After a year and a half without a permanent leader for Cook County’s Forest Preserves, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has nominated a new head for the district.

On Wednesday, she named Adam Bianchi as her pick to become the district’s new superintendent. Her choice will face a vote from the Forest Preserves Board — which has the same members as the Cook County Board — next week.

If approved, Bianchi would fill the shoes left by longtime Forest Preserves Superintendent Arnold Randall, who had run the district for 13 years and left to lead the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

Bianchi comes from Colorado, where he served as district ranger for the White River National Forest’s Dillon Ranger District, an hour west of Denver. There, he managed 312,000 acres of trails, wilderness areas, two major reservoirs, 14 campgrounds and four ski resorts, including Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin, according to a county release.

Cook County’s Forest Preserves — one of the country’s oldest and biggest forest preserve districts — include 70,000 acres of campgrounds, trails, boating centers, picnic groves and golf courses.

“This marks an exciting opportunity in my career dedicated to conserving forests, wildlife habitats and wetlands, while expanding access and welcoming more people to connect with their incredible public lands,” Bianchi said in the release.

He has worked for the USDA’s Forest Service for his entire career, according to his LinkedIn.

This would be his first time working in the Midwest since 2016, when he was a district silviculturist for the Ottawa National Forest in Kenton, Michigan, helping control and manage the forest’s growth.

“Over the last 15 years, the Forest Preserves has transformed as an institution, becoming a leader in ecological restoration in a highly developed landscape, in connecting a diverse population to the wonders of nature, and in operations and transparency,” Preckwinkle said in the same release. “Adam Bianchi’s experience, energy and perspective are an outstanding fit as General Superintendent for the next chapter of the Preserves.”

Asked at an unrelated news conference why it took so long to fill Randall’s vacancy, Preckwinkle said the county’s search priority was replacing Israel Rocha, who exited the county’s health and hospitals system around the same time as Randall. After a year, the county chose Dr. Erik Mikaitis — who had already been serving as interim CEO — to fill Rocha’s role.

If confirmed, Bianchi would inherit a healthier budget than his predecessors, thanks to a voter-authorized property tax hike that’s allowed the district to spend more on conservation efforts, buying new land, maintaining the Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden, and paying down pension debts.