Montrose - Daily Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Forest Service is nearing adoption of a new planning rule it says will comply with federal laws and engage the public, but some environmental groups are concerned the rule lacks substance.

The Forest Service on Thursday released the final environmental impact statement for the 2008 planning rule, which guides the government in planning stewardship of the country’s forests and grasslands. An overhaul of the rule was required in a lawsuit over the 2005 rule’s compliance with federal law.

In the 2008 proposed rule, the agency continues to focus on and require intensive work with the public, as well as emphasize resource protections, said U.S. Forest Service Director of Ecosystem Management Coordination David Dillard. Another component of the new planning rule is to allow for some specificity in forest planning that could deal with 90 percent of the issues raised by the public.

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“What we learned from the public, in terms of this process ... (is that) people really wanted to be involved in forest planning and they were concerned about resource protection,” said Dillard.

In March, U.S. district court order directed the agency to revise its 2005 planning rule until it complied with the court’s order regarding the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Colorado Wild Forest Watch coordinator Rocky Smith said environmental groups believe the new rule is essentially the same as the old one.

“The problem with it, in a nutshell, is that the rule makes for forest planning that is going to be meaningless,” Smith said. He added that these management plans should have substance and specific standards. “I expect we’re not going to be happy with the regulations,” he said.

Colorado Wild is one of five plaintiffs in a recent lawsuit against federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, for approving the Northern San Juan Basin Coalbed Methane Project. The complaint charges that government officials failed to ensure compliance with federal environmental laws when they approved the energy project.

The 2005 planning rule court order, which led to the creation of the 2008 rule, halted planning for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests pending decision on the 2008 rule.

“We expect to smoothly transition the forest plan revision process to conform to whatever new national planning rule is decided upon,” said Lee Ann Loupe, GMUG spokesperson. “The Forest has worked closely and collaboratively with the public, stakeholders, partners and other government entities in progressing with Forest Plan Revision to this point and we expect this to continue whenever we resume work on Forest Plan Revision.”

The main difference between the 2005 and 1982 rule is that it made forest plans more strategic in nature, Dillard said. He said the Forest Service has been working diligently on the rule for the past year “because planning is so important.” If approved, the new rule will not affect forest plans created under the 1982 rule.

“It’s important to the public and it’s important to us in terms of wanting to reach agreements on how we manage the forests and grasslands,” Dillard said.

The Forest Service received 79,000 comments on a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed rule. The FEIS for the proposed rule will now be sent to the Department of Agriculture for a decision. The record of decision and final rule will be published in the Federal Register in approximately 30 days.

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For more information on the planning rule, go to: www.fs.fed.us/emc/nfma/2008_planning_rule.html

Contact Lisa Huynh via email at lisah@montrosepress.com

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