Past Planning Documents and Public Meeting Materials

2013-2015 Early Planning Documents

Need to Change the Existing Land Management Plan (June 16, 2014)

Notice of Intent in the Federal Register (March 12, 2014)

Scoping letter to the public (March 11, 2014)

Preliminary Need to Change the Existing Land Management Plan (March 4, 2014)

The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest Assessment Report (March 12, 2014)

View the Assessment Report Executive Summary

View the full Assessment Report

View the supplemental reports.

Notice of Initiation for Revision of the Land Management Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests (September 25, 2013)

July 10, 2014 Public Meeting on Wildlife Habitat; Ecosystem Integrity and Diversity; and Wild and Scenic Rivers

Wildlife Habitat Participant Working Session Comments
General Wildlife Comments
Meeting Agenda
Wildlife (Powerpoint, .ppt)
Ecozones of the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests (handout)
Ecosystem Integrity and Diversity (Powerpoint, .ppt)
Watershed Handouts
Wild and Scenic Rivers (poster)
Wild and Scenic River Handouts
Proposals for New Eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers
Spring/Summer 2014 Public Meetings (April 17, 2014 and July 10, 2014)

Fall 2014 Plan Revision Meeting

April 17, 2014 Initial Wilderness Invetory Process and Designate Areas workshop

Workshop AGENDA
The following presentations were shared at the workshop:

Inventory Version 2 – Maps and Comments

April 20, 2015 Collaborative Summit Meeting

November 2015 Public Meetings on Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River Evaluations

Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers

2016-2018 Preliminary Drafts and Plan Building Blocks

As the forest worked to develop the proposed Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan, we shared preliminary drafts with the public in order to allow for productive input. Draft building blocks were released in May 2017. These preliminary drafts were developed from several different sources including Public Involvement and input from many organizations and governmental sources internal resource specialists, and the current Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests Land and Resource Management Plan, as well as the Assessment Report.

Chapter 2 – Forestwide Management

This chapter contains plan direction applied across the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests.

Forestwide objectives – all topics (June 30, 2016). These describe the actions the Forest intends to take during the Plan.

For each topic, see below for Desired Conditions, Standards, and Guidelines

Geological Resources (Updated Mar. 21, 2016)
Soils (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Water (Updated May 9, 2016)
Air (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Climate (Updated Feb. 29, 2016)
Aquatic Systems (Updated Feb. 9, 2016)
Streamside Zones (Updated May 9, 2016)
Terrestrial Ecozones (Updated Feb. 9, 2016)
Rare Habitats (Updated Mar. 22, 2016)
Wildlife (incorporating information from several resource sections)
Threatened and Endangered Species and Species of Conservation Concern (including wildlife) (Updated May 26, 2016)
Vegetation Management (Updated Feb. 9, 2016)
Fire (Updated Mar. 25, 2016)
Forest Health and Invasive Species (Updated June 8, 2016)
Lands and Special Uses (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Facilities (Updated Feb. 28, 2016)
Transportation and Forest Access (Updated Feb. 28, 2016)
Recreation (Updated Feb. 24, 2016)
Cultural Resources (Updated Mar. 15, 2016)
Tribal Resources (Updated Apr. 21, 2016)
Minerals and Energy Resources (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Forest Products (Non-timber) (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Community Connections (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)
Conservation Education (Updated Feb. 26, 2016)

Chapter 3 – Management Areas

This chapter includes direction for the general forest areas of Interface, Matrix, Backcountry, Concentrated Use Areas, and Administrative Areas, as well as for special area designations including the Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway Heritage Corridors (Trail of Tears and Overmountain Victory Trail), Wild and Scenic Rivers, Special Interest Areas and Research Natural Areas, Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas, Experimental Forests, Roan Mountain, and the Cradle of Forestry in America Historic Site.

Current Plan Large and Medium Patches of Potential Old Growth
Pre-Draft Sept. 2017 Map

Management Area Plan Direction (Pre-draft ideas)
Identifying possible Special Interest Areas (Pre-draft ideas)
Wild and Scenic Rivers
Refining Management Area Lines with WHAMAs and NAPs
Explanation of areas that may be analyzed as Recommended Wilderness
Wilderness Inventory and Evaluation
Nantahala and Pisgah Pre-Draft Forest Plan GIS (zipped file containing Management Areas, Geographic Areas, and Special Interest Areas GIS shapefiles) - See explanatory text file for details

Chapter 4 – Geographic Areas

Places matter. Geographic Areas recognize the unique social, ecological, and economic characteristics on each part of the forest, describing uses and places that are special.

Geographic Areas Introduction

Map of the geographic areas associated with the Nantahala Pisgah Forest Plan

Eastern Escarpment: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Bald Mountains: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Black Mountains: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Pisgah Ledge: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
North Slope: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Highland Domes: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Great Balsam: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Nantahala Mountains: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Nantahala Gorge: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Hiwassee: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Fontana Lake: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map
Unicoi Mountains: Description and Goals, Context Map, Management Area Map

Chapter 5 – Suitable Uses

This chapter describes where activities can occur across the forest.

Timber Suitability Process Paper

Video messages

Click here to view the 2018 update video

Click here to view the May 2017 N-P Forest Plan Revision Update

Click the image below to view the 2016 Message from the Forest Service:

Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) Meetings

Nantahala Pisgah Forest Plan Revision IDT meetings were open to public observers. These were our working meetings and an opportunity to see how we operate. At IDT meetings, we developed ideas and built plan components through discussions between our resource specialists at these meetings. IDT meeting notes from past meetings are below.

2020 Release of Proposed Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Draft Plan (2020)

Appendix A

Appendix B

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (2020)

Appendix A. Response to Comments (created for final EIS)

Appendix B. Description of the Analysis Process

Appendix C. Ecological Sustainability Analysis

Appendix D. Vegetation Modeling Methods

Appendix E. Wilderness Evaluation Process

Appendix F. Wild and Scenic River Evaluation Process

Appendix G. Coordination with other Public Planning Efforts

Appendix H. Public and Government Involvement

Appendix I. Maps

2022 Release of Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Record of Decision

Reader's Guide

This guide provides an overview of key documents now available for your review.

Revised Forest Plan

The forest plan establishes a vision for how the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests will be managed for the next 20 years, and establishes the strategic framework for achieving that vision. Changes between the draft and revised forest plans are highlighted in grey.

All future projects, everything from trail building to tree harvesting and stream restoration, will be consistent with the forest plan.

Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

The FEIS is the environmental analysis of how the forest plan would affect natural and cultural resources on the Nantahala and Pisgah NFs. This document also provides information on the issues that have been raised through public involvement and how different alternatives were developed in response to issues. Changes between the draft and final EIS are highlighted in grey.

Appendix A. Response to Comments

Appendix B. Description of the Analysis Process

Appendix C. Ecological Sustainability Analysis

Appendix D. Vegetation Modeling Methods

Appendix E. Wilderness Evaluation Process

Appendix F. Wild and Scenic River Evaluation Process

Appendix G. Coordination with other Public Planning Efforts

Appendix H. Public and Government Involvement

US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion, Cover Letter, 1/26/23 Letter

Maps

PDF format maps (FEIS Appendix I)

Geospatial datasets used in FEIS analysis