Place - Based National Forest Legislation and Agreements : Common Characteristics and Policy Recommendations

Throughout the country, divergent interests are collaborating about how they would like particular national forests to be managed . Some of these initiatives are seeking place-based legislation as a way to secure such agreements, while others use an assortment of different approaches and memoranda of understanding . What is most remarkable about these initiatives is the similarities they share, from a widespread frustration with the status quo to the search for more certainty in forest management . This Article analyzes “place-based,” or national forest-specific, legislation and the use of formalized agreements as a way to manage national forests . Unlike organic or umbrella legislation covering all national forests, place-based legislation codifies additional forest-specific prescriptions and management direction . There is increasing political interest and controversy surrounding such legislation . As discussed below, the most prominent and wide-reaching examples are congressional bills introduced by Sens . Jon Tester (D-Mont .) and Ron Wyden (D-Or .) in the 111th Congress .1 These bills have received widespread attention, much of it due to their provisions related to mandated timber harvests on selected forests in Montana and Oregon .2 Throughout the West, divergent interests are negotiating how they would like particular forests to be managed . Many of these proposals include provisions related to protected lands, economic development, timber harvesting, forest restoration, and funding mechanisms, among others . But unlike more typical collaborative efforts, some groups are seeking codification of their agreements, while others have formalized their agreements by using memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the U .S . Forest Service (USFS) . Place-based legislation is not without precedent .3 Sitespecific legislation has been used on the national forests since at least 1904 with the Bull Run Trespass Act applicable to the Mount Hood National Forest .4 Other