Forest Service Seeks Local Voices for Advisory Committees
Residents with an interest in the future of national forests have an opportunity to bring their experience and perspective directly into the decision-making process.
The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that it is seeking nominations for membership on Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committees across the country, including committees serving communities in and around the Sierra National Forest and other national forest lands.
The committees, commonly known as RACs, bring together people representing a range of interests to recommend projects eligible for funding through Title II of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.
For communities in Eastern Madera County and the surrounding Sierra, that work can hit close to home.
The Forest Service has a Fresno and Madera Counties Resource Advisory Committee whose project area includes national forest lands within those counties. Projects considered through the program can include road and trail maintenance, forest-health work, watershed restoration, wildlife and fish habitat improvements, invasive-species control and other work intended to improve forest ecosystems and surrounding communities.
A Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties Resource Advisory Committee has also served communities associated with the Stanislaus National Forest.
Bringing Local Experience to Forest Decisions
The Forest Service says the nationwide recruitment effort covers 84 committees serving more than 700 counties.
“These committees bring local expertise directly into the decision making process,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in announcing the recruitment. “Their work strengthens forest health, infrastructure and the rural communities that depend on them.”
Each committee consists of 15 members representing a balance of interests.
Those interests can include commercial timber, outdoor recreation, grazing and other land-use permit holders, environmental organizations, wildlife and hunting groups, watershed organizations, archaeological and historical interests, tribal representatives, elected officials, educators and members representing the general public.
The Forest Service’s membership plan calls for five representatives from each of three broad interest categories, creating a committee intended to reflect different perspectives on management of national forest lands.
Members are appointed by the Chief of the Forest Service to four-year terms. They serve without compensation, although travel expenses may be reimbursed under federal regulations.
From Trails to Watersheds
RACs don’t manage national forests themselves. Instead, they review potential projects and make recommendations to the Forest Service about how Title II funding should be used.
Forest Service guidance for the Fresno and Madera Counties committee, for example, identifies potential projects ranging from road and trail maintenance to improving soil productivity, forest health, watersheds and wildlife habitat.
That structure is designed to give people who live, work and recreate near national forests a formal role in identifying priorities for federal lands near their communities.
The Forest Service describes the purpose of the committees as improving collaboration among people who use and care for national forests while providing recommendations on projects and funding under the Secure Rural Schools program.
How to Apply
Nominees must live in the state where the committee has jurisdiction and identify the interest group they would represent. Applicants must also describe their qualifications and submit a completed AD-755 advisory committee membership form.
According to the Aug. 13 Forest Service announcement, nominations must be submitted within 90 days to the Forest Service’s Secure Rural Schools National Partnership Office at SM.FS.SRSInbox@usda.gov.
Applicants can learn more about the Secure Rural Schools program and Resource Advisory Committees through the U.S. Forest Service Secure Rural Schools website.
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Feature Photo: Forest Service staff discuss meadow restoration efforts in the Sierra National Forest. Local residents are being sought to serve on advisory committees that help recommend projects involving forest health, watersheds, habitat, roads and other work on national forest lands.
Photo Credit: Hilary Clark/USDA Forest Service, public domain.