SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - The public can have their say next month on a proposed plan that will provide the management direction of the Shawnee National Forest for the next 10 to 15 years.

The proposed plan for the 280,000 acres of national forest spanning nine Southern Illinois counties was released Thursday and is now available for view by the public, said forest supervisor Hurston A. Nicholas.

The proposed forest plan decides the type of projects that are appropriate but makes no site-specific decisions and is the result of several years of study by the forest service. The plan is a requirement of the 1976 National Forest Management Act and must be revised every 10 to 15 years.

The plan is not expected to be greeted without controversy, as previous plans generated numerous court battles. The plan addresses seven primary issues

including watershed resources, biological diversity, and wildlife and aquatic habitat, recreation management, forest ecosystem health and sustainability, minerals management, wilderness, roadless areas, and wild and scenic rivers and ownership adjustment.

"This is a balanced plan that protects watersheds, provides for biological diversity and a healthy forest ecosystem, and provides outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities," Nicholas said.

The new plan has some major differences from the plan currently in place and includes limiting equestrian use to designated system trails and prohibiting the use altogether of ATV/OHM all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles). While ATV/OHM use is currently prohibited, that is because of a court injunction rather than because the ban is part of the current forest plan. Equestrian use is currently allowed on some 95 percent of forest service land, but that use will be limited under the proposed plan.

The proposed plan establishes management area prescriptions for water-supply watersheds, large openlands, the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers floodplains and non-motorized recreation. The management area prescriptions operate much like zoning and describe what the areas can and cannot be used for.

Also under the proposed plan, vegetation would be managed to maintain and restore native species and ecosystems. Timber would be harvested to advance conditions favorable to the regeneration of oaks and hickories. Shelterwood and shelterwood with reserves would be the primary harvest methods.

The proposal allows clear-cutting, a source of controversy in the past, but notes the likelihood of clear-cutting is remote.

The plan also calls for all one-mile-wide areas of contiguous forest (approximately 500 acres) to be managed as forest interior habitat.

"The public has told us what they feel is important regarding management of the Shawnee National Forest," Nicholas said. "They want a healthy forest that meets the needs of people and wildlife.n;It should provide clean water and a variety of recreation opportunities, including a good trail system.n;Implementing the proposed plan would help meet those needs."

Along with the proposed forest plan, a draft environmental impact statement on the proposal and its alternatives was released. The DEIS documents the environmental, social and economic impacts of four different management alternatives. One of these alternatives will ultimately be chosen for implementation as the new forest plan by the Regional Forester in Milwaukee.

A 90-day public review period of the plan begins when the Notice of Availability of the DEIS is published in the Federal Register, expected March 18. Copies of the proposed plan and DEIS or a summary are available at the Forest Supervisor's Office, 50 Highway 145 South, Harrisburg, at many local libraries or at the forest service Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/ shawnee.

Three public open-house meetings will be held to answer questions and receive comments on the DEIS and proposed plan. Those meetings will be held in Marion on April 19, fromn;3-7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 100 Columbus Drive; Belleville on April 20, from 3-7 p.m. at Fischer's Restaurant, 2100 W. Main St., and in Vienna on April 21, from 3-7 p.m. at the Vienna High School Commons, 601 N. First St.

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