Forest chief: Media don’t need permit

SEATTLE – Faced with increasing criticism of a proposal that would restrict media filming in wilderness areas, the head of the U.S. Forest Service said late Thursday that the rule is not intended to apply to newsgathering activities.

The rule would apply to commercial filming, like a movie production, but reporters and news organizations would not need to get a permit to shoot video or photographs in the nation’s wilderness areas, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in a phone interview Thursday.

“The U.S. Forest Service remains committed to the First Amendment,” he said, adding, “(The proposal) does not infringe in any way on First Amendment rights. It does not apply to newsgathering activities, and that includes any part of news.”

Forest Service officials said earlier in the week that news organizations, except in breaking news situations, would be required to obtain a permit and follow a number of criteria if they wanted to film in designated wilderness areas.

At least two public TV stations, in Idaho and Oregon, said they have been asked to obtain a permit before filming their programs in wilderness areas. News media advocates criticized the proposed rules as a violation of the First Amendment, saying it raises concerns about press freedom.

“I understand what he’s saying the intent is, but the language does not reflect that intent,” Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, said Thursday in response to Tidwell’s comments.

“If they’re serious about it, they need to craft unambiguous language that exempts newsgathering if that’s their alleged intent, so there’s no question that someone out on a news story wouldn’t have a ranger or other employee saying ‘You need a permit,’ ” Osterreicher said.

Tidwell, whose agency manages nearly 190 million acres of public lands in national forests and grasslands, including 439 wilderness areas, said he welcomed feedback from the public at meetings to help craft clearer rules. The comment period has been extended through Dec. 3.