[Dialogue] New Forest Service Chief Has Checkered Past

[Harry Wainwright]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 1, 2007 12:58 PM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337

 

New Forest Service Chief Has Checkered Past
Responsible for Largest Whistleblower Retaliation Case in Agency History



 

WASHINGTON - February 1 - The new Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Abigail
Kimbell, was responsible for the largest reprisal action ever undertaken
against agency whistleblowers, according to documents posted today by two
whistleblower advocacy groups. In all, Kimbell purged 44 whistleblowers
while she was Supervisor of the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming. Of those
44, eight ultimately won a $200,000 settlement with the agency in 2003,
while Ms. Kimbell was promoted to Regional Forester. 

The two advocacy organizations, Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP), are
urging Ms. Kimbell to adopt a zero tolerance policy against whistleblower
retaliation and pledge to remove managers who engage in reprisals. Tomorrow,
Ms. Kimbell officially takes over as Chief of the Forest Service, a position
not subject to Senate confirmation. 

"The promotion of Abigail Kimbell sends a chilling message to the
scientists, law enforcement officers and other specialists working within
the Forest Service," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "Ms. Kimbell
can either allay these fears by taking affirmative steps to protect honesty
or she can reinforce these concerns by inaction." 

In the late 1990's the staff at the Bighorn National Forest elevated a
number of concerns, including - 

*	Illegal timber sales and sweetheart concessions to favored timber
companies; 
*	Failure to meet reforestation commitments to restore habitat; and 
*	Violation of wilderness protections and road construction through
Native American sacred sites. 

The whistleblowers' original complaints resulted in the forced resignation
of the previous Bighorn forest supervisor in 1997. After Kimbell became the
new forest supervisor she purged virtually all of the original
whistleblowers, in many cases replacing them with less experienced workers.
At one point, Ms. Kimbell even sought criminal prosecution of her own staff.

Of that original group, eight resisted and filed formal whistleblower
retaliation complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the
independent agency whose mission is to protect whistleblowers. After an
investigation, OSC found the eight had suffered illegal retaliation.
Following that finding, the eight were awarded a $200,000 settlement along
with personnel relief and cancellation of all disciplinary actions brought
against them by Kimbell, under an agreement brokered by OSC.

"OSC investigates only 8% of whistleblower complaints and only backs
employees in cases where the retaliation is unarguable and unambiguously
crude," said GAP Legal Director Tom Devine, noting that the Bighorn
complainants constituted the largest group of whistleblowers that OSC has
backed in its 28-year history. "This appointment signals contempt for the
merit system, unless Ms. Kimbell sets out to prove that she has learned her
lesson." 

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