Can't see the forest for the bureaucracy

Magnet#1082 - USDA Forest Service

Neat magnet! My sister picked it up for me at the Forest Service building where they keep Smokey Bear's office.

The Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture takes care of U.S. land management, keeping our 193 million acres of forests and grasslands intact. They work on the landscapes and protect water resources - caring for the land, and the people on it.

There's something I've been thinking about since Obama's last State of the Union address last month. That whole thing about the salmons?

"Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."

- President Obama, State of the Union Address

He said it within the context of telling us he plans to consolidate federal agencies and eliminate redundancies. I mean, everyone complains about the bureaucracy of the US government, that it takes forever to push the paperwork, and navigate all the different branches and services and groups and sectors that overlap and duplicate and possibly counteract each other?

I get it. It's probably a necessary step, and one that will take forever to accomplish. But, the thing is, if he gets rid of several different agencies, that's also eliminating jobs, too.

And where do those folks end up getting absorbed?

"Remember. Only YOU can prevent wildfires!"*

Magnet #1063 - Smokey's Office

Since the 1940s, Smokey Bear has been the spokesbear for preventing forest fires in America. Thousands of leaflets, posters, radio, print, tv and onlines, he's still one of our most recognized advertising - and government- icons. Talk about a campaign with legs!

And with the Ad Council and several other partner organization's help, he's still fighting the good fight at his website, still trying to help educate people on the importance of preserving our nation's forests.

My sister got me this magnet from the U.S. Forest Service, just off the Mall in DC. Of course, I've now visited the exhibit twice myself. Yes. Twice. Within a month.

What? Ya'll know I love bears.

And, even though animatronics freak me out like no one's business, I love visiting Smokey Bear's office!

*Smokey says his original "Remember. Only YOU can prevent forest fires." in the video I took, because according to the ranger on staff, it's the 1930s or 40s in his office. The Forestry Service changed over to preventing wildfires in 2001, in an effort to include forest, wild, and brushfires.