Some Blog Introspection and A Change

Two things.. First, Martin and I have been thinking about what happens after the third national roundtable next week…information about the rule process will fade as the rule writing team goes to work. Still, the folks contributing to this blog seem to have plenty to talk about…so perhaps we should be more conscious about expanding what people are interested in with regard to Forest Service policies and activities. Based on the past few weeks discussion, we are interested in place-based legislation, the land law review, the use of science in natural resource management, Forest Service management improvement and a variety of related topics.

Second, is that I’ve decided to take the FS logo and my official address off the blog. I think we need to be very clear on what is part of our public process and what is not – especially since our collaborative efforts are so extensive- the official blog, regional and national roundtables, and so on. People could be legitimately confused about what is official and what is not, as so many approaches are out there. When Martin and I started this blog, we didn’t even know that there would be an official blog, so the terrain was very different than today. I think the public involvement effort we (the FS) are doing is just an incredible piece of work, and I applaud all those folks who are working on it.  Even if there were only a slight risk of distracting anyone from that effort, it would be too big a risk for me.

Of course, this will not change my commitment to the blog nor  to enjoying and being enlightened by our discussions.

One more item.. we get into discussions on this blog in which we leave something interesting- like I am reviewing the testimony Martin suggested on the Tester Bill-  but  then we get pulled off by our other work and life commitments. I would like to call out consciously that the rhythms of this blog may have a short-term and a long-term component, and that is part of who we are.