Review Decision on the Cheif's Appeal Decision, Arapahoe & Roosevelt Natl. Forests

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Discretionary Review Decision On The Chiefs Appeal Decision Regarding the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland Revised Land and Resource Management Plan Northern Colorado Water Conservation District, et al ( #98 -13 -00 -0016) Procedural Background This is my discretionary review decision under 36 CFR 217 on the January 15. 2003 appeal decision of the Reviewing Officer for the Chief of the Forest Service regarding the appeal by the Northern Colorado Water Conservation District and others, of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (ARNFPNG) Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Revised Forest Plan) and its accompanying Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). Acting Regional Forester Tom L. Thompson signed the Record of Decision (ROD) approving the Revised Forest Plan on November 19, 1997. The appellants are: Northern Colorado Water Conservation District, City of Greeley and Greeley Water and Sewer Board, Coalition for Sustainable Resources, Inc., Sabre Middlekauff, Poudre Canyon Group Sierra Club(2), Cache La Poudre Water Users Association and Water Supply and Storage Company, City of Boulder, and Pawnee Grazing Association. Gloria Manning, Reviewing Officer for the Chief, signed the appeal decision (Chief's appeal decision) on January 15, 2003. I requested the appeal record from the Chief on January 30, 2003. The appeal record was received on February 4, 2003. I announced my decision to review the Chiefs appeal decision on February 19, 2003. My decision is based on a review of the appeal record and the Chiefs appeal decision. The relief requested and the procedural background are both summarized in the Chief s appeal decision. Statutory and Regulatory Authorities Regulations governing forest plan appeals were promulgated in 1989 at 36 CFR 217 (47 FR 3357, January 23, 1989). These regulations are not based on any statutory requirement for an appeal process, but instead aid the Department of Agriculture in meeting its responsibilities under the Organic Administration Act (16 USC 472, 551), the Multiple -Use Sustained -Yield Act (MUSYA) (16 USC 528 -531) and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) (16 USC 1600, et seq.). The Under Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for protecting, managing, and administering the National Forests (7 CFR