Wildland Fire Battalion Chief Resigns From The US Forest Service Based On Leadership Values The Federal Agency Instilled In Her
Ms. Vicki Christiansen – USFS Chief & Sonny Perdue – USDA Secretary
Dear Ms. Christiansen and Mr. Perdue,
Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my position as Battalion Chief (District AFMO) on the Kern River Ranger District of the Sequoia NF in the Pacific Southwest Region, effective today.
Duty. Respect. Integrity. Those are the core leadership values and respective principles that have beeningrained in my head and heart for the last 22 years as a wildland firefighter. I offer my resignation from USDA – US Forest Service based on my sense of DUTY towards proactive change of the agency culture, out of RESPECT formyself, my family and those closest to me in life and at work, and due to mypersonal and professional value of INTEGRITY by setting the example of standing up for others as well as myself when faced with a toxic workenvironment. These values and the direct conflict with my personal values, ethics, and morals are the foundation of my resignation. The failure in “leaders”, from the District to Washington Office level, to demonstrate moral courage by adhering to high ethical standards and choosing the difficult rightover the easy wrong helped me in determining my decision to resign.
I am extremely proud of the opportunities the USFS has provided me and the numerous accomplishments while serving the agency and the public. I have served this agency across three geographic regions and four national forests resulting in accolades of my emergency incident work and public education nationwide. I carried myself with honor, pride and professionalism in all aspects of the positions I performed. I was acknowledged as such by my subordinates, peers and supervisors, documented through successful performance evaluations, awards and letters of recommendation.
Up until the last few years, I felt valued by my subordinates, peers, and supervisors. Those I served up, down and laterally have continually praised me for my work ethic, professionalism and most importantly, speaking the hard truths over an easy path of silence. Internal growing pains are expected in a large organization such as the Forest Service, however the struggle should be a result of an effort to improve when embracing employees that are willing to help, instead of working tirelessly to smash down strong individuals who are brave enough to speak truth to power. Morally and ethically, I cannot remain with an organization who does not support those who speak up and out, those who challenge the status quo and those who look for opportunities to improve the workplace environment.
Ever since relocating to the community in which I was raised, my experiences across the nation serving the USFS and the roles I served on several Emergency Incident Management Teams have been very rewarding. I have built professional relationships and found true friendship within these exceptional groups that I will continue long after today as I move into the next chapter of my career. I relocated to my hometown in order to start and raised a family and to be close to my immediate family as it seems this is one of the few ways for mothers who serve in Fire and Aviation Management can be successful. I went so far as to take a voluntary downgrade from Fire Engine Captain to Fire Prevention Technician just so I could be in a position, that I was assured, would be more conducive to family life. I was concerned, after observing many women in fire, that I would not be met with managerial or peer acceptance as a captain because of the strain my family responsibilities would put on a module of firefighters who relied on my availability. The fire prevention position seemed to be a logical compromise that I was willing to accept at that time. I was later promoted to Battalion Chief specializing in fire prevention and public education. I had high hopes to continue my fire career as a strong leader, proving to my son that I could bean exceptional mother, while managing a fire program and working on emergency incidents of all complexities. Little did I know, I would encounter a toxic dynamic of leadership that made my job, which was my life, a complete misery. The repeated statement by my management, “if you don’t like it you can leave” is what motivated me to hang on for so long, tolerating a manipulative style of management while continually looking for angles to successfully turn this toxic work environment around. You see, this is my home town, where I grew up. My family is here, my son and his father are here, my parents are aging, and our family ranch is what memories are made of. My parents, worked far too hard for such an amazing piece of land for me to simply be pushed away to another agency location because of a few people in managerial positions, who care more about maintaining and consolidating their power than they do about their employees. Sadly even my parents worry about retaliation. They are afraid someone may find a way to harm them as a way to hurt me. When they shared that with me it broke my heart, but proved to me how detrimental my situation has been. Had I not held a deep motivation to hang on and fight, I would have silently promoted up and out of this disastrous work environment long ago at the suggestion of many leaders who reached out to recruit me in order to get away from the continuous hazardous behavior within this Forest.
But is that what you want? Quality individuals to leave dangerous work environments because they know that option is safer than speaking up? So far, the loud and clear answer I have seen and heard is YES. I simply can’t see how the USFS and USDA will ever improve with that mentality. On this path the agency will continue to lose and not be able to recruit outstanding leaders. The only employees who will remain are those hanging on till retirement or have no other options. Many hazardous supervisors are being protected and retained by the mantra, “we must protect the agency” instead of corrected or removed after their behaviors are reported. If a manager/supervisor makes amistake or handles a personnel issue poorly, is that really the answer, “we must protect the agency”? Accountability at all levels, including Employee Relations and Civil Rights is needed and to those in the field, on the groundand front lines, it is abundantly clear and consistently stated among the ranks, “line protects line”.
Many things I have experienced the last few years have been similar to the “stuff” fatality investigations are made of. I have tried repeatedly to share my concerns and relate them to hazardous human factors and actions that play a part in the Swiss Cheese Model which can lead to deadly outcomes. Recently it came down to three individuals who systematically attempted to dismantle my career by influencing many levels of management in order to support their efforts. The last few years of pushing back against the immoral behavior of these individuals with the support of a very insightful union rep and later, through my attorney led to many disturbing realizations. Paired with the undeniable information and insight day lighted recently, led me to the decision of resignation.
There are very few individuals who have left this small community to go out and gain exposure and experience in other regions or onother national forests. The decision to come home and continue working for the USFS was a difficult one as I knew the workplace environment at Kern RiverRanger District did not have a positive reputation. However, I knew in my heart of hearts I could be a part of positive change in order to foster a much better environment for the employees I served as a supervisor. I stood up for my employees and their safety. I stood up for my employees and their work/life integration in order to find the best balance possible for all. There were, and more than likely still are, blatant safety issues not being addressed and dismissed altogether. I fear for the physical and emotional safety of those working on the Kern River Ranger District. This District is an absolute mess, a nightmare for those who serve and have served under the current regime. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why people have left or are leaving. There are some who choose easy and safe silence in order to keep the peace because they have no means or desire to relocate. So, they keep their heads down and their mouths shut, essentially hiding within the work environment. They fear retaliation and belittling for speaking up or out. Some are physically anchored here and cannot move, cannot afford to lose their job. This is an economically poor community and those who work for the USFS have one of the most stable jobs in the surrounding area. Retention should not be motivated by fear as it is on the Sequoia National Forest.
The sad part is, the agency made my decision to resign an easy realization. The agency has no true desire to implement effective change to the workplace environment. Since the oversight committee hearings in 2016, THREE years ago, there has not been any meaningful change other than the standard reaction of more systematic training.
Some may not agree with my style of sharing hard truths to cause a shift. There is no doubt that true friends, mentors and leaders rise to the top of our lives at times like these. I have been warned that I might burn bridges. However, I know this, any bridge I burn because of my efforts to seek improvement or inspire change, leads to a path I would never want to venture down.
At every stage of my career with USFS, I have stood up and spoke the truth, which is what I am doing again here. It is my intent as my last act as a USFS employee to affect positive change in this important agency.
Respectfully,
Abby L. Bolt
Advocate|Consultant|Speaker|IMT Member
To all my old friends and new that read this, please feel free to reach out to me at abby@herbrotherhood.com and as Incident Commander Rocky Opliger would say, “let the adventure continue”.
Wildfire Today released two powerful articles following Bolts letter: Forest Service Battalion Chief resigns in open letter to the Secretary of Agriculture & Forest Service Chief Christiansen testifies about harassment in the agency
Abby Bolt BC 44 US Forest Service Sequoia National Forest
