News Nugget

White House to Nominate Colorado’s Harris Sherman to Head Forest Service

By Courtney Lowery, 9-10-09

The Obama administration today announced that Harris Sherman, the director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, will be its pick to oversee the Forest Service.

In a release sent this afternoon, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “For decades, Harris Sherman has been dedicated to conserving and improving the environment in Colorado and beyond. It would be a privilege to have a public servant like Harris join the USDA leadership team to help carry out President Obama’s vision for protecting the natural resources we need for a healthy and prosperous America.”

Sherman’s title would be Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment and both the Forest Service and the Natural Resource and Conservation Service would be under his charge. Under President George Bush, the position was held by Mark Rey, a former timber lobbyist who achieved a new level unpopularity within the Western conservation community during his tenure.

Sherman has been the DNR director in Colorado under Gov. Bill Ritter since 2007. Before that, he served as the director under Gov. Richard Lamm, from 1975-1987.

Obama’s first pick, Homer Wilkes, a longtime but little-known Natural Resources Conservation Service official in Mississippi, backed out soon after he was nominated, he said, for personal reasons. The Wilkes pick stunned most in the environmental and public lands worlds and so far, Sherman is getting mixed results.

The Colorado Independent has some of the reaction in Colorado here.

As the director of Colorado’s DNR, Sherman oversees all manners of land use in the state, including energy, wildlife, parks, states lands and water.

Perhaps Sherman’s highest-profile project in recent years has been Colorado’s roadless rule, which it began to develop as uncertainty continued considering the 2001 Clinton-era rule. On one side, Sherman drew criticism for the program because it was seen as a watered down version of the 2001 ban and on the other side, some say the state doesn’t need it’s own rule—now that the Obama administration reinstated the federal rule.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership jumped on the announcement as a chance to ask Sherman, if confirmed. to uphold the federal rule, and to voice its opinion of the Colorado rule.

Joel Webster, associate director of campaigns for the TRCP Center for Western Lands said in a release, “The Colorado roadless rule must live up to the high standards set by the national roadless rule. Roadless areas provide important habitat security for big-game animals and clean water for trout and salmon. We will continue to work to ensure that Colorado’s backcountry heritage and economy are sustained through a strong roadless rule.”

Here’s Sherman’s bio from the agency’s Web site:

Harris received his B.A. degree from Colorado College and his law degree from Columbia University Law School.  As Managing and Senior Partner of the Denver office of Arnold & Porter, his law practice focused on natural resources, environmental, water, public land, real estate, and Indian law.

Harris has also served on a wide variety of public and private agencies and organizations. He has been Chairman of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission; Chair of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board and Chair of the Denver Regional Air Quality Council. He has served as a Commissioner of Mines; as a Commissioner of the Denver Water Board; and as a Trustee of Colorado College. He is currently a Trustee of the Boettcher Foundation, which is dedicated to assisting, encouraging and promoting the residents of Colorado.

For several decades, Harris has been active in land conservation efforts with the Nature Conservancy, Colorado Open Lands, and the Trust for Public Land.

As a lifelong Colorado resident, Harris is an avid hiker, skier, and cyclist. He spends much of his free time at his ranch in Summit County.

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