Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993 TAG: 9311190082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Jack Ward Thomas, who gained prominence for his work on the old-growth forests and the endangered Northern spotted owl issues in the Pacific Northwest, will take over as chief of the agency Dec. 1.
Thomas has been with the Forest Service for 27 years. He will oversee an agency of 34,000 employees that manages 191 million acres of federal forests and national grasslands.
He replaces F. Dale Robertson, who was reassigned to another job in the Agriculture Department amid charges he was too close with the timber industry.
Dave G. Unger, an agency veteran with expertise in conservation and endangered fisheries, was named assistant chief.
In a letter to Forest Service employees, Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment James Lyons said the two appointments will help fulfill his goals - to increase credibility of the agency and morale of employees, and moving forward with ecosystem management of federal lands. - Staff report
by CNB