Forest Service seeks members for new advisory panel to help modernize Northwest Forest Plan

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Nominations are being accepted through mid-January for members to a federal advisory committee for national forests in the Northwest Forest Plan area of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington.

The committee will provide input on modernizing landscape management to promote sustainability, climate change adaptation, and wildfire resilience while addressing the increased demands on Northwest Forest Plan lands.

The 20-member committee will meet about four times annually for a two-year term. They will represent the diversity across the three states covered by the plan and include experts in the science community, organizations with an interest in these forests, plus government, tribal and public groups.

The committee will offer advice on these topics, plus additional requests from the Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service:

• Planning options to complement the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, to assist the Forest Service in proactive wildfire risk reduction and obstacles in vegetation management.
  • Ways to address dynamic ecosystems with adaptive management, monitoring, and future uncertainty.
  • Integrating indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, perspectives, and values into federal forest planning and management.
  • Feedback on how to protect and promote conservation of mature, old-growth forest while ensuring national forests are resilient to high-severity wildfire, insects, disease, and other disturbances worsened by the climate crisis.
  • Preliminary recommendations in line with Forest Service NWFP planning timelines.

Review instructions on the Federal Register Notice. Submit packets by Jan. 17, 2023 – including cover letter, resume, references and form AD-755 – to sm.fs.NWFP_FACA@usda.gov. Put “FACA Nomination” in the subject line. If mailing, send to: Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa, c/o NWFP FACA Team, 1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97204.

For more information, visit the Forest Service’s Northwest Forest Plan page or the committee page.

For questions, contact Mark Brown at (971) 712-4369, Nick Goldstein at (503) 347-1765, or email sm.fs.NWFP_FACA@usda.gov. Individuals using devices for the deaf may call (800) 877-8339, 5 a.m. – 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday.