Feinstein Statement on New Forest Service Chief Randy Moore

Source: United States Senator for California – Dianne Feinstein

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement upon the announcement that Randy Moore, the current regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, will be the next chief of the Forest Service:

“Randy Moore is an excellent choice to serve as the next chief of the Forest Service. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him in his current role and believe he’s well prepared to lead this agency and its 25,000 employees who manage 193 million acres of public forests.

“As the regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region since 2007, Randy Moore has led management efforts for the entire region, including California’s 18 national forests that cover nearly one-fifth of our state. That experience is going to be critical as the Forest Service prepares to deal with increasingly difficult challenges related to climate change, particularly drought and wildfire.

“I also want to thank outgoing Chief Vicki Christiansen for her nearly 40 years of public service with the federal government and as an Arizona and Washington state forester. She has been an advocate for new authorities to help reduce wildfire and for raising the pay scale for federal wildfire fighters so we can hire and retain this critical workforce.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Chief Moore in his new capacity on this and many other important issues. California understands all too well the challenges facing our forests and I’m glad a Californian will head efforts to tackle them.”

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