The U.S. Forest Service announced that it will reestablish five Recreation Resource Advisory Committees. The five committees will cover, respectively, the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Eastern and Southern regions of the Forest Service and the State of Colorado.
The Eastern Region includes the Moongahela National Forest in West Virginia. See http://www.fs.usda.gov/r9.
The Southern Region includes the George Washington and Jefferson national forests in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. See http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/r8/home/?cid=stelprdb5351949&width=full.
The committees provide advice on recreation fees both on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management properties. Under federal law, committees can cover regions, states or specific areas within them. Membership must reflect a balance of interests; including winter and summer motorized and non-motorized sports (everything from hiking to mountain biking to snowmobiling and boating), hunting and fishing, environmental groups, related industries, state tourism agencies, local governments and if appropriate, Indian tribes.
For details on the announcement, see http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-18/html/2013-01018.htm.
Authority comes from the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, signed in December, 2004.
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