Forest Plan Revisions
Due to the efforts of the Bush Administration in dismantling the 1982 forest planning regulations and replacing them with a watered down 2005 planning rule revision, National Forests throughout the Sierra Nevada are under serious threat of losing the key conservation provisions of the National Forest Management Act. The Forest Service is advancing this plan revision process under a categorical exclusion which significantly erodes the potential involvement and oversight that the public has over the management of our public lands, and greatly erodes the long-standing NEPA process of environmental review. This, along with the administration's decimation of the conservation-focused 2001 Sierra Nevada Framework with its 2004 Framework revision, leaves the National Forests of the Sierra Nevada at risk of losing the amazing attributes that make them such unique global watersheds, recreation destinations, and significantly important ecosystems--or at the least, leaving them significantly diminished.
In March, 2007, a court decision reversed the 2005 planning rule. In April 2008, the latest Planning Rule was released virtually unchanged, in spite of tens of thousands of comment letters opposing the revisions. Subsequently, the rule was found to be unlawful and overturned in federal court in June of 2009.
In December 2009 the agency announced its intention to again revise the planning rule, with a greater emphasis on scientific and public input and transparency. We applaud these new efforts and are fully engaged in leading a coalition of conservation groups throughout California in developing a conservation strategy for the 11 national forests of the Sierra Nevada that will ensure long term protection and conservation of the Sierra Nevada's unique and priceless biological heritage.
Read more about this history and the current planning rule on the NFMA section of this website.