As commissioner, I will use the leadership experience I’ve gained to help our state get ahead of the wildfire crisis, instead of just reacting to it. I’ll do this by continuing our progress improving wildfire response, but importantly, by accelerating our efforts to restore healthy forests and sagelands that are naturally fire-resilient and investing in communities to become better protected from wildfire.

Currently, I serve as the Commissioner of Public Lands’ Wildland Fire and Forest Resilience Liaison, as well as lead the state’s Wildland Fire Advisory Committee and represent the DNR on the state’s Shrubsteppe Restoration and Resilience Initiative. I have the experience to lead our state in getting ahead of the wildfire crisis.

As commissioner, I will direct the DNR to manage state lands to achieve healthier, more productive, and wildfire-resilient forests.

We can manage public forests to ensure their legacy for decades to come, while supporting our public schools and economy. As commissioner, I will manage state forests to achieve both. This starts with valuing forests for all the benefits they provide, setting management goals for providing these benefits, and implementing progressive forest practices that focus on producing value from forest management over timber volume.

By increasing the DNR’s ability to directly manage forest harvest operations, we can protect sensitive habitat and restore our forests’ ability to withstand wildfire and provide vital habitat, while providing a sustainable supply of logs to timber mills. Direct management by DNR of state forests will also increase our ability to secure the greatest value for the timber we do harvest for state trust beneficiaries – our public schools.

As our summers grow hotter and drier and our precipitation patterns shift, we must manage our state lands to reduce the threat of wildfire, maintain our water supplies, and ensure that our rivers continue to provide the habitat our fish and wildlife will need to adapt.

Over the last decade at DNR, we have developed plans to adapt our natural resource management to a changing environment. As commissioner, I will direct the DNR to accelerate the implementation of these plans, ensuring that we continue to adapt to a changing climate and develop practical solutions to environmental changes as we encounter them.

I will also lead the DNR in doing our part to combat climate change, while seizing opportunities to maximize revenues for state trusts and build our economy.

We can achieve these things by managing the carbon-storage potential of public lands; the water-conservation potential of our forests; and habitat quality and diversity on those lands.