By Bryan Navarro

ROGUE RIVER-SISKIYOU NATIONAL FOREST, Ore. -- 300,000 square miles of land across the country is about to be managed in a different way. The Obama Administration is talking about new guidelines for forestland.

The Agriculture Secretary and Chief of the U.S. Forest Service are talking generally about the way forests will be managed, but it's just the start, no real details have been released yet, that's coming next week.

The federal officials say the new guidelines will encourage forest restoration and protection, while also creating opportunities for recreation and the timber industry. They also say the new requirements will require more science behind decision-making.

Environmentalists and timber experts both say the plan won't change much locally. KS Wild officials say Southern Oregon forest plans will continue to protect fish and old growth trees. Timber industry experts say at first glance the plan is a negative outlook for jobs and mills.

Federal officials received hundreds of thousands of comments about how to improve the plan. The final wording will be released a week from Friday. Officials say this ruling will not influence the timber payments that have stopped coming in to Oregon counties.