|
Bush Administration Forest Proposals
Issued Since Fall 2002
 Here are some of the barrage of anti-forest conservation proposals from the Bush Administration since fall 2002:
- Proposed changes to National Forest Management Act (NFMA) Regulations. A radical proposed re-write of the regulations that implement NFMA will have drastic consequences for wildlife, wild forest conservation and citizens' rights to be involved in public land management. (For more information see below.)
- A new proposed categorical exclusion rule on National Forest projects deemed "hazardous fuels reduction" activities would reduce analysis of harmful timber sales. 30-day comment period ended January 15, 2003. Final.
- Guidance from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to expedite section 7 Endangered Species Act consultations on fuel reduction projects. This will reduce scientists' review of projects and actions that could harm threatened and endangered species. Notice issued December 10, 2002.
- Changes in the appeals process which will make it more difficult to appeal (two separate proposed rules one for FS and one for BLM) Proposed amendments would change the Appeals Reform Act regulations. Proposed December 18, 2002; comments period due February 18, 2003.
- New procedures for State and Local governments to try to establish that dirt tracks, stream bottoms, livestock trails and other faint paths are "highways" and thereby take control of federal public lands under the guise of "rights of way." This will allow damaging roads to be built in sensitive wildlife areas. Published January 2, 2003. Final.
- Reducing analysis of timber sales less than 50 acres. This proposal would require little, if any, analysis for any road construction of less than ½ mile of "temporary" roads. There would be no requirement to remove the road when the project is completed. Federal Register notice (after Jan 3, 2003); 60 day comments starting after Federal Register Notice.
Rewriting Forest Law - Changes to the National Forest Management Act
The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 requires the US Forest Service to develop a management plan for each National Forest or administrative unit. The regulations (or rule) that implements this law are key in detailing the requirements that the agency must follow in developing the plan. This past Thanksgiving Eve the Bush administration announced revisions to the NFMA rules. The draft proposal would greatly reduce the amount of environmental analysis, wildlife protection, and public involvement currently required in the development of and revision of forest management plans.
The current regulations, first implemented early in the Reagan administration, were revised and updated in 2000 after significant scientific and public input. But after complaints from the timber industry, the Bush administration put the revised safeguards on the chopping block. Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey, former lobbyist for the American Forest and Paper Association, has led the charge. Unremarkably, today's NFMA changes mirror the timber industry "wish list" from the American Forest and Paper Association's 2001 congressional testimony.
The proposed NFMA rules would:
- Effectively exempt the plan revisions from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA.) By not requiring a full environmental impact analysis of the revised plan, this one step would give agency managers total discretion on when and how much they wanted to involve the public and how they would weigh public input.
- Eliminate the requirement to maintain viable populations of native wildlife species. This current requirement is the most important legal safeguard of National Forest wildlife habitat. The proposed draft rule would allow agency managers to protect habitat for vertebrate species, such as salmon or goshawks, to "...a high likelihood..." or "...to the extent feasible..." This amount of discretion would lead to serious degradation to wildlife when agency managers are faced with political, budgetary or other pressures to increase logging.
- Eliminates requirements in the 2000 regulations to evaluate and protect the ecological values of wild roadless forests.
- Increase the likelihood of harmful logging projects based on "multiple use values." This would allow commercial logging under the guise of "wildlife habitat improvement," or "fuel reduction," among other reasons.
- Reduces overall environmental standards and accountability by allowing management plans to be revised to accommodate individual projects and opens loopholes for "adaptable management." In other words, if a harmful logging project violates the plan's standards -- the Forest Service would change or "adapt" the standards to allow the project to proceed.
- Drastically limit public involvement and allow no opportunity to request administrative review or an appeal of the final plan.
Photo courtesy Mitzi Emrich/Sierra Club Collection; all rights reserved.
Up to Top |
