The Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) is the result of extensive dialogues over a period of eight months in 2019 between the county commissioners from eastern Oregon and the USDA Forest Service (USFS). NPCC served as facilitator for those dialogues and currently manages and facilitates the BIC process. The purpose of the BIC as defined in the draft operating charter is to “serve as an overarching entity for planning and guidance around land management issues related to the Blue Mountain Forests (consisting of the Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, and Umatilla Forests), including but not limited to the forest plan revisions.” County commissioners from eastern Oregon and the USFS are serving as its initial conveners and believe that working together through the BIC will expedite and support the implementation of effective, sustainable management strategies on the ground that will advance environmental health and socio-economic goals for local communities dependent on the Blue Mountains. The BIC envisions that their work together will provide a new way for intergovernmental action to be part of the solution while respecting each entity’s laws, regulations, policies, and authorities.
Contact
For more information contact NPCC at (503) 725-9092 or npccdesk@pdx.edu.
BIC Participants
Federal agencies: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS), Rural Development (RD), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), US Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Fish and Wildlife (USFW), US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Tribal governments: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Burns Paiute Tribe
State government: Oregon State Governor’s Office, Washington State Governor’s Office, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WA-DNR)
County government: all affected Oregon and Washington counties
State elected representatives and senators participate upon request from the BIC.
Statement from Susan Roberts (co-convener)
To the communities surrounding the Blue Mountains National Forests:
The Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) supports the USDA Forest Service’s plans to reinitiate Forest Plan Revision for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. The work completed by the BIC over the past two years has established key foundations that will be crucial components of an improved Forest Plan Revision process by reflecting local values, incorporating input, and providing robust opportunities for meaningful engagement. Read the full statement (PDF)