American Forest Foundation Statement Regarding the Appointment of Vicki Christiansen to Chief of US Forest Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 11, 2018) – The following statement can be attributed to Tom Martin, President and CEO of the American Forest Foundation (AFF), in response to the announcement that Vicki Christiansen will serve as the 19th Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service:

“The American Forest Foundation, on behalf of the 20 million family forest owners across the U.S., applauds the appointment of Vicki Christiansen as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service,” said Tom Martin, AFF President and CEO. "Vicki is a tireless champion focused on cross-boundary collaborations that restore and maintain healthy forests. With her extensive experience and passion, we know she will be an effective leader in ensuring our forests can continue to provide clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, and good-paying rural jobs."

“It’s clear our forests are facing numerous threats. We have experienced another devastating wildfire season and other forest challenges – insects, disease and the rising number of at-risk species – are also on the rise. As the benefits of our forests become even more important, we look forward to continued collaboration with Chief Christiansen and the Forest Service to ensure the resiliency of our forests for generations to come.“

  Contact: Caryn Stein, cstein@forestfoundation.org, 202-751-2447

About the American Forest Foundation

The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a forest conservation organization, works on the ground with families, partners and elected officials to promote stewardship and protect our nation’s forest heritage. A commitment to the next generation unites our nationwide network of forest owners working to keep our forests healthy and producing the clean water, wildlife habitat and sustainable wood supplies that all Americans count on from forests.