Randy Moore will be the first Black Chief of the Forest Service in its 116-Year history [View all]

Randy Moore, a 43-year veteran of the United States Department of Agriculture, will be the new head of the Forest Service, making him the first Black leader to head up the agency in its 116-year history, the Biden Administration announced on Monday.

In a press release, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called Moore “a catalyst for change and creativity in carrying out the Forest Service’s mission to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.”

“Randy has been a conservation leader on the forefront of climate change, most notably leading the Region’s response to the dramatic increase in catastrophic wildfires in California over the last decade,” Vilsack said.

After joining the USDA in 1978, Moore, 66, worked in a variety of roles in forests and grasslands across Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, and also served as Acting Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System and the National Deputy Soils Program manager.

Since 2007, he has served as regional forester for California’s Pacific Southwest Region, where he oversees 18 national forests covering 20 million acres

At: https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/randy-moore-will-be-the-first-black-chief-of-the-forest-service-in-its-116-year-history/

U.S. Forest Service Chief-designate Randy Moore