Thomas Tidwell
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Thomas Tidwell
| image = Thomas Tidwell official photo.jpg
| order = 17th Chief of the
United States Forest Service
| term_start = July 17, 2009
| term_end = August 31, 2017
| president = Barack Obama
Donald Trump
| predecessor = Gail Kimbell
| successor = Tony Tooke
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Boise, Idaho
| spouse = Kim
| occupation = Forester
| alma_mater= Washington State University
| module = {{Listen |embed=yes |filename = U.S. Forest Service Chief Forester Tom Tidwell.ogg | title = Chief Tidwell's voice |type = speech |description = Recorded on March 31, 2014.}}
}}
Thomas L. Tidwell was the 17th Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, and was appointed on July 17, 2009, succeeding Gail Kimbell. He was succeeded by Tony Tooke, who was sworn in September 1, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.hcn.org/articles/public-lands-forest-service-leadership-lands-in-southern-hands|title=Forest Service leadership lands in Southern hands|date=September 14, 2017 |accessdate=January 25, 2018}}
Biography
=Early life and education=
Tom Tidwell grew up in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Washington State University, where he was a student of Rexford F. Daubenmire.{{Cite book |last=Sowards |first=Adam M. |title=New Perspectives on the History of Life Sciences and Agriculture |publisher=Springer Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-12185-7 |editor-last=Phillips |editor-first=Denise |pages=297–372 |chapter=Rexford F. Daubenmire and the Ecology of Place: Applied Ecology in the Mid-Twentieth-Century American West |editor-last2=Kingsland |editor-first2=Sharon}}
=Forester=
Tidwell began his Forest Service career on the Boise National Forest in fire, and has since worked on eight different national forests, in three regions. He has worked at all levels of the agency in a variety of positions, including District Ranger, Forest Supervisor, and Legislative Affairs Specialist in the Washington Office, where he worked on the planning rule, the 2001 roadless rule and the Secure Rural Schools County Payments Act. Tom served as the Deputy Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region (California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands) with primary responsibility for fire and aviation management, recreation, engineering, state and private forestry and tribal relations. Tidwell also served as Forest Supervisor during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. On June 17, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that Tidwell would serve as the new Chief for the United States Forest Service. "Tom Tidwell's 32 years of experience in our forests and impressive track record of collaboration and problem-solving will help us tackle the great challenges ahead," said Vilsack.{{cite web | url=https://sref.info/articles/agriculture-secretary-vilsack-names-new-chief-for | title=Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Names New Chief for U.S. Forest Service — Southern Regional Extension Forestry }}
=Personal=
Tom is married to Kim, and they have one daughter, MacKenzie.{{cite web | url=https://magazine.wsu.edu/2015/08/16/in-the-usfs-hot-seat/ | title=In the USFS hot seat }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Thomas Tidwell}}
- [https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/people/chiefs/thomas-tidwell/ Thomas Tidwell biographical profile] (Forest History Society)
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{{Succession box
| title = Chief of the United States Forest Service
| before = Gail Kimbell
| years = 2009–2017
| after = Tony Tooke
}}
{{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidwell, Thomas}}
Category:Washington State University alumni
Category:Obama administration personnel
Category:American conservationists
Category:United States Forest Service officials
Category:People from Boise, Idaho
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
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