Forest Service to hold meetings on planning rule

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The U.S. Forest Service is holding a series of public meetings to explain both the details and intent of the recently proposed draft Planning Rule. If put into effect, the rule will serve as a national blueprint for how hundreds of individual plans will chart national forest management in the coming years.
The purposes of the public meetings are to increase public understanding about the content of the draft rule; explain how input gathered during the public scoping period was incorporated into the draft rule; and respond to questions about the proposed planning rule.
While the forums should assist attendees in better understanding the proposed rule and making more informed comments, we will not be taking public comments on the proposed rule, nor will the agency be recording the forums for inclusion in the rulemaking record. The public will have until May 16 to submit comments.
The proposed planning rule provides a collaborative and science-based framework for creating land management plans that would support ecological sustainability and contribute to rural job opportunities. Forest Service land management plans guide management activities on the 155 National Forests and 20 Grasslands in the National Forest System. The Manti-La Sal National Forest will host two identical forums on March 29. The first forum will be held from 2-5 p.m.; the second will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. The forest service will use video teleconferencing technology to link distant forest service locations with subject matter experts from Washington, D.C. and Ogden. Emery County residents can attend the meeting at the Ferron/Price Ranger District 115 W. Canyon Rd, Ferron. Full text of the proposed rule, instructions to provide comment, the planning rule blog and more can be found at: www.fs.usda.gov/planningrule.