The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“U.S. FOREST SERVICE PLANNING REGULATIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S58-S59 on Jan. 6, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
U.S. FOREST SERVICE PLANNING REGULATIONS
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on December 22, 2004, The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service published a final rule that will streamline the process used by the Forest Service in revising forest management plans.
I am pleased that the Department completed work on this important regulation. Ultimately, this rule will help local forest managers provide future generations with healthier forests, cleaner air, cleaner water and more abundant wildlife through more efficient management of our forests and grasslands. I am also pleased that this regulation builds upon one of the important lessons we learned during consideration of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act in the 108th Congress: emphasis on actual forest management rather than administrative paperwork. This will result in our forest managers being able to undertake important forest health projects rather than be overburdened with administrative processes.
Although the final planning rule is very comprehensive, I would like to point out several key components: It will for the first time incorporate implementation and outcome assessment into the forest planning process, which will ensure that the forest planning process is a dynamic one that can quickly adjust to changing conditions. As we learned with the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, a dynamic management system allows the Forest Service to address the most time-sensitive forest health issues such as wildfire, invasive species, or disease. It incorporates meaningful public participation throughout the planning process, and ensures that the best available scientific information will be used in decision making. It contains a process that will fairly and objectively allow us to see whether the Forest Service is getting the job done. This reporting process will rely on independent reviews of Forest Service land management, will measure actual results against intended outcomes, and will incorporate an audit process to produce publicly available results. Finally, and most importantly, this rule will streamline the planning process, which in turn will save the Forest Service both time and money. The current forest plan takes between 5 and 7 years; under the new regulation the anticipated timeframe is between 2 and 3 years. These savings in both time and money will allow our land managers to more quickly complete on-the-ground projects to improve the health of our Nation's forests.
For too long our Nation's forests have been imperiled because of a planning process that is too cumbersome and takes too long, and usually results in forest plans that are out-of-date by the time they are finished. I applaud the efforts of the U.S. Forest Service to streamline our Nation's forest planning process to reduce red tape and paperwork. I am hopeful that this final rule will provide further tools for the U.S. Forest Service in appropriately managing our Nation's forests.
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