Planning
Each National Forest and grassland is governed by a management plan in accordance with the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). These plans set management, protection and use goals and guidelines. Monitoring conditions on a forest or grassland ensures projects are done in accordance with plan direction and determines effects that might require a change in management.
Forest Plan
The 2006 Land and Resource Management Plan (2006 Forest Plan) provides strategic guidance for resource management activities on the Huron-Manistee National Forests. This direction applies to the National Forest System land only under Forest Service management. It establishes: Forestwide multiple-use goals and implementation objectives; Forestwide management requirements (known as Forestwide standards and guidelines); management area direction, including area-specific standards and guidelines, desired conditions and management practices; identification of lands suited/not suited for timber management and monitoring and evaluation requirements.
Please remember that many of these documents and maps are large and may take a few minutes to download.
For any problems with any of these pages please email us at: sm.fs.hmnf@usda.gov. If you experience any problems or would like to request a compact disc version please call 231-775-2421 or email us. Thank You!
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Record of Decision
- Record of Decision (pdf)
Monitoring and Evaluation Reports
Forest Plan Monitoring Reports are published biennially. The next report is scheduled to be released by September 30, 2019 and will cover fiscal years 2017 and 2018
Forest Plan Monitoring Program Transition on the Huron-Manistee National Forest
The new Land and Resources Management Planning regulations (36 CFR 219) published in 2012 changed Forest Plan monitoring program requirements. All units that will not initiate a revision to their Forest Plan prior to May 9, 2016, must update their monitoring programs to meet the requirements of the 2012 Planning Rule (referred to as monitoring program transition). For more information please read the attached document (pdf).
- Monitoring Plan Transition Notice (pdf)
- DRAFT Land and Resource Management Plan Chapter IV (Monitoring) (pdf)
- Monitoring Questions
Monitoring and Evaluation Reports
Monitoring and evaluation are required by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) regulations (36 CFR 219) to determine how well the Land and Resource Management Plan (2006 Forest Plan) is working.
Monitoring and evaluation are divided into three broad categories and are designed to answer the following basic questions:
- 1. IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING - Did we do what we said we were going to do? This question answers how well the direction in the Forest Plan is being implemented. Collected information is compared to Objectives, Standards, Guidelines, and Management Area direction.
- 2. EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING - Did it work how we said it would? This question answers whether the application of standards and guidelines is achieving objectives, and whether objectives are achieving goals.
- 3. VALIDATION MONITORING - Is our understanding and science correct? This question answers whether the assumptions and predicted effects used to formulate the goals and objectives are accurate.
The 2006 Forest Plan, Chapter IV, Monitoring and Evaluation, provides programmatic direction for monitoring and evaluating Forest Plan implementation. It defines the over-arching, strategic questions that must be addressed by the Forest Service through monitoring, including broad timetables and schedules for analysis and reporting.
The monitoring and evaluation process enables the Forest Service to assess its effectiveness in moving toward stated management goals and desired conditions. .
Archived monitoring and evaluation reports are available on request.