Notice2023-27875
Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
The United States Department of Agriculture (Department) is proposing to amend all land management plans for units of the National Forest System (128 plans in total) to include consistent direction to conserve and steward existing and recruit future old-growth forest conditions and to monitor their condition across planning areas of the National Forest System. The intent is to foster the long-term resilience of old-growth forest conditions and their contributions to ecological integrity across the National Forest System. This notice initiates a scoping period on a preliminary proposed action and advises the public that the Department is preparing an environmental impact statement to evaluate the effects of amending the 128 land management plans.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88042-88048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27875]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions
Across the National Forest System
AGENCY: Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture (Department) is
proposing to amend all land management plans for units of the National
Forest System (128 plans in total) to include consistent direction to
conserve and steward existing and recruit future old-growth forest
conditions and to monitor their condition across planning areas of the
National Forest System. The intent is to foster the long-term
resilience of old-growth forest conditions and their contributions to
ecological integrity across the National Forest System. This notice
initiates a scoping period on a
[[Page 88043]]
preliminary proposed action and advises the public that the Department
is preparing an environmental impact statement to evaluate the effects
of amending the 128 land management plans.
DATES: Comments are most valuable to the Department if received by
February 2, 2024. The proposed action and draft environmental impact
statement are expected in May 2024 and will be accompanied by a 90-day
comment period, and the final environmental impact statement is
expected in January 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted using the following methods:
Online (preferred): Individuals and entities are encouraged to submit
comments via webform at <a href="https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=65356">https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=65356</a>.
Mail: Hardcopy letters must be submitted to the Director, Ecosystem
Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington,
DC 20250-1124.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer McRae, Planning Team Leader,
at 202-791-8488. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the
deaf and hard of hearing (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, is responsible for managing the land and
resources of the National Forest System to provide for multiple-use and
sustained-yield of products and services. The Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 470 et seq.), as
amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2949 et
seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1601-1614), requires land management plans for all
units of the National Forest System. Regulations to implement the
National Forest Management Act are set forth at 36 CFR 219.
Background
On April 22, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14072
Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities, and Local Economies.
Section 2 of the Executive Order (E.O.) recognizes the distinctive role
that Federal forest lands play in sustaining ecological, social, and
economic benefits throughout the nation and calls particular attention
to the importance of mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands for
their role in contributing to nature-based climate solutions by storing
large amounts of carbon and increasing biodiversity, mitigating
wildfire risks, enhancing climate resilience, enabling subsistence and
cultural uses, providing outdoor recreational opportunities, and
promoting sustainable local economic development.
Section 2(b) \1\ of the E.O. required the Department to inventory
mature and old-growth forest conditions on National Forest System
lands, which the Forest Service completed an initial draft of in April
2023 (Mature and Old-Growth Forests: Definition, Identification, and
Initial Inventory on Lands Managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of
Land Management, <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/mature-and-old-growth-forests-tech.pdf">https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/mature-and-old-growth-forests-tech.pdf</a>). The initial inventory was conducted
by applying working definitions of old-growth and mature forest
conditions for over 200 regional vegetation types to Forest Inventory
and Analysis field plot data. Definitions and inventories have been
established for forests exhibiting old-growth conditions, but mature
forest conditions had not previously been ecologically defined in a
consistent manner at a national scale. This initial inventory resulted
in the Forest Service identifying an estimated 24.7 million acres of
old-growth forest conditions and 68.1 million acres of mature forest
conditions representing 17 and 47 percent, respectively, of the 144.3
million acres of forested National Forest System lands.
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\1\ Executive Order 14072 also applies to the Bureau of Land
Management but this notice of intent applies to National Forest
System lands only.
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Section 2(c)(ii) of the E.O. directed the Department, following
completion of the initial inventory, to analyze threats to inventoried
mature and old-growth forests on National Forest System lands,
including threats from wildfires and climate change. Like the
inventory, the initial threat analysis was national in scale and
presents an initial compilation and summation of threats associated
with wildfire, fire exclusion, insects and disease, extreme weather,
climate and temperature, drought, tree cutting, roads, land use
allocation, and wildland urban interface. In the analysis, the term
``threat'' indicated a change in forest structure resulting in a
reclassification of the forest condition but not necessarily a loss of
ecological function and integrity.
Initial analysis from that ongoing effort indicates several key
findings that informed this proposed action. The initial analysis found
that mortality from wildfires is currently the leading threat to mature
and old-growth forest conditions, followed by insects and disease. The
analysis found that tree cutting is now a relatively minor threat
compared to climate amplified disturbances such as wildfire, insects
and disease. However, past management practices, including timber
harvest and fire suppression, contributed to current vulnerabilities in
the distribution, abundance, and resilience of old-growth forest
characteristics.
The amount and distribution of mature forests across the National
Forest System suggest that these lands have the inherent capability to
sustain old-growth forest conditions into the future. This proposed
amendment is intended to create a consistent approach to manage for
old-growth forest conditions with sufficient distribution, abundance,
and ecological integrity (composition, structure, function,
connectivity) to be persistent over the long term, in the context of
climate amplified stressors. The amendment establishes a set of
national plan components and direction for geographically informed
adaptive implementation strategies that promote the long-term
persistence, distribution, and recruitment of old-growth forest
conditions across the National Forest System.
The proposed action recognizes the role of old-growth forest
conditions in contributing to ecological integrity. It also recognizes
that there are significant ecosystem and geographic differences that
would require the development of geographically informed adaptive
management strategies, in collaboration with the public and through
consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. The proposed
amendment includes direction to integrate Indigenous Knowledge and
respect for the ethic of reciprocity and responsibility to future
generations and directs land managers to advance co-stewardship,
recognizing the importance of general trust responsibilities, treaty
rights, and cultural, religious, and other tribal interests and
practices. The proposed amendment provides a framework for strategic
conservation, and proactive stewardship and management, to mitigate
risks across a range of forest conditions to both maintain and
intentionally develop old-growth forest conditions, where feasible
given climate impacts, and within the context of the multiple-use
mandate that guides management of the National Forest System.
Given the key threat that rapidly changing wildfire disturbances
pose to national forest ecosystems and watersheds and the old-growth
forests therein, this proposed action is intended to complement the
Department's continued focus on, funding, and
[[Page 88044]]
implementation of the Forest Service's Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
Providing consistent national direction that recognizes the beneficial
role that functional old-growth forest conditions play in enhancing
forest resiliency to wildfire further strengthens efforts to abate the
wildfire crisis. The proposed action also recognizes the importance of
strategic conservation and proactive stewardship for wildfire
resilience efforts, including science-based vegetation treatments and
restoring prescribed fire in fire-adapted ecosystems, for the long-term
retention and future recruitment of old-growth forest conditions.
Focusing on the intentional management, conservation, and
furtherance of old-growth across the National Forest System via a
national amendment to land management plans is also warranted given the
longstanding commitment demonstrated by the Forest Service to manage
old-growth forest conditions for multiple values including ecosystem
diversity, habitat, recreation, aesthetics, and water quality. For
several decades, it has been the agency's position that decisions
concerning the management of old-growth forest conditions will be made
in the development and implementation of land management plans,
including plan direction that provides for a succession of young and
mature forests into old-growth forests. Current data has identified
approximately 2,700 land management plan components, across nearly all
128 individual plans, which provide direction on the management,
conservation, or monitoring of old-growth forest conditions across the
National Forest System. The proposed amendment builds on those existing
plan components and promotes consistency in old-growth management,
conservation, and recruitment efforts.
This proposed action was informed by public feedback received on
the Climate Resilience Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) the
Forest Service initiated in April 2023 (88 FR 24497). The ANPR gave the
public an opportunity to provide input on how the Forest Service should
respond to the changing climate through forest management activities
and possibly future policies. It included the following two questions:
1. How might the Forest Service use the mature and old-growth
forest inventory together with analyzing threats and risks to determine
and prioritize when, where, and how different types of management will
best enable retention and expansion of mature and old-growth forests
over time?
2. Given our current understanding of the threats to the amount and
distribution of mature and old-growth forest conditions, what policy,
management, or practices would enhance ecosystem resilience and
distribution of these conditions under a changing climate?
The Forest Service received 92,000 comments in response to the
ANPR, representing nearly 500,000 respondents. Many responses included
feedback on the appropriate conservation and management of mature and
old-growth forest conditions, reflecting a diversity of perspectives.
In developing this proposed action, the Department identified some
potential areas of agreement, including:
1. Land management plans, the forest planning process, and National
Forest Management Act implementing regulations (36 CFR 219 ``planning
regulations'') provide useful and durable mechanisms and frameworks for
the furtherance of mature and old-growth conservation and management
objectives.
2. Old-growth forest conditions have distinct, unique, and special
ecological, cultural, and social values and contribute to ecological
integrity. There is value in the long-term presence and resilience of
old-growth forest conditions on the National Forest System.
3. Old-growth forest conditions exist in a dynamic landscape, and
changes in the distribution and abundance of old-growth forest
conditions related to disturbance and climate amplified stressors,
including mortality from persistent drought, rapidly changing wildfire
disturbance regimes, insects and disease, and encroachment pressures
from urban development are likely to occur.
4. There is concern over climate amplified disturbance impacts that
pose a threat to the persistence of old-growth forest conditions on the
National Forest System lands, and an understanding that current
management practices may benefit from consistent direction to reduce
vulnerabilities and increase resilience to stressors.
5. There are differences in threats and conditions in different
regions and ecosystems across the National Forest System that will
require additional consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native
Corporations and place-based collaboration to develop geographically
informed adaptive management strategies. For example, in July 2023, the
Secretary of Agriculture appointed a Federal Advisory Committee to
guide related work in the Pacific Northwest to develop a climate
informed amendment for the national forests of the Northwest Forest
Plan.
6. Management must be science-based, including Indigenous Knowledge
as a source of best-available scientific information.
7. Management direction should enable co-stewardship and recognize
the importance of trust responsibilities, treaty rights, and cultural,
religious, and other tribal interests and eco-cultural practices
associated with old-growth forest conditions.
8. Consistent and effective monitoring of current and future old-
growth forest conditions over time would better inform adaptive
management.
9. Good examples of proactive stewardship and management direction
and monitoring can be drawn from recent tribal co-stewardship
agreements, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Partnership
projects, land management plans, and implementation of other programs.
10. Nationally consistent direction for conserving, stewarding and
recruiting old-growth forest conditions is connected to and should
complement related Forest Service policy and direction, including the
Wildfire Crisis Strategy and Climate Adaptation Plan.
The Department believes that reaffirming, at a national scale, the
commitment to maintaining and developing old-growth forests conditions
across the National Forest System is prudent and warranted, and best
advanced at this time via amendment of land management plans. As noted,
abundances of mature forest condition across National Forest System
lands suggest an inherent capability of these ecosystems to sustain
old-growth forest conditions into the future. Given climate amplified
stressors, management actions must be guided by science, including
Indigenous Knowledge, intentionality, and commitment to evaluate the
effectiveness of strategies designed to further desired old-growth
forest conditions.
Purpose of the Amendment
The purpose of this amendment is to establish consistent plan
direction to foster ecologically appropriate management across the
National Forest System by maintaining and developing old-growth forest
conditions while improving and expanding their abundance and
distribution and protecting them from the increasing threats posed by
climate change, wildfire, insects and disease, encroachment pressures
from urban development, and other potential stressors, within the
context of the
[[Page 88045]]
National Forest System's multiple-use mandate.
With consideration of the old-growth definition and initial
inventory information, the initial threats analysis, comments the
Forest Service received on the Climate Resilience ANPR, and an analysis
of existing land management plan direction for old-growth management
and conservation, the Department is proposing to amend all land
management plans to establish consistent direction for old-growth
forest conditions across the National Forest System. The proposed
amendment establishes national intent to maintain and improve amounts
and distributions of old-growth forest conditions within national
forest ecosystems and watersheds so that old-growth forest conditions
are resilient and adaptable to stressors and likely future
environments.
Standards are proposed to prevent degradation of old-growth
conditions and to enable conservation and proactive stewardship within
old-growth forest conditions to foster or increase resilience to
disturbances and stressors that may have adverse impacts. Proactive
stewardship includes ecologically appropriate management and
recognition of when natural succession processes can support
achievement of desired conditions. A guideline is proposed to encourage
proactive stewardship to increase amounts and improve distributions and
climate resilience of future old-growth forest conditions.
The proposed action also includes a management approach to direct
the development of a place-based strategy. The intent is for a unit or
units to create a new Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth Forest
Conservation based on geographically relevant data or information, or
adopt an already existing strategy that meets this intent, and include
it as an appendix to either the broader scale monitoring strategy or in
the biennial monitoring report. The Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth
Forest Conservation would not be a decision document representing final
agency action--as a management approach, the strategy is ``other plan
content'' that can be established or modified through an administrative
change to enable adaptation, see 36 CFR 219.7(f)(2).
This proposal is not intended to replace existing direction in
plans but rather to add language that provides consistency across all
plans. If existing plan direction provides more restrictive constraints
on actions that may affect existing or potential old-growth forest
conditions, those more restrictive constraints would govern. Additional
purposes of this amendment are to:
<bullet> Establish a clear role for Indigenous Knowledge and tribal
leadership in the proactive stewardship and furtherance of old-growth
forest conditions on the National Forest System lands.
<bullet> Establish a National Old-Growth Monitoring Network to
track trends and distribution patterns in old-growth for inventory,
evaluation, assessment, and adaptive management purposes.
<bullet> Facilitate the development of geographically informed
adaptive strategies for old-growth forest conservation to support the
effective implementation of this amendment and enable co-stewardship
with Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations and collaboration with
States, local governments, industry partners, and public stakeholders.
Need for Change
In preparing an amendment, the responsible official shall base an
amendment on a preliminary identification of the need to change the
plan (36 CFR 219.13(b)(1)). The need for change is to create a
consistent set of national plan components and direction for the
development of geographically informed adaptive implementation
strategies for the long-term persistence, distribution, and recruitment
of old-growth forest conditions across the National Forest System; to
provide for consistent and effective monitoring of old-growth forest
characteristics to inform adaptive management; and to more clearly
recognize and incorporate Indigenous Knowledge and tribal rights and
interests in managing for old-growth forest conditions.
The proposed amendment focuses on interrelated topic areas,
including:
<bullet> Improving conservation of old-growth forest conditions
<bullet> Improving durability, resilience, and resistance to fire,
insects and disease within old-growth forest conditions across the
National Forest System
<bullet> Strengthening the capacity of existing and future old-growth
forest conditions to adapt to the ongoing effects of climate change
<bullet> Addressing concerns about future durability, distribution, and
redundancy of old-growth forest conditions
<bullet> Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into planning, project
design, and implementation to achieve forest management goals and help
meet general trust responsibilities
<bullet> Establishing a National Old-Growth Monitoring Network
<bullet> Providing direction for geographically informed adaptive
management strategies
Preliminary Alternatives
This notice of intent initiates the official scoping process, which
guides the development of the environmental impact statement. Written
comments received in response to this notice will be analyzed to
further develop the proposed action and to identify potential
significant issues for developing alternatives to the proposed action.
A no-action alternative, which represents no change to existing
management direction, will be analyzed in addition to the proposed
action and will serve as the baseline for the comparison among action
alternatives. Consistent with 36 CFR 219.16(a)(2), there will be a 90-
day comment period for additional input when the proposed action and
draft environmental impact statement are released.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The Forest Service will prepare the environmental analysis in
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and operate as
the lead agency for this amendment. State agencies and Federally
recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations are invited to
indicate interest in participating as a cooperating agency.
Responsible Official
The responsible official for this amendment is the Secretary of
Agriculture.
Nature of the Decision To Be Made
The Secretary will decide whether and how to amend all National
Forest System land management plans.
Substantive Provisions
When proposing a land management plan amendment, the planning
regulations (36 CFR 219), as amended, require the responsible official
to identify in this notice what part of the substantive requirements
(219.8 through 219.11) will govern this amendment process. These are
the requirements likely to be directly related to the amendment based
on the purpose of the amendment or the effects of the amendment (36 CFR
219.13(b)(5)). The Secretary's initial determination, subject to
change, is that the following sections of the specific substantive
requirements within 219.8 through 219.11 are directly related to the
plan direction being added by the amendment and therefore will apply
within the scope and scale of the amendment.
[[Page 88046]]
36 CFR 219.8(a)(1)--Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem integrity
(including associated analytical considerations in 219.8(a)(1) (i
through vi).
36 CFR 219.8(a)(1 and 2)--Watershed integrity, water quality, and
soils.
36 CFR 219.8(a)(3)--Riparian areas.
36 CFR 219.8(b)--Social and economic sustainability, including the
analytical requirements of 219.8(b)(1 through 6).
39 CFR 219.9(a)(2) Ecosystem diversity.
36 CFR 219.9(b) Ecological conditions for species (including
threatened, endangered, proposed or candidate species and potential
species-of-conservation-concern).
36 CFR 219.10(a) Ecosystem services and multiple use (including
analytical requirements 1 through 10).
36 CFR 219.10(b)(1)(i) Recreation settings, opportunities, access,
and scenic character.
36 CFR 219.10(b)(1)(ii) Cultural and historic resources.
36 CFR 219.10(b)(1)(iii) Areas of tribal importance.
Scoping Process--Submitting Comments
This notice of intent begins the scoping process, 36 CFR 220.4(e).
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be considered and
guide the development of the draft environmental impact statement. The
Department is requesting comments on the proposed action, including any
modifications or additional language, potential alternatives, and
identification of any relevant information, studies, or analyses
concerning impacts that may affect the quality of the environment. The
Department does not anticipate that the proposed action will require
any permits or other authorizations.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful in the preparation of the
environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be provided
prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly articulate
the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
Specific written comments should be within the scope of the
proposed action, have a direct relationship to the proposed action, and
include supporting reasons for the Secretary to consider. Comments
received in response to this solicitation, including names (and
addresses, if included) of those who comment, will be part of the
public record for this proposed action.
Objection Process Information
The proposed action is not subject to the 36 CFR 219 subpart B
objection process, in accordance with 36 CFR 219.51(b).
Preliminary Proposed Action
The following is a description of the Department's proposed action
to address the interrelated concerns identified in the Need for Change
section above. The proposed action consists of plan components and
other plan content that would be added to all land management plans.
Existing plan components in all plans would remain in effect, and if
existing plan components are more restrictive, the more restrictive
direction would govern.
The Department seeks to amend the following land management plans:
Region 1--Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Bitterroot, Clearwater, Custer-
Gallatin, Dakota Prairie Grassland, Flathead, Helena-Lewis and Clark,
Idaho Panhandle, Kootenai, Lolo, Nez Perce; Region 2--Arapaho-
Roosevelt-Pawnee, Bighorn, Black Hills, Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-
Gunnison, Medicine Bow, Nebraska, Pike-San Isabel-Cimarron-Comanche,
Rio Grande, Routt, San Juan, Shoshone, Thunder Basin, White River;
Region 3--Apache-Sitgreaves, Carson, Cibola Mountains, Cibola
Grasslands, Coconino, Coronado, Gila, Kaibab, Lincoln, Prescott, Santa
Fe, Tonto; Region 4--Ashley, Boise, Bridger-Teton, Caribou, Challis,
Curlew Grasslands, Dixie, Fishlake, Humboldt, Manti-La Sal, Payette,
Salmon, Sawtooth, Targhee, Toiyabe, Uinta, Wasatch-Cache; Region 5--
Angeles, Cleveland, Eldorado, Inyo, Klamath, Lake Tahoe Basin, Lassen,
Los Padres, Mendocino, Modoc, Plumas, San Bernardino, Sequoia, Shasta-
Trinity, Sierra, Six Rivers, Stanislaus, Tahoe; Region 6--Colville,
Crooked River National Grassland, Deschutes, Fremont, Gifford Pinchot,
Malheur, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Ochoco, Okanogan, Olympic,
Rogue River, Siskiyou, Siuslaw, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wallowa-Whitman,
Wenatchee, Willamette, Winema; Region 8--Chattahoochee-Oconee,
Cherokee, Croatan, Daniel Boone, El Yunque, Francis Marion, George
Washington, Jefferson, Kisatchie, Land Between the Lakes, National
Forests in Alabama, National Forests in Florida, National Forests in
Mississippi, Nantahala-Pisgah, National Forests in Texas, Ouachita,
Ozark and St. Francis, Sumter, Uwharrie; Region 9--Allegheny,
Chequamegon-Nicolet, Chippewa, Finger Lakes, Green Mountain, Hiawatha,
Hoosier, Huron-Manistee, Mark Twain, Midewin Tallgrass Prairie,
Monongahela, Ottawa, Shawnee, Superior, Wayne, White Mountain; Region
10--Chugach, Tongass.
The following would be added to each land management plan: a
statement of distinctive roles and contributions, one goal, one
management approach, four desired conditions, one objective, four
standards, one guideline, and plan monitoring requirements. For general
descriptions of plan components and other plan content, see 36 CFR
219.7(e) and (f).
Proposed Plan Components and Other Plan Content To Add to Each Land
Management Plan
Statement of Distinctive Roles and Contributions--
The National Forest System plays a distinctive and key role in
providing the nation with benefits related to national forests and
grasslands within the broader landscape, including old-growth forest
conditions. Old-growth forests are dynamic systems distinguished by old
trees and related structural attributes. Old growth typically differs
from other stages of stand development in a variety of characteristics,
including the presence of old trees, variability in canopy structure,
patchiness, and development pathways depending on disturbance regimes
and resulting patterns. The structure and composition of old-growth
forests is highly place-based and can range from old, multi-layered
temperate coniferous forests with high amounts of dead wood in the form
of standing snags and coarse wood to old, single-storied pine forests
or oak woodlands with open canopy structure and fire-maintained herb
and litter dominated understories.
Old-growth forest conditions support ecological integrity and
contribute to distinctive ecosystem services--such as long-term storage
of carbon, increased biodiversity, improved watershed health, and
social, cultural, and economic values. Old-growth forests have place-
based meanings tied to cultural identity and heritage; local economies
and ways of life; traditional and subsistence uses; aesthetic,
spiritual, and recreational experiences; and Tribal and Indigenous
histories, cultures, and practices. For millennia, Tribal and
Indigenous practices have maintained resilient forest structure and
composition of forests that harbor high structural and compositional
diversity, with particular emphasis on understory plants and fire-
dependent wildlife habitat.
[[Page 88047]]
Goal--
1. Interpretation and implementation is grounded in recognition and
respect of tribal sovereignty, treaties, Indigenous Knowledge and the
ethic of reciprocity and responsibility to future generations.
Implementation should enable co-stewardship, including for cultural
burning, prescribed fire, and other activities, and should occur in
consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to fulfill
treaty obligations and general trust responsibilities.
Management Approach--
1. Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth Forest Conservation:
(a) Within two years, in consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native
Corporations and in collaboration with States, local governments,
industry partners, and public stakeholders, create or adopt an Adaptive
Strategy for Old-Growth Forest Conservation based on geographically
relevant data or information to:
<bullet> Effectively braid place-based Indigenous Knowledge and
Western science to inform and prioritize the conservation and
recruitment of old-growth forest conditions through proactive
stewardship.
<bullet> Identify criteria used to indicate conditions where plan
components will apply.
<bullet> Prioritize areas for the retention and promotion of old-
growth forest conditions, based on threats, stressors, and
opportunities relevant to the plan area.
<bullet> Establish target milestones for management specific to the
plan area, to support progress toward the desired conditions of this
amendment.
<bullet> Develop additional proactive climate-informed stewardship,
conservation, and management approaches as needed to effectively
achieve the desired conditions, standards, and guidelines in the
amendment.
<bullet> Identify a program of work and partnerships that can
support effective delivery of the plan monitoring requirements to
inform adaptive management.
<bullet> Provide geographically relevant information about threats,
stressors, and management opportunities relevant to the ecosystem of
the plan area to facilitate effective implementation.
(b) One or more units may create a joint Adaptive Strategy for Old-
Growth Forest Conservation. An already existing strategy or other
document may also be used if it meets this intent.
(c) Include the Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth Forest
Conservation as an appendix to either the broader scale monitoring
strategy or the biennial monitoring report, see 36 CFR 219.12. Units
should use this strategy to inform priorities. The strategy may be
periodically updated (36 CFR 219.13(c)) to reflect new information and
monitoring results.
Desired Conditions--
1. The amount and distribution of old-growth forest conditions are
maintained and improved relative to the existing condition over time,
recognizing that old-growth forest conditions are dynamic in nature and
shift on the landscape over time as a result of succession and
disturbance.
2. Proactive stewardship, including for retention and recruitment,
along with natural succession, foster an increasing trend in the
amount, representativeness, redundancy, and connectivity of old-growth
forest conditions such that future conditions are resilient and
adaptable to stressors and likely future environments.
3. Carbon stored in old-growth conditions contributes to the long-
term carbon storage, stability, and resiliency of forest carbon across
the National Forest System.
4. The long-term abundance, distribution, and resiliency of old-
growth conditions contribute to the overall ecological integrity of
ecosystems and watersheds.
Objective--
1. Within ten years, at the unit level, at least one landscape
prioritized within an Adaptive Strategy for Old-Growth Forest
Conservation will exhibit measurable improvements in old growth desired
conditions as a result of retention, recruitment, and proactive
stewardship activities and natural succession.
Standards for Management Actions Within Old-Growth Forest Conditions--
1. Vegetation management activities must not degrade or impair the
composition, structure, or ecological processes in a manner that
prevents the long-term persistence of old-growth forest conditions
within the plan area.
2. (a) Vegetation management in old-growth forest conditions must
be for the purpose of proactive stewardship, to promote the
composition, structure, pattern, or ecological processes necessary for
the old-growth forest conditions to be resilient and adaptable to
stressors and likely future environments. Proactive stewardship
activities shall promote one or more of the following:
i. amount, density and distribution of old trees, downed logs, and
standing snags;
ii. vertical and horizontal distribution of old-growth structures,
including canopy structure;
iii. patch size characteristics, percentage or proportion of forest
interior, and connectivity;
iv. types, frequencies, severities, patch sizes, extent, and
spatial patterns of disturbances;
v. return of appropriate fire disturbance regimes and conditions;
vi. successional pathways and stand development;
vii. connectivity and the ability of native species to move through
the area and cross into adjacent areas;
viii. ecological conditions for at-risk species associated with
old-growth forest conditions;
ix. the presence of key understory species or culturally
significant species or values;
x. species diversity, and presence and abundance of rare and unique
habitat types associated with old-growth forest conditions; or
xi. other key characteristics of ecological integrity.
b) Exceptions to this standard may be allowed if the responsible
official determines that actions are necessary:
i. to reduce fuel hazards on National Forest System land within the
wildland-urban interface to protect a community or infrastructure from
wildfire;
ii. to protect public health and safety;
iii. to comply with other statutes or regulations;
iv. for culturally significant uses; or
v. in cases where it is determined that the direction in this
amendment is not relevant or beneficial to a particular forest
ecosystem type.
In granting an exception, the responsible official must include the
rationale in a decision document.
3. Vegetation management within old-growth forest conditions may
not be for the primary purpose of growing, tending, harvesting, or
regeneration of trees for economic reasons. Ecologically appropriate
harvest is permitted in accordance with standards 1 and 2.
4. Exceptions to standards 2 and 3 may be granted by the Regional
Forester in Alaska if necessary to allow for implementation of the
Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy and the rationale must be
included in a decision document.
Guideline--
1. This guideline is intended to increase amounts and improve
distributions and climate resilience of future old-growth forest
conditions. It
[[Page 88048]]
applies to areas that do not currently meet old-growth definitional
conditions but that have been identified in the Adaptive Strategy for
Old-Growth Forest Conservation as a priority for the future
contribution of the development of those conditions over time.
For the purposes of fostering an increasing trend in the amount,
representativeness, redundancy, and connectivity of old-growth forest
conditions such that future conditions will be resilient and adaptable
to stressors and likely future environments, landscape-level proactive
stewardship activities should, within the scope of meeting other
desired conditions, and characteristic of the ecosystem, be developed
for the following priorities and purposes:
(a) To provide landscape-level redundancy and representation of
old-growth conditions such that loss due to natural disturbance events
does not result in a loss or isolation of the old-growth conditions at
the landscape scale.
(b) To retain and promote the development of resilient old-growth
conditions adjacent to existing old-growth forest conditions, including
for the purposes of reducing fire hazard, altering potential fire
spread or fire severity, or reducing potential insect or disease
outbreak that may spread to adjacent old-growth forest.
(c) To enhance landscape and patch connectivity in forest
conditions between old-growth condition patches where connectivity is
poor or old-growth patches are isolated.
(d) To retain and promote the development of old-growth conditions
where current conditions are likely to provide old-growth conditions in
the shortest timeframe possible.
(e) To retain and promote the development of old-growth conditions
in watersheds, firesheds, or other relevant landscape units where
existing amounts and distributions of old-growth conditions lack
resilience and adaptability to stressors and likely future
environments.
(f) To retain and promote the development of old-growth conditions
in areas of likely climate refugia that are projected to have the
inherent capability to sustain old-growth conditions.
(g) To promote climate adapted species assemblages in areas where
changing climatic conditions are likely to alter current conditions and
change species assemblages over time.
Plan Monitoring--
The Chief of the Forest Service is responsible for establishing a
National Old-Growth Monitoring Network for the purposes of informing
the continued implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of this
amendment, based on the initial inventory and remote sensing data and
other sources of finer scale information. The National Old-Growth
Monitoring Network will adapt to emerging inventory methods, regularly
update the national inventory of mature and old-growth conditions,
develop analytical processes to interpret trend information, and convey
findings to the field as they relate to implementation of the
amendment. Regions and units will collaborate with the Chief's Office
on the development of approaches to identify old-growth forest
conditions and for effectively verifying estimated abundances and
distributions.
For plan-level monitoring:
1. Within two years, identify initial criteria indicating where
these plan components will apply and include such identification in the
biennial monitoring report or the broader scale monitoring strategy to
be updated as conditions change.
2. Within biennial monitoring evaluation reports, provide regular
updates on actions taken pursuant to this amendment and provide updates
on measurable changes in unit-level old-growth forest conditions when
new information is available.
3. Add the following questions and indicators to plan-level
monitoring programs:
a. Question: Are retention, development, and proactive stewardship
activities implemented under the Adaptive Old-Growth Conservation and
Management Strategy fostering an increasing trend in the amount,
representativeness, redundancy, and connectivity of old-growth forest
conditions on the unit?
i. Indicator: Changes in trends in amounts and distributions of
old-growth forest conditions on the unit.
b. Question: Are vegetation management activities within old-growth
forest promoting the desired composition, structure, pattern, and
ecological conditions?
i. Indicator: Changes in composition, structure, and patterns
related to desired ecological conditions in areas affected by
vegetation management.
This proposed action and other related documents are available for
comment on the project website at <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65356">https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=65356</a>. Additional information can be found on the Forest
Service website for mature and old-growth forests at <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/old-growth-forests">https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/old-growth-forests</a>.
Thomas J. Vilsack,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-27875 Filed 12-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 20, 2023.
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