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Planning
Forest Plan Revision
Using years of your input, the Manti-La Sal planning team has completed the draft revised forest plan and associated DEIS. The comment period on these documents is now closed. If you would still like to share information with us about these documents please email us, however you will not have standing as an objector. We look forward to hearing from you. mlnfplanrevision@usda.gov.
What is a forest plan?
Forest plans are legally required documents that establish broad, long-range, general management direction to maintain or achieve desired conditions. Together, desired conditions and objectives describe what actions Forest Service managers intend to implement across the Manti-La Sal landscape while still providing sustainable usage by individuals and communities. As forest and community needs change, forest plans should be amended or revised to respond to these changes and incorporate the latest scientific knowledge and understanding of land management.
What is the forest plan revision process?
The process of revising a forest plan includes the following steps: assessment, preliminary identification of the need to change the plan based on the assessment, development of a proposed plan, consideration of the environmental effects of the proposal (environmental impact statement), providing an opportunity to comment on the proposed plan and environmental effects analysis, providing an opportunity to object before the proposal is approved, and, finally, approval of the plan revision.
Comment Periods and Other Engagements
The official comment period was open from August 18, 2023 to November 16, 2023. Comments received will be used to improve the final plan and environmental impact statement. We will organize and respond to comments received after the close of the comment period. Errors that were discovered or pointed out will be corrected and the team will continue to work with Cooperating Agencies, Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos to fine tune the final plan. The team hopes to have a final plan and draft Record of Decision in early 2025.
To read other public comments, please visit the public reading room.
If you have questions or otherwise would like to communicate with the forest team, please contact us at mlnfplanrevision@usda.gov.
Watch a recording from our previous engagements Forest Plan Revision Media Page.
Read all plan and analysis documents
You are an important part of the revision process. Your input matters! Forest plans should reflect the diverse interests and desires of the people who use the forest—even when they don’t agree.
- Read the proposed forest plan and draft environmental impact statement.
- Review the regional forester species of conservation concern (SCC) list.
- Download the geospatial data. To access these files, you must have ESRI ArcGIS Pro software on your device.
- Select the image below to access an interactive map for the plan and draft environmental impact statement.
- The Federal Register Notice of Availability.
- Legal notice proof published in ETV News August 23, 2023.
Planning Steps Completed
The Forest initiated the Forest Plan Revision by publishing a notice of initiation of the Assessment Report in July 2016. After a public comment period and many collaborative efforts with the public, 10 Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos, and cooperating agencies, the Forest finalized the Assessment Report in October 2018.
After collaborating with the public, cooperating agencies, and ten Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos, the Forest initiated the National Environmental Policy Act process with the release of a Notice of Intent and publication of the draft plan and associated documents on August 25, 2021. A 60-day public comment period followed this release and concluded on October 25, 2021. Additionally, a pre-scoping period in which all the documents were available to the public began on October 1, 2020 and concluded with the close of the 60-day comment period.
- Draft Forest Plan
- Appendix A Maps
- Appendix B SCC List
- Appendix C Wilderness Evaluation
- Appendix D Wild and Scenic River Report
- Appendix E Priority Watershed Report
- Appendix F Timber Suitability
- Appendix G Preliminary Need for Change
- Appendix H Coal Unsuitability Criteria Report
- Geospatial (GIS) Data for Scoping
- Manti-La Sal Enterprise Data Warehouse Geospatial (GIS) Data
- Federal Register Notice of Intent
- ETV News legal notice proof
Plan Component Definitions
A desired condition is a description of specific social, economic, and/or ecological characteristics of the plan area, or a portion of the plan area, toward which management of the land and resources should be directed. Desired conditions must be described in terms that are specific enough to allow progress toward their achievement to be determined, but do not include completion dates (36 CFR 219.7(e)(1)(i))
An objective is a concise, measurable, and time-specific statement of a desired rate of progress toward a desired condition or conditions. Objectives should be based on reasonably foreseeable budgets (36 CFR 219.7(e)(1)(ii)).
A standard is a mandatory constraint on project and activity decision making, established to help achieve or maintain the desired condition or conditions, to avoid or mitigate undesirable effects, or to meet applicable legal requirements (36 CFR 219.7(e)(1) (iii)).
A guideline is a constraint on project and activity decision making that allows for departure from its terms, so long as the purpose of the guideline is met (§ 219.15(d)(3)). Guidelines are established to help achieve or maintain a desired condition or conditions, to avoid or mitigate undesirable effects, or to meet applicable legal requirements (36 CFR 219.7(e)(1)(iv)).
Specific lands within a plan area will be identified as suitable for various multiple uses or activities based on the desired conditions applicable to those lands. The plan will also identify lands within the plan area as not suitable for uses that are not compatible with desired conditions for those lands. The suitability of lands need not be identified for every use or activity. Suitability identifications may be made after consideration of historic uses and of issues that have arisen in the planning process. Every plan must identify those lands that are not suitable for timber production (§ 219.11). (36 CFR 219.7(e)(1)(v)).
Goals are optional plan components, that may be included but are not required. Goals are broad statements of intent, other than desired conditions, usually related to process or interaction with the public. Goals are expressed in broad, general terms, but do not include completion dates.