© 2026 ABC News

There are a few reasons that it's especially hard to counteract harassment of women in agencies like the Forest Service. Kathryn Clancy, an anthropologist who studies workplace climates in the scientific fields, said factors like a male-dominated workplace or working in a field typically associated with men can make it more likely that women will face harassment or even assault.

Rice said many women would quit firefighting roles because of \"the boys club\" atmosphere.

\"Women in isolated workstations have to navigate “the boys club” which can be hostile, intimidating and unwelcoming, and women tend to quit or move on. Some can do well but others exposed to these oppressive conditions will not report, and the bad behavior culture persists and is enhanced because they feel a sense of reward, proud that they have been able to push women out and can boast they have no women on the crew,\" Rice said in her 2016 testimony.

Clancy also emphasized that most people think or harassment as unwanted sexual advances or assault but that only represents a small percentage. The vast majority of gender-based harassment is derogatory comments, actions, or bullying toward women or other minorities in the workplace. She said harassing behavior can escalate and that for women it's often a \"danger sign\" that worse behavior could be on the horizon.

Clancy is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois and recently testified in a congressional hearing on sexual harassment in the sciences.

Another factor that makes it harder to stop harassment at the Forest Service is that many employees work at regional offices or in the field while accountability measures like the agency's inspector general are at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Clancy has researched the culture at field sites for scientific research and has said the working in isolation can contribute to bad behavior because of attitudes that \"what happens in the field stays in the field.\"

\"PHOTO:U.S.
Mike Eliason/AP Photo
PHOTO:U.S. Forest Service hot shot crew members head down a fire break to work off E. Camino Cielo in Santa Barbara, Calif., Dec. 17, 2017.Thousands of firefighters tried to shield area communities from one of the biggest wildfires in California history.
>

About 35 percent of Forest Service employees are women, but the number is much lower among firefighters, which can make up almost half of the agency's workforce during the busy part of the year. In July of last year, only 13 percent of the almost 19,500 firefighters working for the Forest Service were women.

Many of those firefighters are assigned to crews of 18-20 people and work in the field to put out wildfires and work to prevent fires on federal lands, according to the agency's website.

An interim report from the Agriculture Department's inspector general report found that the Forest Service has made progress but still has problems, including how it investigates claims of sexual harassment. The review found that the agency uses only internal investigators, which has led to a lack of trust that allegations will be investigated fairly. The inspector general recommended that the agency initiate a one year trial period using only external investigators, which the service agreed to do.

The Forest Service has also assigned a \"Senior Advisor\" and employee advisory group to focus on work environment, according to a letter from Tooke to department employees obtained by ABC News. The agency did not make anyone available for an interview Friday but said in a statement it is learning from the interim report.

\"This information will inform our actions, in real time, to continue to improve how we take care of persons who have been harassed, hold offenders accountable, provide training, continue to monitor, and improve the work environment to eliminate all forms of harassment,\" spokeswoman Babete Anderson said in a statement. \"These are critical issues that the Forest Service must continue to take on to increase our efforts to protect our fellow employees so they know they can speak up and speak out, without any fear of retaliation or reprisal.\"

\"PHOTO:
Natalie Behring/Getty Images
PHOTO: A U.S. Forest Service sign welcomes visitors to Clackamas Lake Historic Area September 27, 2014.
>

But members of Congress said the report shows that more changes are needed to improve how USDA and Forest Service handle harassment.

The inspector general is expected to release a full report in April, according to Rep. Jackie Speier, D- Calif., who requested an investigation in 2014. Speier said in a statement the USDA and Forest Service are \"a long way away from curing this cultural rot.\"

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., also announced plans to hold a hearing on harassment in the Forest Service, saying in a statement he plans to \"use every tool to ensure all bad actors are held accountable.\" Daines is a member of multiple committees with jurisdiction over the Forest Service and has not yet set a date for the hearing.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/sexual-harassment-issues-forest-service-chiefs-resignation/story?id=53609162","legacySlug":"/news/story/sexual-harassment-issues-forest-service-chiefs-resignation-53609162","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"15:45","publishDate":"03-10-2018","updatedTime":"11:29","updatedDate":"03-11-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"U.S. Forest Service firefighters take a break from battling the Rim Fire at camp Mather near Groveland, Calif., August 25, 2013. ","credit":"Justin Sullivan/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/forest-service-01-gty-jrl-180309_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/10/2018 15:45:12 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":53609162,"headline":"Forest Service still working to reduce harassment ","mediaAssetTitle":"sexual harassment in the forest service","description":"The Forest Service has been struggling with sexual harassment for years.","duration":"1:24","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/10/171018_vod_orig_sexualharassmentMIX1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["53594798","50539668","52550296"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"March 8, 2018","headline":"Forest Service chief steps down amid sexual misconduct investigation","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/forest-service-chief-steps-amid-sexual-misconduct-investigation-53594798","id":53594798,"image":{"alt":"Forest Service chief steps down amid sexual misconduct investigation","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/tony-tooke-forest-service-chief-ap-thg-180307_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa via AP, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 18, 2017","headline":"What constitutes sexual harassment and what to do about it","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/sexual-harassment-50539668","id":50539668,"image":{"alt":"What constitutes sexual harassment and what to do about it","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/weinstein-gty-er-171017_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Venturelli/WireImage/Getty Images ","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"January 24, 2018","headline":"6 in 10 have hope for lasting change on sexual harassment (POLL)","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/ten-hope-lasting-change-sexual-harassment-52550296","id":52550296,"image":{"alt":"6 in 10 have hope for lasting change on sexual harassment (POLL)","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/womens-march-nyc-gty-mem-180123_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Forest Service still working to reduce harassment ","description":"The Forest Service has been struggling with sexual harassment for years.","duration":"1:24","uploadDate":"03-10-2018","publication":"03-10-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/10/171018_vod_orig_sexualharassmentMIX1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/10/171018_vod_orig_sexualharassmentMIX1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/sexual-harassment-issues-forest-service-chiefs-resignation-53609162"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Forest Service still working to reduce harassment ","pubTime":"10:45","pubDate":"03-10-2018","modTime":"07:29","modDate":"03-11-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":53609162,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Forest Service still working to reduce harassment ","mediaAssetTitle":"sexual harassment in the forest service","videoId":53609162,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/sexual-harassment-issues-forest-service-chiefs-resignation-53609162"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/53609162","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/53609162","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};