New USFS Chief

[Red_Chili]

USDA ANNOUNCES ABIGAIL KIMBELL AS THE 16TH CHIEF OF THE FOREST SERVICE

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth Announces his Retirement


WASHINGTON, January 12, 2007 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the selection of Abigail Kimbell as the 16th chief of the Forest Service. Kimbell succeeds Chief Dale Bosworth, who is retiring on Feb. 2 after 41 years with the Forest Service.
"Abigail Kimbell is a veteran of the Forest Service who began as a seasonal worker and has since filled an impressive series of field assignments," said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "Gail brings a wealth of knowledge to her new position. She is well respected both within the agency and by our stakeholders. I'm confident she will do a terrific job as chief."
"I am grateful to Dale Bosworth for his 41 years of public service and especially for the tremendous leadership he provided during his six years as chief," Johanns continued. "I am struck by all that the Forest Service accomplished under his watch, from advancing the Healthy Forest Initiative to a four-fold increase in fuels treatment work. He also bolstered the agency's financial system, making it a source of pride government wide. I wish Dale all the best in retirement."
Kimbell currently serves as Regional Forester for the Northern Region in Missoula, Montana, which includes northern Idaho, and North Dakota. As Forest Service Chief, Kimbell will oversee an organization of over 30,000 employees and a budget of just over $4 billion. Before becoming regional forester, Kimbell served in the Washington Office as Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, with responsibility for assisting in the development of the Healthy Forest Restoration
_________________________________________________
Anyone know anything about the new USFS Chief?

 

[MDH33]

Yeah, she's in the back pocket of the big logging companies. Remember the "healthy forests initiative" ??

"Tuh stop furest fars, yuh got to re-moov the fyool."

Yes, if you clear-cut the forest, it certainly won't burn.

I'm not a tree-hugger, but I do like to recreate on public land that has trees. She's also a proponent of closing public campgrounds to lower the forest service budget.

 

[Red_Chili]

...He also bolstered the agency's financial system, making it a source of pride government wide.

Apparently she is also a politician. Or at least has a warped sense of pride... The USFS can't get ANYTHING funded.

In all fairness, the fuels treatment I've seen in the BRD and other places is very appropriate, a long way from clearcutting. I remember the James Watt days... and bald mountains!

 

[MDH33]

In all fairness, the fuels treatment I've seen in the BRD and other places is very appropriate, a long way from clearcutting. I remember the James Watt days... and bald mountains!

Yeah, the main difference now is that they leave a barrier of trees along roads to block your view of the cuts. Out of sight out of mind. It doesn't seem as prevelant here in Colorado where most everything is second and third growth compared to the Northern and PNW forests where there are still big trees and lots of logging activity. (at least until they start cutting the beetle killed trees here).

Funding for our public lands and parks is really suffering right now, but lets throw another couple billion at this war... oops!

rant off.

 

[Red_Chili]

Funding for our public lands and parks is really suffering right now, but lets throw another couple billion at this war... oops!

But she said the USFS budget was the pride of the gov't!

 

[Bobzooki]

But she said the USFS budget was the pride of the gov't!

What does that mean, in relation to defecit spending?

 

[nakman]

Funding for our public lands and parks is really suffering right now, but lets throw another couple billion at this war...

That's a couple billion PER DAY, mind you...

 

[MDH33]

That's a couple billion PER DAY, mind you...

Close. Just over 200Million per Day, with a running total of about $360 Billion taxpayer dollars, so far...

 

[nakman]

Ok now I'm depressed.

Back to the other off-topic topic, have you guys seen all the beetle kill up near Lake Grandby/Grand Lake? It's a sea of red in a lot of places, wow...

 

[treerootCO]

I know it burns well I turned off the heater and have been burning the beetle kill. I am just about out.

Ok now I'm depressed.

Back to the other off-topic topic, have you guys seen all the beetle kill up near Lake Grandby/Grand Lake? It's a sea of red in a lot of places, wow...

 

[SteveH]

The dead trees in Summit county are incredible - 80+% of lodgepoles at lower elevations in the area I hunted are dead. I predict there'll be a huge fire there in the next year or two. Only when you exceed 10,000' elevation, did I see the dead tree level drop to maybe 20%. This is the legacy of a failed forest policy. Now you have blowdowns, dead fuel, and no plan to harvest any of it. And the beetles are headed south each year - toward my heavily treed area.

I've seen tree cutting near Silverton that I considered ideal - 200' wide strips of cut trees interspersed with uncut areas of the same width. And all the cut tree areas had 6' trees replanted by the cutting agency. There was no erosion, and it wasn't unslightly at a distance or up close.

I have not seen true clearcutting (of the kind that leads to serious erosion) in Colorado - if someone can show me pictures or evidence of that, I'd like to see it.

Steve

 

[Rzeppa]

The bummer about the beetles is that this cold snap reportedly isn't enough to kill them. I read recently that we need several days or even a week or two at -20 to -30°F. I had originally read last summer that all we needed was single digits, but now they are saying it needs to be colder. As if it weren't cold enough already...

Steve, what do you have on your property? Supposedly they mainly go after lodgepoles.

 

[Seldom Seen]

Mox-nix as long as Under Sec. Rey is the one who is still in charge. One would think that Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist, would at least know a tree from his A.H. (that would be Arabian Horse )

At least Pombo is history .

 

[SteveH]

I have ponderosa and a handful of spruce (Which suffer different beetles). Given that the Ips and Mountain Pine Beetle are already in our area (to some extent), I fear these beetles won't be too choosy. As you know, many folks are too terrified or lazy to cut down a single tree, so there are 5 acre lots infested with thousands of pine trees, 12" from each other. This is what the beetles really like to chew on. Add some drought stress, and your lot can be alive with beetles.

Steve

 

[Bruce Miller]

Doesn't sound like you are fond of Richard Pombo?

 

[MDH33]

Doesn't sound like you are fond of Richard Pombo?

I'm fond of the voters that gave him the boot.

 

[Bruce Miller]

The way I see it, Richard Pombo is a rancher and a champion of landowners, private property rights and the Fifth amendment to our Constitution, a supporter of multiple use recreation on public and private lands, and a big proponent of the repeal of the Endangered Species Act, the most anti private property legislation ever passed by Congress. Pombo was endorsed by The Blueribbon Coalition but even with support from organizations like the BRC, he could not overcome the power and money of the green extremists of The Sierra Club in his recent bid for reelection. His losing the election is a loss for everyone who enjoys recreating on our public lands, like 4X4 enthusiasts in the Rising Sun Club. Rack up one for the greenies.

 

[MDH33]

Richard Pombo was one of, if not the most corrupt politicians of our time. This has nothing to do with "the power and money of green extremists". Pombo was beholden to oil and gas, mining, and commercial development, he had the power and money on his side. His policies had nothing to do with protecting our rights to recreate or our individual property rights, but the spin would have you believe otherwise. He even tried to pass legislation that would have sold a large percentage of our National Parks and Forests directly to the companies he was "owned by".

Good riddance.

rant off...again...

 

[Bruce Miller]

The Rising Sun Club supports the Blueribbon Coalition. The Blueribbon Coalition supported Pombo and urged its members to support Pombo. Therefore, you supported Pombo, right?

 

[Seldom Seen]

As a 501(c)(3) organization, The BlueRibbon Coalition has enacted the following policy:
BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc. does not endorse or oppose any political candidates, donate or contribute to any political candidate's campaign, participate or engage in political fundraising events, distribute statements for or against particular political candidates, nor engage in any other activity that may constitute favoring or opposing a political candidate.

http://www.sharetrails.org/