FMP should clearly identify the resources necessary to meet planning objectives. The plan and/or the planning analysis can also be used to evaluate both additional investment opportunities as well as the short and long-term consequences of funding or staffing shortfalls. ■ Consider impacts of proposed changes in management. Forest managers are often faced with suggestions for changes to current forest practices and strategies. A well-designed forest planning analysis considers and evaluates such changes, offering insight about short- and long-term consequences of such proposals. Well- designed forest planning tools, furthermore, can be used to evaluate proposals that arise after the initial planning effort has concluded. Monitoring and adaptive management are key to this process and assessing if desired outcomes are being achieved. An FMP provides a platform for addressing new concerns or issues surrounding the management of the forest. In the past decade, for example, managers’ attention has been newly focused on impacts of climate change, hazardous fuels reduction, and forest carbon sequestration. As addressed below, the current plans are not being updated to address these or other rising issues. Forest planning progress on forested reservations FMP development has demonstrated a positive trend and culminated with the completion of FMPs on all trust
During site visits IFMAT listened to tribal forest managers describe their planning process, the forest plan, and their efforts to manage consistently within the forest plan objectives. In general, these discussions indicate that the forest plans were prepared thoughtfully and enjoy the support of the forest managers and tribal leadership. But, the success is limited as funding and staffing issues continue to hamper full implementation of all policies and practices that have been identified in programmatic reviews. This fourth assessment focuses on the following themes: ■ Success in developing forest management plans for those tribes that did not have a plan, ■ Evaluation of the 2015 policy that drops the requirement for periodic updates of forest plans, ■ Interest from tribes to evaluate the forest inventory policies used in the FMIP program, and ■ The management of the FMIP program’s business model and practices. There is great diversity among reservations and our recommendations are necessarily broad. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all forest plan, and recommendations must be taken within this broader context.
also defines an IRMP as a document, approved by an Indian tribe and the Secretary, which provides coordination for the comprehensive management of such tribe’s natural resources and provides direction for the FMP. Ideally, an FMP is a living document that provides the forest manager with several benefits over a long period of time. Here are a few. ■ Authorize management. An FMP specifies the objectives of forest management, identifies the tactics used to achieve those objectives, and establishes practices, schedules, standards and guidelines and contingencies for implementing decisions made in the plan. ■ Establish trust standards. An FMP for tribal forests reflects tribal objectives and vision for the forest. For trust lands, the management objectives and the proposed management set forth the Trustee’s obligation to trust beneficiaries. ■ Resolve issues. A successful forest planning process identifies forest management issues and provides the decision makers with the information needed to find an acceptable resolution. ■ Chart a course for long-term forest management. An FMP clearly lays out a desired future condition and the manager’s expectation about how to move the forest toward that condition. Management is typically described through standards, silvicultural practices, land allocation and a schedule of management activities. ■ Set budget, staffing, and revenue expectations. An
Purpose and benefit of a forest management plan
Forest management plans (FMPs) are required for all Indian forest lands in federal trust status. NIFRMA mandates that all management activities on Indian trust forest lands be consistent with an approved FMP. NIFRMA
124 Assessment of Indian Forests and Forest Management in the United States
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