News and Updates

Newest NEWS-STORY - Date: Tue, 18 May 2004

FROM National Forest Protection Alliance

Greenwire

May 14, 2004 Friday

FORESTS: SENATORS SAY ADMIN SHOULD HAVE ASKED SCIENTISTS TO REVIEW PLANNING RULE

Dan Berman, Greenwire reporter

The Bush administration should convene an independent panel of scientists to review its proposed changes to forest planning rules before it publishes the final rule, 12 Democratic senators and Independent Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) said in a letter yesterday to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

OMB is currently reviewing the proposed final planning rules that govern how the Forest Service develops and revises land and resource management plans for all of the nation's 192 million acres of national forests, dictating activities such as timber harvesting, recreation and wildlife management. The final rule is expected to be released to the public soon, according to Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch.

But the senators say the administration is undermining the role of science in the management of national forests by not convening a committee of independent scientists. Congress directed the Carter administration to appoint a committee of scientists to review the initial draft of the regulations, and panels were convened for subsequent changes by the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

"The Forest Service's proposal represents the first time in history that these important regulations would be revised without the independent review of a committee of scientists," the senators wrote. "We believe that these regulations should not be finalized until a committee of scientists is convened to make sure that the regulations will accomplish on the ground what NFMA requires."

The advisory committee played a pivotal role in the Clinton administration's NMFA planning rule revisions, the senators said, citing a 1999 report that recommended sustaining plant and animal habitat should be the first priority of managing Forest Service resources.

"Formal input from experts outside of the Forest Service proved enormously beneficial in guiding past administrations and in ensuring that these regulations were scientifically sound and credible," the letter states. "As a result, the Forest Service's current effort lacks the credibility and substantive foundation that past committees of scientists provided."

Valetkevitch said the Forest Service believed the 1999 report was still useful and decided to use it rather than ask for a new scientific review. "We thought that report was still valid, and we used the recommendations in that report for the proposed rule and the final rule," Valetkevitch said.

As for the final rule, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey told Congress in March he hopes the new proposal is better received than earlier versions. "It will be a sporting discussion," Rey said. "I imagine we'll satisfy some of the critics of the proposed rule, but I'm quite confident we won't satisfy all of them" (Greenwire, March 3).

The draft rule released in late 2002 drew protests from environmentalists for proposing to no longer require environmental impact statements as required under the National Environmental Policy Act for changes or amendments added to existing forest plans. Instead, the Forest Service would consider doing the studies on a case-by-case basis.

And a final draft of the planning rule changes leaked to the media last summer showed the administration was considering barring the environmental reviews altogether.

"Because a plan establishes only a framework for future decisions regarding management activities, environmental analysis undertaken for a plan, plan amendment or plan revision cannot completely disclose future site-specific environmental effects of management activities," the final draft states. "Agency resources are better directed to a balance of planning, on-the-ground management, and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation" (Land Letter, Oct. 2, 2003).

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Andrew George
Campaign Coordinator
National Forest Protection Alliance
PO Box 215
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0215
andrew@forestadvocate.org
                                                                                                        Not a member?  Join NFPA today at www.forestadvocate.org

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Monday, July 28, 2003 : Media coverage
The Ithaca Radio Hour has scheduled a segment on the FLFWC for tonight's broadcast. Tune in tonight at 6:30 PM to hear the show, broadcast on WEOS at 89.7 and on Ithaca Community Radio at 88.1 on your FM dial.

Friday, July 18, 2003 : Finger Lakes Forest Consensus
This summer and fall, we are pushing for endorsements of the Finger Lakes Forest Watch comments to be submitted on the revised Forest Plan. We ask that everyone download a copy of the form, read it carefully, and send the completed form back to us at this address: Finger Lakes Forest Watch Congress, 4 Main Street, Trumansburg, New York 14886. If we can build a coalition of organizations and individuals with a united point of view about Plan Revision issues, the Forest Service will have to take notice. If you endorse the Finger Lakes Forest Consensus, print the form, sign it and mail it back to us (the address is at the bottom of the form). Also, please print extra copies and ask whatever organizations you belong to for an endorsement.