Tony Tooke
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Tony Tooke was the Chief of the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
for a little over six months, from September 1, 2017, until he announced his retirement on March 7, 2018 due to numerous sexual misconduct allegations over his four decades of employment in numerous positions for the Forest Service.


Career

Tony Tooke began his career in the U.S. Forest Service in 1980, at the age of 18, on the
National Forests National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...
in
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. In 1993 he became a Forest Service line officer. His field experience includes assignments as a "Timber Management Assistant", a position usually responsible for the execution of a program to produce a specified amount of timber each year. His next career steps included being an "Other Resource Assistant", and a Silviculturist (an individual who is responsible for timber harvesting and reforestation plans). He eventually became a Forester on six Ranger Districts, including districts in
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
and Mississippi, managing the growth of different trees and monitoring their health. From there he moved on to become District Ranger at the
Talladega National Forest The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state of Alabama and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km2) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, ...
in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, the
Oconee National Forest Oconee may refer to: Places in the United States *Oconee, Georgia *Oconee, Illinois *Oconee, Nebraska *Oconee County, Georgia *Oconee County, South Carolina *Oconee River, Georgia *Oconee Township, Shelby County, Illinois *Oconee Township, Nebraska ...
in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and the DeSoto National Forest in Mississippi. After that, he served as Deputy Forest Supervisor for the National Forests in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.


Washington positions

Since 2006, Tony Tooke also held increasingly senior positions in the Forest Service's
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
Office (WO). In September of that year, he took over the position of Assistant Director for Forest Management. In this function, he became closely acquainted with questions of
ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...
,
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, and integrative vegetation management. Since March 2009, he served as Deputy Director for Economic Recovery. In December 2009, he became the Director for Ecosystem Management Coordination, where it was his job to manage the lands and resources of the National Forest System. His last position in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, before becoming Service Chief, was Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System. In this capacity, he oversaw numerous work areas of the Forest Service, including the Lands and Realties the agency has been entrusted with, but also less obvious aspects such as Minerals and Geology. Furthermore, his obligations included the oversight of cooperation efforts with state rural development councils through the National Partnership Office as well as the coordination of ecosystems management and the Forest Service's efforts for the conservation of wilderness areas and wild scenic rivers. In addition, he also was responsible for oversight of bureaucratic necessities such as Business Administration and Support Services. As Associate Deputy Chief, Tooke was also in charge of the Forest Service's programs for
Environmental Justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...
and the implementation of the 2014 Agricultural Act, commonly known as the "Farm Bill", which helps the Forest Service to accomplish some of its core missions, such as ecological restoration and reducing risks of wildland fires. Yet another facet of Tony Tooke's work was to implement the Forest Service's strategy to improve the agency's awareness of the state of its inventory, as well as the work of its usually widely dispersed employees, and the implementation of a new planning rule for the National Forest System.


Atlanta positions

After Tooke's assignment in the WO, he became Regional Forester for the Forest Service's Southern Region, also known as Region 8, headquartered in
Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...
. The Southern Regional Office manages forests and lands of 13 states as well as
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. In a ceremony at
White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...
on September 2, 2017, Tooke took an oath of office from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture,
Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
, thereby making Tooke the 18th Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. New Hampshire's Governor,
Chris Sununu Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire from 2017 to 2025. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Sununu is the son of former New Hamps ...
, and members of the US Forest Service also attended the ceremony. Tooke succeeded the longtime Chief of the Forest Service
Thomas Tidwell Thomas L. Tidwell was the 17th Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, and was appointed on July 17, 2009, succeeding Gail Kimbell. He was succeeded by Tony Tooke, who was sworn in September 1, 2017. ...
. The new Chief took over an agency that oversees 154 national forests, as well as 20 grasslands in 43 states and Puerto Rico. One of his primary tasks would be to lead the fight against
wildland fires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), desert ...
which consume more than half of the Forest Services financial resources, topping $2 billion in 2017. The agency, as Tooke said in a statement in September 2017, appreciated the help it received from Congress to develop more effective tools for
firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...
.


Sexual misconduct

On March 2, 2018, the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that the United States Department of Agriculture has "engaged an independent investigator" to evaluate charges of sexual misconduct and harassment against Tooke, including retaliation against those who complained about him. Within days, Tooke announced his immediate retirement on March 7, 2018.


Education

Tooke holds a bachelor's degree in forestry from
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
(1983). He was a member of the inaugural class of the United States Forest Service's "Senior Leadership Program". He has also completed the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.


Background

Tooke grew up on a small 200-acre farm in
Detroit, Alabama Detroit is a town in Lamar County, Alabama, Lamar County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1955. At the 2010 census the population was 237, down from 247 in 2000. The prior name of the town was Millville due to the many mills built ...
.


References


External links


US Forest Service biography

Tony Tooke biographical profile
(
Forest History Society The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history."Forest History Society." Echo Project. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://echo.gmu. ...
) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tooke, Tony United States Forest Service officials Mississippi State University alumni People from Lamar County, Alabama Living people Year of birth missing (living people) First Trump administration personnel