James R. Lyons Biography
James (Jim) Lyons is currently a Lecturer and Research Scholar at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Vice President for Policy and Communications with Oxfam America – an international development and humanitarian organization.
From 1993-2001, Jim served as USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the Clinton Administration, where he guided management of the nation’s forests and development of national conservation programs and environmental policies. Jim played key roles in efforts to develop a strategy for managing the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, in formulating the Clinton Administration’s roadless rule, in eliminating two long-term timber sales affecting the management of the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska, in revising national forest planning, and in developing a strategy for reducing wildfire risk on the national forests. Jim championed the concept of ecosystem management on the nation’s public lands and refocused the policies and programs of the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to promote the stewardship of the nation’s farms, forests and rangelands.
From 1987 to 1993, Jim was a staff assistant with the House Committee on Agriculture where he was responsible for the policy and legislative activities of the committee affecting forestry and natural resources, conservation, and the environment.
Jim has lectured and written extensively about natural resource, public lands, and conservation policy and the politics of environmental issues. He has been a guest on the Today Show, 60 Minutes, the Jim Lehrer News Hour, Anderson Cooper 360, The Situation Room, and the Diane Rehm Show. The New York Times has editorialized about Jim’s conservation leadership and his efforts to reshape national forest management and conservation policy.
