The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established and appointed members to a new Federal Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations on modernizing landscape management across national forests within the Northwest Forest Plan area in Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

The committee will make recommendations focused on a climate-informed amendment of the Northwest Forest Plan to update management direction so that national forests are managed sustainably, adapted to climate change, and resilient to wildfire, insects, disease, and other disturbances, while meeting the needs of local communities.

“Establishing this committee is another way for us to embrace climate-smart science, ensure we hear from diverse voices and get a range of perspectives on how to best confront the wildfire crisis and climate change,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This committee will also be asked to help reshape ways we engage with communities and deepen our connections with tribes as we go through the Northwest Forest Plan amendment process.”

The Forest Service says that the committee’s recommendations will incorporate traditional ecological knowledge, the latest science, and climate resilience into its recommendations for the 17 national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area. They also say that the committee will also advise how these planning efforts can complement the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and help the Forest Service take more proactive measures to reduce wildfire risk, restore fire resilience, and enable long-term ecological integrity for people, communities and natural resources.

The Forest Service says that stablishing this committee is in line with President Biden’s Executive Order 14072 and Secretary’s Vilsack’s Memorandum on Climate Resilience.

The national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area have significant ecologic values, including for water, wildlife, and carbon, and contain important old and mature forests. They are embedded in the people and communities of the area and are important for the social and economic sustainability of those communities. These lands are also culturally significant and the ancestral homelands for tribal nations.

According to a recent inventory conducted by federal researchers as required by the Executive Order, the 17 national forests represented in the Northwest Forest Plan contain one quarter of the remaining old-growth forest on national forests and grasslands in the lower 48 states.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The Forest service says that the new committee represents a diverse group from Tribes, local communities, environmental groups, industry, and academia across Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

Members appointed to the committee are:

• Jerry Franklin, PhD Professor Emeritus, School of Environmental and Forest Science, University of Washington
• James Johnston, PhD Assistant Professor (Senior Research), College of Forestry, Oregon State University
• Meg Krawchuk, PhD Associate Professor of Landscape Fire, Ecology, and Conservation Science, College of Forestry, Oregon State University
• Angela Sondenaa, PhD Certified Senior Ecologist, Nez Perce Tribe
• Elaine Harvey, PhD Environmental Coordinator, Yakima Nation
• Ryan Haugo, PhD Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy
• Heidi Huber-Stearns, PhD Associate Research Professor and Director, Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon
• Daniel Reid Sarna-Wojcicki, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Berkeley
• Robert “Bobby” Brunoe Secretary Treasurer/CEO, Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs
• Jarred Patton Deputy Director, California Conservation Corps
• Lindsay Warness Western Regional Manager, Forest Resource Association
• Travis Joseph President/CEO, American Forest Resource Council
• Elizabeth Robblee Conservation and Advocacy Director, The Mountaineers
• Jose Linares District Manager (Retired), Bureau of Land Management, Northwest Oregon District and Board Member, Straub Outdoors
• Susan Jane Brown, JD Principal, Silvix Resources
• Henry Anderson Senior Policy Analyst, The Wilderness Society
• Nicholas Goulette Executive Director, Watershed Research and Training Center
• Ryan Reed Co-founder and Executive Director, Fire Generation Collaborative and Wildland Firefighter
• Karen Hans Good Neighbor Authority Program Coordinator, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Lauren Osiadacz Kittitas County Commissioner
• Ann House, JD Staff Attorney, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe Environmental and Natural Resources Department

The Forest Service says it will be working with the committee members to plan and conduct its first meeting later this year.

The Northwest Forest Plan was first implemented in 1994. The plan was designed to protect old-growth forests and critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, while also providing for forest products, water quality, recreation and other uses.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2023-07-08 18:49:54

Last Update: 2023-07-08 19:46:38