Planning
The Tonto National Forest's land and resource management plan (also known as the Forest Plan) was revised in December 2023. A Forest Plan provides integrated, forest-wide guidance for all forest uses and activities on National Forest System lands. Amendments to, administrative changes, and monitoring reports for the revised Tonto Forest Plan will be provided on this page, as they are completed.
2023 Tonto Forest Plan
The Tonto National Forest's management plan, revised in 2023, provides integrated, forest-wide guidance for all forest uses and activities on national forest lands for approximately the next 15 years.
The revised Forest Plan is updated with administrative changes and amendments as needed. Those updates are listed and can be accessed below. The latest version of the Forest Plan is linked to here, as well as the Record of Decision and Volumes I through IV of the Forest Plan's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).
Forest Plan Monitoring and Evaluation
The Tonto National Forest began implementing its newly revised Forest Plan on December 8, 2023. Monitoring and evaluation are required by National Forest Management Act regulations and the 2012 Planning Rule to determine how the Forest Plan is being applied, how well the plan is working to maintain or make progress toward desired conditions, and if its management direction remains appropriate. Based upon this evaluation, recommendations may be made to change management direction or revise or amend the Forest Plan. This is intended to inform adaptive management of the Tonto National Forest.
Biennial Monitoring and Evaluation Reports (BMERs)
The purpose of the Biennial Monitoring Evaluation Report is to inform the public, partners, stakeholders, other government agencies, and tribes of the completed and ongoing monitoring of forest plan implementation activities in the Tonto National Forest. The monitoring results presented in this report help the forest supervisor determine whether a change is needed in forest plan direction, plan components, or other plan content that guide management of resources in the Tonto National Forest. The Biennial Monitoring Evaluation Report represents one part of the Forest Service’s overall monitoring program for this national forest. It is not a decision document. It evaluates monitoring questions and indicators presented in Chapter 4, Monitoring, of the revised Tonto Forest Plan (2023), and reports on the results of monitoring of management actions carried out in the forest.
Due to staffing shortages, the Tonto National Forest will not be posting their first Biennial Monitoring Evaluation Report (BMER) until December 2026 (36 CFR 219312(d)(1)(iii)).
Through the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA), Congress designated Fossil Creek as a wild and scenic river in Spring 2009 to protect its amazing attributes for years to come. The decision for the Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive River Management Plan (Fossil Creek CRMP) in October 2021 authorized an amendment to the Tonto Forest Plan to apply to all future projects and activities within the Fossil Creek Special Area.
On October 5, 2021, Neil Bosworth, Tonto National Forest Supervisor, signed the Record of Decision for Travel Management on the Tonto National Forest. This decision designates a system of motorized roads, trails, and areas forest wide. This project amended the Forest Plan by prohibiting country travel. All documentation related to this project can be found on the project website.
For more information contact:
Kelly Araiza
OHV Program Manager
2324 E. McDowell Rd
Phoenix, AZ, 85006
(602)225-5362
Email
Devin Quintana
Public Services Staff Officer
2324 E. McDowell Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85006
(602)225-5257
Email