In a move that frustrated environmentalists, the U.S. Forest Service said on Friday that it would delay revising management plans for most national forests in the Northwest until 2012. Under a timetable set by Congress, the multi-year plans had been slated to be revamped by 2005; enviro groups had hoped to use the scientific and public review process to gain more protection for old-growth forests and roadless areas. But the Forest Service said budget and staffing shortages had made it impossible to revise all forest management plans on schedule. It opted to postpone review of the Northwest plans, giving priority instead to forests elsewhere in the country.
