304 



the fKlans will not even be subject to Congressional 

 oversight as to the administrative regulation process. 



This administrative, executive arrogance exists not only at 

 the top of the agencies, but also at the field level. 

 During the past four years Owyhee County has implemented a 

 land use planning process as provided for by the Federal 

 Land Policy and Management Act. During a Planning Committee 

 meeting with BLM staff for the Owyhee Resource Area, the 

 issue arose as to the authority of the BLM to issue a 

 regulation inconsistent with a statute. The Manager of the 

 Resource Area made the following statement in a public 

 meeting: "Statutes are for lawyers." He then pointed cut 

 that the BLM would continue to manage by its regulations, 

 not by statutory terms . 



we call upon this Committee to stop the spread of ecosystem 

 planning which has taken place outside the authority of this 

 Congress. We call upon you to direct the Forest Service and 

 BLM to follow the mandate of NEPA and their own regulations 

 requiring public involvement prior to amendment of their 

 specific forest and resource area plans. 



II. LACK OF LOCAL INPUT, AND FAILURE OF THE ECOSYSTEM 

 PROJECT TEAMS TO COMPLY WITH STATUTORY MANDATES OF 

 COORDINATION WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS INVOLVED IN THE LAND USE 

 PLANNING PROCESS. 



We are aware of the testimony which the Committee 

 received as to the countless local meetings which have been 

 held by the Ecosystem Project Teams to gather local input. 

 We urge you to look beyond the recitation of numbers of 

 meetings which would have you believe that the EIS was 

 actually driven by local input. Nothing could be further 

 from! the truth. 



First, the witnesses who assured you that they sought and 

 listened to local input related to you the great number of 

 scoping meetings they held. "Scoping" meetings are not 

 local input meetings with regard to content of the plans 

 which are developed. They are meetings where the federal 

 teeuos spread around a room sui intimidatingly large number of 

 maps euid indices , and then ask members of the public what 

 they think the issues are which should be pursued in the 

 planning. Hopefully there is no one on the Committee who 

 truly believes that the agencies have not already honed in 

 on the issues which they will pursue, the methods by which 

 they' will pursue the issues, and the likely results of the 

 pursuit of the issues by the time the "scoping" meetings are 

 held. 



