FS Gets New Appointee Names; Chief Moore Holds Off on All-Employees’ Meeting

Reporting from The Hotshot Wakeup.  Here’s a link to the whole piece. I encourage folks to subscribe to his Substack.

Michael Boren: Nominated for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment.

Kristin Sleeper: Will serve as Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment.

Tom Schultz: Will serve as Chief of Staff for Natural Resources and Environment.

 

Michael Boren founded a very successful business called Clearwater Analytics, was on the Board of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and was a volunteer firefighter for Sawtooth Valley Rural Fire Department.

Kristen Sleeper held roles as Professional Staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture. Kristin has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from Michigan State University, a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana.

Kristen Sleeper was also the senior advisor for Senator Tim Sheehy’s campaign in Montana.

Tom Shultz is a former United States Air Force Officer and was Vice President of Resources and Government Affairs at Idaho Forest Group. Tom also served as Director of the Idaho Department of Lands and held leadership roles in Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, managing the Trust Lands and Water Resources Divisions.

My thoughts… what’s with the Montana/Idaho thing? Last Admin Tracy Stone-Manning, BLM Director was from Montana.  Also I note that my favorite experiences for appointees. That is,  having worked at State DNRs, understanding both how to work with professional natural resource employees and the many possibilities for States and Feds to work together (or not).  I don’t know Tom, but would prefer he was further up on the list, strictly based on experience.

On the other hand, since I said that previously, people who have worked with politicals have told me that there are other important aspects to success as a political besides experience. I asked one very experienced person for a post on “what to do and what not to do” for politicals in NRE, but my convincing skills are subpar.

Chief Randy, to my way of thinking, has wisely decided to wait until these folks are in before making decisions about exactly how to implement EOs. Again, from The Hotshot Wakeup:

Here are Forest Service Chief Randy Moore’s comments on postponing the all-employees call:

As we work to implement Office of Personnel Management and USDA guidance for new executive orders, the Executive Leadership Team and I have decided to postpone tomorrow’s Chief’s all-employee call until USDA and the USDA Natural Resources and Environment leadership are in place, and we have more answers to your questions.

Thank you to those of you who submitted questions to me online. From them, I see that the administration transition is understandably what you are most curious about or, specifically, the details of executive orders.

We appreciate your patience as we find answers to your questions. We will receive further guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and USDA in the coming days and weeks. I will share our implementation plans based on the guidance we receive as it becomes available.

Thank you again for the tremendous effort you put into your work each and every day. I am proud of how we show up in our communities, carry out our mission and serve the people who depend on national forests and grasslands with great care and commitment. Please remain focused on our mission and the important services we provide.

To me, this makes sense. These folks will be calling the shots, and hopefully will give Randy and others the chance to make their best case for a reasonable approach.

2 thoughts on “FS Gets New Appointee Names; Chief Moore Holds Off on All-Employees’ Meeting”

  1. That DonOld Trump is appointing people who want to blow up DC, clearcut national forests and enrich themselves while on the public dole should come as no surprise to anyone. Kristin Sleeper’s Xitter feed reads like a manifesto to Earth hatred and the only scarier place than Idaho right now is eastern Oregon.

    Reply
  2. The Montana-Idaho thing is real. But I don’t know what drives it other than heritage and mystique. When I met with Gail Kimball in 2006 over a regressive policy Region One was experimenting with, she stated that this Region often leads the Forest Service. Indeed the next two Chiefs managed to insert the concerning, undemocratic policy into the new 2012 Planning Rule, enshrining the closure of over 2000 miles of trails to mountain biking and creating dozens of defacto wilderness areas.
    I don’t know where all these personnel changes are headed, but I’ve got my bowl of popcorn ready for the show.

    Reply

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