Former lumber industry executive named as Forest Service chief

The Trump administration’s pick to lead the Forest Service was previously an executive at a lumber industry company.

The Forest Service said in a press release Thursday that Tom Schultz of Idaho will lead the agency, which manages the nation’s national forests.

According to the press release, Schultz was previously the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, which sells wood.

The Forest Service makes a range of forest management decisions, including those related to industry logging, energy production in national forests and wildfire mitigation.

“Working with our partners, we will actively manage national forests and grasslands, increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, and suppress wildfires with all available resources emphasizing safety and the importance of protecting resource values,” Schultz said in a written statement.

Schultz has also served as director of the Idaho Department of Lands and worked in Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

His appointment was criticized by the Sierra Club.

“Naming a corporate lobbyist to run the agency tasked with overseeing the last old growth left in the U.S. makes it clear that the Trump administration’s goal isn’t to preserve our national forests, but to sell them off to billionaires and corporate polluters,” Anna Medema, the group’s associate director of legislative and administrative advocacy for forests and public lands, said in a written statement.

The announcement comes one day after the Forest Service announced the departure of President Biden-era chief Randy Moore. Moore expressed “frustration” with recent staffing departures at the agency.

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