Managing the resources of the White Mountain National Forest falls into three categories.
The first is planning. It requires the development of a Land and Resource Management Plan (the Forest Plan), a document which sets the broad framework for activities on the Forest. It establishes a Desired Future Condition, sets Goals and Objectives, and provides Standards and Guidelines. Forest Plans are reviewed and revised approximately every ten to fifteen years. The White Mountain National Forest is now implementing its 2005 Forest Plan.
The second category includes the many projects carried out annually "on the ground" to improve wildlife habitat, maintain recreation opportunities, demonstrate sound silvicultural practices, and generally "care for the land and serve people." Public input is included in these activities through the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process. Each new project is posted on this web site, and the documents relating to its various NEPA steps are added as completed.
The third category is monitoring: regular review and evaluation of Forest management to ensure that we are, indeed, moving toward our Desired Future Condition.
This section of the web site provides information on these three management categories. |
