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1 1 (December 20, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govefaf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Intorrn~ng the legislative debate since 1914 0 December 20, 2021 National Forest System Planning: Legal Considerations The United States Forest Service (FS) within the Department of Agriculture administers the National Forest System (NFS) and regulates activities on its 193 million acres of land, including 154 national forests. FS undertakes forest planning at the programmatic scale to establish a strategic framework for forest management, which is then implemented through various project-scale activities, permits, leases and contracts. This In Focus discusses the legal framework and decision-making processes for NFS planning at the programmatic scale, in consultation with federal agencies, state and tribal officials, and other stakeholders. Statutes Pertaining to Forest Planning The Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq.), as amended by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA; 16 U.S.C. § 1604) establishes substantive and procedural requirements for NFS planning. The Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 528 et seq.) sets forth the multiple uses for the National Forest System, including outdoor recreation, timber, range, wildlife and fish, watersheds, and wilderness. Requirements related to forest planning are also found in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA; P.L. 108-148) and Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq.; requiring agency and tribal coordination). Requirements specific to Alaska, which contains more than 10% of NFS land, are found in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3101 et seq.). In concert, these authorities set the legal framework in which FS implements the various goals, policies, and processes that apply to the multiple-and sometimes competing- uses of NFS lands. FS has implemented these statutes through regulations including the planning rule (36 C.F.R. part 219)---which following years of litigation now routinely applies to new plans and amendments---and guidance documents including FS Manual 1921 and Handbook 1909. Programmatic Decision Making The FS makes land management decisions at both programmatic and project levels. Programmatic scale decisions are strategic forest management decisions applicable to broad-scale geographic areas such as aforest unit (for example, an entire National Forest) or at the landscape- and watershed-scale. A key FS planning document is a 15-year land use framework known as a forest plan. Under NFMA, the forest plan governs the various areas, activities, and projects that may take place within a forest unit. Each forest plan contains a set of objectives related to the desired forest condition as well as binding standards and guidelines that provide the technical specifications and rules for projects, as well as additional guidance. For example, multiple forest plans in the northwest incorporate regional standards and guidelines for the management of Northern Spotted Owl habitat. NFMA sets out procedural requirements for creating or amending a forest plan. Key steps include forming an interdisciplinary team to prepare the plan, consulting about potential environmental impacts, issuing a draft, and receiving public comments. Forest plans must be updated every 15 years unless exempted by Congress and may be amended (pursuant to applicable requirements) at any time. Project-level decisions, such as commercial timber harvest, must then be consistent with the forest plan in effect. Forest plans also establish different use requirements or zoning for various parts of the plan's overall geographic area. Those requirements are evaluated and chosen in part based on their suitability for promoting specific plan objectives such as identification of potential roads or roadless areas, species habitat protections, and timber production. FS conducts planning in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA; 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq.). In addition, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq.) apply to the planning process and often play a substantial role. Unless exempted by a specific federal law, if a forest plan or amendment could significantly affect the environment, NEPA requires FS to consider environmental impacts. This consideration typically requires FS to evaluate alternatives, consult with relevant agencies, allow public comment, and publish a detailed environmental impact statement. Under the ESA, FS generally must engage in inter-agency consultations to ensure the action does not jeopardize listed species or adversely modify critical habitat. Forest Planning in the Courts Federal courts have often had the opportunity to consider the interpretation and implementation of federal forest plans and planning processes, particularly in the Ninth and Tenth Circuits. Lawsuits that challenge only a forest plan decision are relatively rare. More commonly, a challenge to a project-level decision may include plan-scale concerns about new information or conditions not initially contemplated in the underlying plan, which may be more than a decade old. NFMA does not provide an independent mechanism for judicial review, so challenges to forest plans are typically brought pursuant to the APA, under which courts consider ttps://crsreport

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