NFFE Praises Intended Nomination of Harris Sherman for Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cory Bythrow, Communications Director

Phone: (202) 255-9950

Washington, D.C. – The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), a union representing 100,000 federal workers, including nearly 25,000 permanent and seasonal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees, applauds the anticipated nomination of Harris Sherman for Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the USDA.

As the largest representative of U.S. Forest Service employees, NFFE will set out to forge an effective working relationship with Sherman in order to address a range of crucial issues. One such priority is addressing the root causes of low employee morale in the Forest Service which, in a recent government-wide survey, was ranked 206^th out of 216 agencies.

“We are very concerned about the low morale in the Forest Service,” Dougan explained, pointing out that frustrations with leadership and eroded capacity were the main factors behind this trend.  “We stand ready to work with Sherman to address this problem as well as the many other challenges we face. We look forward to working together to better accomplish the mission of the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture.”

Throughout his career Sherman has accrued a wealth of land management experience. As the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Sherman was charged with overseeing the state’s water, parks, wildlife, public lands, energy, and forestry programs.  Additionally, Sherman served as the director and chairman of several commissions, including the governor’s Forest Health Advisory Council, Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, and Chair of the Denver Regional Air Quality Council.