The U. S. Forest Service is accepting nominations for a 15-person Forest Landscape Restoration Advisory Committee. The committee will evaluate forest landscape restoration proposals and make recommendations for approval which will affect how up to $40 million each year is dispersed to fund restoration projects on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The funding comes from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund which can only be used on NFS lands.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said this about the committee:

This committee will help us prioritize the work that needs to be done and empower citizens and the Forest Service to work together through the entire process of ecological restoration work, from identifying needs on the landscape to achieving ecological objectives in ways that provide jobs and protect local communities from wildfire.

The Federal Register has more information about the committee, including application procedures and the fact that it shall include experts in:

1. Ecological Restoration,
2. Fire Ecology,
3. Fire Management,
4. Rural Economic Development,
5. Strategies for Ecological Adaptation to Climate Change,
6. Fish and Wildlife Ecology, and
7. Woody Biomass and Small-Diameter Tree Utilization.