This post was written by Dominick A. DellaSala, chief scientist and president, and Randi Spivak, vice president of Government Affairs at the Ashland-based Geos Institute. This post was excerpted from OregonLive.com.
Recognizing the need for a 21st-century vision, the Obama administration recently announced a sweeping planning rule for the 193 million acre national forest system. The rule will govern management of the national forests with the goal of maintaining and restoring forests and watersheds that Oregonians will increasingly depend on for climate change insurance.
National forests are among the last places to find old-growth trees and untrammeled places. They also serve as economic engines for local communities through dollars spent on outdoor recreation like hunting, fishing and camping. And they provide drinking water for more than 120 million people -- in the West, more than half of our water comes from national forests. So a lot is riding on this proposed rule.
Read the full article on OregonLive.com
Dominick A. DellaSala is Chief Scientist and President of the Geos Institute in Ashland, Oregon, and President of the North American section of the Society for Conservation Biology. He is the editor of Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World.