December 2007, Newsletter #26 Setting the Stage Participating in a collaborative effort does not necessarily mean abandoning other strategies. Through collaboration stories, funding information, the Collaboration Handbook, legislation and regulations summaries, and up-to-date news stories, the Clearinghouse has focused on providing resources to individuals and groups in their efforts to address their resource conflict challenges through collaboration. Now the Clearinghouse believes it is time to explicitly explore the process of collaboration—in its many forms and applications—as well as other approaches that may accompany, enhance, or even replace a collaborative process. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >> Introduction to public notice and comment A Primer on the Process The most common way of engaging the public in environmental decision-making is by providing the public with notice of proposed projects (plans), decisions, and rules along with the opportunity to comment on them. While the process may seem unnecessarily formal, it does offer all interested parties with equal access to the agency and with a predictable forum to have input on decisions that may impact their lives and livelihoods. The comments—and the agency's response to them—also provide for agency accountability. Because public comments and the agency's response are a matter of public record, they help to illuminate the issues and how the agency thinks about them. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >> Commenting 101 A quick guide to commenting effectively You have decided that you care about an issue and are motivated to participate in the commenting process-now what? Where should you go to find information? What should you say and how should you say it? This guide will walk you through the process and provide some tips on effectively participating in the process. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >> Interview with Ed Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wolf Recovery Coordinator How does an agency think about and deal with comments? Ed has been involved with the recovery and management of gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and other western states since 1988. As the primary point person for wolves, he has been in charge of the notice and comment process relating to the delisting of the gray wolf. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >> Additional Resources Web sites and links to legal resources, relevant agency web pages, and training opportunities. CLICK HERE FOR MORE LINKS >> Current Notices with Requests for Comment A sampling of opportunities to comment on proposed actions, plans, and rules from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Environmental Protection Agency. USFWS Draft Guidance on Recovery Crediting USFWS Revised Proposed rule to amend the listing for the Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse BLM Draft Resource Management Plan EIS BLM West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic EIS USFS Proposed rule for sales and fees for collection of special (non-timber) forest products USFS Wind Energy Proposed Directives EPA Clean Air Act Proposed rule, notice of public hearing and reopening of public comment period for National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From Petroleum Refineries EPA Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NSR) U.S. weighs sustainability seal for national forests BY DAN BERMAN, LAND LETTER, 11/29/07 The Forest Service is considering joining the ranks of private and state forest managers who have had their lands and timber products stamped with a "green" label. At issue is whether the federal agency should apply for an independent certification of one or more national forests — an effort that is gaining momentum following a report last month from the nonpartisan Pinchot Institute for Conservation. SEE FULL STORY >> Ranchers, others work to rehab land BY RENA DELBRIDGE, CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE, 11/26/07 DOUGLAS — When ranchers in the Thunder Basin grassland area drive the dusty red roads from pasture to pasture or from highway to home, they’re watching more than their cattle these days. The landowners who are part of the Thunder Basin Grassland Prairie Ecosystem Association are also keeping a sharp eye out for flora and fauna. They’re taking particularly careful notes in an almost 38,000-acre area where the association, with help from the state and others, is treating land with a mixture of fire, pesticides and native grass seeds to rehabilitate the ecosystem. SEE FULL STORY >> State of timber: Forests' future full of changes, challenges BY PERRY BACKUS, THE MISSOULIAN, 11/25/07 HAMILTON — Tom Robak knew he'd struck a public chord that day he opened up his post office box. A week hadn't yet passed since Robak and others had hosted a meeting in Hamilton earlier this month that drew close to 650 people on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The crowd had come to learn about the new group - Big Sky Coalition: Environmentalists with Common Sense - that planned to challenge forest management policies it believed were causing catastrophic wildfires. When Robak turned the key, he was shocked to see his box stuffed full of letters supporting the coalition. The envelopes contained almost $3,500 in donations. SEE FULL STORY >> Idaho ranchers learn to live with wolves BY ROCKY BARKER, IDAHO STATESMAN, 11/18/07 Cattle and sheep growers, who never wanted the predators back in Idaho, try to limit their losses by moving their stock around, using more guard dogs and trying innovative technology. But co-existence isn't easy. SEE FULL STORY >> WOLF IMPACT REMAINS IN DISPUTE >> Conservation groups and timber companies collaborate BY EMILY DARRELL, NEW WEST, 11/16/07 Collaboration between three conservation groups and five major timber companies has produced a plan for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana’s largest, that would allow for both increased logging and expanded wilderness areas. SEE FULL STORY >> A MODEL FOR COMPROMISE ON BEAVERHEAD-DEERLODGE FOREST >> HOME PAGE  |   CONTACT US