Advisory Committee Overview

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Act), as amended by Public Law 116-94, provided for the establishment of Resource Advisory Committees. The purpose of these committees is to improve collaborative relationships between communities and their local forests and to provide advice and recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service concerning implementing Title II of the Act. Additional information on the three titles of the Act can be found under the Secure Rural Schools Background section of this website. All committee activities operate in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA.)

The Superior National Forest’s Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is called the Superior RAC.  The RAC is comprised of 15 voting members, representing a broad array of interests as specified in the Act. Committee member appointments are 4-years in length. The Committee is led by a Designated Federal Officer in consultation with a Committee Chair. Meetings are open to the public and are announced in the Federal Register.

Superior National Forest contacts for the RAC are: 

• Superior RAC Coordinator, Emily Munter
• Superior Designated Federal Official, Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak

The RAC can be reached at sm.fs.superior_rac@usda.gov

Requests for Proposals  - Apply Prior to February 21, 2025 for Secure Rural Schools Funds

The Superior RAC is soliciting proposals for Title II projects from December 4th, 2024 through February 21, 2025. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to submit project proposals as early as possible during this time. It is the responsibility of the proponent to coordinate with Superior National Forest staff and partner agencies to ensure that proposals are complete and meet the intent of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. Approximately $250,000 is available this funding cycle.

Who Can Apply?

• Federal Agencies
• Tribal Nations and Entities
• State and Local Governments
• Private Entities
• Nonprofit Entities
• Landowners

Prior to being awarded Secure Rural Schools funding, the applicant must have a valid SAM database registration.

What is Eligible?

Projects are considered for funding from Title II if they make investments in, and create employment opportunities, through the following:

• Improvement of existing infrastructure maintenance
• Implementation of stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems
• Restoration and improvement of land health and water quality

Please view the Title II Criteria and Eligibility Guide  for more information.  Projects must take place on Superior National Forest land or may occur on other land ownerships as long as the project benefits resources found on the Superior National Forest.

How to Apply?

To apply for funds, please contact: Emily Munter at (218)-626-4360sm.fs.superior_rac@usda.gov

This project submittal checklist is a useful tool to help project proponents prepare to apply. This checklist is not a required part of an application.

Additional Information

Incomplete or insufficient applications will be returned. Project proponents are encouraged to include any relevant supplemental information to help the Superior RAC review their proposal including project maps, planned deliverables, monitoring plans, and detailed budgets. Additionally, project proponents will be invited to attend the Superior RAC meeting when project reviews and decisions are made to present information on their project. All RAC meetings are open to the public.

Reach out to the Superior RAC Coordinator, Emily Munter at (218)-626-4360 or sm.fs.superior_rac@usda.gov with any questions.

Meetings

Upcoming Meeting

When: Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The Superior RAC has an upcoming meeting. This meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss proposals received for Title II funds and to make recommendations to the Superior National Forest on which proposals to fund.

The meeting is planned for Wednesday, April 2, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. This website will be updated with the meeting agenda and access information for the virtual meeting no later than 21 days prior to the meeting.

Written and Oral Comments

Anyone wishing to provide virtual oral comments must pre-register by 11:59 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on March 28, 2025.  Written public comments will be accepted by 11:59 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on March 24, 2025. Comments submitted after this date will be provided to the Agency, but the Committee may not have adequate time to consider those comments prior to the meeting.

All RAC meetings are subject to cancellation. For status of the meeting prior to attendance, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Addresses

This meeting will be held virtually. The public may join virtually via teleconference and/or videoconference. Virtual meeting information and the final meeting agenda will be available on this website no later than 21 days prior to the meeting.

Written Comments

emily.munter@usda.gov or via mail (i.e., postmarked) to the Superior National Forest, Attn: Emily Munter, 8901 Grand Avenue Place, Duluth, MN 55808.  The Forest Service strongly prefers comments be submitted electronically.

Oral Comments

Persons or organizations wishing to make oral comments must pre-register by 11:59 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on March 28, 2025, and speakers can only register for one speaking slot. Oral comment requests must be sent by email to emily.munter@usda.gov or via mail (i.e., postmarked) to the Superior National Forest, Attn: Emily Munter, 8901 Grand Avenue Place, Duluth, MN 55808.

For Further Information Contact

Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak, Superior RAC Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by phone at (218) 663-8061 or email at ellen.bogardus-szymaniak@usda.gov or Emily Munter, Superior RAC Coordinator, by phone at (218) 451-8591 or email at emily.munter@usda.gov.

Supplementary Information

The purpose of the meeting is to:

1. Hear from Title II project proponents and discuss Title II project proposals;
2. Make funding recommendations on Title II projects;
3. Conduct other business as needed.

The agenda will include time for individuals to make oral statements of three minutes or less. Individuals wishing to make an oral statement should make a request in writing at least three days prior to the meeting date to be scheduled on the agenda. Written comments may be submitted to the Forest Service up to 5 business days after the meeting date listed under DATES.

Please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, by or before the deadline, for all questions related to the meeting. All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received upon request.

Meeting Accommodations

The meeting location is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the USDA provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you are a person requiring reasonable accommodation, please make requests in advance for sign language interpretation, assistive listening devices, or other reasonable accommodation to the person listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section or contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English

Past Meetings

The Superior RAC held two meetings in October, 2024. Meeting minutes can be found here:

• October 1, 2024
• October 11, 2024

Committee Membership

The Superior RAC is an opportunity for local community collaboration with federal land managers on implementation of Title II of the Secure Rural Schools Act. The Superior National Forest recruits for memberships on an ongoing basis. For more information on RAC membership, please contact: Emily Munter at (218)-626-4360 or sm.fs.superior_rac@usda.gov.

More About Membership

Members of the RAC are appointed to represent one of the following three interest groups:

• Category One: Five members who represent energy and mineral development; the commercial timber industry; organized labor or non-timber forest product harvester groups; developed outdoor recreation; off-highway vehicle users, or commercial recreation; or federal grazing or other land permits or represent nonindustrial private forest landowners.
• Category Two: Five members who represent nationally recognized environmental organizations; regionally or locally recognized environmental organizations; dispersed recreational activities; archaeological and historical interests; or nationally or regionally recognized wild horse and burro interest groups, wildlife or hunting organizations, or watershed associations.
• Category Three: Five members who are elected state officials; are county or local elected officials; represent Indian tribes within or adjacent to the area for which the Council is organized; are school officials or teachers with knowledge in natural resource management or the natural sciences; or represent the affected public-at-large and/or are employed by a state agency responsible for the management of natural resources, land or water.

Member Commitment

RACs are citizen groups that meet an average of twice per year to consider proposals for Title II spending. Meetings are generally one half of a day and can be in-person, virtual, or a hybrid of the two depending on the committee’s needs. Committee members are appointed to four-year terms by the Secretary of Agriculture and there are a total of 15 citizens on a RAC.

Background

Since 1908, the U.S. Forest Service has shared with states 25 percent of gross receipts from timber sales, grazing, minerals, recreation, and other land use fees on national forests to benefit public schools and public roads in the counties in which the forests are situated.

In the late 1980s, due largely to declines in timber sale receipts, payments began to fluctuate and drop significantly. In 1994, Congress provided "safety net payments" to counties in northern California, western Oregon and western Washington.

To stabilize declining revenues nation-wide, Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-393) (i.e., Secure Rural Schools Act). The SRS Act had three principal titles.

• Title I – Secure Payments for States and Counties Containing Federal Land

The SRS Act directed that the majority of the payments to States be used to help fund county schools and roads. This portion of the payment is commonly referred to as the Title I payment and has averaged about 85 percent of the total payments to date.

• Title II – Special Projects on Federal Land

Under SRS Act authorizations prior to P.L. 114-10, eligible counties had the option to allocate part of their share of the State Payment to SRS Title II for projects that maintain existing infrastructure or enhance the health of ecosystems on national forests, while supporting local economies. Title II provided for the establishment of Resource Advisory Committees (RACs) to review and recommend projects to forest supervisors. The Secure Rural Schools Act as reauthorized added to the duties of the committees and expanded the interests represented by members.

• Title III – County Funds

Funds allocated by a county under Title III may be used on county projects. When the Secure Rural Schools Act was reauthorized in 2012, Congress limited the use of Title III funds to three authorized uses: activities under the Firewise Communities program, reimbursement for emergency services on national forests, and preparation of a community wildfire protection plan

Since the original Act in 2000, there have been several reauthorizations that have changed the calculation and process for which counties can elect to receive the funding.

For more information on Secure Rural Schools.