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Pat O'Leary

Pat O'Leary

Originally from Wisconsin, Pat O'Leary came to Alaska in 1990 to work as a recreation planner for the U.S. Forest Service in the Seward Ranger District of Chugach National Forest based in Seward, Alaska. Pat studied natural resource management in college, and had previously worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Minnesota and Idaho as a wildlands firefighter and a forestry technician. As the recreation planner in Seward, Pat was in charge of trails, so he became responsible for overseeing the southern portion of the Iditarod National Historic Trail on U.S. Forest Service lands in the area. In this position, Pat worked closely with the Seward Trail Blazers group to identify, re-route and re-build portions of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, obtain trail easements across state lands, and ensure safe trail conditions and access. Pat retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2012, but remains a strong trail advocate in Seward, has served on the board of directors of the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, and continues to enjoy spending time outdoors and recreating on the trails.
Pat O'Leary appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Pat O'Leary, Part 1

Pat O’Leary was interviewed on July 2, 2024 by Karen Brewster via Zoom with Pat in his home in Seward, Alaska and Karen in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this first part of a two-part interview, Pat talks about working as a recreation planner for the Seward Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest starting in 1990, which got him involved with the southern portion of the Iditarod National Historic Trail that goes through the Chugach National Forest. He also talks about pushing for trail recognition within the U.S. Forest Service, trail identification, mapping, trail construction and management, coordinating with community groups, obtaining funding for projects, and efforts to protect land with easements and rights of ways.

Due to a poor Internet connection in Seward this interview had to be cut short and was started again on the following day when the Internet connection was more stable. Part Two of this interview was conducted on July 3, 2024 and was recorded as a separate session (ORAL HISTORY 2021-04-13_PT.2), even though it is a continuation of the same interview.

Because this interview was conducted between two computers over the Internet using the Zoom program, there are places where the audio is not of the best quality and it may be difficult to hear what Pat says. We did the best we could given the circumstances and technological limitations.

 

 2021-04-13_PT.1 Iditarod National Historic Trail Jul 2, 2024
Pat O'Leary, Part 2

This is the continuation of an interview with Pat O’Leary who was interviewed on July 3, 2024 by Karen Brewster via Zoom with Pat in his home in Seward, Alaska and Karen in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this second part of a two-part interview, Pat talks about his work as a trail and recreation planner with the Chugach National Forest, which included trail identification, construction and management, collaborating with the Seward Trail Blazers group, obtaining grant funding for trail work, providing trail access, and obtaining rights of ways. He also talks about collaborating with other federal and state agencies, resolving conflicts over trail use, and coordinating with the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance.

Due to a poor Internet connection in Seward the original interview on July 2, 2024 (ORAL HISTORY 2021-04-13_PT.1) had to be cut short and was started again on July 3, 2024 when the Internet connection was more stable. Part Two of this interview was recorded as a separate session, even though it is a continuation of the same interview from Part 1.

 

 2021-04-13_PT.2 Iditarod National Historic Trail Jul 3, 2024