As a part of its ongoing onslaught on public lands, the Bush Administration has recently re-approved new Forest Planning Regulations that gut public involvement in national forest planning and remove all legally enforceable measures to protect soils, water quality, and wildlife. These regulations are used to prepare, revise, and amend forest plans, which govern all activities that take place on a national forest.
Although a federal district court found a nearly identical version of these regulations (originally released in 2005) illegal last year, the Administration rushed to narrowly address the legal shortcomings identified by the court and re-issue regulations before leaving office. Lawsuits have again challenged the regulations, and will hopefully overturn them again.
In the meantime, the re-release of the Forest Planning regulations has reinvigorated several ongoing forest plan revisions around Colorado. Good planning regulations or bad, forest plans are invaluable. These long-term plans “zone” each national forest for various activities, and set goals for timber harvest, ski area development, wildlife management and many other activities.
With the Bush Administration’s regulations back in place, the Comanche-Cimarron National Grasslands, Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest, and Pike-San Isabel National Forests have all re-initiated their forest planning processes. The San Juan National Forest also continues with its plan, which was being conducted under the old regulations. Although we are hopeful that the Administration’s regulations will again be overturned, it is critical that conservationists play an active role in their national forest’s plan revision. Colorado Wild will send e-mail action alerts to let you know about upcoming meetings near you.
