Legal Protections for Forests

Forests and grasslands in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands receive legal protections from the federal government so that their land area will not be destroyed for industry or urban development. (Six states do not currently have a national forest or grassland: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.) These protections ensure that plant and animal life in these ecosystems
survive for generations, but also ensure that people can visit and enjoy these environments. The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the legal authority to manage the nation’s forests and grasslands. Currently the U.S. Forest Service’s authority covers 44 states plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, including 193 million acres (777,000 km2) and the following management categories:

» minerals, mining, rangeland, timber, wilderness, wildlife, and recreation management
» cultural resources
» water resources
» trails
» wild and scenic rivers
» fire service roads
» international forestry
» business administration

Laws alone cannot protect forests if government leaders or industries try to revise them in order to aid free commerce. For example, in 2006 the White House removed forest management from the NEPA so that forest officials would no longer be required to prepare environmental impact reports before changing forest management plans. As a consequence, management plans do not receive scientific review or public comment. A few years earlier, the federal government exempted the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Both of these changes presumably give oil exploration, logging, and other industries easier access to forests.

Presidential adviser Karl Rove summarized the intent of weakening forest protections to National Review in 2007: “On energy, the environment, and climate change, he [President George W. Bush] is developing a new paradigm. Emphasizing technology, increased energy-efficiency partnerships, and resource diversification, his policies are improving energy security and slowing the growth of greenhouse gases without economy-breaking mandates and regulation.” Shortly before the changes to the NEPA went into effect, the Wilderness Society president Bill Meadows remarked, “It is a shame that this administration refuses to recognize that public participation in major decisions about projects like timber sales should not be feared and fought, but should be a welcome and helpful part of making informed and thorough decisions.” Almost every person holds a different vision of what should be done to protect the nation’s forests and also ensure the nation’s economic well-being.

One of this country’s first conservationists, John Muir, described the difficulty of finding common ground in managing forests: “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” The sidebar “John Muir” provides more insight on this environmentalist.

Source of Information : Green Technology Conservation Protecting Our Plant Resources