Oregon Public Broadcasting

The U.S. Forest Service announced plans Thursday to re-write the management guidelines for millions of acres of federal forests across the country. Rob Manning reports.

The forest planning rule is the governing backbone for managing national forest and grass lands.

It can guide watershed protection, or logging projects in individual forests, including the Mount Hood, or the Wallowa-Whitman National Forests in Oregon.

The planning rule has been in legal limbo, since a federal court struck down the Bush Administration’s rule.

The Obama Administration indicated that the previous Clinton-era rule, wasn’t acceptable either, because of its complexity.

In launching a new rule-making process, the Obama Administration is presenting a handful of principles.

Among them, planning for climate change and ensuring that forests can survive  a range of potential threats. Protecting rural economies is also a priority – though the emphasis appears to be on scenic and ecosystem values, rather than on logging.

The announcement begins a long process involving an environmental analysis and comments from the public.