Tom Tidwell has been named chief of the U.S. Forest Service by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, replacing Gail Kimbell, who has headed the service since 2007. Tidwell, currently the head of the USFS Northern Region based in Missoula, started his career 32 years ago as a firefighter in Idaho, on the Boise National Forest. He's since worked in eight different national forests, across three regions, and has worked at all levels of the agency including district ranger, forest supervisor, and legislative affairs specialist in Washington, D.C. Vilsack praised Tidwell's "impressive track record of collaboration and problem-solving."

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