Public Meeting on Federal Forest Rules

Only meeting in Oregon set for Friday in planning process for all 155 National Forests.

Conservation groups say it's the meeting the US Forest Service doesn't want you to attend. It's Friday at a hotel near the Portland Airport. It's a chance for the public to weigh in on the Obama Administration's National Forest Management Act.
 
Oregon Wild's Rob Klavins says the new rules are a step in the wrong direction. He says they're too vague and don't offer clear guidelines to local forest managers.
 
Klavins: "These rules, because they provide the overarching umbrella, so to speak, of how forests should be managed across the country should just provide some basic, clear minimum standards and if that's the test, unfortunately they fall short."
 
Oregonhas 16 million acres of National Forest. The rules for management of federal forests haven't been updated since 1982.  Friday's is the only public meeting scheduled in Oregon. It's from 8:30 a.m. to noon then from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Friday at the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Portland. There will also be a webcast available online. The forest service will take written comments through mid May.