The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) is a series of federal policies and guidelines governing

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

on federal lands in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It covers 10 million hectares within Western Oregon and Washington as well as a small part of Northern California.

History

The NWFP was adopted in 1994 by the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...

as the outcome of a series of studies and hearings that began in 1993;"Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) Overview"
Regional Ecosystem Office, November 28, 2006. (Accessed 2007-02-07.) in response to over-harvesting of old growth forests, threatening northern spotted owl populations. During the development of the NWFP, President Bill Clinton directed 10 federal agencies responsible for forest management, fisheries, wildlife, tribal relations, and national parks to work together with scientists on a region wide forest plan that would be "scientifically sound, ecologically credible, and legally responsible." A multi-disciplinary team of scientists known as the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team was assigned the task of identifying management alternatives that would meet the requirements of applicable laws and regulations, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Federal Land Policy Management Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Goals

The plan provided for five major goals: # Never forget human and economic dimensions of the issues; # Protect the long-term health of

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

, and

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

s; # Focus on scientifically sound, ecologically credible, and legally responsible strategies and implementation; # Produce a predictable and

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

level of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

sales and nontimber resources; and # Ensure that federal agencies work together. The NWFP was originally drafted with the intent of protecting critical

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for the northern spotted owl, though the plan came to include much broader habitat protection goals. The plan is still in effect today and is intended to last for 100 years. Declining northern spotted owl populations led to the plan's implementation. The owl's main source of habitat is old growth forests which have become scarce the last few decades. Not only has over-harvesting of old growth forests led to declining northern spotted owl populations, but also competition from the barred owl. An

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

originally native to the Eastern region of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. A small percentage of

old growth forests An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featu ...

still remain in parts of Washington and Oregon state. The plan has shifted emphasis from logging for economic gain to conservation and preservation of aquatic reserves including endangered fish stocks.

Management

The federal lands falling under the purview of the NWFP are predominantly National Forests, but

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

lands,

National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

, National Wildlife Refuges, and

military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

are also covered by the Plan. In addition, the US forest service holds a lot of the authority and management decision making processes within the plan area. The NWFP is highly controversial in that it called for strongly decreased timber yields within National Forests, Even though the Northwest Forest Plan is implemented to conserve late succession, it is also important that there is a process in the beginning to protect in the early succession of younger trees.

References

External links

Northwest Forest Plan
Regional Ecosystem Office, August 14, 2007. (Official site)
The Survey and Manage Program of the Northwest Forest Plan
Bureau of Land Management, April 2006.
The 1930s Survey of Forest Resources in Washington and Oregon
{{Authority control Forestry in the United States United States federal public land legislation Protected areas of the United States United States Forest Service United States Department of the Interior Forest Plan History of California History of Washington (state) Land use in Oregon

History

Goals

Management

See also

References

External links