Why It Matters: As an experienced leader in forestry and public lands management, Tom Schultz will guide a multiple-use mission agency that has significantly reduced its timber harvesting levels over the last few decades – to the detriment of forest health, wildlife habitat, communities, and the sportsmen and women that recreate on and nearby national forests. Sustainable forest management is critical to fish and wildlife habitat, and Schultz’s leadership will be key to implementing policies that promote actively managing federal lands to restore forests, mitigate severe wildfire risk, and improve wildlife habitat and access for hunters and anglers who were instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service, and whose use of national forests continue today.
Highlights:
- Recently, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins named Tom Schultz as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, which oversees more than 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands.
- Tom Schultz succeeds Randy Moore who served as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service since July 2021.
- Tom Schultz steps into the role at a critical time as the U.S. Forest Service addresses the Wildfire Crisis and faces budget shortfalls and capacity issues.
Wildfires and forest management are top of mind for policymakers following the destructive wildfires in California at the beginning of the year. In January, the House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471), priority legislation for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), that would expand authorities and provide additional tools to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration work to mitigate catastrophic wildfire risk.
On March 1, President Trump issued Executive Orders “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” and “The Threat to National Security From Imports of Timber, Lumber.” Schultz will be integral to provide leadership on federal forest management issues, including following the directives in the first Executive Order to issue new or updated agency guidance for tools to facilitate increased timber production and sound forest management as well as to develop legislative proposals to expand authorities to improve timber production and forest management.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation thanks Chief Moore for his service and looks forward to working with Tom Schultz to implement policies that increase active management on federal forests to improve wildlife habitat and access for sportsmen and women.
