WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has tasked Tony Tooke with heading up the USDA’s Forest Service. Tooke, who has been with the department since he was 18, is currently the regional forester for the Southern Region.

 

He replaces Tom Tidwell, who announced his retirement on August 18. “Tony has been preparing for this role for his whole professional life, and at a time when we face active and growing fires, his transition into leadership will be seamless,” said Perdue. “He will oversee efforts to get our forests working again, to make them more productive and to create more jobs.

“His focus will be on ensuring we are good neighbors and are managing our forests effectively, efficiently and responsibly, as well as working with states and local governments to ensure the utmost collaboration. No doubt, the stewardship of our forests is an awesome and sacred responsibility, and no one knows that better than Tony, who has dedicated his career to this noble cause.”

As head of the U.S. Forest Service, Tooke will be responsible for a department containing nearly 360,000 employees, 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands that encompass 193 million acres. He has a 2018 budget for discretionary appropriations of $4.73 billion and a department which has more than $30 billion in gross domestic product.

Forestry especially has a large economic impact in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. According to the American Forest and Paper Assoc., these states encompass 974,240 timber acres from a land area of almost 2.9 million acres, 75,050 of which are in the National Forest System.

The industry also employs 257,747 in the forestry sector (forestry, logging, wood products, pulp and paper) with an annual payroll income of more than $150 million and 1,528 manufacturing facilities.

In those states, industry shipments (wood and paper) are valued at nearly $783 million. 

 

Nationally, timber encompasses 5.2 million acres, 983,080 of which are of the National Forest System. The forest industry employs 937,500 with an annual payroll income of almost $543 million and 5,292 manufacturing facilities. Industry shipments for the nation as a whole are valued at just over $2.8 billion.

Mike Anderson, senior policy analyst with The Wilderness Society, praises Tooke for past accomplishments while applauding Tidwell’s time as Forestry chief. “Americans care deeply about the protection and restoration of clean water, wildlife areas and outdoor recreation on our national forests.

Tooke has a strong record of accomplishment in bringing together diverse interests and forging new partnerships to help the Forest Service meet the many challenges facing our nation’s forests,” he said.

“For example, Tooke has provided excellent leadership in the development and implementation of the Forest Service’s new land management planning rule and the agency’s road management policy.

“The Wilderness Society also congratulates former Chief Tom Tidwell for his decades of dedicated and distinguished service to our national forests and the millions of Americans who enjoy and depend on them. As a champion of collaboration and restoration, Tidwell achieved considerable success in reducing conflict and bringing people together to improve forest health and community well-being.”

Tooke, who grew up on a 200-acre farm in Detroit, Ala., was previously director for Ecosystem Management Coordination, deputy director for Economic Recovery and assistant director for Forest Management.

He is a 1983 Mississippi State University forestry alumnus.