Amador County – The USDA Forest Service is seeking to implement the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule, with the Secretary of Agriculture intending to establish the National Advisory Committee, through the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The discretionary advisory committee will report to the Secretary of Agriculture through the Chief of the Forest Service. Its purpose is to “provide advice and recommendations on implementation of the Planning Rule.”

A Dec. 29 Federal Register notice called for nominations, saying the Committee would “review the content of and provide recommendations on directives related to implementation of the planning rule … based on lessons learned and best practices from on-going or completed assessments, revisions, and monitoring strategies.”

The committee would “offer recommendations for consistent interpretation of the rule where ambiguities cause difficulty in implementation of the rule; and offer recommendations for effective ongoing monitoring and evaluation, including broad-scale monitoring, for implementation of the planning rule.”

The committee would also “offer recommendations on how to foster an effective ongoing collaborative framework to ensure engagement of federal, state, local and tribal governments, private organizations and affected interests, the scientific community, and other stakeholders.” It would “offer recommendations for integrating the land management planning process with landscape-scale restoration activities.”

Federally registered lobbyists are not eligible for the Committee, which will meet 3-4 times annually or as needed. Any individual or organization may make nominations, or individuals may nominate themselves.

Committee members “will serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel expenses while performing duties on behalf of the Committee, subject to approval by the (Designated Federal Official).”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.