Supplemental information,
[Federal Register: December 13, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 238)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 69446-69448]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13de99-26]
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.
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/wo__caet@fs.fed.us; 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. 99-32146Filed12-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
