“These lands are great natural treasures that we must conserve and restore for future generations,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Developing a new planning rule provides the opportunity to manage national forests and grasslands for the benefit of water resources, climate and local communities.”

In developing the rule, the Forest Service is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess alternative rules and their comparative environmental effects. The first step is soliciting public comments regarding the scope of the issues to be addressed in the EIS.

Although comments concerning the EIS’s scope must be received by February 16, 2010, the Forest Service will “continue to collaboratively engage the public in a variety of ways.” As part of this new collaborative process, the Forest Service is creating a Web forum for additional dialogue and public interaction.

For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/planningrule.