Compare and contrast the National Forest Management Act and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was passed by Congress in 1976. This act regulated use of national forests by requiring that the managers of every national forest draw up plans for renewable resource management based on the concepts of multiple use and maximum sustainable yield. Ultimately, the goals of NFMA were to protect national forests from overharvesting to increase profits, to provide for diverse ecological communities and preserve regional diversity of tree species, to ensure research and monitoring of management practices, and to ensure that timber is extracted only where impacts on tree regeneration and soil, watershed, fish, wildlife, recreation, and aesthetic resources can be assessed and minimized. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) was approved by Congress in 2003 to permit the removal of small trees and dead trees in fire-prone areas of our national forests by timber companies. HFRA also permitted salvage logging in otherwise protected areas. The goals of HFRA were to provide jobs and other economic benefits while decreasing the fuel for catastrophic wildfires. Ultimately, NFMA endeavored to protect forests from being overharvested, whereas HFRA permitted some harvesting activities in areas that otherwise might have been protected from such activities, with a stated goal being protection from catastrophic wildfire.