A lawsuit is probably responsible for the enactment of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976. Herbert Zieske sued Earl Butz, then the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, for enforcing the environmental impact assessment of the U.S. Forest Service, in its decision to halt logging on part of the Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. THE NFMA requires the management of renewable resources on National Forest lands, so that this valuable natural resource will not be destroyed by practices such as clear cutting, excessive grazing, or other intensive uses of natural resources.
The NFMA requires the National Forest Service to develop specific plans for the management of each national forest, set standards for timber sales, and develop policies to regulate the harvesting of timber. Congress requires the National Forest Service to assess, research, and plan for the use of the nation’s renewable resources in their management areas. Current and anticipated demands for lumber extraction must be balanced with the potential impact of extractions on the forest’s fish, wildlife and plant inhabitants, as well as on other activities, such as recreation, which is a significantly expanding use of many national forests, especially those near urban areas.
The NFMA is yet another federal law waived to expedite the construction of a border wall (click here for a list of all 48 laws that have been waived). Waiving the NFMA means that all the careful planning for the sustainable management of resources on, for example, the Coronado National Forest here in Arizona, is moot in the vicinity of proposed border wall construction and associated roads. Roads, as well as walls, fragment habitat and pose threats to wildlife.
Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members) and let them know that you oppose waiving The National Forest Management Act to expedite construction of a border wall. Click here if you would like to make a donation to help us fight the border wall.