Blue Mountains National Forests announce Forest Plan Draft Assessment public meetings
By Joe Hathaway on Monday, March 25th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
EASTERN OREGON — (Release by U.S. Forest Service) The Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests (Blue Mountains) are hosting a series of public meetings to bring awareness and provide a venue for the public to submit feedback about the Forest Plan Revision Draft Assessment and corresponding documents. These meetings will be offered both in person and in a virtual format to ensure the public has ample opportunity to engage. Please find the full public meeting schedule for April 2024 at the end of this News Release.
The draft Assessment will present existing data and information about the three national forests with the aim of seeking feedback from the public about the current conditions of the Forests. The draft Assessment is an early step in the planning process and is not the Forest Plan itself. This Assessment Phase is step two of ten in the total Forest Plan Revision process.
The ten steps can be found on the Forest Plan Revision webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/home/?cid=fseprd1066821 under the Forest Plan Revision Process and Timeline tab. Throughout this robust process, there will be multiple opportunities for the public to provide input, including a formal Public Comment Period, estimated to occur toward the end of 2024 or early 2025, when a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is developed.
The Blue Mountains team is eager to hear input on the draft Assessment from the diversity of voices whom the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests serve. Public involvement is crucial in helping the Forest Service gain knowledge about existing forest conditions and understand local concerns about community and resource impacts. The draft Assessment helps to identify what has changed across all three Forests since 1990, when the last Forest Plan was established. In turn, the draft Assessment helps to inform the development of the current Forest Plan Revision.
The content of the draft Assessment will serve as a baseline to be further revised by these public meetings and other input working together with the Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC), Tribes and required regulatory agencies resulting in a final assessment. The final assessment will include concise findings which will help inform future stages of the Forest Plan Revision efforts.
The Forest Service is using the 2012 Planning Rule for the Forest Plan Revision, which includes robust external engagement. During the Assessment Phase information will be shared on on multiple topics including: the potential list of Species of Conservation Concern (SCC), social and economic contributions of the planning area on surrounding communities, lands that may have wilderness characteristics as defined in the Wilderness Act, and wild, scenic, and recreational rivers flowing wholly or partially on National Forest. We need the public’s input on these important aspects of landscape management.
We look forward to the public’s input, insight, and knowledge, which will help the Forest Service better understand the local conditions on the ground across all of these critical topics. By the end of this robust ten-step process, each Forest Supervisor will sign a separate decision for their respective National Forest’s revised plan. This path forward enhances opportunities for local engagement and contributions as the decisions will be made at the local level.
The Forest Service will provide the public with the ability to provide feedback online, through a phone number, and comment cards at our public meetings.
The Forest Service aims to complete the three Forest Plans for the Malheur, Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests within 2-3 years. These Forest Plans will be comprehensive documents that guide forest resource management, use, and protection. They are intended to balance multiple uses and sustain yield of forest resources. They will set forth a vision for land management, describe the desired conditions within each Forest, and lay out specific objectives, standards, and guidelines for how to achieve those desired conditions. These documents will be strategic in nature and will not approve projects or actions on National Forest lands.
As the Forest Plan Revision process progresses, updates and timelines will be shared, including future engagement opportunities.
Information about the Forest Plan Revision process, public meetings, the draft Assessment, and supporting documents will be shared on the Forest Plan website as information becomes available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/home/?cid=fseprd1066821.
Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision Public Meeting ScheduleAll public meetings will be held from 5 – 8 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Virtual links and information will be available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umatilla/home/?cid=fseprd1066821 under the “Engagement Opportunities” tab.
