Planning Rule FACA Committee

Update on Application Process

• The application period for committee membership closed on February 21, 2012.
• The Forest Service received 224 applications from 34 states and the District of Columbia.
• The Forest Service and the Department are currently reviewing applications and expect to announce committee member selections by late May 2012. 

Committee Overview

Members selected to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule (Planning Rule FACA Committee) will advise and give recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

The Committee will be asked to perform the following duties or other requests made by the Secretary or the Chief:

• Review the content of and provide recommendations on directives related to implementation of the planning rule.
• Offer recommendations on implementation of the planning rule, based on lessons learned and best practices.
• Offer recommendations for consistent interpretation of the rule where ambiguities cause difficulty in implementation of the rule.
• Offer recommendations for effective ongoing monitoring and evaluation, including broadscale monitoring, for implementation of the planning rule.
• Offer recommendations on how to foster an effective ongoing collaborative framework to ensure engagement of federal, state, local and Tribal governments; private organizations and affected interests; the scientific community; and other stakeholders.
• Offer recommendations for integrating the land management planning process with landscape scale restoration activities through implementation of the planning rule.

Additional information on the committee

• Read the Federal Register notice announcing the committee formation. (Note that a corrected Federal Register notice was published on January 5, 2012 extending the nomination due date to February 21, 2012.)
• Read the Planning Rule FACA Committee charter.

Committee Composition

The committee will be comprised of up to 21 members with diverse backgrounds, who represent the full range of public interests in management of the National Forest System lands and who represent geographically diverse locations and communities, within each of the following three categories of interests:

1. Up to seven members who represent one or more of the following:

   1. Represent the affected public at-large

   2. Hold State-elected office (or designee)

   3. Hold county or local elected office

   4. Represent American Indian Tribes

   5. Represent Youth

2. Up to seven members who represent one or more of the following:

   1. National, regional, or local environmental organizations

   2. Conservation organizations or watershed associations

   3. Dispersed recreation interests

   4. Archaeological or historical interests

   5. Scientific Community

3. Up to seven members who represent one or more of the following:

   1. Timber Industry

   2. Grazing or other land use permit holders or other private forest landowners

   3. Energy and mineral development

   4. Commercial or recreational hunting and fishing interests

   5. Developed outdoor recreation, off-highway vehicle users, or commercial recreation interests

Nomination Process

The 45-day nomination period closed Feb. 21, 2012. 

Nominations required a completed application packet, including the nominee’s name, resume, and completed form AD–755 (Advisory Committee Membership Background Information). The form AD–755 may be obtained here (pdf version), or here (Microsoft Word version).