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[pct-l] USDA Forest Service Chief Speaks

>
>	                            COLLABORATIVE STEWARDSHIP
> 
>           	       Message to all Forest Service employees from Mike Dombeck
>	                    on his first day as Chief, January 6, 1997
> 
>As many of you know, I am no stranger to the Forest Service and no stranger to
>Washington, DC.  I have worked at various levels of the Forest Service in
>Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and Washington, D.C., before going to the
>Department of the Interior.  I am glad to be back.  
> 
>My Forest Service roots go deeper.  I grew up 25 miles from a town of 1,500
>people in northern Wisconsin's beautiful lake country, in the Chequamegon
>National Forest, what the author of Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls
>Wilder, called the "Big Woods."  My early years were spent fishing,
hunting, and
>hiking, with eleven summers spent as a fishing guide.  One of my favorite
things
>to do today are walking in the woods or being on the water.
> 
>I'd like to talk today about my professional resource philosophy --
>collaborative stewardship.  I'd also like to discuss my expectations and vision
>for the Forest Service.  
> 
>First, however, I want to thank Dave Unger for his leadership and assistance
>over the past few weeks.  I also want to thank the Forest Service Transition
>Team and the many Forest Service employees and retirees who assisted in this
>transition and in formulating and reviewing the following statements.  I have
>talked with each of the previous Chiefs and want to thank them for their ideas
>and counsel.  
> 
>Let me say right up front that I know and respect the knowledge and skill
in the
>ranks of this organization, among the volunteers, and retirees.  I can not do
>this job without your help.  At the same time, many of you have told me you
>expect me to take action where action is needed.  I will do my best. 
>
>A PROUD TRADITION
> 
>I am honored to serve with you, and for the American people, as the 14th Chief
>of the Forest Service. 
>
>Since President Theodore Roosevelt defined conservation as applying "common
>sense to common problems for the common good," the Forest Service has been
>blessed by leaders of foresight, conviction, and vision.  
> 
>I recently read a brief biography of each of the previous Chiefs.  I was struck
>by the fact that the mission of the Forest Service is as relevant today as it
>was nearly a century ago.  
> 
>>From Gifford Pinchot's simple statement that "without natural resources life
>itself is impossible" to John McGuire's assertion that "people need to hear
>forestry's message -- that sound forestry practices can provide both protection
>and use."
> 
>
>>From Dale Robertson's belief that "we have more knowledge about the management
>of natural resources than any other organization in the world" all the way to
>Max Peterson's and Jack Ward Thomas' staunch defense of maintaining public
>forests and rangelands in public hands.  
> 
>Since its inception, the Forest Service has been remarkably productive,
>effective, and critically important.  Just as examples, the Forest Service has:
> 
> * Worked with states and private land owners to apply needed conservation
>measures to state and private lands across the nation.
> 
> * Improved watershed health in many areas and restored Dust Bowl era
>grasslands.
> 
> * Established literally thousands of partnerships to conserve natural
resources
>by improving wildlife and fish habitats, protecting water and air quality, and
>preventing soil erosion.
> 
> * Met the needs of millions of American families with wood products, forage,
>minerals, quality recreation experiences on National Forest lands and so forth.
>
>
> * Discovered and employed more efficient ways to use and recycle wood and wood
>fiber.
> 
> * Improved the wildland fire fighter safety record.
> 
> * Established a world renowned research organization.
> 
> * Exchanged valuable forestry knowledge with countries around the world.
> 
>Too often, these achievements are forgotten and all of the attention is on the
>problems of the moment.  I have not forgotten your many successes, far too many
>to mention here.  I am proud to serve again with employees such as Bob Nelson,
>who recently joined Chief Thomas as a recipient of the Wildlife Society's Aldo
>Leopold Award, the highest award given to a wildlife professional.  
> 
>I am honored to follow in the footsteps of the many retirees -- people who have
>spent their lives to protect and restore our natural resource legacy.
> 
>I look forward to working with all of the excellent Washington and field
>employees.  
> 
>COMMUNICATIONS
> 
>We are a better, stronger, and healthier nation due to the work of the Forest
>Service.  In the past, because there were fewer people and demands on the land,
>we could achieve many of our goals with less conflict.  Getting from point A to
>point B wasn't all that difficult.  We helped define the starting point and
>decided how to get to the endpoint.  That has grown more complex as society has
>changed and become more complex.  Today, we are faced with competing demands,
>new pressures on the land and greater challenges than ever before.  
> 
>There is an ongoing debate in this nation over how national forests and
>rangelands should be managed.  That's just fine.  In fact, it is healthy.
Debate
>and information are the essence of democracy.  The people we serve, all of the
>people, are now more fully engaged in defining how to move from point A to
point
>B.  Our task is not to dictate the course or the outcome.  Rather, we need
to be
>the facilitators, the suppliers of knowledge and expertise, the educators and
>communicators who help people search for solutions.  
> 
>But as the debate swirls, we cannot forget our successes or the essential
>services that we provide daily to people and communities.  An important part of
>our job is to articulate our successes.  The most enduring and powerful
maxim of
>business is that "money flows to things people want."  People want their
>cultural heritage protected; clean air and water; healthy forests and
>rangelands; good hunting and fishing; sustainable supplies of timber and
forage,
>etc.  The one sure way to guarantee that we will have continued downsizing and
>declining budgets is by not telling people our story.
> 
>Explain the services we provide in a manner that everyone can understand and
>appreciate.  Speak clearly and focus on the positive things we do.  When we
>focus too much of our organizational energy merely responding to contentious
>issues, we lose the vast majority of people who support and benefit from our
>good work.
> 
>Much of our good work in watershed protection, wilderness management, and
forest
>and rangeland management, the Job Corps and other human resource programs are
>not well-known.  We need to communicate our successes.  And, consider our state
>and private forestry, research, and international forestry programs:
> 
> * State and Private Forestry works with tribal governments, local communities,
>states, and private landowners to protect forests and rangelands from the
>effects of fire, insects, and disease.  They work with local landowners to
>improve the health of private and tribal lands and watersheds and urban
forests.
>
> 
> * Research  provides the scientific and technical underpinnings needed to help
>assure the health, diversity, and productivity of the land.  Science is the
>foundation of Forest Service management.
> 
> * International Forestry ensures that the knowledge of the world's finest
>conservation organization is shared with other countries, continents, and
>peoples; and that we learn fromthem.  The recently signed Santiago Agreement, a
>product of Forest Service leadership emanating from the UNCED conference in
Rio,
>is a good example of how different nations of people can work to promote
>sustainable forest resources world wide.  
> 
>These are critically important functions!  Who opposes them?  When we don't
>effectively communicate these and the countless other good things we do, 10% of
>the audience ends up controlling 90% of the debate.  And far too much of our
>organizational energy and money is spent in adversity and  litigation.  That
>must, and will, change.  This is not a matter of desire, it is a matter of long
>term survival.  
>
>
>Our mission is sound -- Caring for the land and serving people.  Carrying on
>with the "Course to the Future" is appropriate.  What's changed is how we go
>about accomplishing it.  
> 
>As the country grows, its need for timber and water supplies, quality
recreation
>areas, energy and minerals, and healthy fish and wildlife habitats increases.
>Our task is to responsibly adapt to change in the face of multiple competing
>interests.  More and more, people are realizing that their jobs and
professions,
>the quality of the water they drink and the air they breathe -- the very fabric
>of their lives -- are dependent on the land that sustains them.  
> 
>Simply stated, we must maintain, healthy, diverse, and productive
ecosystems. We
>cannot meet the needs of the people if we do not first conserve and restore the
>health of the land.  
>   
>So our first priority is to protect and restore the health of the land.
Failing
>this, nothing else we do really matters. Let me repeat, our first priority
is to
>protect and restore the health of the land.
> 
>Just how do we maintain the health of the land?  By working with people who use
>and care about the land.  People are the delivery system for ensuring healthy,
>diverse, and productive ecosystems.  Anglers, loggers, campers, families --
>everyone who breathes clean air and drinks clean water -- are our delivery
>system.  Assuring healthy ecosystems begins and ends by working with people on
>the land.  As Gifford Pinchot said, "a public official is there to serve the
>public, not run them."  To successfully adapt to growth and change we need to
>engage people in dialogue.
> 
>My expectation is that everything we do -- every environmental impact statement
>we write, every timber sale, recreation plan, mining plan, or allotment
>management plan we approve -- will not compromise  the health of the land.  I
>want to make it very clear that no Forest Service Program has dominance over
>another.  Timber is not more important than wildlife and fisheries.  Nor is
>wildlife and fisheries more important than timber or recreation, or cultural
>resources, and so on.  
> 
>We will care for the land and serve people by listening to all our constituents
>and by living within the limits of the land.  I call this commitment to healthy
>ecosystems and working with people on the land "collaborative stewardship."
> 
>COLLABORATIVE STEWARDSHIP
> 
>We will implement collaborative stewardship through: 
> 
> * Working with people on the land.
> 
> * Using partnerships and collaboration.
> 
> * Enhancing conservation education.
> 
> * Using science and technology.
> 
> * Insisting on personal accountability.
> 
> * Putting the right people in the right jobs.
> 
> * Communicating a better understanding of how resource management affects
>economic prosperity.
> 
> * Fostering a multi-disciplined, multi-cultural organization.
> 
> * Adapting to growth while maintaining sustainability.
> 
>The National Forest Management Act foresaw the possibility of forming citizen
>stewardship councils for national forests.  Other agencies already utilize
>consensus councils that are made up of a balance of commodity interests,
>environmental interests and the general public.  We can do the same thing
in the
>Forest Service.  These collaborative councils, although only one of many
ways to
>more fully involve people in Forest Service management, can bring people
>together to define a shared vision for management of natural resources.  
> 
>By definition, collaborative stewardship entails bringing people together.  It
>does not imply abrogation of leadership or decision making authority.  As a
>former Forest Service employee, Aldo Leopold, once wrote, "the only progress
>that really counts is that on the landscape of the back forty."  Most resource
>issues today are less dependent on technical matters than they are on
social and
>economic factors.  If we are to maintain and conserve the land's health, we
must
>learn to balance local and national needs.  We must learn to better work with
>the people who use and care about the land while serving their evolving needs.
>We must be catalysts in bringing people together. 
> 
>ACCOUNTABILITY
> 
>Our first priority is to the land and the people who use and care for it.  And
>our responsibility is to deliver.  As a step toward clarifying that
>responsibility, I am going to ensure that every forest supervisor in the nation
>have new, clearly-defined performance measures in key areas such as the
>following:
> 
> *  Riparian condition and forest health.
> 
> *  Water quality.
> 
> *  Watershed health and soil stability.
> 
> *  Noxious weed management.
> 
> *  Management of fire dependent landscapes.
> 
> *  Endangered species habitat.
> 
>I don't care if these are called working agreements, performance agreements, or
>whatever.  Every forest supervisor, on every forest, will be held accountable
>for showing an improving trend in appropriate areas.  Performance measurements,
>by definition, will be quantifiable.  We will come up with these measures for
>forests and rangelands within 6 months.
> 
>These measures will allow us to track the health of the land and allow the
>people we serve to hold us accountable. 
>
>Every post and level of the Forest Service organization will be accountable to
>our mission.  During this six month period, other performance measures will be
>developed and used for areas such as:  
> 
> * Financial management and accountability.
> 
> * Demonstrated commitment to collaborative stewardship.
> 
> * Customer service.
> 
> * Achieving workforce diversity.
> 
> * Simplification of procedures.
> 
> * Effective collaboration between research and management.
>
>All Forest Service employees will be evaluated and held accountable for
>achieving applicable performance measures.  
> 
>The greatest resource this agency has is its people.  More than 30,000
employees
>and their families live and work in communities, large and small, all
across the
>country.  These dedicated employees are the key to making our mission a
reality.
>Such an important resource must be nurtured and protected.  I want to make one
>thing crystal clear, I absolutely will not tolerate discrimination.  I am
>committed to improving workforce diversity, reducing the number of Equal
>Employment Opportunity  complaints, and eliminating their causes in the Forest
>Service.  
> 
>We have a constitutional and moral obligation to protect basic civil rights and
>guarantee equal opportunity.  Every Forest Service employee has the right to
>work in an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment.  If we
>all honor and appreciate each other's strengths, then diversity will become our
>strength.
> 
>There are a few qualities I value and think important to an effective
>organization.  
> 
> *  Honesty
> 
> *  Intelligence and creativity
> 
> *  Clarity and simplicity
>
> *  Hard work
> 
> *  Loyalty to the mission of the Forest Service
> 
>These are the qualities I expect from each of you on a daily basis.  They
should
>be your basic operating principles.  We have a complex business that need
not be
>made more so.  Keep things simple.  Write clearly and concisely.  No more
>bureaucrat-ese.  Minimize acronyms.  If what we say isn't clear to the average
>citizen, then we are doing something wrong.  
> 
>All of the benefits of sound forest and range management are easily explained:
>clean air and water; better recreation opportunities; a sustainable supply of
>wood and forage; habitat for rare species, vibrant local communities, and
so on.
> 
>Caring for the land and serving people are what we are all about.  All of the
>world should know.  We will be held accountable to this mission.  The American
>people will know they can depend on us if we deliver.    
>
>VISION
> 
>My vision is to be the very best at what we do.  To more effectively care for
>the land, to more diligently serve people, than any other organization in the
>world.  
> 
>When someone in Bend, Oregon, or Ocala, Florida, or at Iowa State, or
Cornell --
>even China -- asks, which is the premier conservation organization in the
world?
>Or, "what agency works better and costs less to achieve their mission?"
>
>The answer they should hear on the street should be the USDA Forest Service.
>
>When they ask what is the best forest research organization in the world?  The
>answer should be the USDA Forest Service.  Which agency works most effectively
>with states and private landowners and other nations to conserve and
restore the
>health of the land?  The answer should be the Forest Service.  
> 
>Conservation starts and finishes with the health of the land.  It begins and
>ends in the communities in which we live and serve.  But effective conservation
>and the strength and credibility of the Forest Service are weakened by
>perceptions of bureaucratic infighting, end runs, conflicting agendas, and
>insufficient attention to basic business areas such as financial controls and
>communications.  
> 
>An effective organization is able to solve its own problems.  Our conservation
>efforts are diminished if we cannot.  
> 
>We must solve our own problems; but we need to reach out to all our
partners, to
>the citizen owners, to local, state, and tribal governments, to sister
agencies.
> 
>
>I will strengthen the Chief's office so we can function more effectively.  We
>will focus very clearly on policy matters and effective communication to the
>people we serve.  We will focus on solid working relationships with the
Congress
>and Administration and other agencies we work with.  Therefore:
> 
> * I intend to add a counselor to help extend and improve our relations
with the
>Administration and other agencies.  Few believe that we are operating as
>smoothly as we should.
> 
> * In filling the Director of Public Affairs position, I will emphasize the
>importance of communications -- on speaking clearly to the people we serve; on
>our successes; on working closely with our sister agencies and partners; and on
>articulating policy.  
> 
> * I will have a Chief of Staff to assure  the operation keeps running
smoothly,
>to promote teamwork, to focus on accountability and financial integrity, and to
>help our leadership team improve the quality of everything we do.  I am
>announcing today that Francis Pandolfi will serve as my Chief of Staff.  Mr.
>Pandolfi comes with very broad experience beyond his academic training
>including: Chairman of the Recreation Roundtable, Chairman of the National
>Environmental and Training Foundation, CEO of Times Mirror Magazines, Vice
>President of CBS, Board member of Trout Unlimited, the National Audubon
Society,
>and the American Museum of Natural History Center for Biodiversity and
>Conservation. I believe you will enjoy and appreciate Mr. Pandolfi.  He has
>dedicated much of his life to natural resource conservation and education.
> 
>I realize that some of this is new; however, the goal is to bolster our
>effectiveness and stature.  I will be seeking assistance of the leadership team
>to assure our success.
> 
>Nothing stimulates an organization like success.  Within six months, I want us
>to have at least three major wins under our belt.  These will be marked by a
>spirit of inclusiveness and openness.  They will demonstrate to us, and to the
>people we serve, that we are the pre-eminent conservation organization in the
>world.  I am thinking of such accomplishments as:
> 
> * Establishing a fund to provide grants to Forest Service units for special
>resource stewardship projects. 
>
> * Establishing a group of citizen stewardship councils to serve as models of
>collaborative stewardship.
> 
> * Improving the efficiency of the budget and planning process to allow people
>to spend more time on resource issues.  This is a far greater challenge than
>most recognize.  Our financial and administrative houses must be in order.
>Anything less diminishes our ability to carry out our mission.  This must be
>fixed!
> 
>These are a few of my ideas.  I want yours too.  Tomorrow I will send a Data
>General message to all employees asking for specific, practical proposals for
>accomplishments that we can achieve in the next six months. I firmly believe
>that the greatest reservoir of practical and innovative ideas rest with the
many
>talented employees across the country.
>
>CONCLUSION
> 
>I want to leave you with a few final thoughts.  
>
>This country is blessed with having elected people of foresight and wisdom who
>just a few decades ago gave us a legacy that included the most progressive and
>effective network of conservation laws in the world.  As a result of
>Congressional foresight and citizen activism:
> 
> * Our air and water are cleaner.
> 
> * Rare species have been brought back from the brink of extinction. 
> 
> * People are more active in management and protection of their lands. 
> 
> * Recreation opportunities such as hiking, hunting and fishing are better.  
> 
>We are a better, more secure, and stronger nation because of laws such as the
>Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species
>Act, and the National Forest Management Act.  These laws represent the
>conservation values of mainstream America.  Do not be disturbed by the debate
>surrounding their execution.  This is background noise to a complex society and
>a healthy, properly functioning democracy. 
> 
>So where do we go from here?  Our task is to help bring people together on the
>land.  That's what collaborative stewardship is all about.  Whether we are
>engineers, support staff, or line officers, we are the educators and
>communicators, the teachers and technical experts who can bring communities of
>interests together to help define the policies and practices needed for healthy
>sustainable forests.  In doing so we must streamline our regulations and
>simplify the way we implement the laws toward the goal of a "government that
>works better and costs less."
> 
>We are the professionals, scientists and managers who can work hand-in-hand
with
>state agencies, tribal governments, regulatory and other federal agencies,
>conservationists -- all who use and care about public lands and natural
>resources to assure the most efficient and effective conservation management
>possible.
> 
>Our vision cannot be stated better than in the dedication of Breaking New
Ground
>by Gifford Pinchot published in 1947.  "To the men and women of the Forest
>Service, whose courage, devotion, and intelligence have made it and kept it the
>best organization in the Government of the United States."
>
>Finally, let me tell you how pleased I am to be here and to serve as your
Chief.
>It is an honor and at the same time a heavy responsibility.  I can not do the
>job alone.  I'm going to need your help.  I am going to give the job my
best, my
>very best.  I ask you to do the same.  Save time for your family and other
>pursuits but while here doing the business of the Forest Service, give it your
>best. 
>
>
>This is a new year, a new Administration, a new Congress.  Let's see if we can
>add some new positive dimensions to our jobs.  I challenge each of you to look
>around in your workplace and your relationships and find some fresh
>starts...fresh looks...new ways to look at old problems.
> 
>We have a lot to be thankful for in this country including the treasure
chest of
>natural resources entrusted to our care.  Our task is to sustain the health,
>diversity, and productivity of the land through collaborative stewardship. 
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------  end
>----------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
--
Brick Robbins
San Diego, CA          
brick@ix.netcom.com              

http://www.netcom.com/~brick 

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