Dear HCN,
Your title “Fallen
Forester” in the December 21 issue is unfortunate. It leads one to
conclude that Jim Nelson is in some way tainted goods. To the
contrary, he is a model of the passion, intellect and gumption the
Forest Service needs to cultivate to accomplish its difficult
mission.
More fitting titles would have been “No
Good Deed Goes Unpunished” or “Another Hatchet Job in the USFS.” A
question mark after Fallen Forester would have set the stage
better.
History is full of predatory behavior
within bureaucracies. The superannuated dilettantes and
professional automatons of most large organizations serve as the
champions of mediocrity. What Nelson and others in the Forest
Service have learned is that change-agents pay a personal price for
the fire in their bellies.
The outfit is adept at
self-destructive behavior. In the mid “70s, Ted Schlapfer, then
regional forester for the Pacific Northwest Region, was openly
discussing the need to modify timber-management practices. He
favored the concepts articulated by Aldo Leopold and others that
considered systemic implications of our
actions.
His ideas resonated and started to catch
on. To quiet him down, he was instructed to move to Washington,
D.C. He chose retirement instead. A quintessential “Timber Beast”
replaced Ted and the message was clear. “Let’s not trouble
ourselves with new-age thinking while we get out the cut.” A
different response in the “70s may have helped us avoid the spotted
owl issue.
Few human systems reward visionaries
and leaders that are ahead of their time. While corporate rhetoric
urges folks to strive for a vibrant tomorrow, a gelatinous mass
within does its very best to stifle extraordinary efforts to do
so.
Yes Jim Nelson made a mistake. It was
believing in what he was doing enough to expedite it in every LEGAL
way possible. He’s always been a barrier buster and his past
behavior has alienated some folks. It was only a matter of time
before someone, with more allegiance to process than product, got
their feelings hurt and mobilized the whistleblowing act to whip
him into submission.
If in fact there were only
“some procedural mistakes that are really pretty technical” and “a
lot of this is internal, bureaucratic, procedural rigmarole,” then
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics and the Forest
Service owe Jim Nelson a very public
apology.
Jim
Webb
Monte Vista,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Another hatchet job.
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