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Environmental Management

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01-03-2021

Can Forest Managers Plan for Resilient Landscapes? Lessons from the United States National Forest Plan Revision Process

Authors: Jesse Abrams, Michelle Greiner, Courtney Schultz, Alexander Evans, Heidi Huber-Stearns

Published in: Environmental Management | Issue 4/2021

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Abstract

The United States Forest Service, a federal agency entrusted with managing 78 M hectares of national forestlands under a broad multiple-use mandate, has seen recent shifts in policy direction emphasizing ecological restoration, consideration of climate change impacts, and a focus on managing for resilient landscapes. The process of revising the comprehensive plans guiding national forest management presents opportunities to reorient objectives, activities, and commitments toward these goals. Here we analyze case studies of three national forests that have completed the forest plan revision process since 2014: the Francis Marion National Forest in coastal South Carolina, the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona, and the Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado. We analyze plan revision participants’ perspectives on the opportunities and barriers to reorienting national forest management toward resilient landscapes and the broader political, social, and institutional factors that influence these dynamics. Key opportunities included better promoting resilient landscape objectives by revising fire management guidelines, incorporating scientific data and modeling from multiple agency and non-agency partners, and building opportunities for adaptive management via long-term trust networks. Major barriers included inconsistent higher-level support for resilience objectives, an emphasis on meeting narrow quantitative performance targets, and under-investments in monitoring.

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Title: Can Forest Managers Plan for Resilient Landscapes? Lessons from the United States National Forest Plan Revision Process
Authors: Jesse Abrams
Michelle Greiner
Courtney Schultz
Alexander Evans
Heidi Huber-Stearns
Publication date: 01-03-2021
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Environmental Management / Issue 4/2021
Print ISSN: 0364-152X
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01451-4

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