Forest Plan Revision June 2014 Public Workshops

Hand holding tree seedling.

The U.S. Forest Service held a series of public workshops for forest plan revisions on the Sierra, Sequoia and Inyo National Forests. The documents discussed can be found in the "what was discussed" section. A presentation was also given to outline the process to date.

  • Monday, June 16, 2014—Sierra NF
    Holiday Inn Fresno Airport, 5090 E. Clinton Way, Fresno, CA
  • Tuesday, June 17, 2014—Sequoia NF
    Woodrow W. Wallace Elementary School, 3240 Erskine Creek Rd., Lake Isabella, CA
  • Thursday, June 19, 2014—Inyo NF
    Cerro Coso Community College, Eastern Sierra College Center, 4090 W. Line Street Bishop, CA

What was discussed?

At each meeting, Forest Service staff gave a presentation to outline the process of forest plan revisions to date. Additionally, the following documents were discussed.

Updated Need to Change: The first task of plan revision is identifying the areas that need to change in the current plans. This "need to change" is based on what is important to people, threats to resources, undesirable trends in social, economic, or ecological sustainability, and a need to correct current plan direction. It is important to focus on areas where changes to the forest plan can correct concerns identified in the near term. In January 2014, the Forest Service presented six preliminary need to change emphasis areas. We received public and tribal input that the process needed to be more transparent and understandable, so we have refined our work. Using current resource conditions and trends from the forest assessments, Bio-regional assessment and science synthesis, we are recommending the changes included in this document.

Updated Need to Change - supplement: This document outlines the analysis that led to the recommendations outlined in the Updated Need to Change. It also provides a description of the process used and how we moved from the preliminary need to change to the updated need to change.

Draft Desired Conditions: This document provides potential desired conditions for those areas of the plan where we are recommending changes, including terrestrial ecosystems, fire, air quality, aquatic and riparian ecosystems, multiple uses, recreation, cultural resources, areas of tribal importance, and designated areas. The desired conditions reflect the vision for the future of the plan area, while the need to change highlights what we need to change in the current plan to move toward that vision. The set of desired conditions are a central part of the plan and are the basis for developing all other plan content

Preliminary Wilderness Inventory: The 2012 Planning Rule requires us to identify and evaluate lands that may be suitable for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and determine whether to recommend any such lands for wilderness designation. This page provides more detail on the wilderness inventory and evaluation process, as well as the preliminary wilderness inventory maps.

Timber Suitability: The purpose of the timber suitability process is to determine acres on a national forest that are suitable for long-term timber harvest. Looking at timber suitability is a required step in revising a forest plan. The current timber suitability materials that you see here are a work in progress. At this stage, we are only determining the acres of the forest that are suitable for timber harvest; we have not determined the volume of timber available. Inyo NF Timber Suitability Map; Sequoia NF Timber Suitability Map; Sierra NF Timber Suitability Map

Public feedback on the Need to Change documents, the draft Desired Conditions, and wilderness inventory was received before June 30, 2014