Lifelong forester Tony Tooke has taken the helm as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced recently, noting that the agency will be “in good hands.”
Tooke has worked for the Forest Service since he was 18 and most recently served as the regional forester for the nation’s southern region, a USDA release said. He also held posts in Region 8 and the Washington office, overseeing lands and realty, minerals and geology, ecosystem management, wilderness, rivers and administrative functions.
Tooke, who was instrumental in implementing the Farm Bill and improved inventory monitoring systems in his previous assignments, earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Mississippi State University and received additional leadership training.
“The Forest Service will be in good hands with the U.S. Forest Service’s own Tony Tooke, whose knowledge of forestry is unmatched,” Perdue said in the release. “Tony has been preparing for this role for his whole professional life, and at a time when we face active and growing fires, his transition into leadership will be seamless.”
Perdue predicted that Tooke will be influential in increasing forestry productivity and stimulating new jobs.
“No doubt, the stewardship of our forests is an awesome and sacred responsibility, and no one knows that better than Tony who has dedicated his career to this noble cause,” Perdue said in the release.
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