officer and eight years of service as a Forest Service Reserve Law Enforcement Officer – 40 years of service conserving the resources of and protecting the people visiting national forests,” according to a release.

“This award is a welcome surprise,” Langianese said. “It is an honor to be recognized for what to me was just doing my job.”

Langianese was nominated for the award by Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Jason Haberberger. “Langianese served as a mentor to both law enforcement officers, forest protection officers, and other forest employees,” Haberberger said. “He has consistently displayed a willingness to go beyond the call of duty to care for the land and serve the people.”

“This award is a well-deserved and fitting tribute to Langianese’s lifelong commitment to educating the public, helping them to become better stewards by encouraging them to be more accountable for their actions, and protecting the resources of the Allegheny National Forest,” Marienville District Ranger Rob Fallon said. “Our Forest Protection Officers serve the role of part-time deputies for our Law Enforcement Officers. They take on this role in addition to their normal duties, as foresters, wildlife biologists, technicians, and other specialties. To be successful, they must be passionate about protecting the forest resources and interacting with the public, they must be willing to be an ambassador for the Forest while also being willing to confront members of the public who are breaking the laws that govern the use of the Forest, they must be respectful and able to demonstrate consistent, calm, and sound judgment in every encounter.”

“Langianese has proven exemplary in every instance and conducted himself with the utmost professionalism and concern for the safety of the public visiting the Allegheny National Forest,” Fallon said.

A ceremony was held at the Supervisor’s Office in North Warren, with staff gathered to witness Langianese accept the award. The event was a national one in which he was one of 10 recipients from across the nation. Also present at the gathering were local retirees Kurt Bowley, who was the 2014 Forest Protection Officer of the Year, and Herb Clevenger, who was 2007 Forest Protection Officer of the Year.