A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a reporter at the Redding Record Searchlight. He wanted my response to an agreement between the air quality regulators and the land management agencies that could spell relief for Californians inhaling smoke from forest fires. The Record Searchlight’s readership is pretty much the part of northern California that had 800,000 acres burn in 2008. Much of that burn occurred under conditions that funneled smoke right into the towns of northern California. So smoke is a big deal to the folks who read this newspaper. Region:  California Read more

You might remember that The Wilderness Society and supporters like you created a comprehensive set of comments last May on the Forest Service’s proposed rule for managing 193 million acres of America’s national forests. If adopted, the planning rule would establish a new national framework to develop land management plans that protect water, wildlife and communities. Comments were collected from over 300,000 people as part of a collaborative effort between The Wilderness Society and various other environmental groups. Read more

The Obama administration and the Forest Service last week hosted what they call a national roundtable. It was an effort to summarize and explain in detail the various components of the draft forest planning rule, which was published last month. When final, this rule will guide the Forest Service on how to manage 193 million acres of America’s national forests. The roundtable, held in Washington D.C., was the beginning of a series of public forums that will take place throughout the country. Read more