S
Oregon SAWS Members,
This is to advise you that the forests of the Blue Mountains will be begin the planning process for the revision of their Land Management Plans. These forests in northeast Oregon encompass about 5.3 million acres of National Forest System land. These forests contain some of the best snowmobiling that Oregon has to offer and is frequently visited by sledders from both Washington and Idaho.
Once the Revision team announces information about the meeting schedule and commend deadlines, SAWS will generate an Alert containing pertinent information and dates. In the meantime, we encourage you to review the information on their website. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/
There is a new Team Leader and her name is Katie Countryman. She is a long time Wallowa-Whitman National Forest employee.
Katie Countryman
Phone: (541) 523-1246
E-Mail: blue_mtn_planrevision@fs.fed.us
Mailing Address: Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision P.O. Box 907 Baker City, OR 97814
Below are some key statements from the website.
2008 Planning Rule vacated and remanded - How this may impact the revision process and the content of the revised forest plan
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/documents/2010_winter-newsletter .pdf
The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision team was assembled in late 2003 and began the revision process in 2004. The revision effort was initially expected to last four years. Due to changes in the planning regulations in effect over the years, the project is in year six.
The revision team has worked collaboratively throughout the process, holding three rounds of public meetings in 10 communities and hosting three field trips. The team has worked with county commissioners, American Indian tribes, interest groups, and individuals. Due to litigation of the 2005 Planning Rule, the team was not able to collaborate in 2007, but resumed public discussions in 2008 after the release of the 2008 Planning Rule.
In June 2009, the 2008 Planning Rule was vacated and remanded by the District Court for the Northern District of California. The 2000 Planning Rule, as amended, is now in effect, which allows the Forest Service to use the provisions of the 1982 Planning Rule to revise forest plans.
The team will initiate consultation as required by the Endangered Species Act and will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The team will continue to consider your concerns and issues related to forest planning in the Blue Mountains as the NEPA process progresses.
The new Plans will address the substantial resource and social changes that have occurred since the early 1990s when the original Plans were created. They will also reflect the considerable gains in scientific knowledge that have occurred since then.
The following principles will govern the Plan revision process in the Blue Mountains.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/background.shtml
-We will work with our local communities and others interested in the revision process using collaboration and other public participation approaches.
-The revision effort will produce three separate Land and Resource Management Plans and their associated documents.
-The revised Plans will focus on outcomes, not outputs.
-The starting points for the revision are the current Forest Plans. This will not be a zero-based planning effort. The revision effort will be directed by a “Need for Change” approach. The need for change will be identified using a variety of sources including, but not limited to, Forest Plan monitoring, science from the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP), and existing watershed assessments.
-We will make every effort to take advantage of existing work. This includes, but is not limited to, protocols developed in other Regions, ICBEMP, combining work efforts with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning where appropriate, using the 1998 Blue Mountain Plan Revision Information Needs Analysis where appropriate, and work done for existing Forest Plans.
-Each revised Plan will be built from common elements (building blocks). For example we intend to retain the Management Area concept, although application will be modified from that seen in existing Forest Plans.
Map of area: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/images/web_all_color.pdf
Here are the past SAWS Alerts regarding the Blue Mountains:
Alert from 2004 http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/...on_State_Forest_Plan_Revisions_Fall_2004A.htm
Alert from 2006 http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/uploads/SAWS_Action_Alert_-_WA_and_OR_FPRs_and_RWAs.htm
SAWS is always seeking local volunteers to help coordinate information, attend meetings, and assist with writing Alerts. If you are available and interested in being a National Forest Watchdog for any of these forests, please feel free to contact Todd or I. Now more than ever, we need willing volunteers. THANKS!
Susie Rainsberry & Todd White
SAWS-Oregon Representatives
Snowmobile Alliance of Western States
Copyright © 2010 Snowmobile Alliance of Western States. All Rights Reserved.
Permission is granted to distribute this information in whole or in part, as long as Snowmobile Alliance of Western States (SAWS) is acknowledged as the source. If you are not yet a member of SAWS and you would like receive these alerts, please sign up on our web site at: http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org.
This is to advise you that the forests of the Blue Mountains will be begin the planning process for the revision of their Land Management Plans. These forests in northeast Oregon encompass about 5.3 million acres of National Forest System land. These forests contain some of the best snowmobiling that Oregon has to offer and is frequently visited by sledders from both Washington and Idaho.
Once the Revision team announces information about the meeting schedule and commend deadlines, SAWS will generate an Alert containing pertinent information and dates. In the meantime, we encourage you to review the information on their website. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/
There is a new Team Leader and her name is Katie Countryman. She is a long time Wallowa-Whitman National Forest employee.
Katie Countryman
Phone: (541) 523-1246
E-Mail: blue_mtn_planrevision@fs.fed.us
Mailing Address: Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision P.O. Box 907 Baker City, OR 97814
Below are some key statements from the website.
2008 Planning Rule vacated and remanded - How this may impact the revision process and the content of the revised forest plan
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/documents/2010_winter-newsletter .pdf
The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision team was assembled in late 2003 and began the revision process in 2004. The revision effort was initially expected to last four years. Due to changes in the planning regulations in effect over the years, the project is in year six.
The revision team has worked collaboratively throughout the process, holding three rounds of public meetings in 10 communities and hosting three field trips. The team has worked with county commissioners, American Indian tribes, interest groups, and individuals. Due to litigation of the 2005 Planning Rule, the team was not able to collaborate in 2007, but resumed public discussions in 2008 after the release of the 2008 Planning Rule.
In June 2009, the 2008 Planning Rule was vacated and remanded by the District Court for the Northern District of California. The 2000 Planning Rule, as amended, is now in effect, which allows the Forest Service to use the provisions of the 1982 Planning Rule to revise forest plans.
The team will initiate consultation as required by the Endangered Species Act and will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The team will continue to consider your concerns and issues related to forest planning in the Blue Mountains as the NEPA process progresses.
The new Plans will address the substantial resource and social changes that have occurred since the early 1990s when the original Plans were created. They will also reflect the considerable gains in scientific knowledge that have occurred since then.
The following principles will govern the Plan revision process in the Blue Mountains.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/background.shtml
-We will work with our local communities and others interested in the revision process using collaboration and other public participation approaches.
-The revision effort will produce three separate Land and Resource Management Plans and their associated documents.
-The revised Plans will focus on outcomes, not outputs.
-The starting points for the revision are the current Forest Plans. This will not be a zero-based planning effort. The revision effort will be directed by a “Need for Change” approach. The need for change will be identified using a variety of sources including, but not limited to, Forest Plan monitoring, science from the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP), and existing watershed assessments.
-We will make every effort to take advantage of existing work. This includes, but is not limited to, protocols developed in other Regions, ICBEMP, combining work efforts with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning where appropriate, using the 1998 Blue Mountain Plan Revision Information Needs Analysis where appropriate, and work done for existing Forest Plans.
-Each revised Plan will be built from common elements (building blocks). For example we intend to retain the Management Area concept, although application will be modified from that seen in existing Forest Plans.
Map of area: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/blue_mtn_planrevision/images/web_all_color.pdf
Here are the past SAWS Alerts regarding the Blue Mountains:
Alert from 2004 http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/...on_State_Forest_Plan_Revisions_Fall_2004A.htm
Alert from 2006 http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org/uploads/SAWS_Action_Alert_-_WA_and_OR_FPRs_and_RWAs.htm
SAWS is always seeking local volunteers to help coordinate information, attend meetings, and assist with writing Alerts. If you are available and interested in being a National Forest Watchdog for any of these forests, please feel free to contact Todd or I. Now more than ever, we need willing volunteers. THANKS!
Susie Rainsberry & Todd White
SAWS-Oregon Representatives
Snowmobile Alliance of Western States
Copyright © 2010 Snowmobile Alliance of Western States. All Rights Reserved.
Permission is granted to distribute this information in whole or in part, as long as Snowmobile Alliance of Western States (SAWS) is acknowledged as the source. If you are not yet a member of SAWS and you would like receive these alerts, please sign up on our web site at: http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org.
