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Learn about Forest Planning
Northwest Forest Plan & Amendment
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Amendment Library
Engagement & InclusionThe National Forest Management Act of 1976 requires national forests or grasslands managed by the Forest Service to develop and maintain an effective land management plan. The process of developing and revising forest plans, along with the required contents is outlined the 2012 Planning Rule (36 CFR 219). Land managers follow the 2012 Planning Rule to develop land management plans specific to each national forest or grassland.
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2012 Planning Rule
The 2012 Planning Rule is a significant advance in citizen-based land management planning intended to benefit communities, and to protect national important landscapes and resources.
Forest Service Land Management Planning Procedures and Guidance
The Forest Service Manual and Handbook on land management planning can be found in the National Directives under 1900 - Planning. Information on land management planning in the Forest Service Manual is located in Chapter 1920, and the Forest Service Handbook provides further guidance in 1909.12.
Land Management Plans
Our national forests and grasslands are guided by land management plans that work as roadmaps to sustain their health, diversity, and productivity. Forest Service land management plans are revised to meet current and future needs while establishing ways to sustain and restore ecosystems and watersheds, protect wildlife, respond to a changing climate, and connect people to public lands. The Forest Service recognizes the rich history and culture of the land, and acknowledges that connection, access, and interaction are critical. As such, land management planning is important to tribal organizations, communities, and people. Learn more about land management plans.
1994 Northwest Forest Plan – an amendment to 17 forest plans
Many national forests in the Pacific Northwest have forest plans that were published in the 1980s and early 1990s and were subsequently amended by the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994. The Northwest Forest Plan sought to protect critical habitat of the northern spotted owl while maintaining a viable forest products industry in the Pacific Northwest. In total, the Northwest Forest Plan amended direction for over 24 million acres of federal land, including 17 national forests and seven Bureau of Land Management plans across Washington, Oregon, and California within the range of the northern spotted owl.
Learn About Forest Planning- Frequently Asked Questions
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) sets the overall management direction and guidance for 17 national forests across 24 million acres of federally managed lands in western Oregon and Washington and northwestern California. The Northwest Forest Plan is an amendment that applies to the individual land management plans of these national forests: Deschutes, Fremont-Winema, Gifford Pinchot, Klamath, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Okanogan-Wenatchee, Olympic, Rouge River-Siskiyou, Shasta-Trinity, Siuslaw, Six Rivers, Umpqua, and Willamette National Forest. The Northwest Forest Plan was adopted in 1994 to protect threatened and endangered species that depend on old growth forests while contributing to regional, social, and economic sustainability.
Over the past 30 years, significant changes in local economic, social, environmental, and cultural conditions across these landscapes have occurred — including changes in climate, forest densities, public use, and risks to forests and communities from wildfires. Amending the NWFP will provide an updated framework to guide management using current science and local economic, social, and environmental conditions.
As outlined in the Notice of Intent to amend the NWFP, five areas drive the need to change during the amendment process, including how to: 1) Improve fire resistance and resilience, 2) Better adapt ecosystems to climate change, 3) Better protect mature and old growth ecosystems, 4) Incorporate Indigenous inclusion and knowledge to achieve forest management goals and build trust, and 5) Better support and protect communities.
A plan amendment is required to add, modify, or remove plan components or to change how and where plan components apply to all or part of the plan area. A plan revision would create an entirely new plan. The amendment approach allows us to keep what is working about the Northwest Forest Plan and update those critical plan components most urgently needed to meet modern management challenges within the plan area. The Bioregional Assessment completed in 2020 identified several provisions in the Northwest Forest Plan that are working well and achieved what was intended in the 1994 plan — such as the aquatic protections in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy. The Forest Service intends to keep those portions and anticipates much of the plan will remain unaltered.
The Forest Service is considering changes to plan components to address the need for change identified in the Notice of Intent (see question 1). We anticipate additional amendments may be needed in the future to adapt to new information and changed conditions. Individual forest plans for national forests within the Northwest Forest Plan area are also expected to undergo future plan revisions and can address some issues at a more granular level than can be addressed in the Northwest Forest Plan.
Get Involved!
We have many opportunities for you to get involved in the Northwest Forest Plan Amendment process! Whether you are looking for more information, want to share information, or are looking for opportunities to comment on document releases, you can find it all here.
Northwest Forest Plan Amendment
