USFS

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

REPORT | Mismanaging the Mission: Weakening the Agency Responsible for our National Forests

by PEER | September 15, 2025
Under Secretary Rollins and the Trump administration, Forest Service employees’ ability to fulfill the agency’s mission is being compromised ...

TAKE ACTION | Tell the USDA to Respect and Protect Forest Service Employees

by PEER |
Petition urging USDA Secretary Rollins to roll back the agency's plans to eliminate or consolidate Forest Service Regional Offices and Research Stations ...

Letter to USDA Secretary Rollins – Department of Agriculture Reorganization Plan

by PEER | August 31, 2025
DESCRIPTION: Letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins re: Memorandum SM 1078-015, Department of Agriculture Reorganization Plan TO: US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins FROM: Chandra Rosenthal, PEER; Karina Mudd, California Native Seed Supply Collaborative DATE: August 31, ...

COMMENTARY | Redefining the US Forest Service Mission

by Guest Contributor | August 27, 2025
An anonymous US Forest Service employee shares their concerns about the recent direction for implementing EO 14225 “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production ...

COMMENTARY | National Parks or Jurassic Parks? Conservation Trump Style

by Jeff Ruch | April 22, 2025
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggests that technology can replace the role of habitat and intact ecosystems in the survival of wildlife ...
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