Forest Service: Culture, History, Morale, Organization, Future

Undersecretary Nominee Hubbard Promises that Fighting Sexual Harassment Will Be First Priority

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From E&E News here:

President Trump’s choice for undersecretary of Agriculture overseeing the Forest Service promised yesterday to make fighting sexual harassment his first priority if confirmed.

“It’d be my first briefing,” James Hubbard told the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee at his confirmation hearing.

As undersecretary for natural resources and environment, Hubbard’s primary responsibility would be over the Forest Service, where a history of sexual harassment and misconduct has unfolded in recent months.

Hubbard faced questions about the issue from Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, as well as other lawmakers.

Stabenow said USDA has told the committee that 183 reports of sexual harassment were made at the Forest Service nationally in the past two years, and that officials confirmed 77 of them.

“These are high numbers for an agency,” said Stabenow, who added that she wants to be sure employees who report incidents don’t face retaliation.

Hubbard said he would quickly call officials together for an update on the Forest Service’s progress on the issue, and would protect people who make complaints.

“This idea of ‘it’s safe to come forward’ is essential,” Hubbard said.

The Forest Service’s troubles came to light last year amid news reports and intensified with the resignation of Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke in March (E&E Daily, March 8).

Interim Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen has said she’s implementing several measures, including a toll-free telephone number for employees to call with reports, which generates a response within 24 hours. The agency has also instituted anti-harassment training for permanent and seasonal staff, she said at a hearing in June (E&E Daily, June 6).

Hubbard’s nomination has won praise from forest industry groups and the National Association of State Foresters, of which he was president in 1990.

Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) has said he wants to move as quickly as possible on nominations, although the political environment on the Senate floor threatens to slow them once they clear the committee.

Hubbard, a former state forester in Colorado, also told lawmakers he endorses “active” management of forests that would speed tree-thinning projects aimed at reducing wildfire risks. That work, he said, should be done in cooperation with state forestry officials.

Congress has pressed the Forest Service to increase those efforts, including through the omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2018.

As undersecretary, Hubbard said, he would consult with regional foresters and state officials — then move forward on those programs — knowing the Forest Service can’t treat all the millions of acres it deems in need of attention.

“If we can’t cover everything, what’s most important?” he said he would ask regional foresters.

And he said he agrees with complaints by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) that the three or four years the agency sometimes takes on environmental reviews is too long.

“I don’t consider those timelines acceptable,” Hubbard said.

FS vs. BLM Workload..One Worker’s Point of View

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As I’ve been reviewing the EADM workshop summaries, I’ve noticed that one commonality of most of the regional workshops is what you might call “team management”. Things like people leaving, balls being dropped, lengthy efforts that change direction with new additions to the team, even retirements, pose a problem to getting projects accomplished. Yesterday a comment came in on the BLM comparison to FS topic from “Circus Employee”. Here’s a link to her/his comment. Looking even deeper, I wonder if some of these team and management problems are from too high and too many targets, or from activities that draw FS employees away from their work somehow. Both agencies must deal with the hassles endemic to federal land management bureaucracy. It might be helpful to get a team of folks who’ve worked in both agencies to give some recommendations as part of the EADM effort (how can NEPA teams be managed better?). Also perhaps some position classification reviews and workflow analyses comparing the agencies. Perhaps fund some public administration schools to take a look? Perhaps problems with the management of EADM are reflective of overall difficulties in management.

These workload comparisons probably depend, to some extent, on the particulars of location (if a unit doesn’t have timber, or minerals, or has a big recreation program), but but it might be possible and worth it to compare workloads and work processes with similar conditions-perhaps neighboring units. Anyway, here’s one person’s point of view..

“I just switched from the BLM to the Forest Circus, Department of Aggravation. I took a lateral position, GS-0486-11, and I assure you 100% that my job with the FS circus is like doing 5 jobs with the BLM. While working for the BLM I was “a” wildlife biologist (terrestrial). With the FS as a wildlife biologist I also do the duties for a fish biologist, botanist, and a weeds specialist, and in addition, I am also a supervisor, which I did not supervise anyone with BLM. My supervisor, a GS-12 at BLM, supervised ALL the technicians and specialists and did not do NEPA. My current job duties with the FS would be equivalent to a GS-12 with the BLM, at a minimum.

I have to write many more BA/BEs and NEPA for all four of those resources for the FS. While working in an interagency (BLM/FS) office, I learned it is a well known fact that the BLM is much better, with reasonable workloads per person. I just didn’t realize how much of a difference it is. My boss at the BLM came from the FS, and she loves the BLM much more than the FS. She’s a GS-12 and I currently have more duties than she does!
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Everything in the FS is way more complicated; budgeting, timekeeping, FACTS, WIT, NRM, the O drive troubles, and now Pinyon, on and on! Literally, I can’t be efficient at any one thing because I have to shift gears daily and re-learn it all because it’s so complicated.

Comparing the two agencies by acres is not a good formula, at all. I managed 10 times more acres for BLM than I do with FS, and my job with BLM was way easier to do quality work and to keep up.

Another thing, BLM HR is far better structured than FS HR!
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Bottom line, the BLM treats their employees better because they can, they are funded better, and probably hire better supervisors too because of that. Good people don’t want to stay with the FS when they know things are better elsewhere, like the BLM or BOR where they pay better for the duties performed.

Public Service Recognition Week- Thanking FS Employees For Their Service!

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Memorial Grove Ceremony, Monument, CO, May 5, 2018

This is Public Service Recognition Week.
Saturday I attended the Memorial Grove Ceremony, put on each year to honor Forest Service employees from the Rocky Mountain Region who have died in the last year. It’s a time and place to see new employees with tattoos and piercings doing some of the same kind of work as the oldest honoree had done when he joined the Forest Service in 1906. Over a hundred years of people history.

Tom Thompson, is a major mensch, both while working, and now, as he carries on honoring the soul of the Forest Service. He’s a major mover behind the Museum of Forest Service History, NAFSR, and so many other activities that I can’t enumerate them. One of the many things he does is to conduct all the research and contact the families each year for the Memorial Grove ceremony. He’s also a gifted writer and speaker. Saturday he said “it’s not the process or the policy that makes the Forest Service, it’s the people.”

Hearing the members of the families talk about their loved ones, it struck me how different their jobs had been, e.g. heavy equipment operator, receptionist, archaeologist, NEPA expert and so on. Through their stories, it also struck me that many of the administrative positions were appreciated as opportunities for steady and decent incomes for women at the time, even the adventure of working on fires, in a time in which women were not encouraged to get away from home for adventure. How much we all have changed since 1906! And yet there is something binding us beyond a paycheck..

People nowadays make fun of the “Forest Service family” idea, when people all lived together on districts, helped each other out, raised their kids together and so on. Perhaps that part of culture has run its course. But there is still a significant connection among people in the Forest Service. Call it a tribe, call it a community or whatever. Sometimes you can’t really feel it until you are not in it, when you leave or retire.

I remember a dear and wonderful colleague, with whom I had worked closely for seven years, whose last work act with me, at the behest of our mutual superior, was to give me a poor performance rating and try to remove me from my job. He has since gone on to the Big District in the Sky, but my memories of him are never of those bureaucratic machinations, but rather of everyday days working together, learning, laughing and having a beer and telling stories. As I reflect on this, those moments were absolutely what was real. The bureaucratic drama, even though it felt personal at the time (how could it not?).. was only a blip on the screen of our souls’ journeys.

For those of you working in the FS today, I hope you can take a day to appreciate your colleagues and your daily experiences in this moment. Even to the folks who aren’t big on mushiness, for once a year to say “hey, I appreciate this about you,” can’t be too bad.

And for those of you not working for the FS at this moment, we can freely tell any of those folks we’ve dealt with “hey, thanks for serving, I appreciate this about you.” And even if you don’t know them personally, you can write a note to the District that has your favorite campground, or your favorite FOIA folks, and just say thank you.

Finally, one thing that came through loud and clear from the families at the Memorial Grove Ceremony was that their family members “loved the Forest Service.” It’s easy for me to say, as a retiree with some of the fun and none of the bureaucracy, that I did and I do. For those of you currently working, today might be a good day to honor that feeling as well. In spite of …. and ….., I still love it, or not. Is that flame is sputtering, or strong, or out?

Jim Hubbard Nominated for Under Secretary for NRE

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Jim Hubbard

Secretary Perdue Applauds President Trump’s Selection for USDA’s Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment

(Washington, D.C., April 14, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today applauded President Donald J. Trump’s selection of James Hubbard to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. Following the announcement, Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:

“I am very excited by the selection of Jim Hubbard for this leadership role at USDA. Congress passed and President Trump signed into law meaningful reforms and forest management tools that will help us better maintain our national forests. Under Jim Hubbard’s leadership, we will put these tools to use, restore our forests to health, and get them back to work for the taxpayers. Jim’s service with the Forest Service and the Department of Interior makes him exceptionally qualified for this post, and I am eager to have Jim join the team.

For those of you who don’t know him, here are a couple of incomplete bios I rounded up. Note that like previous Undersecretary Harris Sherman, and former Interior Secretary Salazar. Jim spent a great deal of his career in Colorado as State Forester. Of course, he is best known for his fire background.

From NASF here:

James (“Jim”) Hubbard worked for the Colorado Forest Service for 35 years, serving as State Forester for the final 20 of those years (1984-2004). During his two decades as State Forester, Jim served on every NASF Committee, most notably as Chair of the Legislative Committee for 10 years.

In 2004, Hubbard accepted a position as Director of the Office of Wildland Fire Coordination for the United States Department of the Interior. In January 2006, Mr. Hubbard was appointed Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry at the USDA Forest Service (USFS). During his time with the agency, Hubbard guided the agency through years of catastrophic wildfire incidents and worked closely with State Foresters to promote a comprehensive, landscape-scale approach to forest management. In 2011, he was the recipient of the NASF Lifetime Achievement Award.

And..one from CWSF here.

Here’s an interview with him in 2017 in Treesource on managing fire on landscapes:

“Hopefully, there are times when we can manage the fire in a way that it can do the right kind of work for us,” Hubbard said.

“We are not going to solve this anytime soon,” he said. “We need to find a way forward that represents progress. We are not going to get any sudden infusion of money. We are just going to have to work through this together, because it’s going to be a long time before we get to where we need to be.”

All are welcome to post links to more comprehensive bios. This may be the first time the Undersecretary and Chief have been from State and Private with backgrounds in fire (assuming Hubbard is confirmed). The many challenges of living with fire are front and center right now. To whatever extent sexual harassment is found disproportionately in fire culture, that is also important to fix ASAP. Personally, I like the idea that people who are experienced with the complexity of fire and fire organizations, as well as working with States and other partners, are leading the charge right now.

Secretary Perdue’s Email re: Interim Chief Christiansen

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Here’s the note from Secretary Purdue:

Dear Forest Service Family:

I want you to know that I understand that it has been a difficult week in the Forest Service. While challenges remain in fostering a workplace that is rewarding, responsive, and respectful, the Forest Service has taken concrete steps to improve the working environment for all employees. In fact, the Office of Inspector General is issuing a report on those issues later today, which will confirm progress with new processes to combat sexual harassment and protect victims from retaliation. The report will also highlight ongoing concerns and make constructive recommendations on what can be done better. At the same time, the Forest Service must focus on the mission of promoting and maintaining healthy and productive forests for the taxpayers and future generations.

To help achieve these goals, today I have appointed Vicki Christiansen as Interim Chief of the Forest Service. Vicki has been serving as Deputy Chief of State and Private Forestry in the agency and brings with her the experience of a long career in forestry, natural resources, and fire leadership positions. She takes on her new role during a time of challenges and new opportunities at the Forest Service, and I trust everyone will make her feel welcome.

As you know, our policy priorities for the Forest Service include returning forests to health and productivity, finally fixing the problem of fire funding, and making sure that Good Neighbor Authority is more than just a slogan. With seven years at the Forest Service and 30 with the states of Arizona and Washington, Vicki knows what is needed to restore our forests and put them back to work for the taxpayers. As a former wildland firefighter and fire manager, she knows first-hand that failure to properly maintain forests leads to longer and more severe fire seasons. And as a former State Forester, she knows the benefits of Good Neighbor Authority and how best to partner with our state and local colleagues. Vicki’s professional experience will complement these efforts and help us achieve those objectives.

As we promote and maintain healthy, productive forests and preserve our natural resources, we will work to ensure a place where people can work with respect and dignity.

I am confident that the entire Forest Service family will rally behind Vicky Christiansen as Interim Chief as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Sonny Perdue

Secretary

Yup, IMHO choosing a woman as interim is a good symbolic stroke, as well as someone who understands the Fire Biz. FWIW I also think that choosing someone who came up through State and Private will add some thought diversity.

Wildfire Today on Sexual Harassment

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Bill Gabbert, of Wildfire Today, has a nice round-up of all the stories and news around this in this post.

He concludes:

Chief Tooke is, of course, innocent until proven guilty of the sexual misconduct allegations.

Our opinion:
This is a disgusting, demoralizing, distasteful, detestable scandal facing the agency where I spent 20 years. Looking at the sheer numbers, and knowing that allegations of sexual misconduct go all the way to the top, it is hard to fathom how anyone who has been mistreated can be optimistic that the harassment will stop, or that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

This HAS to be the Forest Service’s number one priority — clean up this wreckage that is festering within their workforce.

Would you recommend that your daughter, girlfriend, or spouse apply for a job with the U.S. Forest Service?

Of course, I would say absolutely apply for a job with the Forest Service! If you are in, say coop forestry, or research, or a NEPA or silviculture person, you can go for 30 years or more without sexual harassment. If you are a woman and you want to go into fire, well then I would look at the statistics comparing women in fire in the Park Service, BLM, BIA, FWS and so on… even state agencies. I wonder whether they are available? Any folks know of these? Based on what I know now, I would say “stay out of Fire” not “stay out of the FS.”

Fire is part of the FS, but it is not the FS.

U.S. Forest Service chief under investigation after complaints of sexual misconduct- PBS story

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Chief Tony Tooke
Here’s the link.

The U.S. Forest Service has confirmed that the United States Department of Agriculture, its parent agency, has “engaged an independent investigator” to look into complaints against Chief Tony Tooke.

News of this investigation comes as the Forest Service is dealing with allegations of a broader culture of harassment and retaliation within its ranks, as detailed in an investigation published by the PBS NewsHour this week.

In the course of reporting its investigation, the PBS NewsHour discovered allegations of sexual misconduct against Tooke, specifically relationships with his subordinates, before he became chief.

In a statement, Forest Service press officer Babete Anderson said the investigation would “undertake a thorough review of [Tooke’s] conduct. We take very seriously the responsibility to promote a safe, respectful and rewarding work environment for all employees.”

When asked about the allegations, Tooke said in an email: “I’m in support of this investigation, and I have fully cooperated from the start. I expect to be held to the same standards as every other Forest Service employee.”

In an email to employees responding to the NewsHour’s original report, a spokesman from Tooke’s office said: “The stories the Forest Service employees shared during the PBS NewsHour piece are important to hear, difficult and heart-wrenching as they may be. Stories like these, which have come to light over the past few years, have underscored that there are elements of sexual harassment in the Forest Service that have existed and continue today.”

It continues: “While we have taken significant actions over the past several years to address sexual harassment in the Forest Service, we acknowledge that we have more work to do. These are critical issues that the Forest Service must continue to take on to increase our efforts to protect our fellow employees so they know they can speak up and speak out, without any fear of retaliation or reprisal. We continue to consult with outside experts and focus internal resources to help us better support victims of harassment during investigations. Victims must know that there will be accountability for persons who engage in sexual harassment and reprisal. We are committed to our duty to create a workplace that is respectful, rewarding, and above all, a safe place for all employees. The Forest Service is committed to permanently changing our culture to create the workplace we all deserve”

The statement, from Dan Jiron, acting deputy undersecretary for natural resources and the environment, did not mention Tooke.

(note, Dan Jiron is an FS employee and former Regional Forester for Region 2.) #whoneedspoliticalappointees?

Discussing the Undiscussables: Gender, Harassment, Discrimination, Favoritism and All That

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Back when I worked for pay in Region 2, our Regional Leadership Team had a couple of discussions around “undiscussables”. One I remember was about the Regional Forester overruling a Forest Supervisor on a resource decision. In my experience, just talking about it openly took out some of the underlying tension. But don’t believe me! You can read this from Leadership and Change, in an article from 2015:

Last year, the New York Times revealed that not everything has been golden at Harvard Business School. And surprisingly or not, the crack in the ivy-covered veneer at Harvard Business School is the challenge of gender equity. Revealed was that females got lower grades than man even though the sexes enter the school with similar test scores. Female students and younger female faculty in the classroom were hazed, and female students felt pressure to dress well, ‘look hot’ and not be ‘too assertive’.

Yikes, nothing really new here – but what is most surprising is how long these behaviors appear to have been tolerated at the Business School to the point that Harvard staff describe them as their “dirty little secrets.” As at Harvard, asking people to name their own workplace undiscussable, or a difficult to talk about topic, is a great way to open the door to ‘honest culture conversations’ in most organizations.
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As you can see, just naming the undiscussable can lead to ‘honest culture conversations’ that are the basis for sustainable change. At Harvard Business School, Dean Nitin Nohria named this approach: “Sunshine as the best disinfectant.” “

I don’t think it’s remarkable that the undiscussables in this article were about gender and favoritism. Forester 353 raised these same questions in a comment here.

How will the numerous – possibly hundreds of accusations over the past several years with increasing intensity, both true and especially those proven false, effect the future work place? I can tell you from personal experience that it won’t be positive one, even though it should be. Attractive women will be shied away from by self conscious male superiors because the risk of some accusation isn’t worth it. I’ve already seen people walking on egg shells in meetings and in the field when in mixed company because of the fear of something being mischaracterized.

Less than qualified people of both sexes have already be being promoted because of “equality” issues, often creating an elephant in the room. Now will we see more women promoted regardless of qualifications or being the best person for the job? Long term if this happens, it is not beneficial to an agency, company or the person being promoted.

At first I thought “this is a society wide problem, someone smarter and more experienced than we are can figure it out.” But it affects our lives and undiscussables are not good for the Forest Service. Plus we have a place here where people freely disagree all the time, mostly civilly. So if people are interested, this seems like a good place to host this conversation. We can start a new thread for other FS undiscussables people might want to bring up. While this is generally about the Forest Service, others are welcome to share their own experiences and thoughts.

USDA OIG Harassment Survey and Report in Forest Service Region 5 Released

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Posted today: The FS response here.
Here are some actions that the FS is doing or is going to do.

Opened the Harassment Reporting Center (Nov. 2017): The Forest Service Harassment Reporting Center is a single office dedicated to receiving all reports of all types of harassment. The Harassment Reporting Center is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Representatives can be reached by calling the toll-free number: (844) 815-8943. It is operated by skilled and trained, contracted representatives who are available to confidentially take reports of harassment from employees, supervisors and anyone who does business with the Forest Service.

Launched the Anti-Harassment Program intranet page (January 2018): The Forest Service has created a new intranet page committed to the Anti-Harassment Program. The intranet page was created to provide a single dedicated resource for all employees and contractors to receive current and accurate information regarding the anti-harassment policy and program. The new page will answer frequently asked questions, such as what is harassment, how to report it, what to expect once reported and what to expect regarding the inquiry or investigation.

Applied accountability and continuous learning: Since the establishment of our new anti-harassment policy in September 2016, we have received 1,013 reports of harassment and have completed inquiries/investigations in 632 of those cases. Of the 632 cases, 150 cases found misconduct and we have implemented corrective actions. The 150 corrective actions taken range from letters of warning all the way to termination/removal depending on the severity and facts gathered in each case. When looking at the cases where no misconduct/harassment occurred, those cases suggest the need to provide a better understanding of what harassment is. Along with that, we see a need for quicker assistance to overcome workplace conflicts or communication barriers that are not harassment or misconduct. This is particularly true when it comes to the bullying category. In these cases, we have implemented a process to quickly provide opportunities to resolve conflict and communication issues by offering the services of our Conflict Management and Prevention Program.

Created a senior advisor in the Chief’s Office: The senior advisor will integrate agency efforts that improve the work environment. This position aims to reinforce the Forest Service’s ongoing commitment to create a harassment-free workplace where every employee feels valued and respected.

In coming weeks here are other actions we will take:

Finalizing an agency-wide anti-harassment training to continue to provide employees with the tools they need to eliminate harassment from our work environment. It addresses the five key points of our policy while stressing that every employee has a responsibility for doing their part when it comes to eliminating harassment. Training will be delivered to all employees by our senior leaders. We expect to begin delivering this training in late spring 2018.

Designing work environment engagement opportunities that focus on building trust and provides a safe forum for employees to discuss the work environment.

Establishing an employee advisory group to identify proactive steps for peer-to-peer engagement and support to empower employees. This group will advise the Chief and senior leadership on additional practices or policy steps needed to eliminate harassment and promote safe and respectful workspaces. As we learn more, we will continue to enhance and strengthen our agency. We must continue to uplift and empower our employees and maintain a respectful, safe working environment.

If you have been harassed, or you know of harassment taking place, please report it to the national Harassment Reporting Center, where it will be documented and investigated. Learn more on the center’s website.”

Here is a link to the OIG survey. I must admit I was a little curious about “supervisor harassment.” I searched and couldn’t find it defined in the document.
Comments welcome!