Welcome to the Forest Service Planning Rule Revision!

On December 17, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA Forest Service is beginning an open, collaborative process to create and implement a modern planning rule to address current and future needs of the National Forest System.

Use the links in the left banner of this website to learn about the history of forest planning; the basics on what's involved in forest planning and why it's important; opportunities for collaboration and public involvement in the rulemaking process; and answers to frequently answered questions (FAQs) about the rulemaking process.

The latest news on the planning rule effort can be found in the "What's Happening Now" section below.
 

What's Happening Now

Forest Service using input to finalize the proposed rule.

• Read more about where we are in the proposed rule development on the Planning Rule blog.

• Proposed Rule and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to be published in December 2010.

• See the overall rulemaking timeline.

Draft Concepts for Proposed Rule Posted! - new entries posted 7/28

• Read the draft concepts on our website or on our blog.
• Tell us what you think on our blog.

Forest Service’s Second National Tribal Teleconference Call on August 5, 2010

• USDA Forest Service Leadership invited Tribal Leaders and their representatives to participate in the Forest Service’s Second National Tribal Teleconference Call on August 5, 2010, to discuss the latest updates in the development of the proposed 2011 Planning Rule for the National Forest System. Read more (PDF, 596 KB)
• Agenda for Second National Tribal Teleconference Call
• Background and reference material:  Draft concepts for the Proposed Rule (blog), as well as on WEBPAGE
• Summary of Input from First National Tribal Teleconference Call, May 2010
• Transcript of Second National Tribal Teleconference Call, August 2010

Using What We've Heard

Throughout April and May 2010, the USDA Forest Service hosted a series of public meeting to provide opportunities for public input and dialogue on the development of a new planning rule.  These meetings have been followed by additional conversations with Forest Service employees, the Fourth National Roundtable in July and the Second National Tribal Teleconference Call on August 5.  The results from these meetings and the formal comments received on the Notice of Intent (NOI) are being used to develop the proposed planning rule and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which are expected in December 2010.  Read the meeting results and NOI summary report using the related links that follow.

Learn about the overall collaboration strategy for the Planning Rule.

Share your ideas on the Planning Rule Blog.

Public Meeting Results

• NEW - Summary of the Fourth National Roundtable.
• High level summary of the science forum and all the roundtables (excluding the Fourth National Roundtable).
• Read the results from the National Roundtables.
• Read the summary report from the Science Forum, view the panelist presentations and watch video clips from the event.
• Read the results from the Regional Roundtables.
• Read the results from the Tribal Roundtables and a summary of Tribal comments on the Notice of Intent.

Notice of Intent (NOI)

• Summary Report of Public Comment on the NOI

• Individual comments and a searchable log of comments by author name and association are available at http://contentanalysisgroup.com/fsr/.

  • You can also use the following lists to find the comment number for a particular name or association and then find the letter through the content analysis group webpage listed above.

    • List of NOI Comments organized by Name
    • List of NOI Comments organized by Association

• Read the Notice of Intent

News Releases on the Planning Rule

• USDA Forest Service Will Host Public Meetings on Development of the New Planning Rule (02/24/10)
• USDA Forest Service Launches Collaborative Process for New Planning Rule (12/17/09)