Robert Bonnie
Former Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture
As a Rubenstein Fellow, Bonnie is working with students and faculty to address issues related to climate change and natural resource conservation, with a focus on rural America.
Through the Nicholas Institute’s Catalyst Program, Bonnie leads a project that is assessing rural attitudes on the environment in order to identify ways of engaging rural Americans – who manage large portions of America’s lands and watersheds – in collaborative solutions to addressing environmental challenges. Bonnie also led a 2017-18 Bass Connections project team that developed policy proposals to meet the goals of the Mid-Century Decarbonization plan and is leading a second Bass Connections project team in 2018-19 titled Rethinking the Endangered Species Act’s Implementation on Private, Working Lands. Bonnie also teaches courses in the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Biography
From August 2013 to January 2017, Robert Bonnie was the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this role, Bonnie oversaw the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service on a variety of natural resource issues, including management of the 193 million acre National Forest and Grassland System, implementation of Farm Bill conservation programs on America's farms, ranches and forests, and climate change. From April 2009 to July 2013, Bonnie served as Senior Advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for environment and climate change. Prior to joining the USDA, Mr. Bonnie was Vice President for Land Conservation for the Environmental Defense Fund where he focused on developing incentives to reward farmers, ranchers and forest owners for stewardship activities on private lands. Mr. Bonnie has master degrees in forestry and environmental management from Duke University. He grew up on a farm in Kentucky and now lives in Virginia.
Bonnie on the Farm Bill and Wildfires
Rubenstein Fellow, Robert Bonnie remarks on the reauthorization of the farm bill and wildfire management in The Washington Examiner, Before Passing Farm Bill, Congress Has a Big Fight Over Wildfires to Get Through, on October 10, 2018. “The marginal benefits of giving the Forest Service more authority for projects won’t make that big of a difference,” Robert…
Interior Department Withdraws Federal Lands North Of Yellowstone From Mining For Two Decades
National Parks Traveler| October 8, 2018 Tourism has trumped mining in a scenic valley just north of Yellowstone National Park that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, following the lead of former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, said would be off-limits to new mining claims for two decades. Two years ago Secretary Jewell and Under Secretary of Agriculture…
Environmentalists Outraged as Ryan Zinke Says California Fires Have Nothing to do with Climate Change
The Washington Examiner | August 13, 2018 By Josh Siegel Environmentalists criticized Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday for blaming the wildfires raging through California on forest management and claiming that climate change has not played a role in the blazes. Zinke, on a two-day tour of areas devastated by the Carr Fire in Redding, Calif.,…
"The Rubenstein Fellowship has provided me with a tremendous opportunity to work with faculty and students at the Nicholas School, the Nicholas Institute and the Sanford School to explore challenges in environmental conservation in rural America and to develop new policy approaches that can work for both rural constituencies and the environment."- Robert Bonnie, 2017-19 Rubenstein Fellow