Harris Sherman

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and the Environment

Why He Matters

Sherman succeeds the controversial Mark Rey, who held the same job during the George W. Bush administration.

Not immune to stirring up controversy himself, Sherman must show critics that he can toe the line when it comes to forming important rules and regulations such as regarding federal forest land.

Read more

Corrections?

Background

At a Glance

Career History: Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources (2007-2009) and (1974-1980); Managing/senior partner, Arnold & Porter, Denver office (1980-2007)
Hometown: Colorado
Alma Mater: Bachelor of Arts, Colorado College; Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B), Columbia University School of Law

DC Office: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250
Web site

Path to Power

Sherman's interest in the outdoors started at an early age. As a young boy, Sherman's parents would take him to hike, fish, ski and camp in the mountains outside of Denver, Colo. Sherman has said that these experiences left an "indelible impression" on him "about the grandeur and importance of our national forests."

A lifelong Colorado native, Sherman earned his undergraduate degree from Colorado College and his law degree from Columbia University School of Law.

Read more

He has held a number of positions in both private and public organizations including chairman of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission; chair of the Denver Regional Air Quality Council; chair of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board; commissioner of Mines; commissioner of the Denver Water Board; trustee of Colorado College; and trustee of the Boettcher Foundation.

Sherman has also been involved with the Nature Conservancy, Colorado Open Lands and the Trust for Public Land.

Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Sherman has served twice as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. His first stint was under the direction of then-Gov. Richard Lamm (D) and his second stint was under the direction of Gov. Bill Ritter (D).

As executive director, Sherman was responsible for overseeing land use in the state including energy, wildlife, parks, state lands and water. Many Sherman supporters have praised his most recent efforts in giving more weight to air and water-quality issues as well as wildlife-habitat concerns.

Sherman has also served on a number of commissions including: the Compact Negotiations for the Colorado Interbasin Compact Commission, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the Governor's Forest Health Advisory Council.

Controversy

Sherman's role as Colorado Natural Resources Department head was not without controversy. He gained a number of critics during the creation of Colorado's Roadless Rule, which aimed to manage four million acres of Colorado's undeveloped public land. Opponents of the rule at that time maintained it allowed for too many exceptions to road-building including power and water infrastructure, logging, ski area expansion and oil-and-gas development.

The Obama administration has since reinstated a federal rule put in place in 2001 by the Clinton administration, which was tossed out by the George W. Bush administration.

Private Sector

After his first stint as a government official, Sherman entered the private sector, becoming a managing and senior partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter in Denver, working there for nearly 30 years from 1980 to 2007.

While at Arnold & Porter, Sherman focused on natural resources, environmental, water, public land, real estate and Indian law.

The Issues

Sherman must overcome the fierce criticism he has received over his involvement with regards to Colorado's state- specific roadless rules proposal. When it has come down to it, Sherman has taken hard stances on bills like the Eastern Oregon Forest Bill and Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, which were sponsored by fellow Democratic Party members.

Federal Forest Planning Rule

Read more

One of Sherman's greatest challenges will be the Federal Forest Planning Rule, which will mandate how 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands develop their own forest plans.

In June 2009, a judge threw out a George W. Bush administration version of the rule, arguinig that the court believed the forest service "failed to analyze the effects of removing requirements guaranteeing viable wildlife populations."

The Obama administration won't seek an appeal of that ruling. Instead, the administration is tasking officials such as Sherman with creating a new rule that will incorporate all of the administration's priorities.

The creation of this new rule is timely because many forest plans have been put on hold while the litigation process ran its course.

Forest Legislation

Under direction from the administration to take conservation and climate change into consideration when doing his job, Sherman is already tangling with lawmakers over key forest bills.

The Eastern Oregon Forest Bill would mandate 300,000 acres of national forest in the Cascades be thinned in the next three years.

During testimony at a subcommittee hearing in March 2010, Sherman expressed his concerns that the bill calls for too much "thinning" in the next fiscal year. "We want to work with the committee to ensure these treatment levels do not affect other forests and programs in Oregon or the rest of the country," Sherman said.

Sherman also expressed concerns about other areas of the bill, including the formation of a science advisory panel and exemptions some projects would have from the appeals process. Sherman maintains that if passed the way it's written, the bill would set a dangerous precedent for "making national forest decisions outside the national framework."

Sherman has expressed concern about a 2009 bill introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), which would log 100,000 acres over 10 years. Sherman argues that logging so many acres over a decade isn't doable and thus would negatively impact local and rural economies.

Both the bills use language from the Forest Landscape Restoration Act of 2009, which Sherman stated in his testimony could "lead to confusion during implementation."

Bark Beetle-ravaged forests

Bark beetles have been ravaging forests in the Western part of the country, killing two million acres of forest in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. According to the Forest Service, removal of the affected trees could take upwards of 20 years.

An immediate concern is the danger the dead trees pose to residents, power lines and roadways. The Forest Service estimates about 100,000 trees destroyed by bark beetles will fall every day in the Colorado forests for years.

In December 2009, the Forest Service allocated $40 million to address the bark-beetle issue.

"I think the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture are very focused on the challenges that Wyoming is facing containing the bark beetle," Sherman said.

In May 2010, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) sought an additional $50 million allocated for clearing trees killed by the bark beetle. However, Udall's efforts were blocked from consideration as part of the emergency supplemental bill.

Without more funding on the way, the Forest Service is requesting utility companies with "rights-of-way" in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming help remove the dead trees before damage is done to power lines or water resources.

The Network

Sherman and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar are longtime friends, both having a long history in Colorado politics. Salazar was also a previous executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

Sherman is just one of many Colorado officials connected to Salazar who now hold positions that oversee national public lands.

Campaign Contributions

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Sherman donated $4,000 to Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) in October 2004 and an additional $2,000 in September 2004. He also donated $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in June 2004. And in November 2008, Sherman donated $1,000 to Barack Obama.

Additional Resources

The Post Most: PoliticsMost-viewed stories, videos and galleries int he past two hours