GLICKMAN APPOINTS MEMBERS TO USDA's COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS Release No. 0439.97 Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623 tom.amontree@usda.gov Alan Polk (202) 205 -1134 apolk/wo@fs.fed.us GLICKMAN APPOINTS MEMBERS TO USDA's COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced the 12 members and one chair he has appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Committee of Scientists. The Committee will evaluate the land management planning process of USDA's Forest Service and make recommendations for new forest planning regulations. "The members of this Committee are an exceptional group of natural resource management scientists who have the diverse expertise necessary to provide an array of science-based recommendations," Glickman said. "I am looking forward to the Committee's recommendations as a significant step toward developing a new and improved forest planning process, one that will be more consistent with the public's expectations of how our national forests should be managed in the 21st century." "The breadth of expertise and experience represented by this Committee will ensure that our new planning regulations are scientifically based. We cannot make management decisons that maintain healthy ecosystems without a fundamentally sound planning structure in place," said Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck. The Committee's first meeting is scheduled for December 19, 1997, at the Holiday Inn O'Hare International, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, Ill.(near Chicago's O'Hare Airport). The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the organization of the Committee and to review the tasks and responsibilities detailed in its charter. The public may attend this meeting. They may also bring written comments to be filed to the attention of the Committee on the day of the meeting. Members of the Committee of Scientists include: 1. Dr. James Kent Agee - Professor of Forest Ecology, Division of Ecosystem Science and Conservation, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. Dr. Agee's educational history includes a master's degree in range management and a doctorate in wildland resource science. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Sustainability and Future of Non-federal Forests, and has served on the governor of Oregon's Science Team on eastside forest restoration. 2. Dr. Robert L. Beschta - Professor, Forest Hydrology, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. Dr. Beschta's area of expertise is forest and range hydrology, sediment transport, channel morphology, water quality, wetlands and riparian areas and watershed management. In addition to teaching forest hydrology at Oregon State, he has worked in hydrology for the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado and Wyoming. 3. Dr. Virginia House Dale - Senior Scientist, Environmental Sciences Division, Lockheed Martin Energy Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tn. Dr. Dale's master's degree in mathematics and doctorate in mathematical ecology are unique to the Committee. She has taught university level biology and ecology, and served five years on the Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board-Ecological Processes and Effect Committee. Dr. Dale's published works are in the areas of atmospheric disturbance phenomena, ecological modeling, vegetation, and landscape disturbance. 4. Dr. Linda Howell Hardesty - Associate Professor Department of Natural Resources Science, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash. Dr. Hardesty offers extensive education and experience in the area of range management. Her experience includes being the range manager for the State of Idaho from 1977 to 1980. She is a member of the Washington Rangeland Committee and has held various state, regional and international offices in the Society for Range Management during her 20 year membership. 5. Dr. K. Norman Johnson - Committee Chair and Professor, Department of Forest Resources, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. Dr. Johnson has worked for the State of Oregon as forest plans coordinator in addition to teaching forestry at Oregon State University, Colorado State University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Utah State University. He was a member of the Science Team for the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project and a member of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team, the science assessment underlying President Clinton's plan for federally managed forests in the pacific northwest and Northern California. 6. Dr. James Nathan Long - Professor, Department of Forest Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. Dr. Long's background is in forest science, ecology and silviculture. His experience includes both teaching at Utah State University and working as a research scientist for Weyerhaeuser Company. Dr. Long is a Fellow with the Society of American Foresters and a well-published expert in the fields of silviculture and forest ecology. 7. Dr. Larry A. Nielsen - Professor and Director, School of Forest Resources, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Dr. Nielsen brings education and experience in fisheries to the Committee. His professional background includes the Bureau of Fish Management in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and instructor of fisheries and wildlife planning, forest policy, and ecosystem management and strategic planning for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As professor and current director of the School of Forest Resources at Pennsylvania State University, he oversees a curricula covering forestry, wildlife, wood products, fisheries and water resources. 8. Dr. Barry R. Noon - Associate Professor, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Co. Dr. Noon's special qualifications are in conservation planning for threatened and endangered species, science based management of public lands with emphasis in biological diversity, population dynamics and viability analyses (spatial modeling), and vertebrate demography and life history. He also served as a member of the Scientific Committee that developed the conservation strategy for the northern spotted owl. 9. Dr. Roger Andrew Sedjo - Senior Fellow and Director of Forest Economic and Policy Program, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C. Dr. Sedjo's economic experience with the U. S. Agency for International Development included work with the Asia Bureau and in Seoul, South Korea. His natural resource affiliations include the Society of American Foresters, Association of Environmental and Resources Economists, International Society of Tropical Foresters and the Forest History Society. He has authored or co-authored 11 books, many articles and has published papers. 10. Dr. Margaret A. Shannon - Associate Professor, Public Administration, Department of Public Administration and Center for Environmental Policy and Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. Dr. Shannon brings a master's and doctorate degree in wildland resource science from the University of California at Berkeley. Her background in teaching public administration, forest resources policy, and law and natural resources policy and sociology offers a unique perspective in the public participation and communication effectiveness of forest planning. She has published articles on the role of social science in the development and implementation of public forest management. 11. Dr. Ronald Trosper - Professor and Director, Native American Forestry Program, College of Ecosystem Science and Management, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ar. A master's and doctorate degree in economics from Harvard University and extensive experience in Native American resource issues highlight Dr. Trosper's background. He worked as an economist for the confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes in Montana, the National Indian Policy Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and the Institute for Native Americans and the Native American Forestry Program at Northern Arizona University. Dr. Trosper has also served the National Research Council on two natural resource projects and has been published in professional journals and written book chapters relating to Native American policy and programs. 12. Charles F. Wilkinson - Professor of Law, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Co. Mr. Wilkenson has been a professor of law at the University of Colorado since 1987. His career includes law practice in natural resource law and Indian law at Native American Rights Fund and serves on the governing council of the Wilderness Society. He has co-authored two standard law texts: Federal Public Land and Resource Law, and Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law. 13. Dr. Julia M. Wondolleck - Assistant Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Dr. Wondolleck's educational background in Environmental Policy and Planning and her work in natural resource dispute resolution is a great asset to the Committee. Her research and writing focuses on the causes and consequences of environmental disputes and processes to better manage specific environmental and natural resource conflicts to incorporating diverse social values. She is a member of the International Environmental Negotiation Network and works for the Society of American Foresters and Pinchot Institute to identify new models of leadership in natural resources. # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov