Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests

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Malheur NF
P.O. Box 909
431 Patterson Bridge Rd
John Day, OR 97845
(541) 575-3000

Umatilla NF
2517 S.W. Hailey Ave
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-278-3716

Wallowa-Whitman NF
P.O. Box 907
1550 Dewey
Baker City, OR 97814
(541) 523-6391

Public Involvement NEPA – Fall 2007 to Fall 2008

Proposed Plans are issued

The NEPA process begins

Leads to a decision on the revised plans

Public Involvement NEPA – Fall 2007 to Fall 2008

Proposed Plans are issued

The NEPA process begins

Leads to a decision on the revised plans

Public Participation

We have developed a strategy for how we work with various groups (both government and private) during the land management plan revision process. However, situations will come up where we want to make changes, so our strategy is intended to be dynamic and will be adapted as the planning progresses.

Everyone who is interested in the land management plan or who will be affected by it is encouraged to participate.

Join us at any of our Collaborative Events

Click here for information about past and future Community Collaborative Workshops and Field Trips

Public involvement is a very important part of national forest management decision-making process throughout the planning cycle—from developing, amending, or revising land management plans, to proposing and developing projects. The value of public participation in decision-making is recognized in both the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (for more information about NEPA and NFMA, visit www.fs.fed.us/emc/nepa/).

Public participation in land management plan revisions adds value to the entire process and helps promote better decisions and greater understanding of those decisions. For more information about participating in national forest management planning see (see Partners in Planning website).

What is your role?

Public participation is critical to all stages of the land management planning process. We believe that land management plans generated with the support of the public are more likely to endure the test of time.

During the revision process, we are depending on the public to learn additional information about the four national forests being affected, to understand your values and ideas on how the area should be managed, and to provide feedback on proposals from us and other individuals and organizations.

Your ideas and views are particularly important in the initial stages as your comments may generate or convey new information that leads to creating better products. Having this information early, allows us to keep moving forward rather than having to review and change previous work. New information can come in many forms—including community priorities, focused on the conservation of sensitive plant and animal species, recreation opportunities, grazing, restoring fire-adapted ecosystems, or other interests.

How can you participate in Land Management Plan revision?

Land management plan revision involves a series of incremental decisions that can take several years to complete. These incremental decisions include what the scope of the proposal will be, what issues are important, what management options need to be weighed against each other, how the effects of proposals can be best analyzed, and what data needs to be collected to inform that analysis. All of these decisions contribute to the overall decision to approve the revised Land Management Plan. Public participation is vital to public land management planning throughout all of these steps.

Two Phases of Public Participation for the Blue Mountains Land Management Plan Revision

Working with the public during plan revision can be seen as occurring in two phases:

Phase I: Public Participation / Pre-NEPA - the phase leading up to the proposed plan, and;

Phase II: Public Involvement / the “NEPA Process” - the phase after the proposed plan is issued that leads to a decision establishing the new plans.

While you are welcome and encouraged to participate throughout plan revision, there are procedural differences between how you can participate before and after the proposed plan is issued (in other words, before and after the “NEPA process” begins).

Blue Mountains Land Management Plan Revision Public Participation

Phase I: Public Participation / Pre-NEPA

Land management planning is largely structured around the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its requirements, but before the “NEPA process” formally begins, there is ample opportunity for you to engage the planning team in identifying the existing and desired conditions and identifying the things that need to be changed in the current Plans. The procedural requirements of NEPA do not apply in this phase of planning because no final decisions are being made that will affect how the public lands are being managed.

What is collaboration and when will it occur?

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We developed a strategy for how we will work together, and with the help of a neutral third-party facilitator, this strategy was refined collaboratively. Working together through a series of workshops (click here for workshop information) in various communities around the Blue Mountains, we have been developing a vision for the future management of national forest lands, creating the building blocks that will be used in the new Plans, identifying the things in the current Plans that are not working, and crafting proposed revised Plans.

How we are collaborating?

We want to work with everyone who is interested in the revision of the Land Management Plans in the Blue Mountains and who will be affected by it. As the collaboration phase began, county governments, American Indian tribes, and resource advisory groups were given the opportunity to be co-conveners of the process. These groups have broad networks of contacts, represent a variety of interests, and have demonstrated that they can build partnerships, resolve conflicts, and solve problems.

All 18 counties within the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision planning area were invited to serve as co-conveners. Eight counties have confirmed their interest in acting as co-conveners. Tribes and Resource Advisory Committees and Councils have also been contacted.

The process can be as open during the NEPA phase as it was in the pre-NEPA steps, as long as it remains open and does not exclude any groups from participating; however, there are specific steps to be included. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) also affects how we deal with public groups. For more information about FACA, visit Partners in Planning.

Our strategy for working together during the formal NEPA phase of plan revision has not yet been determined. We anticipate, however, that the relationships resulting from the collaboration phase (pre-NEPA) will provide the basis for determining how people want to continue to be engaged in the more procedural requirements associated with the NEPA process. A goal of the overall plan revision effort in the Blue Mountains is to build a strong foundation in the collaboration phase that provides the context for working together through the procedural requirements of the analysis process and ultimately to implementing the final plans.

How are decisions made?

Many decisions along the way will be made by the three Forest Supervisors (Steve Ellis, Kevin Martin, and Stan Benes) as well as the ultimate decision on the Revised Land Management Plans.

You are encouraged to contribute information and ideas to the Revision Team as they study different management approaches and help identify impacts and implications of possible decisions so these decision-makers have a clear presentation of the anticipated results of their decisions.