The historical limitations on African American mobility are demonstrated in the demographic distribution of Forest Service employees. Forest Service data shows African Americans are geographically clustered in the southern States and the Washington, D.C., while they are practically excluded in geographic areas west of the Pecos River. Additionally, African Americans are disproportionately clustered into secondary, lower graded positions with little opportunity for advancement into the leadership positions that influence the mission of the Forest Service.

In order to achieve mission oriented leadership and influence the functional mission of the Forest Service, employees must acquire on-the-ground, front line functional experience. The great majority of such Forest Service work takes place west of the Pecos River. Thus, African Americans, who have been historically excluded from those areas, are pre-empted from entering and advancing into those Forest Service functional, mission oriented, leadership positions.

The enclosed tables and maps show that we are clustered in the southern states, but the public lands that are managed by the Forest Service are predominantly in the western states. Public lands management and leadership action is predominately in the west. Concomitantly, the greater amount of opportunities for advancement into leadership positions, are out west. We have been historically excluded for those opportunities --- from the great Anglo westward movement of the 19^th century to this present day. The legacy of historical federal legislation haunts us today.

Our federal government created that legacy. Thus, it is a national and federal responsibility to change that legacy, to mitigate the imbalances, eliminate the exclusions, and to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans. It is not just a federal responsibility --- we have the primary responsibility, as individuals and as a group with common conditions, to remedy that legacy.

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