Tuesday, February 28, 2023
6:00 PM PST - 7:30 PM PST

Join Bark for an evening workshop in how to write effective Public Comments for projects submitted by the Forest Service. This session will walk through the process of forming substantiative comments and becoming part of the public record in relation to specific projects in the area known as "Mt. Hood National Forest."

We will also discuss a new trend in forest management strategy: Categorical Exclusions, a class of actions that a federal agency has determined do not significantly affect the human environment and for which neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is normally required. Historically, this applied to actions like repairing a roof or mowing the lawn around a district office. However, the actions allowable by CEs have recently increased in scale and can now include commercial timber extraction, such as in Insect and Disease CEs. The Gate Insect and Disease project falls into this latter category, and we believe it will be vital (for this comment period and those of future CEs) for commenters to understand the various complexities of this new project format. 

This workshop is intended for people who are interested in becoming actively engaged in submitting public comments to the Forest Service.  It requires no previous experience, but we encourage participants to read through the related materials on the Forest Service website beforehand and ask that participants commit to making a public comment on a project in 2023.

This workshop will take place at the Bark Office and space is limited. Participants will be expected to follow COVID-19 safety protocol. Driving directions, training materials, and additional details will be sent to registrants before the event. 

This event is part of Bark's free Rad◦i◦cle Training Program, which empowers individuals to learn valuable skills in forest ecology, "public lands" advocacy, and community organizing.