The National Forests in North Carolina has released the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests’ revised forest plan and the revision process has entered the final phase, a 60-day objection period for parties who submitted substantive comments during development of the plan. Once any objections have been resolved, the forest plan will be finalized, and implementation can begin.
The revised plan takes a whole ecosystem focus, using a science-based approach to address shortages in young forest, old growth forest, and open forest conditions and the control of nonnative invasive species. It also emphasizes use of prescribed burns to restore fire-adapted ecosystems. For every ecological community in the forest, the plan has an identified set of desired conditions, a vision for what it will be once the goals are fully achieved. The plan addresses the impacts of development pressure on adjacent private lands; unprecedented increase in recreation; the growth of wildland urban interface; the spread of insects, disease, and invasive species; and the escalating impacts from climate change. In this time of accelerated change, ensuring our forest ecosystems are healthy and resilient is critical to long-term sustainability of the diverse habitats these forests provide for wildlife and plants, and for supplying the clean water and other ecosystem benefits.
The plan is built on significant public engagement and the best available science to guide forest management for the next 15-20 years. Public comments were used to improve the revised plan and are no longer being accepted. The revised forest plan, environmental impact statement, and the legal notice for the specific requirements for filing an objection are available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/nprevision.
