Kaibab National Forest

Kaibab Forest Plan Revision

Background

What are Forest Plans?

The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 required every national forest to develop a plan. Today, these plans provide broad direction for managing natural resources for the American people. Plans are programmatic in nature, meaning they cover a large geographic area, and their management direction is broad in scope. In addition, every forest plan must be consistent with environmental laws and regulations such as the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act.

The Kaibab's revised Forest Plan will have five main components:

1. Desired Conditions — what people want the Kaibab National Forest to look like, and what they want it to provide. These conditions must contribute to ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
2. Objectives — descriptions of programs, projects and on-the-ground activities to achieve desired conditions.
3. Guidelines — rules that guide management actions, protect resources and help achieve desired conditions.
4. Suitability of Areas — an assessment of where uses can occur including roads, livestock grazing, timber harvest, and utility corridors.
5. Special Areas — an assessment of areas for special designations such as Wilderness, Research Natural Areas, Botanical Areas, or Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Why Do Forest Plans Need to be Revised?

The current Kaibab National Forest plan was originally developed in 1986, nearly 20 years ago. Since then, there have been many social and resource changes. Scientific information and methodology have evolved. A few of these changes were addressed in amendments to the original Forest Plan; many others have not been formally recognized and incorporated.

The original (1982) rule guiding the implementation of the National Forest Management Act recognized the need to keep plans current, recommending plans be revised on a ten-year cycle (or at least every 15 years).

What Does a Revision Mean?

The current Kaibab Plan provides a solid foundation for forest management. Instead of starting over and developing a new plan from scratch, planners will determine what in the existing plan is working. Those parts will be retained. New information will be incorporated. Existing direction that isn't working will be changed.

The most important change to the Kaibab Plan in the revision process concerns the rule that governs how a forest plan will be maintained and adapted. Under the 2005 Planning Rule, all forest plans must undergo a comprehensive evaluation every three to five years, making them much more adaptable to changing conditions and new information.