Forest Plan
2018 Revised Land Management Plan
The Flathead National Forest’s 1986 Forest Plan was in place for more than 30 years. The following decades brought many changes in ecological, social, and economic conditions in the Flathead area, as well as changes in resource demands, and availability of new scientific information and new policy. These changes necessitated a plan revision to ensure that management direction remained responsive to current issues and conditions.
In particular, the plan revision addressed the following topics:
- Increasing demand for recreation opportunities and their importance in supporting local economies;
- Fire and fuels management direction that emphasizes active vegetation management near communities;
- New analyses needed for timber production opportunities, an important historical driver for local economies;
- Conservation of wildlife and aquatic habitat, including habitat management direction for threatened and endangered species and Inland Native Fish direction; and
- New policy and public interest in identifying areas for recommended wilderness and wild and scenic rivers.
Development of the 2018 Forest Plan documents reflect extensive public participation over four years through collaborative working group meetings and other public input. We greatly appreciate the commitment of interested participants who provided important contributions toward the development of the plan.
The public reading room displayed below provides documents related to the 2018 Forest Plan Revision and 1986 Forest Plan.
The National Forest Management Act directs the development, amendment, and revision of land management plans to guide management of the 154 national forests, 20 grasslands, and 1 prairie that comprise the 193-million-acre National Forest System. Land management plans are directed to have a 10–15-year duration and 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.
The 2012 planning rule guides management planning through a collaborative and science-based approach to promote the economic, social, and ecological sustainability of national forests and grasslands and other administrative units of the National Forest System.
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The purpose of the biennial monitoring evaluation report (BMER) is to help the responsible official determine whether a change is needed in forest plan direction, such as plan components or other plan content that guide management of resources in the plan area. Providing timely, accurate monitoring information to the responsible official and the public is a key requirement of the plan monitoring program. This BMER is the vehicle for disseminating this information.
The BMER represents one part of the Forest Service’s overall monitoring program for the Flathead National Forest. This report is not a decision document—it evaluates monitoring questions presented in the Monitoring Program found in chapter 5 of the Flathead National Forest Plan.