Idaho lumber industry executive replaces Biden-era U.S. Forest Service chief

JACKSON (WNE) — The Trump administration has named a logging industry executive from Idaho to be the new U.S. Forest Service chief.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced Tom Schultz’s appointment Thursday.

The head of the Forest Service is a career civil servant, not a political appointee, and does not require Senate confirmation.

In a statement, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, praised Schultz’s ascension.

“Tom is a University of Wyoming graduate and I’m confident that he is the leader who will bring balance back to the Forest Service and return the agency to responsible logging and management,” she said.

Schultz most recently served as the vice president of resources and government affairs at Idaho Forest Group, a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho timber company.

Schultz does not have any U.S. Forest Service experience, according to his LinkedIn. Instead, he was a U.S. Air Force officer, an administrator of Montana’s state trust lands, an Idaho oil and gas commissioner, the director of Idaho’s Department of Lands, and the Idaho Forest Group’s government specialist.

Trump had previously appointed Schultz as the service’s chief of staff for natural resources and environment.

When Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, a career forester, retired Wednesday, Schultz was named chief.

This story was published on February 28, 2025.