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Dombeck is big gain for UW-SP

By GEORGE ROGERS
of The Gazette
Having Michael Dombeck join the UW-Stevens Point faculty is like the Milwaukee Brewers signing a 20-game winner who also bats .400.

Until April, Dombeck, 52, was chief of the U.S. Forest Service. He's a big name in the environmental world - controversial in the opinion of some, a man of vision in the eyes of others. And certainly a major player in his field.

The university held a press conference last week to announce his coming to the College of Natural Resources. Appropriately enough, the conference was held outdoors, on the shores of Lake Joanis in the Schmeeckle Reserve.

UW-SP Chancellor Tom George said Dombeck had been heavily sought after by other universities. And Vic Phillips, dean of the College of Natural Resources, said, "I would predict that at some time in the future Mike will join the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame."

It was a homecoming for Dombeck, who was born Sept. 21, 1948, at St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point - his parents were living in Marathon County at the time. He grew up near Hayward, earned bachelor's and master's degrees at UW-Stevens Point and taught zoology there from 1971 to 1973.

He said a UW-SP biology professor, the now-retired George Becker, was "one of the first people who opened the doors to me." Becker, he said, was able to get people to perform at the 125 percent level.

Then came a career with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, culminating with his appointment as Forest Service chief in 1997.

In an interview, Dombeck was asked if he would have been fired as Forest Service chief if he hadn't resigned. He didn't reply directly but said he wanted to pursue a strong conservation agenda and that he's "somewhat disappointed at the relaxing of a lot of environmental protections" under the Bush administration. He added, "You've got a new political team and they've got the right to pick the people they want." He did that himself, he said, when he was Forest Service chief.

As chief, he promoted the roadless initiative, covering 58.5 million acres in the national forests, a concept that has drawn criticism, lawsuits and cries for repeal. "A lot of misinformation" has been spread about it, said Dombeck. The initiative would close no roads, merely maintain the status quo, he said. The national forests have 386,000 miles of roads and a $8 billion maintenance liability, declared Dombeck, and regardless of what happens politically, "the road-building era is over."

In an address at Duke University some months ago, Dombeck said, "Today, we are learning to use timber harvest as a tool to help restore healthier, more diverse, and more resilient forests - not simply to supply wood for society. In the future, we will celebrate the fact that national forests serve as a reservoir for our last remaining old-growth forests and their associated ecological and social values."

At UW-Stevens Point, he will help lead the planning and development of the new Global Environmental Management (GEM) Education Center. Dombeck will also have UW System-wide responsibilities.

Water and watersheds were always big issues with Dombeck, who in his youth spent his summers as a fishing guide in northern Wisconsin. "Growing up in the woods, at least back in the '50s and '60s, what else could you do?" he explained. He said it beat working in the forest peeling popple logs.

He has a doctorate in fisheries biology from Iowa State University, and he had fisheries responsibilities with the Forest Service.

Dombeck and his wife, Patricia, have a daughter, Mary, a senior at Virginia Tech . They've sold their home in the Washington, D.C., area and, said Dombeck, "right now we're homeless." They plan to live in the Stevens Point vicinity.

He has relatives in the area, some of whom were at last week's press conference. A sister, Dorothy Wasniewski, lives in Stevens Point. Another sister, Lorrie Lukas, is in New Berlin and a brother, Jim, is in Rhinelander.



	Dombeck is big gain for UW-SP By GEORGE ROGERS of The Gazette Having Michael Dombeck join the UW-Stevens Point faculty is like the Milwaukee Brewers signing a 20-game winner who also bats .400. Until April, Dombeck, 52, was chief of the U.S. Forest Service. He's a big name in the environmental world - controversial in the opinion of some, a man of vision in the eyes of others. And certainly a major player in his field. The university held a press conference last week to announce his coming to the College of Natural Resources. Appropriately enough, the conference was held outdoors, on the shores of Lake Joanis in the Schmeeckle Reserve. UW-SP Chancellor Tom George said Dombeck had been heavily sought after by other universities. And Vic Phillips, dean of the College of Natural Resources, said, "I would predict that at some time in the future Mike will join the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame." It was a homecoming for Dombeck, who was born Sept. 21, 1948, at St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point - his parents were living in Marathon County at the time. He grew up near Hayward, earned bachelor's and master's degrees at UW-Stevens Point and taught zoology there from 1971 to 1973. He said a UW-SP biology professor, the now-retired George Becker, was "one of the first people who opened the doors to me." Becker, he said, was able to get people to perform at the 125 percent level. Then came a career with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, culminating with his appointment as Forest Service chief in 1997. In an interview, Dombeck was asked if he would have been fired as Forest Service chief if he hadn't resigned. He didn't reply directly but said he wanted to pursue a strong conservation agenda and that he's "somewhat disappointed at the relaxing of a lot of environmental protections" under the Bush administration. He added, "You've got a new political team and they've got the right to pick the people they want." He did that himself, he said, when he was Forest Service chief. As chief, he promoted the roadless initiative, covering 58.5 million acres in the national forests, a concept that has drawn criticism, lawsuits and cries for repeal. "A lot of misinformation" has been spread about it, said Dombeck. The initiative would close no roads, merely maintain the status quo, he said. The national forests have 386,000 miles of roads and a $8 billion maintenance liability, declared Dombeck, and regardless of what happens politically, "the road-building era is over." In an address at Duke University some months ago, Dombeck said, "Today, we are learning to use timber harvest as a tool to help restore healthier, more diverse, and more resilient forests - not simply to supply wood for society. In the future, we will celebrate the fact that national forests serve as a reservoir for our last remaining old-growth forests and their associated ecological and social values." At UW-Stevens Point, he will help lead the planning and development of the new Global Environmental Management (GEM) Education Center. Dombeck will also have UW System-wide responsibilities. Water and watersheds were always big issues with Dombeck, who in his youth spent his summers as a fishing guide in northern Wisconsin. "Growing up in the woods, at least back in the '50s and '60s, what else could you do?" he explained. He said it beat working in the forest peeling popple logs. He has a doctorate in fisheries biology from Iowa State University, and he had fisheries responsibilities with the Forest Service. Dombeck and his wife, Patricia, have a daughter, Mary, a senior at Virginia Tech . They've sold their home in the Washington, D.C., area and, said Dombeck, "right now we're homeless." They plan to live in the Stevens Point vicinity. He has relatives in the area, some of whom were at last week's press conference. A sister, Dorothy Wasniewski, lives in Stevens Point. Another sister, Lorrie Lukas, is in New Berlin and a brother, Jim, is in Rhinelander.