/ News of Spatial Interest
June 30, 2008 / Volume 1, Number 7
In This Issue
  • Communities on the Edge
Links to the Edge
Overview of the Edge
View/print the overview map of Communities on the Edge (pdf file).
Planning Rule - 2008
An announcement of the revised land use planning rule for the National Forest System.
National Forests on the Edge
Read the 2007 research report forecasting private land development on the edge of National Forests.
Open Space Strategy
A summary of a national open space strategy to sustain working and natural landscapes.
Community Websites
Links to websites published by several of the Communities on the Edge.
Archive
Retrieve past newsletters from the Spatial Interest Archive.
Upcoming Issue
Payette Forward - Land Use in Long Valley, Idaho.
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Communities on the Edge

/ Idaho’s central landscape contains a matrix of forests administered by the USDA Forest Service. Within the ranger districts, the lands includemultiple use areas, nationally recognized wilderness, as well as riversappropriately designated“wild and scenic”. A traveler can circumvent this block of the National Forest System by driving the Wilderness Loop – an edge created by highway systems in Idaho and Montana. The road system leads to towns that punctuate the map, the Communities on the Edge.
The loop road is a two-way highway. Residents and visitors can drive either direction, stopping at towns along the route. The towns not only offer respite along a scenic drive, but are also gateways to the National Forests. The towns capture a history entwined withForest Service policy. National policy began over a century ago when Congress adopted the Forest Reserve Act of 1891. The lands were withdrawn from homesteading and other development, and “reserved” for two reasons: to provide continuous supplies of timber, and to secure favorable water conditions.
Over time, settlements grew on the edge, and became geographic hubs in a loosely defined network of economic activity. Businesses were often dependent upon national forest resources for their supply of raw materials – timber, minerals, pasture, and water.
Twenty-first century homesteaders, by contrast, are drawn to the edge for other reasons. Development demand reflected in high land values, increases private land conversion and fragmentation of forest and grasslands. Land use, like the Wilderness Loop, is a two-way street with impacts crossing ownership boundaries. For example, the altered pattern of private land use can reduce wildlife habitat quality, expand the spread of invasive species, and increase fire risk. In question is the ability for communities to sustain working and natural landscapes – to make space for the sense of place that attracts residents and retains healthy communities.
Three Forest Service initiatives announced in the past year address the trends in the changing settlement patterns (see Links to the Edge for details):
  • The 2008 National Forest System Planning Rule.
  • The Forests on the Edge (FOTE) Research, and
  • The Open Space Conservation Strategy.
The FOTE research forecasts the potential extent of the private land conversion trend adjacent to National Forests. The Planning Rule refines the role of public participation in the land use planning process for National Forest lands. The Open Space Strategy is a framework adopted by the Forest Service to collaborate across public and private property boundaries. The goalis to conserve forest and grassland landscapes. The framework expands natural resource management activities to include ecosystem services and other financial incentives for working lands that offer alternatives to real estate development.
The Idaho Loop is a regional example of a national situation. Spatial Interest is traveling the road this summer to understand current land use issues for Communities on the Edge. Upcoming newsletters will report examples and highlight innovators who are implementing incentives that make space for place.