First a question: under what cabinet division is the US Forest Service. If you
answered Interior (which has the National Park System, the US Geological Survey and
the Fish and Wildlife Service…well, you’re wrong). It’s Agriculture. And the DOA is an agency who’s purview is largely
an economic one, which means that when it comes to the Forest Service, the issues that the agency most often wrestles
with are ones of money, not conservation (and trust me, I worked at Interior for a few years).
But forest management issues are very complex, and over the years the agency has done a so-so job of protecting our
national forests. Some years are better than others. They themselves even refer to some periods as a shift to “the dark
side”.
If this is of interest, you might be happy to note that the agency has produced a documentary called
The Greater Good to commemorate it’s 100 years as steward of public
forest lands. You can catch a brief (very brief) glimpse of the film
here, and it will be showing at Forest Service events arond the
country. You can check out a schedule here as well.