Reactions mixed on appointment

Environmental and industry groups in Wyoming are both waiting to see how Harris Sherman, the new leader of the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, will affect Wyoming. Sherman, a former Colorado Department of Natural Resources executive director, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's undersecretary for natural resources and the environment. That makes Sherman the new head of the USFS and the NRCS, meaning he'll oversee millions of acres of land in Wyoming and influence the state's largest industries, from agriculture to energy exploration. "It's a very important position," said Jim Magagna, president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. Environmental groups cheered news of Sherman's confirmation - in part because they reviled Sherman's predecessor, former timber industry lobbyist Mark Rey, for stopping or slowing new environmental rules, among other actions. However, Sherman was criticized by some environmental groups last year for his work on proposed state roadless area rules. The groups claimed that the proposed rules contained too many road-building exceptions for logging and oil and gas production and said Sherman didn't do enough to make the proposed rules tougher...read more