County to get say in old-growth

Counties like Crook may get to have a say in the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) new rules for old-growth forests after all.

Earlier this year, the commissioners called for a rethink of the USFS’s plans to amend every national forest land management in the nation to create one overall strategy.

In a comment letter, the county criticized the one-size-fits-all approach and failure to include local governments in the process.

The new rules are expected to affect all National Forests in Wyoming, including the Black Hills.

Dru Palmer, consultant for the county, reported last week that she had met with national management in Washington, D.C. during a trip to the capital and was able to bring back good news.

“The bottom line is that they heard us loud and clear and recognize they maybe didn’t roll it out very well,” she said.

Regarding the concern that counties were never invited to participate, Palmer reported that she was told this had not been intentional.

USFS is trying to work out how to rectify the issue, she said.

Palmer told the commission that this information has also been reported to the Governor’s Office, but said she has not yet heard back as to how counties will be “incorporated into this process”.

According to the USFS, this mature and old-growth forest initiative is part of an “overarching climate-informed strategy to change the course of increased wildfires, combat climate-related impacts and help retain carbon.”

Mature and old-growth forests, says the USFS, offer, “biological diversity, carbon sequestration, wildlife and fisheries habitat, recreation, soil productivity, water quality and aesthetic beauty”, as well as reflecting diverse tribal, spiritual and cultural values, but are threatened by climate change.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDS) published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on December 19 to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to amend all 128 national forest land management plans “to include consistent direction to manage, conserve and steward old-growth forest conditions.”