NCSAF Luncheon: October 9, 2008

The Forest Service Now and Into the Future

By: Jake Reilly, American Forests

Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell

The NCSAF luncheon for October featured special guest, chief of the U.S. Forest Service Gail Kimbell. The luncheon was hosted by the USDA in the cafeteria at the South Agriculture building in southwest Washington, DC.

Chief Kimbell lead her lecture with a quote from German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, stating that “the principal player rarely plays the principal part.” This touched off her overarching theme on the importance of partnerships in maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. Harkening back to the origins of the Forest Service, she recalled how Gifford Pinchot relied not on his own powers, but instead on local foresters and land managers to implement healthy forest practices. Pinchot wanted ordinary people to be involved with forests and saw the national forests as owned by the people.

Bringing Pinchot’s ideas of cooperation into a contemporary context, Chief Kimbell highlighted grizzly bear recovery as a prime example of Forest Service partnerships at work. After grizzlies were listed as a threatened species in 1975, numerous federal agencies attempted to address the problem with disparate objectives, visions, and efforts, leading to questionable results. Finally, a partnership was formed between federal resource agencies and state governments. This partnership, called the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), was formed in 1983 to fight jurisdictional hurdles that made grizzly recovery nearly impossible.

The IGBC coordinates efforts in the five known grizzly bear habitats in North America, producing substantial results. As an example, the Yellowstone grizzly population has increased to over 600 bears since the 30-50 that were known when the species was listed. In the chief’s opinion, these results were only possible through partnering with federal, state, and local stakeholders, yielding the IGBC as a prime example of effective partnerships at work. She closed by identifying that the coming challenges for America’s forests, including climate change and wildlife habitat loss, will be best addressed through quality partnerships.

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NCSAF LUNCHEON

U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell

The Forest Service Now and Into the Future

Thursday, October 9, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Back of USDA Cafeteria, South Agriculture Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Please be aware that lunch will not be provided, so please arrive early enough to purchase your own lunch. 

There will not be a charge for this luncheon, however the NCSAF may receive donations should you like to do so. 

NOTE: Security check and ID is required to enter this building.

Speaker Information:

Abigail (Gail) R. Kimbell became the 16th Chief of the US Forest Service on February 4, 2007. As Chief, Kimbell has focused the agency's attention on Climate Change, Water, and Kids, emphasizing the importance of keeping forests and rangelands healthy.

Kimbell grew up in New England, where she spent her formative years hiking, fishing, and camping on the White Mountain National Forest. She received a bachelor's degree in forest management from the University of Vermont in 1974 and later a master's degree in forest engineering from Oregon State University.

She worked as a seasonal employee before beginning her Federal forestry career in 1974 with the Bureau of Land Management in Medford, Oregon. She then joined the Forest service as a pre-sale forester in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1977. She next worked in Oregon as a logging engineer and then a district planner. She served as a district ranger in Kettle Falls, Washington on the Colville National Forest from 1985-88, and on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in La Grande, Oregon, from 1988-91, and as forest supervisor of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska (1992-97) and the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming (1997-99).

From 1999-2002, Kimbell was the forest supervisor for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Comanche National Grassland-all in Colorado-as well as the Cimarron National Grassland in Kansas. In May 2002, Kimbell began work as the associate deputy chief for the National Forest System lands in the Forest Service Washington, DC, headquarters. During her tenure as associate deputy chief, Gail's leadership was instrumental in helping to carry out the Healthy Forests Initiative and she provided support in the development of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. In December 2003, Kimbell was named as the Regional Forester for the Northern Region located in Missoula, Montana.

Kimbell and her husband, Ed Stryker, enjoy the great outdoors by camping, fishing, hiking, skiing, and flying.  He is a pilot and a retired land surveyor. They have two miniature schnauzers. 

Kimbell is a member of the Society of American Foresters.

RSVP to Terri Bates at batesmt@verizon.net noon on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 .