[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69446-69448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32146]


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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.

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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/[email protected]; 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. 99-32146 Filed 12-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M