Introduction

The Land and Resource Management Plan, commonly referred to as the "Forest Plan", was released in January 2004. We have separated the Plan and it's accompanying documents into smaller files for faster downloading. Files will open in a new browser window.

The documents of the Plan are:

• The Table of Contents (10 pages, 963KB)
• Chapter 1: Purpose, Need, and Significant Issues
  (8 pages, 218KB)
• Chapter 2: Forestwide Direction (72 pages, 416KB)
• Chapter 3: Managment Prescriptions (188 pages, 2.5MB)
• Chapter 3 Maps (39 pages, 3.43MB)
• Chapter 4: Watershed Management Areas
  (40 pages, 1.7MB)
• Chapter 5: Monitoring and Evaluation (10 pages, 225KB)

Supporting Documents
In addition to the actual Plan document, there are several supporting documents that provide information and insight into the information and analysis used to develop the Plan.
Those supporting documents are:

The Record of Decision: This is the public disclosure of the decision made by Robert Jacobs, Regional Forester for the Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service. It provides information about many of the things he considered in making his decision and his reasoning behind his decision.

Mr. Jacobs decided to implement Alternative I because, "The Forest Plan represents a balance among the diversity of interests and uses of the National Forest within the capability of the land and waters, the biology of its component plants and animals, and the ecosystems that they form. It also considers likely future changes within the ten to fifteen year anticipated life of my decision and seeks to maintain flexibility to meet changed conditions. I have sought to not make decisions that severely limit the decision space of my successors to meet the issues of their times. Also important to me is maintaining the collaborative and cooperative nature of much of National Forest management and the partnerships we already have and others we hope to build in the future." Please read the rest of the Record of Decision for more details behind the choice of Alternative I.
Document size: 35 pages (696KB)

The Summary: This document provides an overview of the purpose and need for the new plan. It explains the planning process, alternative ways of managing the forest that were considered, the affected environment and the environmental consequences of the alternatives.
Document size: 41 pages (2.73MB)

Plan Appendices: Appendices A through I provide a wide variety of information that give further insight to the background and details of the Plan.

• Appendix A: Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies and Directives (28 pages, 416KB)
• Appendix B: Glossary (76 pages, 699KB)
• Appendix C: Riparian Corridors (6 pages, 268KB)
• Appendix D: Old Growth Strategy (18 pages, 2612KB)
• Appendix E: General Recommendations for Rare Communities–Management Prescription 9.F.
  (8 pages, 180KB)
• Appendix F: Timber Suitability, Total Timber Sale Program, Vegetation Management Practices
  (64 pages, 1.54MB)
• Appendix G: Monitoring Summary Table (20 pages, 574KB)
• Appendix H: Estimated Outputs and Activities (2 pages, 207KB)
• Appendix I: Screening Criteria for New OHV Trail Systems (3 pages, 301KB)

The Final Environmental Impact Statement(FEIS): This is a very detailed written statement that documents the proposed action, alternatives to the proposed action, the characteristics of the environment that is potentially affected by the proposal, and the environmental consequences of implementing each alternative. The FEIS follows a prescribed outline and includes a list of the preparers and those consulted in its preparation. Public review of a draft EIS was required before the FEIS was prepared.

• Chapter 1: Purpose, Need, And Significant Issues (20 pages, 417KB)
• Chapter 2: Alternatives (68 pages, 2.65MB)
• Chapter 3
  • Section 1 - Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences (98 pages, 2.99MB)
  • Section 2 - Biological Elements (100 pages, 3.76MB)
  • Section 3 - Old Growth Maps (8 pages, 987KB)
  • Section 4 - Forest Interior Birds (45 pages, 1.99MB)
  • Section 5 - Threatened And Endangered Plant Species (186 pages, 5.5MB)
  • Section 6 - Developed And Dispersed Recreation (52 pages, 2.59MB)
  • Section 7 - Scenery (86 pages, 3.07MB)
  • Section 8 - Rangeland (78 pages, 1.54MB)
• Chapter 4: Preparers (10 pages, 204KB)
• Chapter 5: Distribution List (14 pages, 332KB)
• Chapter 6: Glossary (76 pages, 669KB)
• References (39 pages, 653KB)

The FEIS Appendices

• Appendix A: Summary of Public Involvement (8 pages, 154KB)
• Appendix B: Analysis Process
  • Section 1 (89 pages, 1.65MB)
  • Section 2 (108 pages, 6.30MB)
• Appendix C: Inventoried Roadless Evaluations (146 pages, 6.10MB)
• Appendix D: Wild and Scenic Rivers (108 pages, 1.74MB)
• Appendix E: Terrestrial Species Viability (140 pages, 1.43MB)
• Appendix F: Aquatic Species Viability (22 pages, 1.52MKB)
• Appendix G: Response to Public Comments (265 pages, 1.98MB)
• Appendix H: Biological Assessment (60 pages, 586KB)
• Appendix I: Biological Evaluation (105 pages, 1.70KB)

Alternative Maps

• Alternative I -Piedmont (2.90MB)
• Alternative I -Ridge and Valley 3.56MB)
• Alternative I -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.94MB)
  
  
• Alternative A -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (2.0MB)
• Alternative A -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.46MB)
  
  
• Alternative B -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (1.95MB)
• Alternative B -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.34MB)
  
  
• Alternative D -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (1.99MB)
• Alternative D -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.55MB)
  
  
• Alternative E -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (1.99MB)
• Alternative E -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.50MB)
  
  
• Alternative F -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (1.88MB)
• Alternative F -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.46MB)
  
  
• Alternative G -Ridge and Valley, and Piedmont (1.91MB)
• Alternative G -Blue Ridge Mountains (2.28MB)

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