Columbia Basin Regional Forest Planning

The vast federally managed forests and rangelands of the Interior Columbia Basin region, including eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana encompass many of the last strongholds for imperiled wild fishes in the continental United States. The regional federal ecosystem assessment and planning process initiated in 1993 by the Clinton Administration confirmed that these lands suffer from widespread ecological degradation and that watershed restoration must be the key driver of federal land management in the foreseeable future. PRC's experience with the Northwest Forest Plan has enabled us to carry forward a clear vision for a strong, science-based aquatic conservation policy east of the Cascade Crest.

Building on our analysis of the weak draft plan proposed in 1998, PRC produced a substantial critique of another proposal in the summer of 2000. Although we were unsuccessful in substantially improving the final plan proposal, at year's end no formal final decision was issued. Rather, it appears that the interim policies PRC pushed to create and strengthen during this long planning process will continue to provide a floor of protection below which any final plan cannot go. 

PRC will continue our vigorous advocacy for strong and enforceable protection and restoration strategies for the whole range of aquatic species and their habitat in the Interior Columbia Basin.