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PART C-2 PLANNING FOR WATER YIELD IMPROVEMENT ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION USDA, .FOREST SERVI CE I NTRODUCTI ON We appreciate being asked to participate in your meetings. It's a pleasure to present to you a progress report on Forest Service Planning ~ which I believe will be of interest to you. REGIONAL PLANNING At one of your recent meetings, you were briefed on Forest Service planning procedures. Two parts of these procedures have now been going on simultaneously. Forest Plans - and a Regional Plan - are under development. Both of these plans will set new direction for short- and long-range managemenf of the Region's resources. We are re-evaluating demands and supply, and we're looking at the suitability of the forests and range- lands to meet the demands for all resources' in an economically and en- vironmentally sound manner. I'm optimistic that environmental capabilities and land use suitabilities can be matched in an artful way to meet local, Regional, and National needs. I say in an artful way because there are two long-term mandates that must be matched for each planning venture to meet long-term goals and immediate objectives. The first Chief of the Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, said our mission is, "to provide for the greatest good for the greatest number in the long run." Over the years, the Forest Service ha~ taken that charge seriously. However, we do not interpret it to mean that we can or should produce everything anyone might desire. This relates to the second mandate that we have 1 ived with during the past 75 years which says that whatever we do to satisfy'our'many public, "we will not lower the productive capacity of the land to produce in perpetuity;" The pressures of increasing public demands for goods and services, some of which are conflicting, makes it more dtfficult to satisfy while protecting and enhancing the renewable resources. In this context, let's examine progress in Regional Planning fi rstand then Forest Planni ng. REGIONAL PLAN The Rocky Mountain Region will soon submit to the Chief of the Forest Service an assessment of the Region's management situation. This assess- ment is the result of interactions by technical specialists from our Regional Office, the RockyJ10untain Research Station,representatives from State and local government, and other interested parties. Fo 11 owi nga peri od of pu bl i c i nvol vement. whi ch i ncl uded your concerns. ten planning questions evolved for this Regional Plan. I'll not review C-2