The Forest Service on Wednesday announced long-waited changes to rules governing the National Forest Management Act, the basic law that governs the nation's 155 national forests.
The new rules:
Give regional forest managers more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects within two or three years by streamlining environmental reviews that now take up to seven years.
Relax a requirement to protect fish and wildlife in national forests so species do not become threatened or endangered. Instead, the rules direct forest managers to take into account the best available science to protect air, water, wildlife and other natural resources at a landscape level.
Require independent audits of all forest plans, using a process known as Environmental Management Systems. The Forest Service says the system accounts for changing forest conditions, while emphasizing science and public involvement.
Do not promote or discourage any particular forest use, such as recreation, grazing, timber harvest or mineral development. Decisions regarding such uses will be made on a forest-by-forest basis and will be informed by local conditions, science and public input, officials say.
Environmentalists say the new rules eliminate analyses required under the National Environment Policy Act, which mandates that federal agencies assess potential environmental effects of their actions and examine alternatives. The plan also would scrap wildlife protections established under President Reagan and limit public comment into forest management decisions, they say.
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2004/releases/12/planning-rule.shtml
The new rules:
Give regional forest managers more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects within two or three years by streamlining environmental reviews that now take up to seven years.
Relax a requirement to protect fish and wildlife in national forests so species do not become threatened or endangered. Instead, the rules direct forest managers to take into account the best available science to protect air, water, wildlife and other natural resources at a landscape level.
Require independent audits of all forest plans, using a process known as Environmental Management Systems. The Forest Service says the system accounts for changing forest conditions, while emphasizing science and public involvement.
Do not promote or discourage any particular forest use, such as recreation, grazing, timber harvest or mineral development. Decisions regarding such uses will be made on a forest-by-forest basis and will be informed by local conditions, science and public input, officials say.
Environmentalists say the new rules eliminate analyses required under the National Environment Policy Act, which mandates that federal agencies assess potential environmental effects of their actions and examine alternatives. The plan also would scrap wildlife protections established under President Reagan and limit public comment into forest management decisions, they say.
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2004/releases/12/planning-rule.shtml
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