Planning

Final Record of Decision and Final Land Management Plan

The final Record of Decision for the revised Colville National Forest Land Management Plan has been approved and is now available. The revised Land Management Plan is now final and in effect. 

The revised Colville National Forest planning documents reflect extensive public participation over the past 15 years through collaborative working group meetings and other public input. We greatly appreciate the commitment of interested participants who have provided important contributions toward the development of the final Land Management Plan.

Purpose of the Final Land Management Plan

The National Forest Management Act directs the development, amendment, and revision of land management plans to provide for the multiple use and sustained yield of the products and services on National Forest System lands, including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish, and wilderness (16 U.S.C. 1604(e))

Thirty years have passed since the first Land Management Plan was implemented. Since that time, forest conditions and surrounding communities have changed significantly. The changes have included: increased local community reliance on jobs and income generated by forest products, livestock grazing, and recreational activities on the Forest; increased need to treat the dense forest to reduce risk of uncharacteristic wildfire, insects, and diseases; increased need to accommodate continued livestock grazing while supporting endangered species recovery; increased interest in both motorized and non-motorized access to the forest; and controversy over preliminary wilderness recommendations. The final Land Management Plan provides an updated framework to address the changed social, economic, and ecological conditions in and around the Colville National Forest.

The final Land Management Plan will increase Forest-related jobs and income in local communities; increase timber harvest potential and reduce risk of uncharacteristic wildfires; maintain existing forest benefits, including motorized access and livestock grazing; and deliver clean water to downstream users and hydropower to the nation. The Forest will continue to pursue opportunities for innovations and shared stewardship under the final Land Management Plan. The final Land Management Plan and final ROD encourage continued collaboration on forest and watershed management.

Documents Associated with the Final Land Management Plan

Read the following documents by clicking on the titles below:

Federal Register and Legal Notice

• Notice of Availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement 
• Federal Register Notice of Plan Approval (October 22, 2019)
• Legal Notice of Plan Approval (October 22, 2019)

Final Record of Decision

• Cover Letter for the Final Record of Decision (October 21, 2019)
• Final Record of Decision for the Colville National Forest Land Management Plan (October 21, 2019)

Final Environmental Impact Statement

• Volume 1—Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Land Management Plan (8.7 mb)
• Volume 2—Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Land Management Plan (4.9 mb)
• Volume 3 – Final Environmental Impact Statement Appendices A through K (26 mb)
• FEIS Map Packet

Final Land Management Plan

• Land Management Plan (2019) for the Colville National Forest (8 mb)
• Colville National Forest LMP Ch 4 Monitoring Plan (February 12, 2021)

  Land Management Plan Administrative Changes

As clerical errors and administrative changes are discovered during plan implementation, each occurrence of a clerical error will be documented, reviewed, and noticed to the public on the forest website. A redline version of the Forest Plan and the FEIS will be updated to be consistent with the ongoing list of corrections. The intent is to make available to interested parties a current corrected version of the Forest Plan and FEIS.
Administrative changes are any change to a plan that is not a plan amendment or a plan revision. Administrative changes include corrections of clerical errors to any part of the plan, conformance of the plan to new statutory or regulatory requirements, or changes to other content in the plan (§ 219.7(f)). Administrative changes may be made following public notice (§ 219.16 (c)(6)).
Updates to the maintenance record log will be made on an as-needed basis.
Administrative changes are organized by year.

• 2022-0927-Plan Maintenance Errata Records- Signed (378kb)
• 2019-LMP-Land Management Plan-Redline Version (11mb)

• The Colville National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1988)
• Click Here for geospatial data related to Land Management Plan revision.

• Documents and materials associated with the pre-Objections Final Land Management Plan/Final EIS/Draft ROD can be found on this archive page
• Documents and materials associated with the objections process  may be found on this archive page.
• Documents and materials associated with the Draft Land Management Plan/Draft EIS can be found on this archive page.