Blue Mountains National Forests announce Forest Plan Revision winter 2025 public Meetings

EASTERN OREGON – (Release from the U.S. Forest Service) The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is revising the Land Management Plans for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests (Blue Mountains National Forests) and hosting a series of public meetings to bring awareness to the upcoming National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. These public meetings were originally planned for December 2024 but have been rescheduled to February/March 2025 to align well with the timing of the upcoming Federal Register Notice of Intent (NOI). Meetings will be offered in person and virtually to ensure the public has ample opportunity to engage. The full schedule for the Winter 2025 public meetings is at the end of this News Release.

As the plan revision effort transitions from the Assessment into the NEPA process, the Forest Service invites the public to attend informational public meetings about the important upcoming scoping period estimated to occur in early 2025. The Blue Mountains National Forests aim to publish a NOI in the Federal Register to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and release a draft Land Management Plan addressing the need to change from the 1990 Land Management Plans. The NOI will initiate a formal scoping period for the public to review the materials and provide input. Land Management Plans do not authorize any specific projects or actions on the ground but instead guide future decision-making on the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests.

The upcoming public meetings aim to cover the following topics:

• The draft Preliminary Need to Change from the 1990 Land Management Plans.
• The development of the Preliminary Draft Land Management Plan.
• Updates on the National Wild and Scenic Rivers review, the preliminary Species of Conservation Concern lists, and the review of lands that may have Wilderness characteristics.
• The NOI approval process along with the forthcoming EIS development.
• The formal scoping period commencing when the upcoming NOI is published in the

Federal Register in early 2025, along with the associated public engagement tools.

The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision website has up to date information including an estimated timeline of the process, public participation tools, public meeting calendar with virtual links, informational webinars, background information, and much more.

Have questions about the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision process or want to sign up for the mailing list? Email the revision inbox at sm.fs.bluesforests@usda.gov or call (541) 278-3716.

Click here to view the Winter 2025 public meeting schedule

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Elkhorn Media Group