GMUG National Forests - Plan Revision Process & Products

Process/Product	Tell Me More	Completion Date
Public Participation - Assessment and Strategy	Assessment of key partners and public participation strategy completed in preparation for the GMUG Plan revision.	Published January 2016
Notice of Intent to Initiate Assessments	Formal notification in the Federal Register of the beginning of the assessment of Forest resources for the Plan revision.	Published June 2017
Assessment	Evaluation of existing and relevant data and information to assess sustainability of social, economic and ecological resources within the plan area and a broader landscape. Beginning of public participation. Publication of assessments.	Revised Draft Assessment Reports published March 2018
Wilderness	The four-step Wilderness process is a required component of plan revision.	Inventory initiated January 2018. Revised evaluation published March 2019. Preliminary analysis published August 2021. Final pre-objections analysis and recommendations published August 2023. Final Record of Decision and post-objections analysis published June 2024.
Scoping Phase - Notice of Intent to Revise the Forest Plan	The publication of the Notice of Intent initiated the formal 30-day scoping period, highlighting the proposed action to revise the Forest Plan based on the needs for change, which outline specific parts of the 1983 Forest Plan to be updated or supplemented in the revised plan. Feedback was requested on these needs for change, which were originally included in each assessment, as well as on the draft Vision and Distinctive Roles and Contributions and the management area framework.	Initiated March 2018
Wild and Scenic Rivers	The GMUG has identified 22 rivers, streams and one lake as eligible for Wild and Scenic status, totaling approximately 113 miles.	Eligibility initiated February 2019. Revised draft eligibility study published August 2021. Final pre-objections revised eligibility report published August 2023. Anticipated June 2024: Final Record of Decision for GMUG Revised Plan will formally adopt eligible segments.
Working draft	This early version was published in 2019 to provide an opportunity for the public to preview the working draft of the forest’s land management plan, engage in the revision process, and provide feedback.	Published June 2019
Draft Forest Plan and Draft EIS	The draft plan, draft alternatives and a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that analyzes the effects upon the environment of each of the draft plan alternatives were published for public comment August 13 to November 12, 2021.	Published August 2021
Final EIS and Draft Record of Decision	The final plan, final EIS and draft Record of Decision were published for a 60-day objections filing period on August 30, 2023. They were informed by public comments on the 2021 draft Plan and draft EIS.	Published August 2023
Objection Process	Before the agency adopts the final Forest Plan, the public had the opportunity to formally object to aspects of the draft Decision and final Plan documents, as well as the Regional Forester's List of Species of Conservation Concern.	August 2023 - Beginning of 60-day objection filing period for the public. April 12, 2024 - Objection Response letters mailed for Species of Conservation Concern. May 16, 2024 - Objection Response letters mailed for GMUG Forest Plan.
Final Record of Decision, Revised Forest Plan and Post-Objections Final EIS	The final Plan and post-objections Final EIS incorporate changes in response to the objections process.	Anticipated June 2024
Regional Forester's Species of Conservation Concern	The Regional Forester has the authority to identify Species of Conservation Concern of a forest unit.	Species of Conservation Concern List: May 2024
Implementation and Monitoring	The Forest Service implements the Plan and begins ongoing monitoring.	Plan implementation - Anticipated to begin July 2024