Sedell Named as Director of Research Program for Wildlife, Fish, and Watershed and Air

U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today appointed James Sedell as national director of wildlife, fish, watershed and air research. 

“Jim has been instrumental in raising awareness nationally about the role of national forests in providing water to the nation and the importance of having healthy watersheds.  I know he will bring the same enthusiasm and energy to these critically important areas of research,” said Bosworth.  “Some of the most significant management issues facing the Forest Service today relate to wildlife, fish, watershed restoration and air quality and we need someone with Jim’s abilities leading our research efforts for these programs.”

Sedell currently serves as the inter-deputy water coordinator for the Forest Service providing leadership for watershed protection and restoration programs.  He began his career with the agency in 1980 as a research ecologist for the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s laboratory in Corvallis, Ore. He also served as the station’s program manager for aquatic/land interaction research and worked on the Interior Columbia River Basin Ecosystem Management Project.  Prior to 1980, he worked in research for the Weyerhaeuser Company and as a research associate and assistant professor at Oregon State University.

“It is an honor to be chosen as director of research for wildlife, fish, watershed and air and I look forward to being involved with the exciting research efforts that are being conducted throughout the country and with a Forest Service research division with a long and distinguished record,” said Sedell.

Sedell received a bachelor’s in philosophy from Willamette University in Salem, Ore., in 1966 and a doctorate in biology and ecology with a minor in forensic chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971.

A reporting date for Sedell has not been set.