He Built an Airstrip on Protected Land. Now He's in Line to Lead the Forest Service.

[highplainsdem]

Source: NYT

Michael Boren, founder of a billion-dollar tech company, Idaho ranch owner and Trump donor, has clashed with the U.S. Forest Service for years.

He was accused of flying a helicopter dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail, prompting officials to seek a restraining order. He got a caution from the Forest Service, and criticism from his neighbors, when he built a private airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch in a national recreation area. And in the fall, the Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing a company that Mr. Boren controlled of building an unauthorized cabin on National Forest land.

Now, Mr. Boren is Mr. Trump’s nominee to oversee the very agency he has tussled with repeatedly.

On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Mr. Boren’s nomination to be the under secretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, a role that would put him in charge of the Forest Service.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/climate/michael-boren-agriculture-nominee-idaho-airstrip.html

[Bayard]

1. Oh, gawd!

The outrage never ends.

[republianmushroom]

2. The privilege of money and republican corruption.

[Doc_Technical]

3. There is a plan to discourage people flying low over BLM land.

An ugly sheep will be put next to the airfield and the plan is called,
"Homely ewe can prevent forest fliers"

[idahoblue]

4. He is a grifter and a thief.

I think it is his brother who made the airstrip, however….
He attacked trail workers with his helicopter
He is suing Stanley, Idaho residents for speaking out against him.
He bought property that he knew had a tax payer purchased right of way running through it and has been working ever since to take that property, as in stealing public land.
He purchased a property with a historical road though it to access Bowery Guard station and hot springs and thousands of acres of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and now has a padlocked gate across it. Again, the theft of public land.

If confirmed, he will have free rein to steal whatever he wants, to silence all who oppose his actions.

[highplainsdem]

5. No, it's Michael Boren, the appointee, who made the illegal airstrip. His brother Dave fought a Forest Service trail

being constructed on an easement on his land, and that was when Michael's helicopter flew intimidatingly close to the construction crew.

The article says Michael put a million-dollar hangar and fuel tanks next to the airstrip. He finally applied for a county permit for the airstrip years after he built it, claiming he's built it as a public service in case of emergencies. There was a lot of public opposition, he got the permit anyway, then sued his critics for defamation. He whined that people hated him in part because he's Mormon. No, people hate him because he's a nasty, selfish, cheating, reckless asshole who should have spent some time in jail for that stunt with the helicopter.

[maxsolomon]

6. All that matters is the Stigginit.

They're putting enemies of Govmint in charge of Guvmint.

We live in Hell.