Abigail (Gail) Kimbell ’74, a University of Vermont (̽̽) Forestry alumna and former Chief of the US Forest Service, has been appointed to the Board of Advisors for the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
“Gail contributes her experience and insight from a prestigious career in forest leadership at the nation’s highest level to our Board of Advisors,” said Dean Nancy Mathews. “As an early graduate of the ̽̽ School of Natural Resources, she brings institutional knowledge that will help in our quest to move forward as a highly ranked school of the environment and natural resources.”
Gail’s major in Forestry in the ̽̽ School of Natural Resources led to a long career managing national lands.
“When I enrolled to study forest management at ̽̽, I was set on learning all I could about forestry,” said Gail, who attended high school at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, Vermont and grew up hiking, fishing, and camping in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. “I did not have an employer in mind nor any specific position. I just knew I wanted to work in the outdoors in something worthwhile and meaningful.”
She did just that and much more. As the 16th chief of the US Forest Service from 2007 to 2009, Gail was the first woman to head the agency, which at the time oversaw 193 million acres and 30,000 employees. During her tenure, the Forest Service strengthened its leadership position in landscape management both on the ground and in the science that informs such decisions. Her emphasis on getting children outdoors and on water resources continues today.
“It was an honor to serve as Chief and to work with so many employees, partners, supporters and detractors, and with the lawmakers who wanted our forests to better serve people,” said Gail. “Senator Patrick Leahy’s focus on the Forest Legacy, Forest Stewardship, and Urban and Cooperative Forestry Programs are key examples. It was a pleasure to see them succeed so brilliantly. The need to work across boundaries cannot be overstated.”
After graduating with a BS in forest management, she left Vermont for jobs in the West and began her career in the federal government as a forester with the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon. She then worked her way up through the ranks of the Forest Service in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana, with two stints in the national office.
Gail served as the regional forester of the agency’s Northern Region, headquartered in Missoula, Montana, and as forest supervisor of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Comanche National Grasslands in Colorado, as well as for Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest and Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. She received her master’s in forest engineering from Oregon State University in 1982.
“Serving on such a prestigious board for Dean Mathews is quite thrilling,” said Gail. “I feel like I’ve come full circle back to ̽̽ where my odyssey began. I am honored.”
Now retired, Gail and her husband live in Central Oregon and enjoy recreating on the national forests.