Forest Service rule disputed - Comments from public will no longer be added to some agency plans Corinne Purtill
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 23, 2006 12:00 AM
Conservation groups are angry about a new rule from the U.S. Forest Service that they say will diminish the public's voice in how their forests are used.
Earlier this month the Forest Service implemented changes to the 15-year management plans required of each national forest and grassland. One of the major changes involves no longer including an environmental-impact statement.
In practical terms, this means that each forest plan, which outlines which parts of the forest should be used for different activities, will no longer go through the extensive formal study outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act. The studies examine a project's effects on the environment and weigh public comment along the way. advertisement
Individual projects in forests, such as new logging ventures, will still have to submit an environmental-impact statement, Forest Service officials said.
The move was designed to streamline the forest planning process, said Karen Carter, spokeswoman for the Forest Service's Southwest region.
Currently, updating a forest plan can take five to 10 years and cost $5 million to $7 million, Carter said. Under the new rule, revising a plan should take only two to three years.
"We just felt that the time was more well spent on the site specific projects," Carter said.
Conservationists disagreed. They argued that the new rule further strips forest plans of their authority.
"Without any real meaningful public participation, it takes any real enforcement out of the plans themselves and will leave management of our forests essentially to the whim of our supervisors," said Greta Anderson of the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity.
Anderson said she anticipated lawsuits from conservation groups over the new rule.
Forest plans are like municipal zoning guidelines and show which areas are prime for wildlife habitat, recreation, logging or grazing.
Arizona's six national forests - Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Coronado, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto - are all in the process of updating their forest plans. Most are at least a few years overdue.
In 2001, the Forest Service began an extensive overhaul of its forest planning process. This new rule is the final step in that revision.
The move has drawn criticism from lawmakers. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W. Va., the incoming chairman of the House Resources Committee, told news outlets that the new rule is yet another example of the Bush administration's efforts to undermine wildlife protection.
Lori Faeth, adviser to Arizona's Gov. Janet Napolitano on natural resources and the environment, agreed.
"This administration seems to go to bypassing important environmental review processes before anything else," Faeth said. "As a policy, that's not a very good rule."