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Show Disruption of the permafrost in Alaska causes serious erosion problems. This is a tractor trail near Canning River, Alaska (left). Above is a view of the Santa Barbara oil spill. example, in connection with water quality standards, these would be incorporated in the public land classifications. The management zones identified in multiple-use planning by the Forest Service evidence a sensitivity to environmental factors, particularly those related to scenery and vegetative cover.10 However, this does not go far enough. We recommend that a standard system of environmental quality classification should be developed and, after congressional approval, employed by the Federal land administering agencies in classifying the public lands for environmental management. As indicated above, there is an urgent need for workable guidelines for administering the public lands for environmental 10 n. 6, supra. quality control. We recognize that no single standard can be promulgated and applied to the diverse conditions found throughout the public land regions. Yet, we believe the many unclear standards and guides to environmental management in the various manuals and regulations of the administering agencies are incomplete as to their coverage of major components of the environment and so general and vague as to be of little value in program operations. We believe it is possible to devise and apply a framework of standards for use in environmental management of public lands that is clear and practical, and also flexible enough to be applied in diverse circumstances and localities. A possible approach is to establish a hierarchy of classes for categorizing each major component of the environment. 75 |
