Outdoor Citizens’ Guide to Forest Planning

As you may know, a number of national forests across the country are in the midst of forest planning. The forest planning process is a once-in-a-generation chance to influence the future of your national forests. Outdoor Alliance has just released a new Citizens’ Guide to Forest Planning to help outdoor enthusiasts get involved to shape the future of our national forests.

Click to read or download the guide.

For each forest, the forest plan is supposed to be updated every 15 years or so, but many national forests have plans that have lasted more than 30 years. These plans act as a kind of blueprint for how each forest is managed, creating maps that dictate where extractive activities like logging happen, and where landscapes should be set aside for protection or for recreation. Because they last so long, these plans have a huge impact on the future of protection and access, and they serve as the headwaters for new protective designations like Wilderness, Wild & Scenic rivers, and potentially National Recreation Areas.

The forest planning process can be long and sometimes confusing, with a lot of activity followed by long periods of quiet. Outdoor Alliance is involved in the Forest Planning in a few different regions and is helping guide outdoor enthusiasts through the process. Learn more about the whole process and how you can get involved and help by reading the Citizens’ Guide to Forest Planning or by signing up to learn more on a forest near you.