Northwest Forest Plan Federal Advisory Committee
The Federal Advisory Committee was established by the Secretary of Agriculture as part of ongoing efforts to amend the Northwest Forest Plan. The purpose of the Federal Advisory Committee is to bring together diverse perspectives representing the experiences of communities, experts, Tribes, and other interested parties across the Northwest Forest Plan landscape to inform ways that forest management can effectively conserve key resources while considering social, ecological, and economic conditions and needs.
The Advisory Committee Charter for the Committee was approved in December 2022 and provides an overall framework for the committee's functions, authorizing its work over 2-years. The Forest Service is particularly interested in obtaining Committee feedback on how to protect and promote late and old structure forest conditions while ensuring national forests are resilient to high-severity wildfire, insects and disease, and other types of disturbances that are being exacerbated by the climate crisis. The Committee has discretion to consider other issues and resource uses as well.
The Committee is expected to produce a clear set of recommendations for how land management plans within the Northwest Forest Plan area can provide for a consistent approach to conserving key resources across the entire planning area while allowing for deviations where appropriate given local social, ecological, and economic conditions and needs. These recommendations may include programmatic changes to the Northwest Forest Plan amendment as whole and/or strategies for individual land management plan revisions on each affected national forest.The Federal Advisory Committee does not replace the public involvement process or the public’s opportunity to engage directly with the Forest Service regarding Northwest Forest Plan amendment efforts during the planning process, opportunities such as the Environmental Impact Statement scoping process is one such opportunity for engagement and comment.
The Northwest Forest Plan covers 24.5 million acres of federally managed lands in northwestern California, western Oregon, and Washington. It was established in 1994 to address threats to threatened and endangered species while also contributing to social and economic sustainability in the region. After nearly 30 years, the Northwest Forest Plan needs to be updated to accommodate changed ecological and social conditions.
Meetings
Upcoming Advisory Committee Meetings:
The next Northwest Forest Plan Federal Advisory Committee meeting will be held April 16-18, 2024 at Redding Rancheria Trinity Health Center, 81 Arbuckle Ct, Weaverville, CA 96093.
Dates/Time:
All times are in Pacific Daylight Time.
- April 16, 09:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- April 17, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- April 18, 2024, 09:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting is to:
- Provide recommendations for updates to the Northwest Forest Plan to the Forest Service.
- Schedule the next meeting.
Contact email: sm.fs.nwfp_faca@usda.gov
Membership
The Committee is comprised of members approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and announced on July 7, 2023 with each member serving a two-year term. The Committee includes representation from experts in the following interest areas:
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Science: Members representing the scientific community with expertise in a specific discipline related to the NWFP including forest ecology, vegetation management, fire ecology, terrestrial wildlife ecology, aquatic and riparian ecosystems and species, climate change, social science, adaptive management and natural resource planning, or indigenous traditional ecological knowledge.
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Interests: Members representing organizations that share a collective interest in the health and sustainability of the National Forest System lands within the NWFP area, including conservation organizations, the forest products industry, wildlife advocates, outdoor recreation groups, entities involved in outreach to affected and underserved communities, forest collaborative groups, and watershed management organizations.
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Government agencies and the general public: Members representing state, county, and Tribal governments as well as the public at large.
The Forest Service developed a Membership Balance Plan to ensure that the Committee represents, to the extent possible, a balance across the three states covered by the NWFP (Oregon, Washington, California) and reflects the demographic diversity of the Northwest Forest Plan area. Members of the Committee will serve without compensation but will be reimbursed for travel expenses, and a call for nominations to the committee was published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2022. The Forest Service appreciates the service of the selected Committee members.
Committee Members
Name | Title | Location | Committee Category | Seat |
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Mike Anderson, JD | Senior Policy Analyst, The Wilderness Society | Washington | Organization | Wildlife Organizations |
Susan Jane Brown, JD | Principal, Silvix Resources | Oregon | Organization | Forest Collaborative Groups |
Robert 'Bobby' Brunoe | Secretary Treasurer/CEO, Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs | Oregon | Science | Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge |
Jerry Franklin, PhD | Professor Emeritus, School of Environmental and Forest Science, University of Washington | Oregon | Science | Forest Ecology |
Nicholas Goulette | Executive Director, Watershed Research and Training Center | California | Organization | Watershed Organizations |
Karen Hans | Good Neighbor Authority Program Coordinator, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife | Oregon | Government | State Governments |
Elaine Harvey, PhDc | Environmental Coordinator, Yakama Nation | Washington | Science | Aquatic and Riparian Ecosystem and Species |
Ryan Haugo, PhD | Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy | Oregon | Science | Climate Change |
Ann House, JD | Staff Attorney, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe Environmental and Natural Resources Department | Washington | Government | American Indian Tribes |
Heidi Huber-Stearns, PhD | Associate Research Professor and Director, Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon | Oregon | Science | Social Science |
James Johnston, PhD | Assistant Professor (Senior Research), College of Forestry, Oregon State University | Oregon | Science | Vegetation Management |
Travis Joseph | President/CEO, American Forest Resource Council | Oregon | Organization | Forest Products Industry |
Meg Krawchuk, PhD | Associate Professor of Landscape Fire, Ecology, and Conservation Science, College of Forestry, Oregon State University | Oregon | Science | Fire Ecology |
Jose Linares | District Manager (Retired), Bureau of Land Management, Northwest Oregon District and Board Member, Straub Outdoors | Oregon | Organization | Underserved Communities Outreach Organizations |
Laura Osiadacz | Kittitas County Commissioner | Washington | Government | County Governments |
Ryan Miller | Director of Treaty Rights and Government Affairs, Tulalip Tribes | Washington | Government | American Indian Tribes |
Ryan Reed | Co-founder and Executive Director, Fire Generation Collaborative and Wildland Firefighter | California | Public | Member of the Affected Public at Large |
Daniel Reid Sarna-Wojcicki, PhD | Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Berkeley | California | Science | Adaptive Management and Planning |
Elizabeth Robblee | Conservation and Advocacy Director, The Mountaineers | Washington | Organization | Recreation Organizations |
Angela Sondenaa, PhD | Certified Senior Ecologist, Nez Perce Tribe | Idaho | Science | Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology |
Lindsay Warness | Western Regional Manager, Forest Resource Association | Oregon | Organization | Forest Products Industry |