Region 5
 

Land & Resource Management
Calm water surface surrounded by trees and mountain foothills.

An important part of the Forest Service mission is "protecting and managing the national forests and grasslands so they best demonstrate the sustainable multiple-use management concept."

In other words, the Forest Service is charged with managing natural resources in a way that best serves the multiple needs of a growing nation.

Managing the natural resources of the Nation's forests and grasslands requires the complex integration of resource assessments, management actions, and cooperative partnerships.

"Caring for the Land and Serving People"

This section of our website includes information about forest planning, current projects, resource management, and available geospatial data.

Planning

Generally it is planning at a broad scale, either at the Regional, Forest, or Landscape (Watershed) level. Assessments identify existing condition, risks, opportunities, and desired future condition. The end product does not require a NEPA decision, but is information that feeds into Project analysis.

Projects

Projects are proposed actions that are analyzed through the NEPA process (EIS, EA, or CE) that involve analyzing different alternatives to the proposed action, requires public notice and comment, and result in a NEPA decision (ROD, DN, or DM) which is subject to an administrative appeals process, and ultimately is implemented on the ground.

Resource Management

The Forest Service is charged with managing natural resources in a way that best serves the multiple needs of a growing nation. The agency was established to ensure a renewable supply of timber and a steady source of clean water and minerals.

Geospatial Data

Selected GIS datasets for the Pacific Southwest Region are available for download from this area. The scale at which the Pacific Southwest's GIS data was developed depends upon the subject and type of data.

Features

Nature's Benefits Leadership Intent

Connecting people and partners to forest benefits they see, feel, hear, and rely on in their daily lives will increase our capability to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands. “Our goal for the Pacific Southwest Region is to retain and restore the provision of a broad range of Nature’s Benefits to people that come from National Forest Systems lands. To do this, we will build off the R5 Leadership Intent document on Ecological Restoration which states our commitment to restoration-based management and to a renewed focus in the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services, with a Nature’s Benefits Leadership Intent document.”


Ecological Restoration: Engaging Partners in an All Lands Approach

Our goal  is to retain and restore ecological resilience of the National Forest lands to achieve sustainable ecosystems that provide a broad range of services to humans and other organisms. This goal is based on a commitment to land and resource management that is infused by the principles of Ecological Restoration and driven by policies and practices that are dedicated to make land and water ecosystems more sustainable, more resilient, and healthier.

Spotlights

Climate Change in the Pacific Southwest Region

Responding to the challenges presented by climate change is one of the most urgent tasks facing the Forest Service.

Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States

This report informs and guides natural resource managers to minimize drought impacts, help recover from drought, and create forests and rangelands better adapted to future drought conditions.

 




California Headwaters Partnership

The CHP is co-led by a state and federal agency, speaking to the collaborative nature of the work in the California Headwaters region.

Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP)

WIP is a coordinated, integrated, collaborative program to restore the health of California's primary watershed through increased investment and needed policy changes.

Related Information

Highlights

  • NEPA

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions related to forest management. Depending on whether or not a proposed action could significantly affect the natural environment, either an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is prepared.
Conservation Finance

Conservation Finance


Pacific Southwest Region Travel Management

Travel Analysis


Get involved: your forest's future is in your hands

Forest Plan Revision


Valuing Ecosystem Services.

Nature's Benefits

 


https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/landmanagement