U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck officially instituted new rules yesterday requiring that ecosystem health be the No. 1 priority in managing national forests. The agency previously required its managers to weigh ecosystem health equally with other concerns such as logging and public access. The new rule prohibits cutting timber at unsustainable rates and eliminates the logging quotas set for many forests. The shift is a big deal because management plans for two-thirds of the country’s national forests are due to be revised in the next three years. Enviros praised the change, while loggers and the BlueRibbon Coalition, a group supportive of off-road-vehicle use, had angry reactions.
