Chief Randy Moore expressed 'frustration' over the Trump administration's cuts
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore of California announced he will retire March 3, according to a letter addressed to employees that was sent Feb. 26. In the letter, which was posted on the Forest Service’s website, Moore expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s recent actions to fire thousands of Forest Service employees and transform an agency that manages 193 million acres of land nationwide, including 20 million acres in California.
The past several weeks have been “incredibly difficult,” Moore wrote, noting that federal decisions to transform the agency were “being made at a level above our organization” and that he has been learning about these changes at “the same time” as many employees.
“If you are feeling uncertainty, frustration, or loss, you are not alone,” Moore wrote in the letter. “These are real and valid emotions that I am feeling, too.”
Moore’s retirement comes at the end of a 45-year career in the agency.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that Moore’s replacement will be Tom Schultz, a former U.S. Air Force officer who was the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group.
Moore became chief of the Forest Service in 2021, where he led 40,000 employees across the agency. He was the first African American to hold the role. Prior to becoming chief, Moore was the Vallejo-based regional forester at the helm of the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses 18 national forests in California that add up to a fifth of the state’s land mass. Moore’s retirement comes at the end of a 45-year career in the agency.
In the past several weeks, the Forest Service has fired thousands of employees. Many news outlets — from Politico to Reuters — report that 3,400 jobs were cut.
On a local level, the firings are hollowing out ranger districts that were already short-staffed.
The extent of the fallout from those layoffs — and what the impact of those lost jobs means for mountain communities, outdoor recreation and fire-fighting — is yet to be fully known.
“You and the work you do are meaningful, “ Moore wrote in the letter addressed to employees. “and do not let anyone make you believe otherwise.
To read this complete article in the San Francisco Chronicle, CLICK HERE.
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Former lumber industry executive named as new Forest Service chief
The Forest Service said in a press release Thursday that Tom Schultz of Idaho will lead the agency, which manages the nation’s national forests. The Trump administration’s pick to lead the Forest Service was previously an executive at a lumber industry company.
According to the press release, Schultz was previously the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, which sells wood.
The Forest Service makes a range of forest management decisions, including those related to industry logging, energy production in national forests and wildfire mitigation.
“Working with our partners, we will actively manage national forests and grasslands, increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, and suppress wildfires with all available resources emphasizing safety and the importance of protecting resource values,” Schultz said in a written statement.
Schultz has also served as director of the Idaho Department of Lands and worked in Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
“Naming a corporate lobbyist to run the agency tasked with overseeing the last old growth left in the U.S. makes it clear that the Trump administration’s goal isn’t to preserve our national forests, but to sell them off to billionaires and corporate polluters,” Anna Medema, the group’s associate director of legislative and administrative advocacy for forests and public lands, said in a written statement.
The announcement comes one day after the Forest Service announced the departure of President Biden-era chief Randy Moore. Moore expressed “frustration” with recent staffing departures at the agency.
To read this article in The Hill, CLICK HERE
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore of California announced he will retire March 3, according to a letter addressed to employees that was sent Feb. 26. In the letter, which was posted on the Forest Service’s website, Moore expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s recent actions to fire thousands of Forest Service employees and transform an agency that manages 193 million acres of land nationwide, including 20 million acres in California.
The past several weeks have been “incredibly difficult,” Moore wrote, noting that federal decisions to transform the agency were “being made at a level above our organization” and that he has been learning about these changes at “the same time” as many employees.
“If you are feeling uncertainty, frustration, or loss, you are not alone,” Moore wrote in the letter. “These are real and valid emotions that I am feeling, too.”
Moore’s retirement comes at the end of a 45-year career in the agency.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that Moore’s replacement will be Tom Schultz, a former U.S. Air Force officer who was the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group.
Moore became chief of the Forest Service in 2021, where he led 40,000 employees across the agency. He was the first African American to hold the role. Prior to becoming chief, Moore was the Vallejo-based regional forester at the helm of the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses 18 national forests in California that add up to a fifth of the state’s land mass. Moore’s retirement comes at the end of a 45-year career in the agency.
In the past several weeks, the Forest Service has fired thousands of employees. Many news outlets — from Politico to Reuters — report that 3,400 jobs were cut.
On a local level, the firings are hollowing out ranger districts that were already short-staffed.
The extent of the fallout from those layoffs — and what the impact of those lost jobs means for mountain communities, outdoor recreation and fire-fighting — is yet to be fully known.
“You and the work you do are meaningful, “ Moore wrote in the letter addressed to employees. “and do not let anyone make you believe otherwise.
To read this complete article in the San Francisco Chronicle, CLICK HERE.
========================
Former lumber industry executive named as new Forest Service chief
The Forest Service said in a press release Thursday that Tom Schultz of Idaho will lead the agency, which manages the nation’s national forests. The Trump administration’s pick to lead the Forest Service was previously an executive at a lumber industry company.
According to the press release, Schultz was previously the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, which sells wood.
The Forest Service makes a range of forest management decisions, including those related to industry logging, energy production in national forests and wildfire mitigation.
“Working with our partners, we will actively manage national forests and grasslands, increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, and suppress wildfires with all available resources emphasizing safety and the importance of protecting resource values,” Schultz said in a written statement.
Schultz has also served as director of the Idaho Department of Lands and worked in Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
“Naming a corporate lobbyist to run the agency tasked with overseeing the last old growth left in the U.S. makes it clear that the Trump administration’s goal isn’t to preserve our national forests, but to sell them off to billionaires and corporate polluters,” Anna Medema, the group’s associate director of legislative and administrative advocacy for forests and public lands, said in a written statement.
The announcement comes one day after the Forest Service announced the departure of President Biden-era chief Randy Moore. Moore expressed “frustration” with recent staffing departures at the agency.
To read this article in The Hill, CLICK HERE
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