Gainesville, GA – The USDA Forest Service is holding a public meeting in
the Forest Supervisor’s Office to explain both the details and intent of
the recently proposed draft Planning Rule that, if put into law, will
serve as a national blueprint for how hundreds of individual plans will
chart national forest management in the coming years.

The forum will not be a platform to accept public comment, rather an
opportunity for interested stakeholders to ask questions to better inform
the formal comments they submit during the public comment period, which
closes May 16, 2011.

WHAT: The proposed planning rule provides a collaborative and
science-based framework for creating land management plans that would
support ecological sustainability and contribute to rural job
opportunities. Forest Service land management plans guide management
activities on the 155 National Forests and 20 Grasslands in the National
Forest System. Each Forest Supervisor’s Office will be hosting a session
where the public will have an opportunity to hear a presentation on the
proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement (via a Video
Teleconference) followed by a question and answer session.

WHEN: 2 p.m., March 17, 2011

WHERE: Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Forest Supervisor?s Office,
1755 Cleveland Highway, Gainesville, Ga.

DETAILS: Full text of the proposed rule, instructions to provide
comment and the planning rule blog and more can be found at:
www.fs.usda.gov/planningrule