Archives West Finding Aid

Thomas J. Kovalicky was born on September 13, 1938 in Passaic, New Jersey. He earned his high school diploma in Clifton, New Jersey in 1953 and his Bachelor of Science in Forestry at the University of Montana, Missoula, in 1961 (he attended between 1953-1958, served time in the Armed Forces, returned in 1960, and graduated in 1961).[1]

Tom worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho before becoming district ranger and forest supervisor in Idaho – two positions that would define his career. As a young man in 1954, Tom fought forest fires in the Clearwater forest in Idaho.[2]

In 1970, Thomas J. Kovalicky became the district ranger for the Stanley Ranger District in Idaho. According to an interview in 2012, "at the time they were prepping this area for the proposed Sawtooth National Recreation Area. My job, as the Forest Service explained it to me, was, you go to Stanley, and you make sure that the National Park Service doesn't get the hearts and minds of the local people and turn this into a national park."[3] Tom was able to convince the locals around Stanley, Idaho, that the Forest Service was better to take over that land than the Park Service by emphasizing that, "if the Park Service takes over, there will be no more hunting. And that was the tilt. That is the thing that made people say, we want to talk more about this…the hooker was there would be no more guns, there would be no more hunting, and that seemed to draw a lot of intrigue."[4] The area ultimately became an NRA, National Recreation Area, rather than a national park.

When asked if he had any regrets about the outcome, he responded: "No. No. The minute I turned the corner in lower Stanley looking at these mountains I realized how crucial this would be for the reputation of not only the politicians involved, but the agency being given a new charge, where they could show their expertise in something other than chopping trees down and grazing cattle and sheep. I saw that potential here, so no, I never had any regrets. I underwent a lot of criticism; it might be a surprise, but there was a lot of internal resistance inside the agency to get away from the pure multiple-use angle of managing property or the landscapes. The Forest Service never envisioned itself ever wanting to be a leader in recreation management. They never pounded the drum to be leaders in the wilderness management arena or the wild and scenic river arena or anything that had to do with wild lands. That wasn't their cup of tea – and it still may not be their cup of tea when you look at what is going on in America today. They just haven't matured as an agency towards a full blown landscape mentality."[5]

Tom is arguably most well-known for his time as the forest supervisor of the Nez Perce National Forest, serving from 1982 to December 31, 1990 when he retired from the U.S. Forest Service. According to The Lewiston Morning Tribune, "Kovalicky gained national prominence as a maverick forester for putting fish and wildlife on par with timber. He was one of the first who went public with the need to change the Forest Service and was generally praised by fish and wildlife groups who saw him as a model forester."[6] His work wasn't praised by everyone though, as the Lewiston Tribune wrote in 1988 that he had "taken occasionally controversial stands on logging, logging roads, and wildlife and fish habitat" while also maintaining a strenuous relationship with U.S. Senator James McClure who had differing policy beliefs.[7]

However, he is also known as having "led the way in improving relations between the public and the Nez Perce Indian tribe and under his auspices the Forest has initiated an annual Native American week in which Indian culture, customs, and current issues are discussed."[8] In 1988, the Lewiston Tribune quoted Herman J. McDevitt as saying that Tom's "'forest has become the premier forest in the nation on stream rehabiliation'" and that "elk, geese, peregrine falcons, mountain goats and bighorn sheep have also benefitted greatly under Kovalicky's administration."[9] Another article of the Lewiston Sunday Tribune said that "Kovalicky has carved himself out a niche among conservationists as a U.S. Forest Service line officer who champions anadromous fish, salmon and steelhead, as vigorously as the trees in the national forest."[10] Rather than "elevating timber to a position favored above all other resources," Kovalicky is said to have been "genuinely concerned about managing all the resources on the national forest," a "sincerity [which] extends to his relations with the tribe." Elliott Moffett, Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee secretary at Lapwai, said that, "'where there's been a lot of more or less talk about working with the tribe, I think Mr. Kovalicky has taken one step further and has gone beyond the talking stage in some respects that the other forests haven't.'"[11]

By 1988, Tom had been supervisor at the Nez Perce National Forest for 6 years and in those six years, "budgets for fisheries projects have increased some 25-fold, from $22,600 in 1982 to $515,000 in 1988." However, "that aggressive effort to gather in BPA habitat money has not been universally endorsed, even among friends. Idaho Fish and Game Department officials have grumbled about such projects and questioned their wisdom."[12]

Tom was involved with organizations outside of the U.S. Forest Service. He served as President of the Society of American Foresters Wilderness Stewardship Working Group (1995-1999), was on the Board of Directors for the National Smokejumper Association, was a Board Member of Idaho Rivers United, was a Charter Board Member for the Selway-Bitterroot Foundation, was a Board Member of Gloria Flora's Sustainable Obtainable Solutions (SOS), and has been a member of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board (IOGLB), the Society of American Foresters, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Idaho Rivers Unlimited, Boy Scouts of America, local Chamber of Commerce, and more.[13]

Tom was named Conservationist of the Year by the Idaho Wildlife Foundation in 1988 "for his long-standing work in managing for wildlife and fish values." In 2006, Tom received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Montana, Missoula. He received the "Outstanding Leadership in Resource Management Over a Career Period" annual award.[14]

Tom has one son, John T. Kovalicky, who worked as a Smokejumper Technical Specialist for the U.S. Forest Service and was the Loft Manager at the Aerial Fire Depot in Missoula, Montana. John's wife Debby worked as the merchandise director for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and have two sons, Jace and Justin.[15] Tom currently lives in Grangeville, Idaho.