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Retiring USFS chief Dale Bosworth makes way for Gail Kimbell
BY DAN BERMAN, LAND LETTER, 01/18/07
Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth announced his retirement Jan. 12 after nearly six years at the position. He will be replaced by the Northern Region forester, Abigail Kimbell.
Kimbell, who has overseen lands in Montana, North Dakota and parts of Idaho and South Dakota since December 2003, will be the first woman in command of the agency that oversees more than 190 million acres with a $4.1 billion budget. Her appointment will not require Senate confirmation.
At an Agriculture Department ceremony, Bosworth reiterated his concerns about the "four threats" to forest lands that he has made a theme of his management of the agency, but he also advised foresters to be ready to adapt to global warming. "The biggest challenge will be the effect of climate change on the natural resources in our care," he said.
"There's a strong amount of evidence the fire season is longer now," Bosworth told reporters after the ceremony. "They're longer than when I joined the Forest Service." Some of the infestations of invasive species and insects the Forest Service has been coping with may be due to global warming as well, he added.
Foresters should keep climate change in mind as they develop forest plans, the outgoing chief said. "Are the plans we have in place going to be useful for a warming climate," Bosworth asked, advising that planners consider temperature changes when looking at types of trees to plant.
Bosworth, whose last day in office will be Feb. 2, plans to retire to Montana.
Previously associate deputy chief to Bosworth, Kimbell has also served as supervisor of Colorado's Pike and San Isabel national forests and the Comanche National Grasslands in Colorado, the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. She holds a master's degree in forest engineering from Oregon State University and a bachelor's in forest management from the University of Vermont.
"I know that Gail is absolutely fearless in her convictions regarding conservation," Bosworth said. "As I go out the door it really helps me to know the outfit's in good hands."
Despite the often-combative nature of national forest policy and planning, Kimbell said she hopes to encourage cooperation and discussion, in her belief that Forest Service employees and the public are tired of conflict and litigation. "The arguments have matured to the point where people want to get together and reach solutions," she said.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who appointed Kimbell, said, "She will do a terrific job as chief."
In a statement, Johanns added: "Gail brings a wealth of knowledge to her new position. She is well respected both within the agency and by our stakeholders."
Kimbell will officially take over Feb. 5, when the Bush administration rolls out its fiscal 2008 budget proposal.
Bosworth's legacy
The retirement announcement caps a 41-year career in the Forest Service for Bosworth, who like Kimbell, was previously regional forester for the Northern Region. Bosworth has been instrumental in implementing President Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative, developing the new forest planning rule and promoting state petitions as a method to settle ongoing controversies over roadless areas on national forests.
Bosworth attempted to draw attention to problems facing the forests by naming his "four threats" -- fire and fuels, invasive species, loss of open space and unmanaged recreation. The Forest Service has also achieved clean audits from the Government Accountability Office in recent years, he noted.
He has also defended Bush administration efforts to streamline the planning process for forest plans and hazardous fuels reduction projects, often via the use of "categorical exclusions" to the National Environmental Policy Act. Despite criticism from environmental groups of such actions, Bosworth has maintained the rules help ensure greater public participation throughout the planning process.
Although the ongoing roadless litigation potentially places any state petition in limbo, Bosworth believes the process is worthwhile. "If we can get some level of consensus dealing with roadless in any state and we can get it in a way that works for people it will be useful," Bosworth said during an interview last November. "It will be worth the effort" (Land Letter, Nov. 30, 2006).
The Clinton administration's roadless rule set aside 58.5 million acres of national forest aside as roadless, prohibiting future logging and energy development. The Bush administration repealed the rule, but a federal judge in September 2006 reinstated it for the lower 48 states. USDA is now accepting petitions from governors who wish to revise the roadless plan in their states under existing law, and Kimbell told reporters she would continue that process.
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