Senate considers Michael Boren to lead Forest Service, despite clashing with agency
President Donald Trump's nominee to oversee the U.S. Forest Service has a history of clashing with the very agency that he soon could be leading.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry began the confirmation hearing for Michael Boren, an investment consultant, Idaho ranch owner and founder of a billion-dollar tech company. A bipartisan committee will assess Boren's qualifications and vote on his nomination.
Boren, 62, has had disagreements with the U.S. Forest Service in recent years. One recent conflict involves building a cabin and clearing land within the Sawtooth National Forest near Stanley, Idaho, E&E News reported, citing agency correspondence and individuals familiar with the situation.
He co-founded Boise-based tech company Clearwater Analytics and owns a 480-acre ranch, some of it within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, according to the Idaho Mountain Express. The work on the property began before Boren was nominated, but the matter has not yet been resolved, according to the publication.
The dispute over the cabin is with Galena Mines, an LLC associated with Boren. He was a listed as manager until February of this year, before he was removed.
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Other disputes include diverting a stream, disputes over how Boren manages land within and around the national forest and disagreements about the precise locations of mining claims made by Boren's corporation, according to E&E News.
A small airstrip on Boren's ranch also stirred uproar among neighbors who claim he was using it to land small planes before he was granted a conditional-use permit from the Forest Service, according to the report.
Attorney Thomas Balducci, who represented Boren for the 2023 lawsuit regarding the airstrip, declined to provide a comment to ABC News.
Boren's brother, David Boren, has also clashed with the Forest Service over a trail the agency built near his ranch.
If confirmed as the undersecretary of Natural Resources and Environment, Boren would be responsible for day-to-day operations at the U.S. Forest Service, which manages more than 200 million acres of public land. Boren would report to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
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The Senate Agriculture Committee reviews presidential appointments to the Department of Agriculture's cabinet positions. After Tuesday's hearing, a full Senate confirmation will be required to complete Boren's appointment.
Current members of the committee include John Boozman (R-AR), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
Boren was a donor to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
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On Jan. 16, Trump announced Boren's nomination on his social media platform Truth Social, describing him as "a successful businessman, who has founded six companies."
"Michael will work to reinvigorate Forest Management at a time when it is desperately needed," Trump wrote.
The nomination comes at a time of turmoil within the agency. On April 3, Rollins issued an ordered to remove environmental protections from about 112 million acres of national forests, and thousands of Forest Service employees have been fired in recent months.
The Forest Service did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. In a statement to the New York Times, the Forest Service wrote that Boren would "implement President Trump's America First agenda and ensure our forest system is properly managed, productive, and resilient. We look forward to his swift confirmation by the Senate."
ABC News could not immediately reach a representative for Boren for comment.
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