Committees
Citizens involvement is important to the work we do! There are a variety of ways the public can become involved in how we do our work. Resource Advisory Committees (RACs), with members from nearly every occupational and industry group and geographic location, have played an important role in accomplishing the Forest Service mission.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1967 applies when we establish, use, control or manage a group with non-federal members that provide the agency with consensus advice or recommendations.
Committees in the Southern Region
The Daniel Boone Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) operates under authority of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Congress established the Act to continue sharing federal revenue payments to states that include national forest lands. The Daniel Boone RAC works in collaboration with natural resource managers, community officials, and others to help make project decisions that benefit national forest lands and local communities. These projects are funded primarily under Title II, where county governments may allocate a portion of the state payment to fund such projects. The Kentucky counties that currently allocate funds to Title II are Laurel, Leslie, McCreary and Rockcastle.
See the current Daniel Boon RAC Proposal:
The Land Between The Lakes Protection Act of 1998 transferred responsibility for the Land Between Lakes National Recreation Area from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to be managed as a unit of the National Forest System. The Protection Act called for the establishment of the Land Between The Lakes Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the means of promoting public participation for the land and resource management plan for the Recreation Area, and environmental education.
The Southern Region Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is a citizen's advisory committee that makes recommendations on creating new or changing existing recreation fees managed by the Forest Service in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the territory of Puerto Rico.