KAMIAH, Idaho (December 20, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service today released a revised draft land management plan for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests that has the potential to add nearly 4,000 new jobs to the region and as much as $160 million in additional labor income.
The forests currently support roughly 2,100 jobs and contribute $83 million in annual labor income to surrounding communities, primarily from the timber industry and forest service expenditures.
“The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests is an integral part of our communities and we developed the alternatives for this revision of our long-term plan, with input from our communities, governments and stakeholders from all over,” said Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert. “We have a wide range of alternatives that truly reflects the range of desires and needs across our landscapes and in our communities and embraces shared stewardship of the National Forests. I am looking forward to feedback on the alternatives so that we can create a Forest Plan from these building blocks that best addresses sustainability of our communities and the resources.”
Probert added that she appreciates all of the time that citizens, local government officials and others have spent over the past several years helping the Forest develop these alternatives for future forest management.
Land management plans provide direction for how public lands are managed in the long term. These draft plans were developed through a process that involved the communities, publics and partners affected by the plan.
Since the planning process began in May 2012, there have been more than 50 community meetings and public webinars to shape the draft plan and draft EIS. Additionally, hundreds of meetings with other stakeholder groups helped shape the alternatives for the draft EIS. Four action alternatives outlined in the draft plan are the product of this input into how the Forests should be managed into the future. Written and electronic comments will be accepted for 90 days after the Notice of Availability is published in the Federal Register. The draft plan and draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are available for public review and comment for 90 days.
All project documents, including instructions on how to comment, are on the website at: http://bit.ly/NezClearFPR.
15 public meetings are scheduled throughout the comment period along with six resource-specific videocasts. A schedule of public meetings is below:
| Kamiah, ID | Kamiah Volunteer Fire Department – Fire Hall 515 Main Street, Kamiah ID 83536 | Tuesday, January 7th | 1700-1900 |
| Grangeville, ID | Grangeville Forest Service Office 104 Airport Road, Grangeville, ID 83530 | Wednesday, January 8th | 1700-1900 |
| Orofino, ID | North Fork Ranger District 12740 US Hwy 12, Orofino, ID 83544 | Thursday, January 9th | 1700-1900 |
| Elk City, ID | Red River Ranger District/Elk City Ranger Station 300 American River Road, Elk City, ID 83525 | Tuesday, January 14th | 1700-1900 |
| Lewiston, ID | Red Lion Hotel 621 21st Street, Lewiston, ID 83501 Conference Room: Clearwater | Saturday, January 25th | 1000-1200 |
| Riggins, ID | Riggins Community Center 121 Lodge Street, Riggins, ID 83549 Conference Room: Upper Level | Tuesday, January 28th | 1700-1900 (MST) |
Maps and other materials will be available for review at public meetings, and planning team members will be available to answer questions. The location and schedule of these meetings will be published in local newspapers and can be found on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests website. Click on Forest Plan Revision: https://www.fs.usda.gov/nezperceclearwater
For more information, contact Forest Planner Zach Peterson at [email protected] or 208-935-4239.
