Opportunities Available to Serve National Forests

If you have ever been interested in serving national forests, there are currently opportunities available.  In a press release from the United States Forest Service, dated August 16, 2018, the U.S. Forest Service is seeking nominations to fill four positions on the Southern Region Recreation Resource Advisory Committee to serve national forests across the Southeast. The committee is tasked with reviewing fee proposals for the forests in 13 southern states and Puerto Rico and recommending fee changes.

Potential nominees must represent the following forest-related interests:

• Category One: Five people who represent recreation users, one in each position:  camping, summer motorized, summer non-motorized, wildlife and nature viewing/viewing of interpretive sites and hunting and fishing. The target for recruitment for 2018 is for one committee member to represent camping and one that could represent non-motorized recreation.
• Category Two: Three people who represent interest groups that include:  outfitter and guides (two positions), and local environmental groups (one position). The target for recruitment for 2018 is for one committee member to represent local environmental groups.
• Category Three: Three people, one in each position:  State tourism official, a person who represents affected local government interests, and a person who represents affected Indian tribes’ issues.  The target for recruitment for 2018 is for one committee member to represent local government.

Completed nomination forms are due by Monday, October 1, 2018.

Members will be appointed for three-year terms based on the following criteria:

• – Which interest groups they represent and how well they are qualified to represent that group.
• – Why they want to serve on the committee and what they can contribute.
• – Their past experience in working successfully as part of a collaborative group.

Nominees’ demonstrated ability to represent minorities, women and persons with disabilities will be considered in membership selections. U.S. Department of Agriculture policies regarding equal opportunity will be followed.

Committee members will receive travel and per diem expenses for regularly scheduled meetings; however, they will not receive compensation.

The committee’s jurisdiction will cover the national forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Puerto Rico.

More information is available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r8/recreation/racs or by contacting Caroline Mitchell at 501-321-5318 or carolinemitchell@fs.fed.us . Completed nomination forms are due by October 1, 2018 to: Recreation RAC Nomination, P.O. Box 1270, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 79102.