What follows below is the text a of 'draft' US Forest Service brochure. The picture on the left is that of the new brochure as it appeared on December 10, 1998.

This brochure does not actually use the words "Privatize, Commercialize and Motorize" in describing the Natural Resource Agenda of the Forest Service.

· Or, does it?

If you want to learn where the USFS thinks it is headed, then please read on...

 

The Natural Resource Agenda:

…a STRATEGY FOR RECREATION

 

Response to Natural Resource Agenda themes:

· We will create better external and internal Partnerships. We will ensure that the "serving people" component of our mission receives more focus internally. Externally, we will seek effective partnerships with mutual benefits that closely fit the core missions of the parties. Partners will help define the program of work in which they are involved.

· We will actively engage our constituents in Collaborative Stewardship through early involvement in economic development activities, forest planning, cooperative social science research, and resource planning processes.

· To increase Accountability, we will fully implement the Government Performance and Results Act, establish an integrated information environment, and improve our business practices.

· Our Financial Health will improve as our means of allocation shifts from infrastructure to customer value. We will increase efficiency to maximize dollars to the ground. Private sector funds will leverage available resources.

 

Bold New ways in how we conduct our business:

· Good social science will be the basis for recreation management decisions. We will be customer-driven and will rely on sound marketing to deliver the right services in the right way.

· Expanded revenue enhancement opportunities and private sector collaboration will provide services and increase quality at facilities. Forest Service employees will do "more steering and less rowing."

· By managing our business relationships strategically, we will become better business partners.

· Improving the avenues in which we reach youth and underserved populations will strengthen future constituencies, extending the benefits of outdoor recreation to all Americans.

· Increased quantity and quality conservation education! interpretive programming will build a broader support base, increase appreciation of natural resource management, and reduce the adverse effects of recreation on ecosystems.

· Managing and using information more effectively will make us more accountable, more efficient in the allocation of resources, and more responsive.

· Implementation of national design standards for facilities will create a strong sense of place and present a clear image of the national forests and grasslands.

· Links to other Forest Service staffs and Federal, state and local agencies will result in more collaborative planning for recreation and tourism.

· We will fulfill the original promise of National Recreation Areas by making them the special places they were intended to be.

 

Four Key areas of the Recreation emphasis area:

 

1) Settings and Experiences:

We will protect and maintain the essential wildland character of national forests and grasslands. Through our commitment to a balanced combination of revenue enhancement policies and expanded opportunities for private sector investment, we will improve these settings and experiences. We will establish a consistent Forest Service brand of recreation and identity in our facilities. We will identify and engage multicultural rural and urban populations and will make our facilities accessible to all people.

 

2) Service and Satisfaction:

We will improve service and satisfaction through our increased ability to:

· Provide better trip planning and reservation services.

· Deliver more conservation education and interpretive services programming.

· Understand the needs of and became more responsive to underserved populations such as youth, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

· Make better use of technology.

· Do a better job of training our employees, volunteers, and contractors.

 

3) Community Connections:

We will develop sustainable and community-supported tourism opportunities that support natural and cultural resource stewardship. Our community connections will be improved as we become a better partner, both internally and externally. We will help rural communities diversify their economies to include recreation and tourism associated with national forests and grasslands and will work with urban communities to establish relevancy of our products and services.

 

4) Relationships:

We will become better business partners through simplified processes and upgraded employee skills. We will collaborate seamlessly with other agencies and governmental entities.

 

Recreation impacts and is affected by the other three emphasis areas of the Natural Resource Agenda. Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness management will contribute to the achievement of the other three areas by:

· careful matching of roaded and non-roaded recreation opportunities to appropriate, resilient settings to maximize recreation benefits while minimizing impacts.

· restoration of ecosystems and watersheds impacted by recreation use.

· maximizing opportunities for conservation education on the National Forests & Grasslands to increase appreciation of ecosystems and appropriate use of them.

· special emphasis in Wilderness, Wild & Scenic Rivers, Scenic, and Heritage Resources.

The Forest Service's new "STRATEGY FOR RECREATION" is now online (10-20-99).

 

This document was prepared by Wild Wilderness. To learn more about ongoing industry-backed congressional efforts to motorize, commercialize, and privatize America's public lands, contact:

Scott Silver, Executive Director,
Wild Wilderness
248 NW Wilmington Avenue,  Bend  OR 97701
Phone (541) 385-5261    E-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org