Planning
Effective beginning 06/04/2025: This website, and all linked websites under the control of the agency is under review and content may change.
A national forest land management plan, also called a forest plan, is the principal document that guides decisions made by Forest Service managers.
The plans are developed through extensive analysis using a collaborative and science-based approach and with public input. The Forest Service is required by law to manage the national forests and grasslands for the multiple use and sustained yield of products and services, including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish, and wilderness.
The 2023 Sequoia National Forest Plan replaces the 1988 land management plan and its amendments. The Record of Decision was signed on May 15, 2023. The Plan went into effect June 25, 2023, 30-days after the Plan approval was published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2023. Visit our Pinyon Public site to view documents related to the Forest Plan revision process. For information on Species of Conservation Concern, please visit Species of Conservation Concern.
The USDA Forest Service published ArcGIS Online (AGOL) web maps to provide a dynamic viewing experience for geospatial information related to the Plan. To view the interactive maps containing management areas, designated areas, and other spatial information for the Forest, visit the Sequoia National Forest Land Management Plan 2023 Data Viewer (arcgis.com).
The Giant Sequoia National Monument (GSNM) was designated by President Clinton in April 2000, encompasses 328,315 acres, and has 33 giant sequoia groves. The GSNM is divided in two sections, separated by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The northern portion is in the Hume Lake Ranger District with vehicle access to the national parks, and the southern portion is in the Western Divide Ranger District.
The giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is the world's largest tree. It grows naturally only in a narrow 60-mile band of mixed conifer forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California. This species is one of the largest organisms on earth and grows from a seed less than half-an-inch long. When fully grown, the sequoia pushes its craggy tree top more than 250 feet into the sky. A few rare specimens have grown taller than 300 feet, but it is the sequoia’s huge girth that sets it apart from all other trees. Sequoias are commonly more than 20 feet in diameter and at least one has grown to 35 feet across. Six people would have to lay head-to-toe to match this width. The GSNM's diverse geologic formations, ecosystems, and human history hold unique opportunities for public education, scientific study, and recreation.
The Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan was completed in August 2012. The Record of Decision (ROD), Monument Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and science review and other supporting planning documents are available for review.
Plan Background
After the first Monument Plan was remanded in 2006, the Forest Service began the process for developing a new plan to guide the management of the GSNM. A significant portion of the planning process has involved public involvement and collaboration. After the scoping period and development of draft alternatives, the interdisciplinary team used your input to develop and analyze the alternatives considered in detail. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)and Draft Management Plan were released and available for public comment between August 6 and December 3, 2010.
The Forest Service heard from more than 79,000 respondents on the DEIS and draft management plan. Concerns raised by the public were used to improve and make corrections to the analysis in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and the Monument Plan.
The Science Review Process
In 2003, the research branch of the Forest Service developed procedures for conducting a science review. A science review determines whether an analysis or decision document is consistent with the best available science. The review is accomplished by judging whether scientific information of appropriate content, rigor, and applicability has been considered, evaluated, and synthesized in the documents that underlie and record land management decisions.
Since the Forest Service initiated the collaborative planning process in October 2007, we have completed tasks to link science to management. In May 2008, the Forest met with some of the members of the initial Scientific Advisory Board to review the science advisories submitted from 2001 to 2003 and discuss how they are still relevant. In July 2008, the Forest released the science advisories again to the public and provided a 60-day commenting period for the public to review the advisories and provide their comments on whether the advisories were still relevant and addressed current science.
The Forest held a Southern Sierra Science Symposium in September 2008. The Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument worked for over a year with the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the Pacific Southwest Research Station, and the U.S. Geological Survey to host a Southern Sierra Science Symposium to explain and design a research science agenda for the future.
Two Science Review Panels, consisting of a science administrator and five scientists, were convened as part of the Monument planning process. On November 10, 2009, a public meeting was held in Visalia to introduce the first Science Review Panel and the science consistency review process. At that meeting, the public was asked to submit scientific resources for the panel to consider in their review. A science consistency review of the draft EIS and management plan was conducted in April 2010. Another meeting with the Science Review Panel was held on October 12, 2010 to discuss the completed science consistency review.
In December 2011 and January 2012, a new Science Review Panel was convened to review the FEIS. Their report, an addendum, and the Forest Service response to their report are included in Appendix F of the FEIS. F of the FEIS.