Idahoan to lead the Forest Service

Tom Schultz, a former director of the Idaho Department of Lands and executive with the Idaho Forest Group, will be the next chief of the Forest Service.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins chose Schultz to succeed Randy Moore, who will retire Monday.

“Tom is the right person to lead the Forest Service right now, and I know he will fight every day to restore America’s national forests,” Rollins said in a news release. “Together, Tom and the incredible employees at the Forest Service will work to execute the agenda of President Donald J. Trump to make America’s forests healthy and productive again.”

Schultz now serves as chief of staff for the undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment. President Trump tabbed Michael Boren for that position, which directly oversees the Forest Service, but he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

In choosing Schultz, Rollins is departing from a tradition of selecting chiefs from the top levels of the Forest Service. Schultz has a long history in forest management but none as an employee of the agency. He started his work in the Department of Agriculture just last month. Prior to that he was vice president of resources and government affairs at the Idaho Forest Group. He previously ran the Idaho Department of Lands and worked for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

While unusual, the move by Rollins to select a chief from outside the normal pool of candidates is not unprecedented. President Bill Clinton named Jack Ward Thomas as chief. At the time, Thomas was a well-known biologist for the agency but did not have experience as a top executive. Next, Clinton looked outside of the agency and selected Mike Domebeck who had worked as a Forest Service fisheries biologist for a dozen years before becoming a science adviser to the Bureau of Land Management.

During an interview earlier this month about his job as chief of staff to the undersecretary of agriculture, Schultz told the Lewiston Tribune a top priority of the agency will be ensuring it is prepared for the upcoming wildfire season and said it will promote multiple uses of national forest land and look to involve the public in its decisions.

“A big focus is to make sure we are aligned with our public,” he said. “We are there to serve the

American public.”

Moore said in a message to employees announcing his pending retirement that the staffing turmoil within the agency played a role in his decision to step away. The agency fired about 2,000 probationary employees in recent weeks.

President Trump and his special adviser Elon Musk, who is the face of the Department of Government Efficiency, have said more layoffs across the federal government are expected.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com.