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Randy Moore has been named chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday. Moore will be the first African American to lead the agency in its 116-year history.
The big picture: The Forest Service oversees 600 million acres of forestland. Moore is slated to begin after current Forest Service head Vicki Christiansen steps down on July 26.
- Moore has led the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region, which is comprised of 18 national forests in California, since 2007.
- He previously served as the regional forester of the Eastern Region.
What they're saying: "Randy Moore has been a catalyst for change and creativity in carrying out the Forest Service’s mission to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations," Vilsack said in a statement.
- “In his role as Regional Forester, Randy has been a conservation leader on the forefront of climate change, most notably leading the Region’s response to the dramatic increase in catastrophic wildfires in California over the last decade," he added.