{"id":2380384,"date":"2024-12-16T05:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T10:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/forest-service-focuses-on-dei-amid-backlog\/"},"modified":"2024-12-16T05:32:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T10:32:04","slug":"forest-service-focuses-on-dei-amid-backlog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/forest-service-focuses-on-dei-amid-backlog\/","title":{"rendered":"Forest Service focuses on DEI amid backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fforest-service-focuses-on-dei-amid-backlog%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2380384&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Forest\u200b Service is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on diversity workshops, known as &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">intercultural communication diversity \u2064dialog\u2063 circles<\/a>,&#8221; led by a consulting firm, J. Mattox and Associates. These\u200d workshops aim to facilitate discussions among employees about racial issues and encourage white\u200b staff\u200c to be\u2062 better\u200b allies to minorities. This\u2062 initiative is part of a broader \u200ddiversity, equity, and inclusion strategy introduced under the Biden administration. Despite this focus on diversity, the Forest Service has struggled to meet its maintenance responsibilities, leading to a backlog exceeding $5 billion, as noted\u2062 in a 2023 report by the\u2063 agriculture \u2063Department&#8217;s Office of Inspector\u200b General. The workshops, which will continue through July 2025, have included various training components, with the contractor receiving over $250,000 in payment for these services. the program emphasizes creating a supportive environment for discussing social injustices and racial inequalities, influenced by \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-confidence-in-higher-education-falls-sharply\/\" title=\"US confidence in higher education declines significantly.\">recent high-profile incidents<\/a> of racial violence. the Forest service acknowledges the importance of fostering\u2062 cultural sensitivity among\u200b its workforce as part of its \u200bcommitment to \u200cequity in its actions and decisions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Forest Service pays to hold &lsquo;intercultural communication diversity dialogue circles&rsquo; amid maintenance backlog<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1625642\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The United States <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/forest-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Forest Service<\/a> has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a diversity consulting firm to hold a series of &ldquo;intercultural communication diversity dialogue circle&rdquo; workshops, federal records <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_127EAT24P0047_12C2_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">show<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>These diversity circles, according to the website of the contractor hosting them, prompt Forest Service employees to discuss their feelings on racial issues and push white staffers to be better &ldquo;allies&rdquo; to minorities. The diversity circles are just one component of a broader <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/a> strategy adopted by the Forest Service under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>As the Forest Service increased its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, it failed to meet goals related to maintaining America&rsquo;s forests. A 2023 Agriculture Department Office of Inspector General report <a href=\"https:\/\/usdaoig.oversight.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/2023-01\/08601-0004-31.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">found<\/a> that the agency, responsible for caring for much of America&rsquo;s public lands, had an over $5 billion maintenance backlog.<\/p>\n<p>Forest Service employees will be subjected to these workshops, for which the agency paid J. Mattox and Associates over $250,000, until July 2025 under the current contract. The agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/search\/?hash=70fc6b577b5acdda7a326f78a969df0e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">previously paid<\/a> J. Mattox and Associates about $60,000 for trainings on &ldquo;anti-racism, equity, and being an effective ally&rdquo; and an &ldquo;engagement forum.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The J. Mattox and Associates website <a href=\"https:\/\/jmattoxandassociates.com\/dialogue-circle-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">describes<\/a> the diversity circles it is facilitating for the federal government as a &ldquo;safe, supportive space to promote open and respectful exchange of personal stories, and feelings about racial inequalities and social injustice to achieve shared understanding, bridge differences, and strengthen [a] sense of community.&rdquo; During the circles, white employees are asked to &ldquo;explore a range of actions and techniques&rdquo; that will help them serve &ldquo;as allies with people of color to be supportive and take action to combat social injustice and racial inequities in the workplace and the community.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The diversity firm <a href=\"https:\/\/jmattoxandassociates.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">cites<\/a> the &ldquo;recent unjust murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor&rdquo; as part of the reason the dialogue circles are necessary.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pumpjacks dip their heads to extract oil on Thursday, July 13, 2023, in a basin south of Duchesne, Utah. Uinta Basin Railway, one of the biggest U.S. rail investments in more than a century, could be an 88-mile line in Utah that would run through tribal lands and national forest to move oil and gas to the national rail network. Critics question investing billions in oil and gas infrastructure as the country seeks to use less of the fossil fuels that worsen climate change. (AP Photo\/Rick Bowmer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Diversity trainings such as these are sometimes mandatory for individuals working in the Forest Service.<\/p>\n<p>The agency&rsquo;s 2023-2024 &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/fs-equity-action-plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">equity action plan<\/a>&rdquo; states that it embarked to &ldquo;train staff to be culturally sensitive and better understand the diverse needs of the constituents we serve.&rdquo; Part of this training included &ldquo;an internal awareness campaign to ensure all employees understand the requirements of Executive Orders 13985 and 14091, and collectively commit to embedding equity into our agency values and decision-making processes.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/20\/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Executive Order 13985<\/a> was issued by President Joe Biden on Jan. 20, 2021, and required all federal agencies to assess how they can better work toward racial equity. <a href=\"https:\/\/whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2023\/02\/16\/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Exe<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2023\/02\/16\/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">cutive Order 14091<\/a>, meanwhile, was issued in February 2023 and ordered agencies to establish dedicated racial equity teams and to work to provide more services to racial minorities.<\/p>\n<p>The Forest Service&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/Forest-Service-Equity-Action-Plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-unleashes-overall-transformation-of-government-with-collateral-action-plans\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Unleashes \u2018Overall Transformation Of Government\u2019 With \u2018Collateral Action Plans\u2019\">equity action plans<\/a><\/a> largely center on getting more racial minorities to access public lands, increasing the hiring of racial minorities, and providing contracts to a greater number of minority-owned contractors.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My great-great grandmother was a slave,&rdquo; one Forest Service staffer said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/about-agency\/equity-action-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">video<\/a> meant to promote the agency&rsquo;s equity action plans. &ldquo;Just that lineage and that heritage in the stories being chased through the woods. Why would I want to work for the woods?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Another forest worker claimed that America&rsquo;s involvement in the Vietnam War makes the forest potentially distressful for Vietnamese Americans and tourists and that the Forest Service needs to do more to accommodate them.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We need every USFS employee to play an active role in this work,&rdquo; Forest Service chief Randy Moore said in September 2022. &ldquo;We must talk, think, and act together to build and sustain an equity-centered Forest Service. There are still too many accounts where people of color, tribal members and indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, women, and members of the LBGTQ community feel unwelcome, isolated, and marginalized.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other equity initiatives pursued by the Forest Service include a <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/09\/26\/biden-forest-service-tree-equity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">nine-figure<\/a> &ldquo;tree equity&rdquo; initiative aiming to provide minorities with greater access to trees. The agency&rsquo;s inability to cut down its maintenance backlog represents a danger to public health and safety, according to the inspector general report.<\/p>\n<p>The Forest Service did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&rsquo;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1625642\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1625642\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forest Service funds diversity workshops despite maintenance issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2380385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Earth-Day-AOC-and-Biden.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[8948,16574,6759,46864,11553],"class_list":["post-2380384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-backlog","tag-dei","tag-diversity","tag-forest-service","tag-inclusion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Earth-Day-AOC-and-Biden.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2380384"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2380388,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380384\/revisions\/2380388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2380385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2380384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2380384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2380384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}