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An Op/Ed By Zak Griefen, Chairman of the Vermont Sierra Club*

I love the Green Mountain National Forest!  From snowmelt to snowfall, I explore the small streams and headwaters of our national forest prospecting for brook trout and enjoying the quiet beauty of our state.  The Green Mountain National Forest is a real Vermont treasure; comprising more than 400,000 acres that stretch across nearly two-thirds the length of Vermont, it offers outstanding hiking, fishing, and recreational opportunities while serving an important function as a north-south biological corridor to cushion the impacts of climate change and preserve forest ecosystems.

And I’m not alone in my appreciation for the GMNF and its benefits to our beautiful state.  Each year visitors from across the country flock to the Green Mountain National Forest and other national forests to recreate, retreat, and recharge.  America is unique in that it boasts over 100 million acres of national forests for us all to enjoy.  Whether you’re seeking solace or adventure, or perhaps a bit of both, our national forests provide much needed opportunities to connect with and be nurtured by nature.

Enjoyment of our forests has made them major economic drivers.  

The wildlife habitat, clean water and scenery provided by our forests are crucial to supporting the nation’s $700 billion outdoor recreation economy and the people it employs.

    In a rapidly changing world faced with increased pollution, over development, degraded habitats and climate change, it is crucial that we safeguard our national forests so that they remain for future generations to enjoy.  That means shifting how we think of conservation to consider whole natural communities and large landscapes.  It also means updating old and outdated forest management practices.  Scientists have learned a lot about how to best manage and protect wild places and wildlife in the past 20 years.  Yet the guidelines controlling forest management have not been updated, until now.

    The U.S. Forest Service is currently working to modernize the standards for planning how our forests are used and protected, setting safeguards and standards to ensure that everyone can access and enjoy our national forests.  The Forest Service’s updated proposal is a step in the right direction towards addressing the challenges our forests face today.  For the first time ever, these rules would address the impact of climate change in an effort to set up a framework for managing our forests in a way that prepares for changing conditions, like the shifting migration and weather patterns.

    The Vermont Sierra Club believes that these draft regulations are a positive step forward in addressing climate change planning, adaptation, and resiliency.  It is clear the agency took a serious look at addressing this essential issue and threat to our forests, waters, and ecosystems.  However, for these new planning regulations to really accomplish the job they need to be substantially tightened and real accountability for the agency specifically incorporated into the standards and directives.  The Vermont Sierra Club is drafting comments and participating in public forums on the proposed rule, and I invite every concerned citizen to do the same.  Information on the proposed planning rule is available at: http://fs.usda.gov/planningrule.  Please take some time to look into the proposed planning rule and submit your comments on the web by going to:  http://www.govcomments.com/Web…

The Vermont Sierra Club’s concerns with the proposed rule center on the following four issues:

1. For the first time, the proposed rule addresses the threat of climate change on our national forests.  There are references to climate change in the rule’s three main components: assessment, plan revision, and monitoring.  However, all of the language is discretionary.  There is no mandatory program to analyze the effects of climate change or to develop strategies to address those threats.  Given the profound changes we are already seeing in forest ecosystems due to a changing climate, the requirements for addressing these changes should be explicit and mandatory.

2. Under the current planning rule, the Forest Service is required to manage habitat to maintain viable populations of native wildlife in the planning area.  For most species on the national forests, the proposed rule replaces this clear requirement with vague instructions to manage for ecosystem health.  The proposed rule should require the Forest Service to keep common species common and maintain viable populations of native wildlife.

3. The proposed rule limits the viability requirement only to “species of conservation concern,” and then lets local forest officials decide which those are.  It also allows the agency to absolve itself from the responsibility for protecting the species it does identify by claiming impossibility.  Yet at the same time, the Forest Service claims the proposed rule gives “equal or greater levels of protection” than the existing rule.  The proposed rule should not allow the Forest Service the discretion to exempt species from protection.

4. Under the current forest rule, the public can hold the Forest Service accountable when it fails to meets its commitments to safeguard water, wildlife and other forest resources.  The proposed rule seems to allow for a much greater degree of agency discretion instead of providing concrete standards and requirements for the management and protection of critical forest resources.  The practical result is a sharp curb on public accountability. The proposed rule should maintain the agency’s existing accountability to the public, thereby ensuring that the agency does not stray from its mission to sustain, protect and enhance forest ecosystems.

    The Obama administration is holding public roundtables across the country, including one in Rochester, VT, on March 23, to gather input on how to manage our shared forest heritage.  I hope they take the opportunity to really work with the public to develop a forest policy that safeguards the health, jobs and outdoor heritage of the American people.  We have an opportunity to balance our forest use in a way that conserves wildlife, promotes local businesses and supports cherished family traditions.  We should not waste it.  

Zak Griefen chairs the Executive Committee and the Wetlands and Water Resources Committee of the Vermont Sierra Club and practices environmental law with Cheney, Brock & Saudek, P.C., in Montpelier.   *The Vermont Sierra Club is a grassroots organization of folks who are for a clean a sustainable environment. They have 3000 members across the State of Vermont. Their offices are at: 149 Main Street, Montpelier, VT, 06602. Phone: (802)229-6399. Website: www.vermont.sierraclub.org