National Forest Management Act of 1976 - The NFMA Planning Process

The NFMA Planning Process

The 1982 NFMA Planning Regulations describe a planning process designed to integrate the many interests concerning the forest. In Integrated Public Lands Management, John B. Loomis outlines ten steps of the planning process:

1. Identify issues, concerns, and opportunities (ICOs). State and local agency officials as well as the public collaborate to identify current issues as well as possible future issues and concerns. The goal of the planning process is to improve the forest to better serve the public.

2. Develop planning criteria. Three main criteria are used for management actions: public policy criteria or the policy outlined in regulatory and statutory guidelines, process criteria or the accepted standard of data analysis, and decision criteria or the weight assigned to each management action.

3. Collect data and information necessary to address ICOs. Ensure that data collection meets the process criteria standards. Also include data for a 'no action' alternative to use as a control during alternative comparison.

4. Analyze the management situation (AMS). Group land into strata of similar physical features, such as vegetation, wildlife or soil type, to analyze the effects of management actions.

5. Formulate a broad range of alternatives including a 'no action, alternative.

6. Estimate the effects of each alternative on the environment, the economy, and society.

7. Evaluate alternatives by comparing how well each resolves the ICOs. Evaluate each alternative using the planning criteria outlined in step 2.

8. Select a preferred alternative. This is the proposed forest plan. Document the proposal and justify the selection. Explain why other alternatives were not chosen that may have a higher net present value or are more environmentally preferable. Prepare a Record of Decision (ROD) of the plan.

9. Implement the plan by updating all uses of the forest into conformity of the forest plan. Make the proper budget requests for full implementation.

10. Monitor and evaluate the plan by comparing the actual biological effects of the plan to the projections. Make adjustments where necessary.