108 



3 

 As Chief, I see my role as fostering am orgamizational climate 

 where diverse vie%^oints are accepted, where bad news can be 

 safely delivered, where honesty is consistently rewarded, and 

 where we all pull together to carry out management decisions 

 that are openly made. Additionally my core values include a 

 commitment to exercise leadership, bring about needed change, 

 and a desire to be judged on results. Actions truly speaik 

 louder than words. 



To return to the business at hsmd concerning the legislation 

 you are considering today, H.R. 2153 would designate 

 approximately 442,425 acres of federally- owned lands within the 

 Sequoia and Sierra National Forests in California as the Giemt 

 Sequoia National Forest Preserve. The bill would esteiblish a 

 Gicmt Sequoia Scientific Advisory Board and direct the 

 Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) administer the Preserve as a 

 separate unit within the National Forest System; (2) make 

 yearly recommendations, in consultation with the Secretary of 

 the Interior amd Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, 

 on other areas to be designated National Forest Preserves; 

 (3) piiblish a conqprehensive memagement plan for the Preserve; 

 cmd (4) make annual "tax equivalency payments" in place of 

 payments in lieu of taixes under 16 U.S.C. 500 to the local 

 government of each political subdivision within the boundaries 

 of which are lands indicated xinder the bill for inclusion in 

 the Preserve. 



