Forest Plan Revision

• Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (existing, desired)
• Scenery Management System 

Wild and Scenic Rivers eligibility study documentation can be found in appendix I of the final environmental impact statement. 

Wilderness inventory, evaluation, and alternative development documentation can be found in appendix H of the final environmental impact statement. Wilderness inventory and evaluation process papers and maps can be found here. 

• Assessment
• Need for Change
• Preliminary Draft Forest Plan
• Changes between Preliminary Draft and Draft Plan
• Draft Forest Plan
• Draft Environmental Impact Statement
  • Volume 1: Chapters 1-3
  • Volume 2: Chapter 3 cont’d, Glossary, References
  • Volume 3: Appendices A-K 

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 requires forest plans to be periodically revised, ideally every 15 years. Signed in 1986, the Gila National Forest’s plan is over 35 years old and has been amended 11 times. Still, the 1986 plan remains prescriptive, inflexible, and in places, is unnecessarily repetitive of law, regulation and policy. The forest and surrounding areas have witnessed significant environmental, social, and economic changes since 1986.

For the revised forest plan, the Gila followed the 2012 Planning Rule, which is the most recent planning rule. The rule includes new policy and analytical requirements, enhances public participation, and incorporates the best available science into forest management. This is an opportunity to incorporate new science, knowledge, and input from communities that use, care about, and rely on the forest.

The goal of the revised forest plan is to move toward a shared vision for the future of our public lands. To achieve this goal, the plan provides strategic guidance to manage cultural and natural resources on the forest, balance multiple uses, connect people to their land and heritage, restore ecosystems and watersheds, and adapt to climate change. It will provide strategic, program-level guidance for management of the Gila’s resources and uses over the next 10-15 years.

The revised forest plan follows guidelines laid out in the 2012 Planning Rule. Based on this guidance, the revised plan will:

• Have a stronger focus on outcomes rather than outputs
• Base management actions on the best available science and local knowledge
• Have the ability to adapt to changing conditions and stressors over time
• Use enhanced public participation

Additionally, the revised forest plan provides a focus on relationships, and the communities in and around the forest and their traditional and cultural uses. The plan emphasizes partnerships with other federal agencies, communities, local, state, and Tribal governments, and other collaborators. It also emphasizes ecological restoration from an “all-lands,” integrated resource standpoint. The revised plan is less prescriptive than the previous plan, providing increased flexibility and a focus on strategic desired conditions. Standards and guidelines have been included, when necessary, to provide constraints and sideboards aimed at ensuring project and activities will be designed and conducted in a manner that maintains or moves the forest toward desired conditions. It includes objectives that provide measurable, time-specific actions to be taken and identifies probable management approaches to move toward and achieve desired conditions.

The land management plan provides a general, conceptual framework that will guide the Gila in managing its forest resources, goods and services. Described as “the view from 30,000 feet,” land management plans are intentionally strategic and broad in scope and provide guidance to the decision-making process involved with site-specific projects. Land management plans are consistent with and do not override law, regulation, or established policy. The revised land management plan contains plan components and other content that reflect the key roles and contributions of the forest and the identified “needs to change” in revising the 1986 plan:

Plan components include:

• Desired conditions - descriptions of specific social, economic, 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.
• Objectives - concise, measurable, and time-specific statements of a desired rate of progress toward a desired condition or conditions based on reasonably foreseeable budgets.
• Standards - mandatory constraints 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.
• Guidelines - mandatory constraints on project and activity decisionmaking that provide flexibility for different situations, so long as the purpose of the guideline is met.

Other content:

• Management approaches- describe context, intent, priorities, partnership opportunities or coordination activities, needs to survey, inventories or assessments, or approaches to risk and uncertainty.
• Monitoring program

Gila leadership and planning staff collaborated with three cooperating agencies and coordinated with others, including county and local governments; state agencies and entities, such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Additionally, the Gila engaged with federally recognized Tribes, other federal and state agencies, nonprofit environmental groups, and members of the general public through public meetings, public engagement booths, Tribal meetings, and open houses.

Formal and informal Tribal consultation and collaboration have been ongoing since the revision process began, including formal consultation, attendance at roundtables convened by the Regional Forester, and collaboration at the level of engagement chosen by the individual Tribal Nations. The plan revision process provided an opportunity for Tribes to influence the long-term vision for the Gila National Forest, to provide valuable insight and indigenous knowledge, and to strengthen the unique collaborative government-to-government relationships that enriches the resources and management of the Gila NF. Of the 13 Tribes with whom the Gila NF consults, four (4) Tribes chose to participate and engage in formal and informal consultation and collaboration throughout the process: Ft Sill Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache Tribes, The Hopi Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and San Carlos Apache Tribe.

The forest will continue to provide access for traditional uses, such as Tribal traditional plant gathering, sustainable livestock grazing, and access to wood products and other forest products. Resources and access to resources are maintained for Tribes and local communities for cultural and traditional uses, subsistence practices, and economic support.

Plan content includes Tribal and community relationships and provides a collaborative vision of forest management and supports Tribal and rural traditional communities by encouraging increased communication. The plan emphasizes relationships between the Gila and Tribal governments, forest users and communities, local government and the communities they serve.

Any decisions made or implemented prior to finalizing the revised forest plan use the 1986 plan for guidance on forest management. Any decisions made or implemented after signing the final revised land management plan are required to use the final revised land management plan (which at that point becomes the new forest plan) and its desired conditions, objectives, standards, and guidelines to guide management actions.

The objection review responses have been sent to the forest, objectors, and interested persons. The forest is responding to the instructions and finalizing documents. Once documents are finalized and approval is received from the Washington office, the Forest Supervisor will sign the Record of Decision and publish the Notice of Availability of final documents and Notice of Plan Approval in the federal Register.