[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9054]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 26 YEARS OF DEDICATED FEDERAL SERVICE

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, as Members of Congress, we have the unique 
opportunity to participate in special exchange programs in which 
talented individuals from other branches of government can work 
temporarily in our offices as legislative fellows or detailees. These 
initiatives promote efficiency in the business of government by 
developing mutually beneficial relationships between the executive and 
legislative branches of government.
  As Members, we have the opportunity to meet these experts and benefit 
from their insight, knowledge and experience. One such expert in my 
office just celebrated 26 years of service to the USDA Forest Service. 
Kenneth Karkula is currently serving a 1-year fellowship in my office 
through the Brookings Institute. Building on his extensive experience, 
he has made invaluable contributions to several issues important to 
Idaho in the area of natural resources, the environment and energy. In 
the short time since his arrival, he has become an invaluable asset to 
my staff, filling in during recent permanent staff vacancies and being 
willing to do whatever is asked of him.
  Ken is on detail from his position as National Concessions Program 
Manager for the Forest Service. His public service career started when 
he fought wildland fires in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. He then 
served as a District Resource Staff Officer in Arizona and New Mexico 
and, in 1992, moved to the position of Forest Recreation Staff Officer 
in Lake Tahoe, CA. In 1996, he took his current position at the USDA 
Forest Service Headquarters, a tremendous culmination of many hard-
working years. Ken's knowledge of U.S. environmental and Federal land 
management policies, coupled with his experience in on-the-ground 
implementation of these policies over the years, gives him a unique and 
critical perspective of Federal land management issues that benefit me 
as I help explore updating and enhancing decades-old environmental 
policies and practices.
  I congratulate Ken on his many years of successful work and 
dedication to the American public.

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