USFS faces bleak future

You are welcome and I agree about the last sentence.

Following along here. Being a wilderness enthusiast and also constitutionally suspect of moral panics, I thought I’d share what I thought was a very level headed and realistic view of the decade long machinizations of the USFS reorganization of this administration. This article is from a guy I follow, he’s a Trump supporter (gasp) in general AND ALSO extremely suspect of public land liquidation schemes ala Mike Lee, which I’ve found to be surprisingly prominent amongst western conservatives. He is a wildlife/biology professor at a western college and he assembled the most detailed view of the reorganization I’ve seen to date. Pros cons, everything with a ton of detail about the inner working of the service. I found it fascinating. Here is the link to his article on X, I hope you find some of it enlightening like I did:

https://x.com/i/status/2043725378553016705

(Matthew, let me know if posting links like this is against the rules and I’ll delete.)

What I noticed from the backlash to Lee’s failed attempt to add boneheaded land liquidation language to the BBB was watching almost every wildland enthusiast of every political stripe come together in unison against it. It made me really happy to see both sides come together for a fleeting moment in this rediculously charged timeline. There is a massive revivalist conservationist movement on the right side of  the isle. A key development when common ground is hard to find. Alas, as an old school western Democrat I don’t really have a home any more. I do crazy things like have friends from all stripes who hike, hunt and fish together, maybe even have a spirited argument or two over cold beers. A quaint notion I know.

IMHO, on its surface, I feel HQ the move to SLC makes a ton of sense if done correctly, but the devil is in the details. The Great Basin Coordination Center (multi agency wildfire coordination) is here, we have a ton of public lands and SLC is the most central jumping off point to all of our western forests with exceedingly easy access with our excellent brand new airport. SLC is an extremely blue island in a red/soon-to-be-puple state FWIW. I think it’s largely irrelevant but many folks don’t understand what SLC is. Its last R mayor was Jake Garn in 1974.

Long live wild places!

I’m not sure if I’m a very liberal conservative or a very conservative liberal or none of the above. More of a naturalist. I do think Robin Hood may have been a poacher, narcism is running our country and all this idealism on both sides is not practical or realistic. Live and let live or is it live and let die? Do what works. Follow science, follow nature, but not politicians.

https://x.com/i/status/2043725378553016705

Yet he would vote against his own interests. Posted on X, it seems just a bit disingenuous. All propaganda contains bits of truth for credibility. While relocation to Utah does make some sense, one has to consider the reasoning and the true goals behind it. Consider the source. One who values glamour over nature.

Forest service employees should be based on merit, not on ideology or willful participation in misdirected wars.

“Forest service employees should be based on merit”

Merit is subjective

One person will judge an employee good, another person will judge that employee bad

If the judger has a hidden agenda, like opposing people with green skin, they can make a merit argument for demoting the green skinned person. It’s not easy bein’ green.

HR departments like objective measures, like requiring a college degree.  It minimizes legal liability.

Difficult problem to solve

Good question really.

College proves that you’ve at least been emerged in the subject. Grades show a dedication and a willingness to learn. It doesn’t insure competence. It’s a start.

The article Dirt linked mentions trail building as a starting point working your way up through government rankings. Not an easy route. Difficult for inner city kids. Still leaves a lot to be judged.

Internet. Spreading broadband and free online education would have a huge impact. It could also go very wrong.

Contemplating the area under a curve. You can get closer and closer to where it’s good enough, or at least as good as humanly possible. I’d tell my crews to always strive for perfection, because somewhere down the line you’re going to ””’ up. Strive for perfection even if it’s unattainable.

Politically I’d tell the crew that whenever a customer walked by to stop, look at whatever chore they were doing and say ” perfect”.