BIO
Randy Moore is Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, leading a workforce of more than 25,000 permanent employees who sustainably manage 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands; support the world’s largest forestry research organization; and work with states, tribes, and others to sustain all of America’s forests for the benefit of all citizens, today and in the future.
Before being named Chief, Moore served as Pacific Southwest Regional Forester from 2007 to 2021, where he was responsible for 18 national forests in California, covering one-fifth of the state on 20 million acres of land. He also oversaw State & Private Forestry programs in Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands.
Moore began his 43-year career in 1978 with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in North Dakota. He began his Forest Service career on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in Colorado and the Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands in Kansas. After serving as Deputy Forest Supervisor on the National Forests of North Carolina and the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, he was Forest Supervisor on the Mark Twain. He then served as Regional Forester for the Eastern Region, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for five years.
Moore’s national experience in Washington, D.C., includes serving as acting Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System and as National Deputy Soils Program Manager.
A native of Bastrop, Louisiana, Moore earned his bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from Southern University. He and his wife Antoinette have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.