Sustaining the people's lands: Recommendations for stewardship of the national forests and grasslands into the next century

In December 1997, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman convened an interdisciplinary committee of 13 scientists to provide scientific and technical advice on the Forest Services land and resource management planning process. The committee was asked to recommend how best to accomplish resource planning within the existing environmental laws and statutory mission of the Forest Service; to provide technical advice on planning and provide material for the agency to consider in revising planning regulations; to recommend improvements in coordination with other federal agencies, state and local government agencies, and tribal governments; and to suggest a new planning framework that could last a generation. The committee took field trips and met in cities and towns around the country to hear from Forest Service employees, representatives of tribes, state and local governments, related federal natural resource agencies, and members of the public. Drawing on many of the approaches and improvements to planning it observed, the committee has made its recommendations.