USA: Former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck on what an Obama Forest is

Mike Dombeck: The biggest challenges, I think, that Obama faces is really reversing the trajectory and legacy left by the Bush administration. I would say with regard to the BLM, they need to get the runaway oil and gas development in five western states under control.

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Put a science base under it and focus on water and water quality, fish
and wildlife habitats, which have basically been ignored while the
Bush administration has made gas development the priority on BLM land
at the cost of other resources. With regard to the Forest Service, but
it also applies to the BLM, by the Bush administration really
suppressing and keeping their head in the sand on climate change, now
the Obama administration really needs to reverse that.

But we need to be taking a look at what role all public lands can play as they deal with the reality of climate change. The No. 2 item, particularly with regard to the Forest Service is, basically the Bush administration did not allow the professionals in the Forest Service to lead. Outside of the Forest Service, nobody even heard of the chief of the Forest Service in the entire Bush administration. The Forest Service needs to regain its conservation leadership to provide leadership here in the U.S., but also, we ought to be a model of forest management in the entire world.

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Question: Do you expect another Sagebrush Rebellion in the West over
fears of Obama’s policies on public lands?

I hope not and I really doubt it. One of the things that the Obama
campaign stressed is the need to involve local communities and reach
out to local communities. I think we’re at a crossroads with climate
change where I think you will see odd bedfellows come together that
haven’t come together in the past. It will not succeed if it’s simply
a government-led program. It’s got to be communities and industries
together across the board.

Question: What do you see as your biggest missed opportunities in the Clinton administration?

The next thing beyond roadless that I would have hoped to accomplish, or at least move forward with, is old-growth forest in the US. We only have a very small percentage of old-growth forest and that needs to be protected.By “protect,” I don’t necessarily mean no timber harvest. I mean protect forests in a way that protects old-growth characteristics.

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