Forest Service to Chart New Course With Planning Rule

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue a new rule for the nation's 193 million-acre National Forest System that will require public collaboration and the use of the best available scientific data for all planning purposes, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Following are highlights of the proposed rule:

• Opportunities for public involvement and collaboration would be required throughout all stages of the planning process.
• Plans require the use of the best available scientific information to inform the planning process and documentation of how science was used in the plan.
• Plans must include components that seek to restore and maintain forests and grasslands.
• Plans would include requirements to maintain or restore watersheds, water resources, water quality (including clean drinking water) and the ecological integrity of riparian areas.
• Plans would be required to provide habitat for plant and animal diversity and species conservation. These requirements are intended to keep common native species common, contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species, conserve proposed and candidate species and protect species of conservation concern.
• Plans would provide for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish.
• The planning framework provides a more efficient and adaptive process for land management planning, allowing the Forest Service to respond to changing conditions.

Under the new rule, "… plan revisions would take less time, cost less money, and provide stronger protections for our lands and water," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "Finalizing a new rule will move us forward in managing our forests and grasslands, and will create or sustain jobs and income for local communities around the country."