New Under Secretary Appointment Announced

Mr. Jenson is on his way to Washington. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the appointment of Jay Jensen as USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. In this position, Jensen will have responsibility for the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of National Forest System lands and provides assistance to the more than 10 million family-forest landowners in this country. Jenson will also be responsible for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. NRCS has primary responsibility for working with private landowners in conserving, maintaining and improving their natural resources.

Since May 2005, Jensen has been Executive Director of the Council of Western State Foresters/Western Forestry Leadership Coalition. The Coalition is a federal-state governmental partnership. Jensen had served earlier as the Coalition's Government Affairs Director. He has also served as Senior Forestry Adviser for the Western Governors Association, where he was responsible for the biomass energy program.

The Secretary said, - I'll be looking to Jay's leadership as we address the health of our forests. This is a top priority for USDA because it relates to several critical challenges-the intensity of forest fires, climate change, biomass and renewable energy, clean water and revitalizing forest-dependent communities.