BOOK REVIEW - The Tinder Box - Understanding the Forest Service Consent Decree

BOOK REVIEW

By Don Amador

March 16, 2025

With the Forest Service being in the news on a daily basis because of the recent layoffs of agency seasonal and probationary ground staff and/or new leadership at USDA,  this book will help resource and recreation professionals and their partners to better understand the agency  you work for or with.    

As a recreation consultant who often works with federal and state land management agencies, I want to share my thoughts on one of the most eye-opening works of agency-related literature that I have read in my 35-year career.

 

Written by Christopher Burchfield, The Tinder Box, chronicles how the Forest Service (with a special focus on Region 5) became host to one of the largest court-ordered social experiments in modern times.

 

The Tinder Box at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tinder-Box-Politically-Destroyed/dp/098277348X

 

The book details the 1970s era ramp up to the July 1, 1981 Consent Decree.  The Order by Nixon-appointee Judge Samuel Conti directed the Forest Service to implement an unprecedented gender parity hiring program.

 

The purpose of this review is not to champion or assail the merits of the Decree, but to note how the historic Gifford Pinchot-inspired agency mission of forest and resource management was shifted to creation of a Decree-specific bureaucracy.

 

The Tinder Box describes how this process evolved in early 1970s and continues on to this day with either overt, covert, and/or tacit support from Congress and over 6 presidential administrations.

 

Although I take umbrage with the author’s occasional disparaging comments about OHV recreation, his research does seem to substantiate what I have heard from agency employees over the last 35 years on how the Decree has contributed to agency dysfunction and lack of morale.

 

There are many characters in the book some of which I have worked with or talked to.  Just a few folks mentioned are Max Peterson, Ann Veneman, Dale Robertson, Jack Troyer, Matt Mathes, Jack Blackwell, Jim Lyons, Mike Espy, Wally Herger, Dave Meurer, Jeff Applegate, Lynn Sprague, Corky Lazzarno, Ken Wolstenhom, Mary Coloumbe, Dan Chisholm, John Mica, Ron Stewart, Bob Grate, Robert Tyrell, Doug Leisz, Jack Ward Thomas, and Mike Dombeck.

 

You will also become familiar with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Maupin White Paper, Bernardi Consent Decree, Male Class Complaint, Thirtymile Fire, the 43%, and the Blue Book.

 

Given the impact of almost 50 years’ worth of Decree-inspired litigation and policies combined with an endless avalanche of environmental lawsuits, it is amazing that agency staff today are even able to sign a recreation event permit, complete a travel plan, construct a trail, or produce a map.

 

This is a must read for Forest Service employees (new hires, current, or retired) private sector recreation and resource professionals, congressional staff, grassroots leaders, cooperators, non-profit partners and sister agency employees.

 

After reading this book, you will have a clearer understanding of the Forest Service and a better appreciation for the men and women who continue their efforts – despite the challenges - to serve the public and care for the land.

  

PS - Set aside a good block of time, since you won't want to stop reading it. 

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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for 35 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance.  Don is a Co-Founder and Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino, a forest health collaborative that is part of the National Fire Learning Network.  Don served as an AD Driver for the Forest Service North Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Fire Seasons. Don is a Pacific Northwest California native and writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA. 

TOO BIG TO FAIL? - NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN AMENDMENT

2019 Post Fire Trail Survey of 2015 Route Complex Fire Burn Scar

Six Rivers National Forests

COMMENTARY

By Don Amador

March 10, 2025

 

 TOO BIG TO FAIL? - NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN AMENDMENT

  

It is not often that I am at a loss for words when it comes to making recommendations on Forest Service planning efforts that affect access to high quality trail-based recreation opportunities and related forest management programs.

 

However over the last 3-4 weeks in preparing to submit formal public comments on the Northwest Forest Plan Amendment Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) by the March 17, 2025 deadline, I am having trouble articulating my ongoing concerns about the truncated plan timeline and how it failed to analyze – as a significant issue - the Recreation/Transportation Road and Trail System.

 

I am also trying to figure out that omission aligns with recent policy directives from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and the new Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Shultz, stating their commitment to … “Working with our partners, actively manage national forests and grasslands, increase opportunities for outdoor recreation, and suppress wildfires with all available resources emphasizing safety and the importance of protecting resource values.”

 

I continue to question the practical value of this multi-state regional planning document given the critical staff shortages and other factors at the Forest level which severely limit the agency from implementing current on-the-ground forest health, fuel, and recreation projects.

 

After attending a Forest Service Planning Rule public meeting in 2014, I noted the agency had received a lot of input regarding developed recreation and travel management and that portion of the planning efforts should be enhanced.   In addition, there seemed to be consensus that planning efforts should be on-the-ground product oriented instead of the “planning being the product.”

 

Just as with the Planning Rule, the NWFP Amendment process had robust participation by national and regional motorized and non-motorized recreation groups - but failed to follow the Rule’s example of recognizing that developed recreation and transportation are important factors in programmatic land management planning efforts.

 

I believe the NWFP Amendment process continues to face some serious hurdles or challenges due to loss of institutional knowledge and operational capacity because of the ever growing number of retirements, endless litigation, unfilled staff positions, impacts to relationships because of the agency’s “move to promote” human resources’ plan, conflicting regulations that prevent substantive fire/fuel treatments, and most recently the mass layoffs of its “Boots on the Ground” workforce.

 

Despite the hard work of the NWFP Amendment team, the Trail Community would be naïve to overlook the fact that good words and even good intentions have too often failed to penetrate the bureaucracy and reach the ground, particularly for the recreation enthusiast.

 

I think at this time the three options are to either recommend the agency creates a hybrid preferred alternative that incorporates best management practices of all the alternatives including the recreation tenets in Alternative B or pursue a Supplemental DEIS that includes recreation/transportation as a significant issue.

 

Of last resort, the final option would be to pull the plug on the entire effort that, in my opinion, would be wasting of a lot of tax payer dollars and discounting the hard work put in by the agency, RAC members, and the public. 

 

The one thing I am sure of is that recreation partners must remain engaged and continue to occupy a seat at the table for the foreseeable future.   Sitting on the sideline is not an option.

 

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*BACKGROUND READING MATERIAL

 

Amador’s 2014 Opinion on FS Planning Rule

https://www.dirtbikes.com/land-use-commentary-blueribbon-coalition-rep-don-amador-reviews-usfs-planning-rule-meeting/

 

FS Chief, Tom Shultz, Statement

https://forestpolicypub.com/2025/02/27/forest-service-has-new-chief-tom-schultz/

 

 

 

Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for over 34 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996 until June, 2018. Don served on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards including being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018 Friend of the AMA Award. Don served as the government affairs lead for AMA District 36 in Northern California from 2019 – 2023. Don is a Co-Founder and current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino.  Don served as an AD Driver for the FS North Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 wildfire seasons. Don is a contributor to Dealernews Magazine. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.

QWR NEWS RELEASE - OHV PARTNER TRIBUTE TO FS CHIEF RANDY MOORE

R5 Regional Forester, Randy Moore, 2013 Field Review of Trail Armor Project 

Upper Lake Ranger District, Mendocino National Forest

QWR NEWS RELEASE

 Contact: Don Amador

Email: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

Date: March 3, 2025

 

*Tribute is posted in response to the recent USDA News Release and announcement about Forest Service Chief Randy Moore retiring from the agency.    

  

OHV PARTNER TRIBUTE TO FS CHIEF RANDY MOORE

  

I had the privilege to meet Randy Moore shortly after his appointment in 2007 to serve as the Pacific Southwest Regional Forester.   After shaking his hand and looking him in the eye, I knew he possessed the character, commitment, and leadership skills needed to guide the agency through the difficult challenges it faced.

 

That first meeting in 2008 at the Region 5 HQ in Vallejo, CA was with a core team of OHV leadership and our partners at the CA State Park Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Division. The discussions were centered on our shared commitment to ecologically-balanced motorized recreation on Forest Service System lands.

R5 Regional Forester, Randy Moore, 2009 Field Review of  Stonyford OHV Program

Grindstone Ranger District, Mendocino National Forest 

 

After the initial welcomes, Randy opened the meeting by sharing his background and his willingness to meet with OHV and other key stakeholders but that attendees should be aware of what I called Randy’s Rule” and that was, “If you come to my office with a problem, you also need to come with a solution.”

 

During the course of his tenure as the Regional Forester (2007-2021), the “Trail Community” deeply valued their relationship with Randy and his management team.   And, that his door was always open to the recreation community providing your meeting focused on solution-based discussions.

 

I also appreciated his shared passion for field trips on an ATV or Dirt-Bike where Randy could review some of the important recreation and trail management challenges facing the agency along with solutions being implemented to address those concerns.  

R5 Regional Forester, Randy Moore, 2009 Field Review of Stonyford OHV Program

Grindstone Ranger District, Mendocino National Forest.

 

Randy should be commended for the collaborative manner that his office and staff conducted themselves during the 2018-2020 intense wildfire seasons to build agency and partnership capacity to address post wildfire recovery efforts of both motorized and non-motorized recreation facilities and areas damaged by wildfires.

 

I believe that Randy had the right stuff or blend of field level experience, character, administrative and political acumen, and people skills to succeed both as the R5 Regional Forester and Chief of the Forest Service.

Don Amador at 2015 Meeting at R5 HQ with Randy Moore and Recreation Team

I want to thank him for his 45-year career with the Forest Service and his strong commitment to working with agency partners in support of managed recreation and resource management of public lands.  He certainly upheld the Forest Service motto of: “Caring for the Land and Serving People”. I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.

 

USDA NEWS RELEASE ON MOORE RETIREMENT

https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/leadership/note-reflection

 

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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for over 34 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996 until June, 2018. Don served on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards including being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018 Friend of the AMA Award. Don served as the government affairs lead for AMA District 36 in Northern California from 2019 – 2023. Don is a Co-Founder and current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino.  Don served as an AD Driver for the FS North Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 wildfire seasons. Don is a contributor to Dealernews Magazine. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.

 

 

 

  

NOHVCC HIGHLIGHTS AGENCY/USER GROUP PARTNERSHIPS : Focus on the Positives -- A Path to Moving Forward with Trail Work in 2025

 

Stewards of the Sierra Sign Project - Sierra National Forest 

NOHVCC HIGHLIGHTS VALUE OF AGENCY/USER GROUP PARTNERSHIPS 

By: Marc Hildesheim, NOHVCC Executive Director and Don Amador, CA State Partner

 

*Here is an article that highlights the value and importance of strong agency/user group partnerships and how they help ensure access to high quality multiple-use recreation in both good and bad times – Don Amador

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES TO MOVING FORWARD ON TRAIL WORK IN 2025 

 2025 has certainly seen a flurry of activity with the transition to new leadership in the White House and major changes in the structure of governmental agencies. Many of our partners have expressed concerns about being able to get trail work done in 2025 with hiring freezes, spending freezes, and changes in how business is done. It is easy at times like this to throw your hands in the air in frustration, and just do something besides volunteering your time to do trail work, but our sport is heavily reliant on the great work you do. After a discussion with some other motorized trail advocacy and education organizations, we decided to share some information about how certain groups have navigated these times of change...

 

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

https://www.nohvcc.org/FocusonthePositives/

 

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OPINION - DOGE SHOULD SUPPORT ON-THE-GROUND PUBLIC SERVICES

 

OPINION

By Don Amador

February 17, 2025

  

DOGE SHOULD SUPPORT ON-THE-GROUND PUBLIC SERVICES

 

As somebody who has worked with federal land agencies over the course of my 35-year trail stewardship, recreation, and multiple-use management advocacy career, I have seen both DEM and GOP Administrations issue new executive orders, policy directives, and reform proposals that could be viewed as disruptive to the status quo.

 

I have found a prudent course for those in my profession is to study the proposals for intended and unintended consequences, consult with trusted colleagues, develop action items and solutions, and then share that info with decision-makers and key stakeholders.

 

First, let me share that on a personal basis, I am concerned and acutely aware about the fiscal and emotional impacts the DOGE cuts will have on recent Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service hires including the affect it could or will have on recreation programs and resource management projects.  I also know that many in my career agency network are deeply troubled and discouraged and that reality weighs on me 24/7.

 

However, I also know that the current regulatory industrial complex that started in the mid 1970s with the creation of numerous environmental agencies, related congressional actions, and the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) that was created to allow veterans and others to challenge adverse government actions and recoup legal fees, a well-intentioned cause for sure.  Unfortunately, it became an abused method for special interest activist groups to fund an endless parade of lawsuits against federal land management agencies.

  

I have seen first-hand how recreation and forest health projects have been stalled due to lack of funding since those EAJA awards are deducted from an agency’s individual budgets.  It’s tough to pay for a trail crew, repair a blown out road, replace toilet paper in an SST, or purchase gas for an agency vehicle to ferry staff to a fuel project when the account balance is zero.

 

In 1990, when I started on my land-use journey, the Forest Service annual budget was $921 million dollars. Today, the annual budget is about $9.3 billion dollars that is largely gobbled up by high level career siloed staff tasked with mitigating adverse impacts to the agency by the regulatory and legal industrial complex that often leaves nothing but fiscal crumbs to support recreation and resource management efforts.   

 

Be assured that I will continue to advocate for budgetary support of important staff work at the local level that provides important on-the-ground public services including access to high quality recreation opportunities, forest health projects, pre and post-wildfire mitigation, and natural and cultural resource conservation practices. 

 

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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for 35 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance.  Don is a Co-Founder and Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino, a forest health collaborative that is part of the National Fire Learning Network.  Don served as an AD Driver for the Forest Service North Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Fire Seasons. Don is a Pacific Northwest California native and writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.

OPINION - NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN HIGHLIGHT KEY ROLE OF COLLABORATIVES

Post Fire Hazard Sign - 2015 Route Complex Fire - Six Rivers National Forest

 

OPINION

By Don Amador

January 27, 2025

  

 

NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN HIGHLIGHTS ROLE OF COLLABORATIVES

  

On, January 23, 2025, I attended a public meeting at Shasta College in Redding where the Northwest Forest Plan Amendment Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) planning team gave an update on the planning effort.  Approximately, 50 stakeholders from across the North State attended the meeting to learn more about the DEIS and to share their views and concerns about current and proposed management of their National Forests.

NWFP Amendment DEIS Public Meeting - January 23, 2025

Shasta College, Redding, CA 

 

Several of the key concerns expressed by public statements or in discussions were about the truncated plan timeline, missing significant issues such as Recreation/Transportation Road and Trail System due to self-imposed narrow sideboards, and questioning the practical value of this multi-state regional planning document given the critical staff shortages and other factors at the Forest level which severely limit the agency from implementing current on-the-ground forest health and fuel projects.

Dan Yasuda,  FS Planning Lead 

 I think Don Yasuda, one of the Amendment’s planning leads, did a good job explaining how the agency developed their “Dry” and “Moist” forest management strategies that do reflect a lot of careful consideration of science, lessons learned from the 1994 Forest Plan, and public input.  Don noted the important role that tribes and local stakeholder collaboratives have, and will continue to have, in forest management.

 

While appreciating the work put into the plan so far, I asked the question about why the plan did not appear to analyze post fire restoration and forest management on the millions of acres of National Forest lands that were nuked by massive wildfires during 2018 – 2021 fire seasons?

 

It seemed the answer to that question about why that issue was not analyzed in detail and a subsequent strategy developed was due in part to the compressed timeline and overwhelming size of the 3-state planning area.  

 

Several people in attendance expressed doubt about the future of the process given the Trump Administration’s “pause or hold” on NEPA plans until after appointees have time to review them.

 

The FS Planning Team leads and representatives from the Mendocino, Six Rivers, and Shasta Trinity National Forests should be commended for fielding a lot of questions from the audience and sticking around to engage in meaningful dialogue with the public.

Allen Schrage - Mendo 4x4 Club Conservation Lead

  

 

It was great to be joined by the Mendo 4x4 Club conservation lead Allen Schrage and his family where he continued his strong advocacy efforts in support of agency partnerships and managed OHV recreation on public lands.

 

I encourage the recreation community to remained engaged in the planning process and to submit substantive comments on the DEIS.   The future of our forests and recreation opportunities in the Pacific Northwest depends on your participation. 

 

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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for over 33 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don is a Co-Founder and Current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino.  Don served as a North Zone Fire Cache AD Driver for the 2022 to 2024 fire seasons. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.  Don can be reached via email at: damador@cwo.com

 

 

POST WILDFIRE TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

2022 CA State Park Wildfire Presentation 

OPINION - By Don Amador - 1/13/25

  

Post Wildfire Traumatic Stress Disorder

 

Besides sending donations to organizations that are providing relief services to victims of the ongoing LA wildfires there is not much that I can do to provide immediate in-person assistance to those suffering tragic losses.

 

I have spent most of my personal life and professional career  recreating and working on public lands in Northern California impacted by the 450,000 acre 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire and the 1 million acre+ 2020 August Complex Fire and 2021 Dixie Fire.

Hard Traffic Stop on Highway 199

2023 Smith River Complex Fire

 I hope the following grief-related information that I have gathered since then might help affected parties in some small way cope with, and process, the devastating long-term effects these fires have on displaced families, first responders, business owners, relief workers, and many others.

 

The American Psychological Association (APA) states that trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.

 

APA goes on to say that accidents or wildfires are typically unexpected, sudden and overwhelming. For many people, there are no outwardly visible signs of physical injury, but there can be nonetheless an emotional toll. As we are seeing, it is common for people who have experienced disaster to have strong emotional reactions.

 

Health professionals at the Mayo Clinic state that Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

 

The Mayo Clinic also states that most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD.

2019 Post Wildfire Recovery Project on 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire

 I have found the posting of stories and pictures of my experiences in the affected areas to be therapeutic.  Talking with friends, colleagues, and partners are other important ways that survivors cope with PTSD.

  

As the LA Firestorm continues, it is important for us to exercise patience until firefighters and other 1^st responders complete their assignments and understand they may be in some stage of a Post Wildfire Traumatic Stress Disorder (PWTSD).

 

Also, it is important for family members and friends that are outside of the burn area to understand that they too might be suffering from PWTSD.

  

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Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for over 33 years.   Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. . Don is a Co-Founder and current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.  Don may be reached via email - damador@cwo.com