An update to the Northwest Forest Plan is expected soon, and Washingtonians who enjoy the outdoors are being urged to follow the process closely.

While the plan doesn't specifically mention recreation, the Northwest Forest Plan is the land management plan for millions of acres of forest in the region.

Michael DeCramer, policy and planning manager with the Washington Trails Association, says the U.S. Forest Service should keep in mind the people hiking trails within the plan area.

"Outdoor recreation is the primary way in which the public interacts with those lands. So, this management plan is key to assuring that there's continued conservation of resources, but also opportunities to recreate and enjoy the forests in the Pacific Northwest," he said.

DeCramer added the outdoor recreation economy is also important to the region. It generates more than $26 billion annually in Washington, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

The Northwest Forest Plan was adopted in 1994 for management of forests in Washington, Oregon and northern California. The U.S. Forest Service is set to release a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the plan amendment next month.

The Forest Service plans to address is the impact of climate change on the region, among other factors.

Betsy Robblee, conservation and advocacy director for Washington-state based group The Mountaineers, said increasingly frequent wildfires are hurting trails. She contributed recommendations with the federal advisory committee on the plan amendment to address this.

"Restore recreation sites after climate-related events and reopen them to the public. One thing that we're seeing is more lengthy closures of areas after wildfire," she explained. "Places can be closed for a number of years for public access."

Robblee encourages people who enjoy recreation to follow along as the Northwest Forest Plan amendment is released, because there will be an opportunity for the public to comment on it.

"It's easy for folks to think, 'Oh, this is all about logging or wildlife, and it doesn't affect me.' But it definitely affects people's recreation experience and the places that they love and care about," she added.


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Minnesotans have until next Tuesday to offer their thoughts on the state's next Climate Action Framework.

Those tasked with protecting a distinct type of wetland hope the public learns more about their fate before speaking up.

Only trailing Alaska, Minnesota has the largest amount of peatlands in the U.S. They are waterlogged areas covered with dead plant materials, such as decaying leaves. Almost like a big kitchen sink on the landscape, they absorb carbon emissions while acting as ecosystems for a number of species.

Meredith Cornett, peatland resilience project planner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said drainage ditches for unused farmland have turned into a problem because water from peatlands flows into them.

"We are currently doing a demonstration project to identify the best candidates for locking these ditches," Cornett explained. "Filling them in some cases and trying to restore the natural hydrology."

If successful, they can prevent more peatlands from drying out and releasing stored emissions back into the atmosphere. A recent estimate found nearly 850,000 acres of peatland in Minnesota are partially drained. Cornett noted federal grants have helped with restoration work but she encouraged public comments through the updated Climate Action Framework to create more urgency.

In northeastern Minnesota, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is making a strong push to protect and restore peatlands.

Nancy Schuldt, water projects coordinator for the Fond du Lac Environmental Program, said beyond the emissions effects, the wetlands have a deep connection to tribal communities.

"It's important habitat for moose, an incredibly culturally significant species, which is in a population decline up in this region," Schuldt noted.

Habitat for other plant and animal species prioritized by Indigenous populations also benefit from having a diverse group of wetlands in place. In recent decades, the Fond du Lac Band has enhanced water management to overcome the drainage effects traced back to colonization.

Schuldt alluded to the broader threats, such as droughts made worse by climate change, while also calling for a greater political will to limit land development near peatlands.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


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The U.S. Supreme Court has opted not to hear a lawsuit brought by the State of Utah, which alleged the federal government's ownership of large parts of the state is unconstitutional.

The decision marks a win for conservation advocates.

Olivia Juarez, public land program director for the nonprofit GreenLatinos, said Utahns now will not have their tax dollars used to fund what they call the state's "ill-founded lawsuit and disinformation campaign." Utah had made the effort to seize public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Juarez acknowledged with a Republican-dominated Congress, similar efforts may return.

"We are better set up to fight against some of the biggest challenges that the Trump administration is going to pose to the American public," Juarez contended. "Two of them namely being the climate and biodiversity crisis and also a cultural crisis about belonging."

Juarez pointed out public lands represent the origins of American and pre-American history. The case marks the latest setback for states looking to gain control of public lands, some of which hold valuable oil and gas, timber and other resources. Utah state leaders have said they have not ruled out taking their suit to a lower court.

The nomination hearing for Donald Trump's pick for Interior Secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, is scheduled for this Thursday. The new administration will inherit a number of challenges, including disputes over conservation leases on Bureau of Land Management lands.

Juarez argued the multiple-use doctrine for public lands should be upheld.

"That rule will be under attack by the incoming Congress and presidential administration," Juarez noted. "It'll be important to reaffirm to the next secretary that conservation is a use that is valuable, economically as well as culturally."

Juarez added last weekend, public lands and conservation advocates rallied in Salt Lake City to show their support for protecting public lands across the Beehive State like the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.

"Our goal was to bring people together at a time that it feels good," Juarez stressed. "It's a really hopeful moment for the nation's will to treat public lands as a solution to climate disaster, rather than making them part of the problem."

The White House announced two new national monuments in California on Tuesday, one just east of Palm Springs and the other near Shasta Lake.

A signing ceremony will take place next week, as the unveiling event was postponed due to high winds.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., whose district includes parts of the new 624,000 acre Chuckwalla National Monument, said the lands will now be protected from mining, drilling and development.

"This is one of these unique examples where you have both the conservation and tribal leaders, as well as the renewable energy and utility companies all endorsing this enormous monument," Ruiz explained.

The area south of Joshua Tree National Park is crucial habitat for the Chuckwalla lizard, bighorn sheep and the endangered desert tortoise.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said although President-elect Trump rescinded protections for some monument lands during his first administration, he hopes the two new monuments will endure.

"If the President-elect talks to the parties who really span the spectrum of interests, he will learn how this was a really well-thought-out effort to conserve this land but also make it possible to generate energy," Schiff asserted. "It's a win-win."

Thomas Tortez, former chairman of the Torres Martinez Tribe, noted his ancestral lands will now gain protections.

"The next step is to strategically develop a co-stewardship plan, put all those resources together and then, start to protect the land," Tortez added.

The White House also intends to designate the new Sátíttla Highlands National Monument, which covers 224,000 acres near Shasta Lake in northern California and contains the headwaters for California's entire watershed.

Brandy McDaniels, a member of the Pit River Tribe, said they have been fighting development in the area for decades.

"As social, economically suppressed communities, having to fight against people with deep pockets and have all the money in the world to come in and destroy our lands," McDaniels observed. "That's what we've been fighting to protect for a very long time."


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