Regional Ecosystem Office (REO) - Northwest Forest Plan

Northwest Forest Plan policy and direction is derived from two key documents:

• Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl [PDF, 635 KB]
• Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl [PDF, 907 KB]

These decisions were preceeded by a series of environmental assessments:

1994 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl

• Volume I [PDF, 37 MB]
• Volume II & Appendices A-J [PDF, 29 MB]
• Appendix J-2 [PDF, 26 MB]
• Appendix J-3 [PDF, 54 KB]

1993 FEMAT Report: Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment

• Executive Summary [ 9 MB PDF File]
• FEMAT Report [ 66 MB PDF File]

Memoranda of Understanding

The agencies involved have periodically signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) to indicate their continued participation in the Plan and document associated administrative procedures and expectations. MOUs are not a legally binding documents and do not obligate monies, but do represent a signed commitment to conduct interagency business in a specified manner.

• MOU for Management of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Forest Land within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl at the Regional Level. March 1, 2016. Maintain an interagency framework for cooperative planning, improved decision making, and coordinated implementation as Federal land management agencies revise land management plans within the range of the northern spotted owl, and improved coordination, and collaboration with State, Tribal, and local governments as they seek to implement management approaches that support or complement Federal agency goals within that range.
• Framework to Guide Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Land Use Plan Revisions and Amendments (Western Oregon, Western Washington and Northern California). April 11, 2011. Developed collaboratively and intended to identify key concepts supported by Federal land managers and regulatory executives within the Northwest Forest Plan area, and may also have applicability to lands managed by other Federal land managers as they consider land management planning needs.
• MOU for Management Under the Northwest Forest Plan at the Regional Level. April 11, 2011. Establish and maintain an interagency framework for cooperative planning, improved decision making, and coordinated implementation of the forest ecosystem management component, and improved coordination and collaboration with State, Tribal, and local governments as they seek to implement management approaches that support or complement the goals of the NWFP.
• MOU for Management Under the Northwest Forest Plan at the Regional Level. October 6, 2003. Establish and maintain an interagency framework for cooperative planning, improved decision making, and coordinated implementation of the forest ecosystem management component, and improved coordination and collaboration with State, Tribal, and local governments as they seek to implement management approaches that support or complement the goals of the NWFP.
• MOU for Northwest Forest Plan Records Management. September 11, 2003. Improve effectiveness and efficiency of routine records management and administration functions. (Expired) (1854).
• MOU between the Regional Interagency Executive Committee for the Northwest Forest Plan. 2003. Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of routine fund transfers between agencies in support of the Regional Ecosystem Office. (Expired) (1816).
• Revised MOU for Northwest Forest Management. October 19, 1998. Establish and maintain an interagency framework for cooperative planning, improved decision making, and coordinated implementation of the forest ecosystem management component, and improved coordination and collaboration with State, Tribal, and local governments as they seek to implement management approaches that support or complement the goals of the NWFP. (Expired).
• MOU for Forest Ecosystem Management. October 8, 1993. Establishes a framework for cooperative planning, improved decision making, and coordinated implementation of the forest ecosystem management component of the President’s Forest Plan for a Sustainable Economy and a Sustainable Environment. (Expired).
• Federal-State MOU for Economic Adjustment and Community Assistance. (Not dated). Established the Multi-Agency Command (MAC), Regional Community Economic Revitalization Team (RCERT), State Community Economic Revitalization Teams (State CERT). (Expired).

Federal Advisory Committee Charters

• Provincial Advisory Committee Charter, USDA Departmental Regulation #1043-037. October 17, 2005. Charter for the Provincial Advisory Committees to the Provincial Interagency Executive Committees (PIECs), Forest Service.

Other Reports

• The Northwest Forest Plan Revisited, September 1998. Known as the Pipkin Report.
• Northwest Forest Plan: Outcomes and Lessons Learned From the Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative, November 1999. PDF, 728K.
• Strategic Research Plan To Support Ecosystem Management Research in the Northwest Forest Plan Area, July 31, 2000. PDF, 57K.

Watershed Analysis Reports

• Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale. Federal Guide for Watershed Analysis Section II Analysis Methods and Techniques, October 1996, Version 2.3 (PDF, 728K).
• Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale. Federal Guide for Watershed Analysis, August 1995, Version 2.2 (PDF, 838K). Known as WA Guide. With supplementation by RIEC memorandum, subject “Watershed Analysis: Direction for completion of A Federal Agency Guide to Watershed Analysis,” January 10, 1995.