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Washington REPORT A
Washington REPORT A REPORT FROM THE NATION’S CAPITAL ON GOVERNMENTAL ACTIONS AFFECTING THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY. NEW DIRECTIVE IMPROVES AGENCY’S ROLE IN ASSESSING RESOURCES U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, recently outlined the role of the agency’s draft internal groundwater directive before the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry. “Water on national forest system (NFS) lands is important for many reasons, including resource stewardship, domestic use and public recreation. Our goals for the proposed directive are to improve the quality and consistency of our approach to understanding groundwater resources on NFS lands, and to better incorporate consideration of those resources to inform internal directive with the Subcommittee and receive feedback from members. We look forward to continuing to work with state, local and tribal governments and the public through the ongoing comment period.” The Forest Service published for public comment a pro- 10 CHRISTMAS 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
posed directive on groundwater that will help the Agency to establish a more consistent approach to evaluating and monitoring the effects on groundwater from actions on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The proposed directive does not specifically authorize or prohibit any uses, and is not an expansion of authority. Rather, it provides a framework that would allow the Forest Service to clarify existing policy and better meet existing requirements in a more consistent way across the NFS. Specifically, it would: •Create a more consistent approach for gathering information about groundwater systems that influence and are influenced by surface uses on NFS land and for evaluating the potential effects on groundwater resources of proposed activities and uses on NFS lands; •Bolster the ability of Forest Service land managers to make informed and legally defensible decisions, with a more complete understanding of the potential impacts for activities on NFS lands to and from groundwater; •Support management and authorization of various multiple uses by better allowing the Forest Service to meet its statutory responsibility to fully analyze and disclose the potential impacts of uses or activities; and •Emphasize cooperation with State, Tribal and local agencies and compliance with their applicable requirements. The Forest Service continues to respect state authorities for water management, and the groundwater directive does not impose new restrictions on mineral or oil and gas development. The proposed directive does not change the existing authority of the states to allocate water, and has no bearing on state law presumptions for purpose of use allocation. Please turn the page CHRISTMAS 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 11
