Allan K. Fitzsimmons is the Wildlands Fuel Coordinator at the United States Department of the Interior

United States Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...

. This is a newly created position where he will coordinate and implement fuels treatment on lands managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

, Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

, Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...

 and the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

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Career

Fitzsimmons has 25 years of experience working with natural resource issues previous 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 special assistant to the assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and from 1989-1992 the special assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, Planning and Development at the Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

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Philosophical and political views

Fitzsimmons’ views regarding ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

 management, specifically endangered species, have created some controversy among environmentalists, such as Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...

. In his 1999 book Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems, he renounces the existence of ecosystems, claiming they are merely “mental constructs.” Interior Secretary Gale Norton

Gale Norton

Gale Ann Norton served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush...

, who appointed Fitzsimmons to the Fuel Coordinator position, feels confident that Fitzsimmons has a “wide range” of experience with environmental issues.

External links

• http://www.doi.gov/news/020828.htm
• http://books.google.com/books?id=8FRP2ZbvL0gC&dq=allan+fitzsimmons