National Forest System Land and Resource Management Planning

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

36 CFR Parts 217 and 219

National Forest System Land and Resource Management Planning

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of supplemental information.

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SUMMARY: On October 5, 1999, the Forest Service published a proposed

rule to guide land and resource management planning on national forests

and grasslands. On October 19, 1999, the agency published a notice of

23 national town meetings to be held for purposes of explaining and

receiving written comment on the proposed rule. The Forest Service is

now publishing

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the briefing materials and questions used at the public meetings to

ensure that those who cannot attend the meetings have an opportunity to

use this information for providing comment.

DATES: Comment on the proposed rule, including the information in this

notice, must be received in writing by January 4, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the proposed planning rule to the

CAET-USDA, Attn: Planning Rule, Forest Service, USDA, 200 East

Broadway, Room 103, Post Office Box 7669, Missoula, MT 59807; via email

to planreg/[email protected]; or via facsimile to (406) 329-3021.

Comments, including names and addresses when provided, are subject

to public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments

received on the proposed rule in the Office of Deputy Chief, Third

Floor, Southwest Wing, Yates Building, 14th and Independence Ave., SW,

Washington, D.C. between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Cunningham, Ecosystem Management

Coordination Staff, telephone: (406) 329-3388.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Committee of Scientists was chartered by

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to advise the Forest Service on

improvements that could be made in the National Forest System Land and

Resource Management planning process. The Forest Service published a

proposed rule on October 5, 1999 (64 FR 54074). The Committee also

recommended that the agency use new and innovative methods of engaging

the public in its work. The Forest Service responded to their

recommendation by sponsoring a series of 23 town hall meetings across

the country on the proposed planning regulation (64 FR 56294).

The town hall meeting format was designed to introduce participants

to the major themes contained in the proposed forest planning rule and

to create an opportunity for people to talk with each other about the

proposed rule. The four themes and discussion questions which follows

are being used at the 23 public meetings.

Town Hall Meeting Discussion Questions

Theme 1: Sustainability

After reading the information below about sustainability, please

answer the following questions. What do you like about the theme of

sustainability and its key points? Do you see areas that need

clarification, that are missing, or that you disagree with?

Sustainability means meeting the needs of present generations

without compromising the needs of future generations. The proposed rule

would affirm ecological, social, and economic sustainability as the

overall goal for management of national forests and grasslands. To

achieve sustainability, the first priority for management would be the

maintenance and restoration of ecological sustainability. This will

allow the Forest Service to provide a sustainable flow of products,

services, and other values from national forests and grasslands. Making

ecological sustainability the first priority does not mean that the

agency will maximize the protection plant and animal species to the

exclusion of human values and uses. Rather, it means that, without

ecologically sustainable systems, other uses of the lands and their

resources would be impaired.

Achieving ecological sustainability requires maintaining or

restoring ecological integrity, which is defined as: ``An ecosystem

that, at multiple geographic and temporary scales, maintains its

characteristic diversity of biological and physical components, spatial

patterns, structure, and functional processes within its approximate

range of historic variability. These processes include disturbance

regimes, nutrient cycling, hydrological functions, vegetation

succession, and species adaption and evolution. Ecosystems with

integrity are resilient and capable of self-renewal in the presence of

the cumulative effects of human and natural disturbances.''

The management of national forests and grasslands will promote

economic and social sustainability through: (1) Involvement of

interested and affected people in Forest Service activities; (2) the

development and consideration of relevant social economic information,

including the social and economic characteristics of communities

affected by Forest Service decisions; and, (3) the production of a

range of products, services, and values, such as clean air and water,

productive soils, biological diversity, wildlife, wood fiber,

employment, community development opportunities, recreation, beauty,

inspiration, wonder, and a refuge for the renewal of the human spirit.

Theme 2: Integrating Science

After reading the information below about the theme of integrating

science, please answer the following questions. What do you like about

the theme of integrating science and its key points? Do you see areas

that need clarification, that are missing, or that you disagree with?

Integrating science means placing renewed emphasis on the use of best

available science and giving scientists a more active role in planning

and decisionmaking. The proposed rule: (1) Fosters the exchange of

information and ideas among scientists, the public, and the Forest

Service; (2) allows for broad-scale and local assessments that examine

the ecological, social, and economic conditions and issues affecting an

area; (3) emphasizes monitoring and evaluation so that the Forest

Service can adopt as conditions change and more is learned over time;

(4) links project implementation to monitoring funding, such that

projects could not be authorized unless there is a reasonable

expectation that adequate funding will be available to complete

required project monitoring; (5) establishes science advisory boards

designed to improve Forest Service access to the latest scientific

information and analysis; (6) allows peer reviews and science

consistency checks to ensure that the best available science is used in

planning and decisionmaking; and (7) ensures that scientists from a

broad range of disciplines and institutions will play an increased role

in nearly every stage of land management planning.

Scientists will: (1) Identify new issues and translate new

information about the conditions of forests and grasslands; (2) conduct

appropriate broad-scale assessments and local analyses; (3) design and

review monitoring protocols; (4) conduct peer reviews and science

consistency checks; and, (5) formulate potential solutions to issues by

analyzing management options.

Theme 3: Creating Living Documents

After reading the information below about creating living

documents, please answer the following questions. What do you like

about the theme of creating living documents and its key points? Do you

see areas that need clarification, that are missing, or that you

disagree with?

Creating living documents means creating a planning process that

enables Forest Service officials, in conjunction with their public

partners, to address emerging issues, public ideas, new information, or

changed conditions, more quickly and soundly.

The proposed planning process is designed to continue the learning

and innovation that has occurred and continues to occur among the

Forest Service and its partners. It is not a ``cookbook'' for making

decisions, but a process that encourages the evolution of new ideas.

The planning process is

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dynamic so that the Forest Service can respond rapidly to issues and

opportunities identified through discussions with the public,

monitoring, broad-scale or local assessments, new laws and policies,

etc.

The scale of Forest Service planning would be based on the scale of

the topic to be considered rather than Forest Service administrative

boundaries. For example, two, three, or twenty national forest might

work together to address a certain issue. Issues extending beyond

national forest and grassland boundaries would also be addresses, while

respecting private property boundaries. Land management plans are based

on realistic funding levels so that they do not create expectations

that cannot be fulfilled. Plans become a collection of decisions, like

a loose-leaf notebook, that stay current and continue to guide

decisions rather than a weighty book that gathers dust on the shelf

once it is completed.

Theme 4: Collaboration

The theme of collaboration is an especially important aspect of the

proposed rule, and we would like some specific advice from you on this

subject. Collaboration means actively engaging the public, interested

organizations, and federal, tribal, state and local governments in

solving problems that affect national forests and grasslands.

Under the proposed rule, the Forest Service would: (1) Actively

engage its partners in Forest Service activities; (2) convene,

facilitate, and participate in efforts aimed at solving problems,

defining future goals and opportunities, and addressing issues that

affect national forests and grasslands; (3) partner with other

governments, agencies, companies, and individuals to address issues

that are common across a shared landscape; and (4) make future planning

processes transparent.

We know that your time and energy are valuable, and given that

government entities like the Forest Service have specific duties and

responsibilities they must fulfill. The Forest Service, for example

cannot give up its final decisionmaking authority. Given this

information, what are some general guidelines the Forest Service should

follow in working with others in addressing natural resources issues?

What are some things the Forest Service can do to best take advantage

of your expertise and the skills of other people interested in the

future of our national forests and grasslands?

Dated: December 7, 1999.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Associate Chief for Natural Resources.

[FR Doc. 99-32146 Filed 12-10-99; 8:45 am]

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