On Wednesday, two sitting members and one new member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) were confirmed in Senate Rules Committee, and will now await final confirmation by the full Senate. The two sitting members include Richard Wade and Susan Husari, while new member Christopher Chase seeks his first Senate confirmation.
Wade has served on the Board since 2011, and has held several positions at Sierra Pacific Industries as well as a short tenure with the USDA Forest Service. Wade is a registered professional forester, and has been an active participant not only on the Board, but on the Governor’s Tree Mortality Task Force where he has offered his expertise in necessary regulatory exemptions and revisions to help expedite the tree removal process, as well as lending his knowledge on equipment deployment and resource allocation.
Husari has served on the Board since 2014, and was a pacific west regional fire management officer for the U.S. National Park Service from 2002 to 2012, as well as serving in several positions with the USDA Forest Service. Husari is an expert in fire mitigation and management, and began her career as a seasonal firefighter at Klamath National Forest.
Chase is the newest appointee to the Board, appointed in August 2017. Chase is a timberland manager for the Michigan-California Timber Company and has worked for the Timber Products Company since 1997. He is a registered professional forester.