NATIONAL FORESTS: Information on the Process and Data Used to Revise the Chugach Forest Plan
Abstract
Located on the south-central Alaska coast, the Chugach National Forest (Chugach) is the second largest of the 155 forests in the National Forest System and stretches across an immensely varied and scenic area about the size of New Jersey. The Forest Service is required by law to develop a comprehensive, long-range management plan for each national forest. These plans, commonly called forest plans, must provide for multiply, and sometimes competing, public uses in each forest, such as fishing, mining, timbering, and preserving wildlife. The plans must be revised at least every 15 years. Forest plans reflect difficult and often controversial trade-offs among competing forest uses. In developing a forest plan, the Forest Service analyzes data on various potential uses of the forest's lands and resources in order to determine the most appropriate combination of the potential uses. Forest Service officials began revising the Chugach forest plan in 1997. The agency issued a draft revised plan for public comment in September 2000 and a final revised plan in May 2002. In this report, we discuss the (1) process the Forest Service used to revise the Chugach forest plan, (2) actions it took to solicit and respond to key public concerns about the plan's revision, and (3) data and analyses it used to develop the draft revised plan and whether any limitations in these data and analyses were appropriately disclosed in the final plan. In addition, in appendix I, we discuss differing views on whether the Forest Service has the legal authority to recommend lands within the Chugach for wilderness designation as part of its forest plan revision process. Some interested parties believe that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) prohibits the Forest Service from making any such recommendations. On the other hand, the Forest Service maintains that it may do so without violating the act.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA404194
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office