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- In July 1993, President Clinton directed the Forest Service to "develop a
scientifically sound and ecosystem-based strategy for management of eastside
forests." Responding to this direction, the project was initiated by the United
States Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the United States
Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management.
The Project received more than 83,000 public comments on two Draft EIS
documents released in June 1997. The comment period on these documents lasted
335 days. In response to the public comments, new scientific information,
agency review, and direction from the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior,
a Supplemental Draft EIS (SDEIS) was released in March 2000. Approximately 525
comments were received during the 90-day comment period. The project released a
Final EIS and Proposed Decision in December 2000. The release of the Final EIS
initiated a protest process that began on December 15, 2000 and ended January
16, 2001. Seventy-four protest letters were received.
In January 2003 the Regional Executives for the USDA Forest Service, Forest
Service Research, USDI Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service,
the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Environmental Protection Agency
signed a Memorandom of Understanding completing the Project. The agencies
signing the MOU agree to cooperatively implement The Interior Columbia Basin
Strategy.
Website: "http://www.icbemp.gov/"
[Summary provided by the USDA.]
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