The Trump administration's choice to lead the Forest Service was previously a lumber industry executive.
The Forest Service said in a press release Thursday that Idaho's Tom Schultz will lead the agency that manages the country's national forests.
According to a press release, Schultz was previously the vice president of resources and government affairs for the Idaho Forest Group, selling wood.
The Forest Service makes a variety of forest management decisions, including those related to industrial logging, energy production in national forests, and wildfire mitigation.
“We will work with our partners to control wildfires with all available resources that emphasize the importance of proactively managing national forests and grasslands, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities and protecting safety and resource values,” Schultz said in the writing.
Schultz also served as director of the Idaho Department of Land and worked for the Montana Department of Natural Resources Conservation.
His appointment was criticized by the Sierra Club.
“Namening corporate lobbyists to run an institution tasked with overseeing the last old growth left in the US makes clear that the Trump administration's goal is not to maintain our national forests, but to sell to billionaires and corporate polluters.”
The announcement comes a day after the Forest Service announced the departure of Biden-era Chi Flandry Moore. Moore expressed his “frustration” at the recent departure of staffing at the agency.
