Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a timber lobbyist as the next head of the U.S. Forest Service.
In an afternoon press release, Rollins named Tom Schultz as the next leader of the agency tasked with overseeing 193 million acres of national forests and public lands, including 36.6 million acres of wilderness. He succeeds Randy Moore, who announced his resignation as the agency’s chief this week.
Schultz has deep connections with the logging and timber industry. According to a release from the Department of Agriculture, Schultz served as vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, where he led timber procurement operations and managed relationships with government officials. He also served as the director of the Idaho Department of Lands, facilitating mineral extraction on millions of acres of the state’s public lands.
Schultz is the most recent industry lobbyist picked by the Trump administration to lead an agency entrusted with stewarding public lands. Earlier this month, fossil fuel lobbyist Kathleen Sgamma was named to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
In response, Anna Medema, Sierra Club’s Associate Director of Legislative and Administrative Advocacy for Forests and Public Lands, released the following statement:
“The timber industry is jumping for joy with this nomination. Let’s be clear, Tom Schultz is no outsider – he is the consummate logging industry insider. He’s not going to turn over a new leaf with this role, but will continue to serve the interests of that industry as the head of the Forest Service. 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.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.