Doug MacCleery: How Did We Get Into This Mess and How Can We Get Out of it?

Doug MacCleery, a friend and colleague of 30 years has written a thoughtful essay explaining how the western wildfire pandemic came to be and what Congress and the Forest Service must do to reduce the risks associated with killing wildfires.

Doug worked in northern California early in his Forest Service career. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1981 through 1987, then transferred to the Forest Service’s Washington office, where he worked in forest management policy and legislation until he retired in 2010.

Doug’s essay first appeared in the November 2020 edition of The Outlook, a monthly newsletter published by Dovetail Partners, an environmental think tank based in Minneapolis. Doug was a member of the non-profit’s advisory board from 2006 through 2018.

Dovetail’s Responsible Materials Program Manager is Jim Bowyer, a PhD professor emeritus in the University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. During his long teaching career, he used Evergreen reports in his entry-level classes to test student knowledge of forestry and the environment.

Click Here to Read Doug's Full Essay