Latest news with #ForestService
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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. MORE: Trump nominates 'Sharpiegate' scientist to lead NOAA 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. MORE: How national parks and forests could suffer as a result of federal firings 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. MORE: Lee Zeldin emphasizes accountability in EPA confirmation hearing, says he'll 'look into' IRA funds 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.
9 hours ago
- Business
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 brawled 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. 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. 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. 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."
New York Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Trump's Pick to Run the Forest Service Has a History With the Agency
The Forest Service is an agency with a big purview: It manages almost 200 million acres of public lands across the United States, including maintaining trails, coordinating wildfire response and overseeing the sale of timber and other resources. For an article published Tuesday, I looked into the background of Michael Boren, President Trump's nominee to head the service, who is the founder of a billion-dollar tech company. He is an unusual choice. He was accused of flying a helicopter dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail, prompting officials to seek a restraining order. He got a caution from the Forest Service, and criticism from his neighbors, when he built a private airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch in a national recreation area in Idaho. And in the fall, the Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing a company that Boren controlled of building an unauthorized cabin on National Forest land. Now, Boren is in line to oversee the very agency he has tussled with repeatedly, and at a tumultuous time. In April, Brooke Rollins, the secretary of agriculture, issued an order removing environmental protections from almost 60 percent of national forests, or more than 112 million acres, mostly in the West. That came after Trump issued an executive order to increase logging on those lands by 25 percent. The Forest Service has also fired thousands of workers as part of Trump's drive to shrink the federal government. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Chicago Tribune
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Thousands evacuated in 3 provinces as Canadian wildfires threaten air quality into some US states
FLIN FLON, Manitoba — More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remained active Sunday and diminished air quality in parts of Canada and the U.S., according to officials. Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there warned the number could climb. Smoke was worsening air quality and reducing visibility in Canada and into some U.S. states along the border. 'Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,' Saskatchewan's Public Safety Agency warned Sunday. 'As smoke levels increase, health risks increase.' Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said firefighters, emergency crews and aircraft from other provinces and U.S. states, including Alaska, Oregon and Arizona, were being sent to help fight the blazes. 'We are truly grateful, and we stand stronger because of you,' Moe said in a post on social media. He said ongoing hot, dry weather is allowing some fires to grow and threaten communities, and resources to fight the fires and support the evacuees are stretched thin. 'The next four to seven days are absolutely critical until we can find our way to changing weather patterns, and ultimately a soaking rain throughout the north,' Moe said at a Saturday news conference. In Manitoba, more than 5,000 of those evacuated are from Flin Flon, located nearly 645 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg. In northern Manitoba, fire knocked out power to the community of Cranberry Portage, forcing a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for about 600 residents. The fire menacing Flin Flon began a week ago near Creighton, Saskatchewan, and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. Crews have struggled to contain it. Water bombers have been intermittently grounded due to heavy smoke and a drone incursion. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service deployed an air tanker to Alberta and said it would send 150 firefighters and equipment to Canada. In some parts of the U.S., air quality reached 'unhealthy' levels Sunday in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow page. 'We should expect at least a couple more rounds of Canadian smoke to come through the U.S. over the next week,' said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the U.S. Separately, a fire in the U.S. border state of Idaho burned at least 100 acres (40 hectares) as of Sunday, prompting road closures and some evacuations, according to the Idaho Department of Lands. The agency said in a news release that at least one structure was burned, but did not provide additional details about the damage. Strong gusty winds of 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 kph) and steep terrain were making it difficult for firefighters battling the fire, which ignited Saturday. Evacuation centers have opened across Manitoba for those fleeing the fires, one as far south as Winkler, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the U.S. border. Winnipeg opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and convention-goers. Manitoba's Indigenous leaders said Saturday at a news conference that hotel rooms in the cities where evacuees are arriving are full, and they called on the government to direct hotel owners to give evacuees priority. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said it was one of the largest evacuations in the province since the 1990s. 'It's really sad to see our children having to sleep on floors. People are sitting, waiting in hallways, waiting outside, and right now we just need people to come together. People are tired,' Wilson said at a news conference. Canada's wildfire season runs from May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Israeli Soldiers Open Fire Near Aid Site, and Coffee's Link to Healthy Aging
Hosted by Tracy Mumford Produced by Will Jarvis and Ian Stewart Edited by Ian StewartJessica Metzger and Tracy Mumford Featuring Kate Zernike and Gilbert Cruz Israeli Soldiers Open Fire Near Gaza Aid Site. Gaza Health Officials Say 27 Are Killed, by Patrick Kingsley and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad Trump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods, by Linda Qiu After Staff Cuts, the National Weather Service Is Hiring Again, by Judson Jones He Built an Airstrip on Protected Land. Now He's in Line to Lead the Forest Service, by Hiroko Tabuchi The U.S. Lit a Beacon for Science. Under Trump, Scientists Fear It's Dimming, by Kate Zernike That Cup of Coffee May Have a Longer-Term Perk, by Alice Callahan 31 Novels Coming This Summer, by Miguel Salazar and Laura Thompson 21 Nonfiction Books Coming This Summer, by Miguel Salazar and Laura Thompson Tune in, and tell us what you think at theheadlines@ For corrections, email nytnews@ For more audio journalism and storytelling, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
