Gail Kimbell | |
---|---|
16th Chief of the United States Forest Service | |
In office February 5, 2007 –July 2, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Dale N. Bosworth |
Succeeded by | Thomas Tidwell |
Personal details | |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Vermont Oregon State University |
Abigail R. "Gail" Kimbell was the 16th and first female Chief of the United States Forest Service.
Kimbell was raised in 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.
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.
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.
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.
Kimbell is a member of the Society of American Foresters.
Kimbell is currently on the board of directors of Kids4Trees and is its senior advisor [ citation needed ].
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to provide a variety of objectives including direct extraction of raw material, outdoor recreation, conservation, hunting and aesthetics. Emerging management practices include managing forestlands for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and air quality.
Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental students through four 2-year degree programs, two accelerated degree programs for graduates of Yale College, and a 5-year PhD program. Still offering forestry instruction, the school has the oldest graduate forestry program in the United States.
Robert Marshall was an American forester, writer and wilderness activist who is best remembered as the person who spearheaded the 1935 founding of the Wilderness Society in the United States. Marshall developed a love for the outdoors as a young child. He was an avid hiker and climber who visited the Adirondack Mountains frequently during his youth, ultimately becoming one of the first Adirondack Forty-Sixers. He also traveled to the Brooks Range of the far northern Alaskan wilderness. He wrote numerous articles and books about his travels, including the bestselling 1933 book Arctic Village.
Carrol Howard "Howie" Chandler, is a retired United States Air Force four-star general. He last served as the 35th Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force from August 27, 2009, to January 14, 2011. He previously served as commander of Pacific Air Forces from November 2007 to August 20, 2009, and deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements from October 23, 2005, to November 29, 2007. As vice chief, he presided over the Air Staff and served as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Advisory Working Group. He assisted the chief of staff with organizing, training, and equipping of 680,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. He retired from the Air Force by March 1, 2011. In 2012 he joined Pratt & Whitney Military Engines as vice president for military business development and international programs.
Jack Ward Thomas was the thirteenth chief of the U.S. Forest Service, serving during the Clinton administration years of 1993–1996.
Mollie H. Beattie was an American conservationist and government official who served as director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2009, she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project.
Thomas L. Tidwell was the 17th Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, and was appointed on July 17, 2009, succeeding Gail Kimbell. He was succeeded by Tony Tooke, who was sworn in September 1, 2017.
George Henry Hepting was an American forest scientist and plant pathologist. Hepting was Chief Plant Pathologist at Southeastern Forest Experiment Station of US Forest Service and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He has been called a "pioneer leader in forest pathology".
William Buckhout Greeley was the third chief of the United States Forest Service, a position he held from 1920 to 1928. During World War I he commanded U.S. Army forest engineers in France, providing Allied forces with the timber necessary for the war effort.
Margaret Elizabeth Chisholm was an American librarian and educator and served as president of the American Library Association from 1987 to 1988. She promoted librarians as skilled in information technology.
Tony Tooke was the Chief of the United States Forest Service for a little over six months, from September 1, 2017, until he announced his retirement on March 7, 2018 due to numerous sexual misconduct allegations over his four decades of employment in numerous positions for the Forest Service.
Mary Lou King is an American environmental activist, educator, and writer.
Ann M. Bartuska is an ecologist and biologist. She is a senior advisor at Resources for the Future and a former Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) at the United States Department of Agriculture and former USDA Chief Scientist.
Leslie E. Wildesen was an American archaeologist best known for her work in policy-making. As the first woman archaeologist in the United States Forest Service and the first regional archaeologist in the Pacific Northwest, she wrote the first guidebook used by a government agency for the management of cultural resources. Throughout her career, she made great strides in public involvement in archaeology, collaboration with Native American tribes, protection of Native American burials, and environmental policy implementation. She developed numerous training programs regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and environmental law.
Vicki Christiansen is an American government official who served as the 19th chief of the United States Forest Service from October 2018 to July 2021. Prior to assuming the role, Christiansen had spent seven years with the Forest Service and 30 years with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Lyle F. Watts served as the seventh Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, from January 1943 to June 1952.
Richard E. McArdle served as the eighth Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, from July 1, 1952 to March 17, 1962.
Edward P. Cliff served as the ninth Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, from March 17, 1962 to April 29, 1972.
John R. McGuire served as the tenth Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, from April 30, 1972, to June 30, 1979.