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The Objection Process for the Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan
Objection Response
The USDA Forest Service issued a full response to objection issues raised for the revised Nantahala and Pisgah forest plan. The response was developed after a review of the written objections, virtual resolution meetings with Forest Service officials and objectors, and further review by an independent team of forest planning specialists.
Attachment A: Final Response Document
Objection Resolution Meetings held
Forest Plan Objection Resolution Meetings were held August 2-4, 2022
Recorded videos, Transcript Day 1, Transcript Day 2, Transcript Day 3, Objection Resolution Meeting Agenda, Issues at-a-Glance, Interested Persons and Topics They Are Interested In
While not all objection issues were discussed during the meetings, all issues that were raised in eligible objections received a written response from the Reviewing Officer.
Objections Filed
The objection filing period began with the publication of the Objection Legal Notice in the Asheville Citizen Times on January 21, 2022, and ended on March 22, 2022.
The Forest Service received more than 800 timely objections from individuals or organizations who previously commented. Eligible objections are those that meet the filing requirements at 36 CFR 219.53. Only individuals and entities that submitted substantive formal comments during earlier comment periods are eligible to file an objection and the objection must be based on the same concerns raised in the objector’s earlier comments unless it concerns an issue that arose after the last formal comment period. Eligible objections can be reviewed in the online Objection Reading Room. The Reviewing Official reach out to eligible objectors in the coming weeks regarding next steps in the process.
The following is a summary of organizations and individuals that submitted unique eligible objections to the plan revision:
Access Fund and Carolina Climbers Coalition
American Whitewater
City of Asheville
Audubon North Carolina
Back Country Horsemen of NC
Buncombe County
Carolina Mountain Club
Center for Biological Diversity
Chattooga Conservancy
Cherokee County
Clay County
Defenders of Wildlife
Ellis, Mary
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council
Floyd, William
Forest Keeper
Holshouser, Nicholas
Hulse, Alicia (3678)
I Heart Craggy Coalition
I Heart Pisgah
Irwin, Hugh and Janice
MacDonagh, Stacey
Melvin, Richard
MountainTrue
Nantahala Pisgah Forest Partnership
North Carolina Forestry Association
Porter, Kim
Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society
Sierra Club
Simonds, Cynthia
Southern Appalachian Mineral Society
Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards
Southern Environmental Law Center, the Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Mountain True, Sierra Club
Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association/International Bicycling Association
The Wilderness Society
Warren, Greg
Participating as an Interested Person
Interested persons are eligible individuals or organizations with a particular interest in the resolution of an objection who have commented previously during the plan revision process and requested to engage in the objections process as an ‘Interested Person’ within 10 days from the date of the Interested Person Legal Notice.
List of Interested Persons for the Objection Resolution Meeting (5/18/2022)
Interested Persons Legal Notice