The Smokey Wire : National Forest News and Views
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The granddaddy of place-based national forest legislation is the 1998 Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act (“QLG”), which resulted from a 1993 collaborative group “community stability proposal.” So how has the law worked out? Here’s what the Forest Service reported in its latest QLG monitoring report: Implementation of the Pilot Project continues to be … Read more
People collaborate best when they are in the woods talking about real forests and what to do with them. On the other hand, put them in a conference room to debate the merits of hypothetical silvicultural standards and you end up with the sort of nonsense we are seeing in northern Arizona. There several prominent, … Read more
Interesting story. from the Billings Gazette.. I noticed a couple of things.. First, the FS process looks good- so having a cooperators group is clearly something that can work well. Right now it is not a requirement of any rule but something that makes some sense (at least it is popular in Wyoming). Second, the … Read more
The recent discussion on another thread on this blog re concerns about local collaboration reminded me of this op-ed by Erica Rosenberg on the Dangers of Collaboration in the Christian Science Monitor op-ed a while back. I remember because I wrote a letter to the editor that got published (good) but frankly, writing within the … Read more
Here’s an interesting piece by our friend John Freemuth, making some provocative connections between forest planning regulations, collaboration, and Senator Tester’s proposed Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. http://www.hcn.org/blogs/grange/does-the-forest-service-truly-believe-in I don’t see it John’s way on this matter. But the interconnections are worth considering. I’m certain, for example, that widespread frustration with the forest planning process … Read more
The Breakthrough Institute posted an interesting report today- so shout-out to them for digging into the litigation question. They are mostly interested in litigation and possibly permitting reform affects infrastructure projects, but, as usual, Forest Service vegetation projects continue to play a starring role in the NEPA litigation drama. I’ll excerpt the main points they … Read more
FOREST SERVICE Nantahala-Pisgah NF Southside Project Settlement in Chattooga Conservancy v. U. S. Forest Service (W.D. North Carolina) On June 21, a letter from the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest documented a decision “not to implement” the shelterwood treatment, temporary road construction or the designated post-harvest prescribed burn within 15-acres of the Southside Project that is located in … Read more
I found this on Thomas Hochman’s TwitX feed , and I’m always interested in bipartisan stuff, so went to Rep. Peters (D) press release. The D’s all look like Californians. Original cosponsors include Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29), John Curtis (R-UT-3), Ami Bera (D-CA-6), Pete Stauber (R-MN-8), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Tom McClintock (R-CA-5), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), Tom … Read more
We’ve been following the federal land preservation vs. renewable energy build-out debate for some time. Right now this seems to have caught some media attention as the Joshua Trees vs. solar panels debate. According to K.T. Lynn, who writes the Substack “The Joule Thief”, Last week, a little-known conservation group called Basin and Range Watch went viral … Read more
The essay that forms the second part of this post — which he terms “Notes” — was written by Chad Oliver after a recent field trip to Montana to document and discuss grizzly bear habitat management with Jim Petersen for Evergreen Magazine: https://evergreenmagazine.com/this-is-very-promising/ I have been a friend and occasional collaborator with Jim for more … Read more