Introduction

The San Juan National Forest (SJNF) encompasses almost 2,000,000 acres in southwestern Colorado. In the fall of 1995, the US Forest Service began to take steps in revising the SJNF Forest Plan; a plan stating how forest resources will be managed for the next ten to fifteen years. Differing from previous approaches to forest plan revisions, the US Forest Service (USFS) in partnership with the Fort Lewis College Office of Community Services, decided upon a new and unique initiative to help get the public more involved.

In past plan revisions, the USFS, following formal procedures of National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) regulations, would develop several alternatives (choosing one as a preferred alternative) for the revised forest plan. These alternatives would be presented in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement where they would be available for public comment. Because involvement by the public is limited to comments after the alternatives had been formulated, this process often caused polarization over forest management issues between the community and the USFS.

Thus, in attempting to avoid or reduce polarization and promote collaboration, the USFS chose to use a community stewardship approach for the SJNF plan revisions that would allow the public to be involved in helping create the alternatives. While the USFS retains decision making authority and remains in full compliance with the regulations of NEPA, using an approach based on community stewardship values allows for greater understanding of issues, the opportunity to learn more about the collaborative process, and the ability to reach common ground with local and regional citizens when solving problems.

Through advertisements in newspapers, on radios and through mailings in the fall and winter of 1995, local and regional citizens were invited to apply to join three community study groups. The USFS and the Office of Community Services provided more information on the community stewardship approach to forest management during open houses for the general public and potential study group participants. During these open houses, the public had an opportunity to ask questions about the forest plan revision and the new study group approach to public participation in the process. Packets were also handed out containing information on forest plans and the revision process, community study groups, the partnership between the USFS and the Office of Community Services, a timeline for the process, an application for study group membership, and a mailing list sign up.

Three community study groups were created for the three SJNF ranger districts, Colombine, Mancos-Dolores and Pagosa, with 105 initial signups and about 75 regular participants during the following year. Interests represented included biodiversity protection, community, government, recreation, commodity uses and natural resource management. However, many members were average citizens who didn't represent any organization or position on a single issue. They simply wanted to be involved in a process that would allow them to care for the landscape. The facilitators hoped to avoid getting bogged down in representational interaction by creating a more inclusive atmosphere in which new people with new ideas, who wore more than one hat in the community, could participate in community ecosystem stewardship. This is a key principle of the study group approach.

Responsibilities of the three study groups included:

• to be representatives of local, regional and national perspectives concerning management issues of the SJNF;
• to share knowledge and values about the community aspirations for the future and the interactions between federal lands and their community and region;
• to explore opportunities for solving common problems and;
• to contribute, review and analyze social, economic and biophysical information about the SJNF and the surrounding areas.

The three community study groups were facilitated by the Office of Community Services and met once a month for at least two hours, from April 1996, to April 1997. Group members also attended seven field trips with USFS rangers, managers and district personnel during the summer months to several sites across the SJNF and discussed numerous issues. The field trips were extremely in-depth and varied, providing a virtual crash course in forest management that left participants with a perspective on conditions, issues and management practices that is unique for average citizens.

The Focus

Each of the three study groups focused on issues specific to their district. To help clarify the issues, the Office of Community Service distributed among communities a four question "scoping" survey asking: what makes forest lands valuable; what aspects of forest management are working; what needs to be addressed in the revision plan; and what is changing in the community in regards to natural resources. This survey, completed by the general public as well as by new study group members, resulted in a long list of issues from which the study groups chose several for discussion. To facilitate evaluation, the complex issues were arranged in eight categories: timber, prescribed fire, old growth, recreation management, travel management, wildlife, range and aquatic resources. Each meeting began with a presentation by Forest Service personnel on one of the issues with members then forming small discussion groups for further evaluation and for addressing problem-solving questions posed by the facilitators and USFS staff.

A newsletter, Study Group Update, helped keep the members informed. In addition, the Forest Plan Revision Newsletter was published by the SJNF and the Office of Community Services to keep the larger community (regional and national) apprised of progress.

A computer database at the Office of Community Services chronicling the members' views and statements of the participants includes a record of all meetings, newsletters and a summary report listing the range of ideas, possible solutions, alternatives and recommendations which emerged from these study groups.

Topical Working Groups

Roughly mid-way through the community study group process, the USFS and the Office of Community Services decided that more discussion with the public was necessary because there was so much to discuss and not enough time to cover all the intricacies of the issues. Therefore, in May of 1997 announcements explaining a fresh phase of more in-depth study began appearing in newspapers. Meetings and more field trips began July 1997. This phase included six topical working groups: wildlife, timber management and fire, travel management and recreation, special management areas, special water concerns, and range and riparian areas. For membership on the topical working groups there was no application procedure; rather, volunteers chose issues they had special interest in and wanted to work on. The number of participants for each of the groups varied, with travel and management having the most members at 40. The length of time the topical working groups met also varied, with some ending as soon as October. All the groups had completed their work by February of 1998.

Funding

Funding for this project came from a challenge cost-share agreement between the USFS Planning Department and the Office of Community Services.

Successes and Barriers

Through interviews of a few group members by the Green Mountain Institute and a follow up survey sent to group members by the Office of Community Services, some of the successes and barriers to the process can be identified. The successes mentioned were that the groups were able to work together to find solutions despite having conflicting opinions; and that participants achieved increased understanding of USFS laws and regulations, a broadening of individual perspectives, and better understanding of the complexity of issues.

Some of the process barriers felt by the study group members were: time limitations; lack of diversity of study group members; the amount of time, energy and money required for the process, and trying to reconcile decisions made by the community groups with national and state interests.

Despite members being pleased with the collaborative process, many will wait to see how the USFS will use the information obtained in this approach before calling it a success.

Project Status as of November, 1998

In the fall of 1997, the US Senate passed the 1998 Appropriations Act with a rider ceasing the spending of funds on most revisions to forest plans until the USFS adopted new regulations to guide forest planning (current regulations were enacted in 1982). This rider included the SJNF Forest Plan revisions. Although all work regarding revisions was halted, the USFS and the Office of Community Services were able to continue their work by focusing on amending the current forest plan. This involved scaling down the goals and objectives of the original process, but still allowed collaboration between the public and the USFS to continue.

The postponement of the SJNF Forest Plan revision process ended in the fall of 1998 with the US Senate passing the 1999 Appropriations Act. This act allowed revisions to resume on those forest plans that were to expire by the year 2000, which included the SJNF forest plan. Currently moving back into full revision mode, the USFS is preparing to begin the next phase of the revision process. This step is called the Analysis of Management Situation. During this phase the USFS will begin to narrow down the issues and start formulating preliminary alternatives. To complete this step the USFS, with continued assistance from the Office of Community Services, will continue discussions with Forest Service personnel and members of the community study and topical working groups, as well as anyone interested in participating in developing a study approach to community ecosystem stewardship and the revision of the forest plan. More open houses for the general public may occur to make the process as inclusive as possible.

Information Sources

Manfredi, Shannon. Office of Community Services, Personal Interview. 11 Nov. 1998.

Powers, Jim. San Juan National Forest, Personal Interview. 11 Nov. 1998.

Richard, Tim and Sam Burns. "Beyond 'Scoping." The Journal of Forestry. 96 (1998): 39-43.

Office of Community Services. Topical Working Groups UPDATE. No.3. Nov./Dec. 1997.

Vota, Andrew. "The community Study Group Process: Public Involvement in the San Juan National Forest Plan Revision." Case Study, Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy. Sept. 1997.

US Forest Service. San Juan National Forest, Forest Plan Revision, Community Groups. Newsletter, Dec. 1995.

US Forest Service. San Juan National Forest, Forest Plan Revision, Questions and Answers. Newsletter, Dec. 1995.

Contacts

Sam Burns
Director
Office of Community Services
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301-3999
(970) 247-7333

Shannon Manfredi
Community Development Associate
Office of Community Services
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301-3999
(970) 247-7032

Jim Powers
Forest Planner
San Juan National Forest
701 Camino del Rio
Durango, CO 81301
(970) 247-4874

Mike Preston
Associate Director
Office of Community Services, FLC
C/O Montezuama County
109 W. Main
Cortez, CO 81321
(970) 565-8317

Tim Richards
Communication and Research Assistant
Office of Community Services
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301-3999
(970) 385-1212

Thurman Wilson
Plan Revision Team Leader
San Juan National Forest
701 Camino del Rio
Durango, CO 81301
(970) 247-4874

Revised Jan. 8, 1999