A Lesson Learned The Hard-Sell Way

U.S. Forest Service chief Mike Dombeck sent the wrong bear to sell cars for Subaru of America.

He should have dispatched Yogi instead of Smokey.

Mischievous Yogi gladly would have kicked a few tires for a picnic basket or two. He’s smarter than the average bear, you know. But then, Yogi always did enjoy wheeling and dealing for a chance to get on Ranger Smith’s good side.

Smokey, however, is a proud bear. For 54 years, he’s presented an important message to Americans: “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Two generations have grown up hearing his solemn reminder. He’s a national treasure - not a car salesman.

The USFS must have been asleep, or hibernating, to let the National Forest Association swap Smokey’s honor for $1.6 million in cash and cars on loan. In exchange for the use of Smokey to hawk cars at shows, Subaru provided $35,000 in cash and loaned the Forest Service 34 new vehicles for two years.

The Forest Service canceled the agreement after it was condemned as a violation of U.S. Department of Agriculture policy by Rodger C. Viadero, USDA inspector general and a Smokey fan. Angry Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were still smoldering about Dombeck’s poor judgment at a hearing Wednesday.

“Anyone knows you can’t sell Smokey Bear, and you sold him - for a cheap price, I might add,” House Resources Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, said to Dombeck.

Dombeck’s response indicated he’d read the White House spin guide: “There were some errors made.”

Forest Subcommittee Chairwoman Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, also got in her licks: “Who is going to prevent the Forest Service from pandering and misusing its resources?”

Smokey’s “father,” the late Kester “K.D.” Flock, would have been proud of the congressional defense. The Idaho native encountered the real Smokey Bear, a cub hurt in a fire, while supervising a New Mexico forest in the 1940s. Afterward, he successfully lobbied for the cub to replace a cartoon bear that had been warning youngsters about safety.

Today, USFS officials probably have a new respect for old symbols. Let’s hope the U.S. government does, too. With all the recent fund-raising abuse, it’s easy to imagine the White House auctioning off the presidential seal - to equip the Lincoln bedroom with a lifetime supply of Beauty Rest mattresses.