Allan Fitzsimmons

Allan K. Fitzsimmons, New Wildlands Fuel Coordinator at the Department of Interior

Who is He

Allan K. Fitzsimmons is the Department of the Interior's Fuel Coordinator. This is a newly created position were he will coordinate and implement fuels treatment on lands managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

Background

Fitzsimmons has 25 years of experience working with natural resource issues to this position, including previous service at the Interior Department. From 1983-1985 he served as a special assistant to the Deputy Director of the National Park Service. From 1985-1989 he was the assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and from 1989-1992 the Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, Planning and Development at the Department of Energy.

Environmental Record

Fitzsimmons’ ideas on the treatment of issues regarding ecosystem management, specifically endangered species, have created some controversy in environmentally aware citizens and organizations, such as Friends of the Earth. In a book written by Fitzsimmons in 1999, Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems, he renounces the existence of ecosystems, claiming they are merely “mental constructs.” [1] The Secretary of Interior, Gale A. Norton, who appointed Fitzsimmons to the Fuel Coordinator of the Department of Interior position feels confident that Fitzsimmons has a “wide range” of experience with environmental issues, though. [2]

Personal Life

Fitzsimmons is an avid rower and he and his wife reside in Woodbridge, Va. He's the father of three daughters and has five grandchildren.

References

[1] http://www.foe.org/camps/eco/interior/fitzsimmons.html

[2] http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/archives/N/int0365.shtml

http://www.doi.gov/news/020828.htm

http://books.google.com/books?id=8FRP2ZbvL0gC&dq=allan+fitzsimmons