Biography
Kimbell was raised New England, where she spent her formative years hiking, fishing, and camping in 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.
The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of 750,852 acres (303,859 ha). Most of the WMNF is in New Hampshire; a small part is in the neighboring state of Maine. While often casually referred to as a park, this is a National Forest, used not only for hiking, camping, and skiing, but for logging and other limited commercial purposes. The WMNF is the only National Forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine. Most of the major peaks over 4,000 feet high for peak-bagging in New Hampshire are located in the National Forest. Over 100 miles (160 km) of the Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountain National Forest. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Grafton, Coos, and Carroll counties in New Hampshire, and Oxford County in Maine.
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public research university and, since 1862, the sole land-grant university in the U.S. state of Vermont. Founded in 1791, UVM is among the oldest universities in the United States and is the fifth institution of higher education established in the New England region of the U.S. northeast. It is also listed as one of the original eight "Public Ivy" institutions in the United States.
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public research university in Corvallis, Oregon. The university offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It is also the largest university in the state, with a total enrollment exceeding 28,000. More than 230,000 students have graduated from OSU since its founding. The Carnegie Foundation designates Oregon State University as a "Community Engagement" university and classifies it as a doctoral university with a status of "Highest research activity".
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 for the Colville National Forest from 1985 to 1988, and for the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest in La Grande, Oregon, from 1988 to 1991. She also served as forest supervisor of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from 1992 to 1997 and the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming from 1997 to 1999.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of public lands in the United States which constitutes one eighth of the landmass of the country. President Harry S. Truman created the BLM in 1946 by combining two existing agencies: the General Land Office and the Grazing Service. The agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 million acres (2,800,000 km2) of subsurface mineral estate located beneath federal, state and private lands severed from their surface rights by the Homestead Act of 1862. Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Medford is a city in, and the county seat of, Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of July 1, 2017, the city had a total population of 81,780 and a metropolitan area population of 217,479, making the Medford MSA the fourth largest metro area in Oregon. The city was named in 1883 by David Loring, civil engineer and right-of-way agent for the Oregon and California Railroad, after Medford, Massachusetts, which was near Loring’s home town of Concord, Massachusetts. Medford is near the middle ford of Bear Creek.
Kodiak is one of seven communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline. The population was 6,130 as of the 2010 census. 2014 estimates put the population at 6,304.
From 1999 to 2002, Kimbell was the forest supervisor for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Comanche National Grassland in Colorado, as well as the Cimarron National Grassland in Kansas. In May 2002, Kimbell became the Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System lands in the Forest Service's main office in Washington, D.C. During her tenure as Associate Deputy Chief, Kimbell's leadership was instrumental in carrying out the Healthy Forests Initiative and in the drafting of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres (4,478 km²) within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte and Fountain Creek. Rampart Reservoir, a large artificial body of water, is located within the forest.
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 m) high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.
Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which is in Springfield and the other of which is in La Junta. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, and the Cimarron National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado.
In December 2003, Kimbell was named as the Regional Forester for the Northern Region located in Missoula, Montana. She served as Chief of the United States Forest Service on February 5, 2007 until July 2, 2009.
Missoula is a city in the U.S. state of Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluences with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot Rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". In 2017, the United States Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 73,340 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 117,441. After Billings, Missoula is both the second largest city and metropolitan area in Montana. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass 193 million acres (780,000 km2). Major divisions of the agency include the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, and the Research and Development branch. Managing approximately 25% of federal lands, it is the only major national land agency that is outside the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Kimbell is a member of the Society of American Foresters.
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a scientific and educational 501(c) non-profit organization, representing the forestry profession in the United States of America. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance the competency of its members; to establish professional excellence; and, to use the knowledge, skills and conservation ethic of the profession to ensure the continued health and use of forest ecosystems and the present and future availability of forest resources to benefit society. Its headquarters are located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Kimbell is currently on the board of directors of Kids4Trees and is its senior advisor [ citation needed ].
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dale N. Bosworth | Chief of the United States Forest Service 2007 – 2009 | Succeeded by Thomas Tidwell |
