The San Francisco Chronicle, reports that a federal judge ordered the U.S. Forest Service to diversify its work force in California, ruling that the agency has failed to eliminate hiring and promotional barriers to Hispanics as required by a 2002 court agreement. The judge ordered the agency to sign a contract with "an effective outside recruiter" and allow a court-appointed monitor to hire a new staff member to review all new hires and promotions.Hispanics only make up about 9 percent of the forest service's 5,000-member work force that manages 18 national forests in California.
