Amy Klobuchar Presses Trump's Forest Service Nominee On His Previous 'Disagreements' With Agency

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During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asked Trump's Forest Service nominee, Michael Boren about his own 'disagreements' with the agency as a private land owner.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much, Senator Bozeman.

00:05I think I'll start with the staffing issue I raised in the opening just with the thousands

00:09of employees that have left and terminated.

00:14They took, there was deferred resignation plans and then the White House's direction

00:19to federal agencies to plan for additional layoffs.

00:22Mr. Borne, how will you ensure resignations and terminations will not affect the ability

00:27of the Forest Service to prevent and address the dangers of wildfires?

00:31Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

00:33That's a very important point.

00:36We certainly need to have an appropriate level of staff to fulfill our mission.

00:40I have not had an experience with the Forest Service yet where I understand what the staffing

00:46levels are and how they're being applied, but I am very familiar with resource-constrained

00:53organizations having worked in one and for one that I started for many years where we

00:59started with a very small amount of money and never really had enough to do what we needed

01:03to do.

01:04I certainly wouldn't say that that guarantees that I'll be able to figure it out immediately

01:09at the Forest Service, but I know that we have to live with the resources that we receive,

01:18and we will find a way to do that.

01:19Okay.

01:20And the President's budget proposes moving wildland fire management outside of the USDA.

01:29This is a significant responsibility of the Forest Service that would be transferred to

01:33the Department of Interior, and I understand some have questions about the impact on this

01:38on managing wildfire responses.

01:41Could you talk about how this proposal could affect the agency's fire mitigation work, like

01:47prescribed burns, and how you will work with states, tribes, and employees and other interested

01:52parties as this proposal is considered?

01:56I have questions as you do.

01:57I don't fully understand the proposal and how it's intended to work.

02:04I do have a background through my father and through living in Boise, Idaho and visiting

02:10the Interagency Fire Center.

02:12And through being a firefighter and working with incident management teams, where it's

02:18very clear to me that cooperation with other agencies and other organizations is the way

02:23to fight fire.

02:25And I'm sure that if this transfer occurs, the Forest Service will still be intimately involved

02:34since that organization is responsible for most of the federal forests and a large chunk

02:40of grasslands, and responsible for keeping them in good condition.

02:44Exactly.

02:45And so, yep.

02:48That's part of why I'm so worried about this.

02:49And thanks for mentioning that, because as you acknowledge here, the Forest Service is

02:53charged with managing forests and watersheds, wildlife habitat.

02:59And these are responsibilities of the Forest Service.

03:02Could you very quickly, because I want to get something else, mention what policies or

03:06practices you would promote to balance these multiple uses to ensure the long-term health

03:11of forests and grasslands?

03:13I'll try to be brief.

03:16That's a really big question, Senator.

03:19Multiple use is super important.

03:21All of the people in America own our forests and grasslands, and they all have different ideas

03:25about how they should be used, and we need to find ways to balance all of the uses, recreation,

03:31timber production, clean air and water, which sometimes involves non-production in areas,

03:38oil and gas and forage.

03:39There are lots of things that we need to balance.

03:42And we just need to always be mindful of everyone else's position.

03:49I find that when we get into negotiation, when I get into negotiation frequently, it's important

03:55to show, to learn what the other person wants and not to worry too much about my own personal

04:00needs.

04:01Okay.

04:02Senator Risch mentioned that you had as a land owner and has had some disagreements about

04:08easements with the Forest Service near your Idaho ranch.

04:15And could you talk about these disagreements briefly, you can follow up in writing, and

04:22how will you respond to those that may disagree with your positions or decisions, including employees

04:27or members of the public?

04:30Thank you for bringing that up.

04:31That is a long conversation, potentially, but briefly—

04:33Well, Senator Risch opened the door.

04:35He did.

04:36He did.

04:37And he's aware of some things that have happened that have been difficult for me and some that

04:42I felt were oppressive because I've talked to him about those.

04:46But I think one of the important things to point out is that I don't have disputes with

04:51the Forest Service.

04:53He did use that word, but I would disagree with that.

04:56As a landowner, I have had disagreements from time to time with the Forest Service.

05:02Typically they've been very aggressive at the beginning of those disagreements.

05:06And eventually, when they got the facts and when we talked through it and we had reasonable

05:10discussions, we've always come around to a settlement that works for everyone.

05:15And to be very clear about easements, if I may just have a moment, there's a scenic easement

05:21on a ranch that I live on.

05:23And I have never had a violation or even a suggestion that I violated—well, I've had one suggestion,

05:30but it was clear that it didn't happen and it was retracted—I haven't had violations

05:34of that easement.

05:35Okay.

05:36Ever.

05:37Just last, very quickly, will you commit to not interfering with and, in fact, recusing

05:42yourself from any existing or future matters involving properties that you, your family

05:47members, or your friends own or are affiliated with, with the Forest Service?

05:52Senator, I have had incredibly detailed discussions with USDA ethics attorneys, who, by the way, are

05:59amazing, and I will commit to making sure they always know everything about anything that

06:06could be a conflict of interest that I can tell them, and to always following their advice.

06:11Okay.

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