Tidwell appears poised to stay on with Forest Service

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell has not announced any intention to retire with the coming change of presidential administrations, which is another way of saying he appears to intend to continue in the job he’s got. “We can’t speculate on the chief’s intentions,” Forest Service spokesman Byron James said on Monday. “He is a career employee, not a political appointee. There is no need to reapply for the position when an administration changes. As a career employee, he will continue to serve.” Tidwell was Region 1 Forester headquartered in Missoula before taking the job of chief of the Forest Service in 2009. That position reports to the undersecretary of Agriculture, which reports to the Secretary of Agriculture – a member of the president’s cabinet. Both the secretary and undersecretary positions are appointed positions that receive Senate confirmation. “Once the secretary and undersecretary are appointed, if they want to make a change, they do. And in most cases, the chief decides to retire,” said Dale Bosworth, himself both a former Forest Service chief and Region 1 forester. The incoming administration can put them in a different job, and who wants to do that?...more