Tuesday, April 05, 2011

NM: Rare Chance to Speak Up about National Forests

If you are an outdoor enthusiast or make a living off the land, this week brings a once-in-a-generation chance to make an impact on New Mexico's national forests. A public discussion Tuesday in Albuquerque is to cover a proposed update of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). The governing rule for how a Forest Service ranger district manages its land has gathered some serious dust: it's been in place for well over a generation. The Obama Administration has proposed an update to the NFMA, and conservation groups say that's a good idea, but they don't think the proposal will go far enough to protect forest land over the next 30 years. Nathan Newcomer, associate director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, calls New Mexico the birthplace of wilderness, but he says the state ranks dead last for its amount of protected public land. He thinks the new rule is too vague, and leaves too much discretion to local forest managers...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't waste your time with this. The greens have already decided what will be in the plan, how it will be applied and when it will be applied. Regional Foresters, Forest Supervisors and District Rangers will continue to be transferred (either lateral arabesques or vertical sublimation's) and nothing will ever get done to help those who make a living from the land. Only a few outdoor enthusiasts will benefit from any plan. And if that fails then there is always the lawsuit (paid for by the taxpayer) for the greens to ultimately have their way. Stop spending the money on this foolishness.