New U.S. Forestry Plans Unveiled In Seattle

The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled the Obama administration’s new vision for America’s forests in Seattle’s Seward Park Friday.

Tom Vilsack, the nation’s agriculture secretary, spoke of restoring the forests and trying to stop and reverse the damages of climate change. He said forests can provide green jobs and resources to fight global warming. He also said that the department hopes to make forest land a primary source of America’s water supply.

“If we don’t maintain our forests properly, then they don’t act as the reservoirs they need to act as,” he said. “The result is that we have less supply of clean, abundant water.”

Vilsack said the department is considering including nearby state and private forest land in the management plans for other national forests as well.

Although Vilsack didn’t necessarily call the plan a reversal of the Bush administration’s forest policies, he did say that the forest service will no longer pay for firefighting by cutting forest conservation.

“A new administration offers an opportunity for a new vision,” he said.

For more information on the new forestry plan go to the department’s Web site, www.usda.gov.