Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests

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Plans govern the way national forests are managed. If you are interested in how a particular national forest is managed day-to-day, then engaging in the process through which a land management plan is revised is an excellent opportunity to make a difference. The operations that national forest managers undertake must be consistent with the plan’s guidelines, its objectives, and management requirements, as well as all relevant overarching laws and regulations.

The boundaries of management areas or categories designated in the Forest Plan and the prescriptions for them, for example, determine what activities may be allowed there and, in many cases, how they are to be conducted. Many people care deeply about how the national forests are managed—ranging from people who live next to them or regularly visit them, to those who have intimate knowledge of them, and even to those who simply dream about visiting them. If you are one of these people, then you likely care about how management areas are designated for the national forests. These designations—and the associated guidelines for management activities that may occur there—can make a difference to you and your quality of life.

Land Management Plans give direction for management decisions and were formulated in the context of the issues and resource conditions at the time that they were created. Until they are revised or amended, the direction that is in place guides management decisions. Some direction in the current plans is likely still appropriate given the current issues and resource conditions; some, probably, is not, as the issues and resource conditions may have changed. Land Management Plans can be amended at any time, as needed.

As of March 2004, each of the Plans for the Malheur, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, and Ochoco National Forest have been amended an average of 35 times. Click here to see a list of the amendments. In contrast to an amendment, a plan revision is when the Forest Service and the public take stock and develop a Revised Land Management Plan for the next 15 years.

The Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman Whitman National Forests are combining efforts to revise their Land Management Plans. The current Plans are near the end of their intended 15-year life.

The new Plans will address the substantial resource and social changes that have occurred since the early 1990s when the original Plans were created. They will also reflect the considerable gains in scientific knowledge that have occurred since then.

Plan revision will not start from scratch, but will be focused on what needs to be changed. This will allow us to keep the things that work and change the things that are not working.