New proposed planning regulations released recently by the U.S. Forest Service that govern the revision, amendment and development of national forest and grassland management plans present “an opportunity for long-term sustainability of fish and wildlife populations and continued hunting and fishing opportunities for sportsmen,” the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced Friday.
Issued under the auspices of the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the new regulations will significantly influence fish and wildlife populations, habitat restoration and management, watershed management, road building and timber management on 193 million acres, thereby affecting fish and wildlife population sustainability and future opportunities for sportsmen to enjoy hunting and angling in and around public lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
“These new regulations will determine fish and wildlife sustainability and outdoor opportunities for hunters and anglers for generations to come,” said Joel Webster, director of the TRCP Center for Western Lands.
“Sportsmen have a stake in ensuring a Forest Service planning rule that sustains significant hunting and fishing opportunity, fish and wildlife populations, conservation and restoration of key fish and wildlife habitat, species adaptation to the effects of climate change, and retention of roadless area values,” Webster continued. “We'll be reviewing the proposed rule issued today – and working with our sportsmen partners and the Forest Service in the months to come – to safeguard these critical public resources.”
The proposed planning rule will be released in the Federal Register on Feb. 14, initiating a 90-day public comment period. Read a prepublication copy of the proposed rule.
