Approach
Following is the basic approach used by Tongass National Forest personnel to conduct the 5 Year Review of the Forest Plan. Direction or guidance to conduct the Review came from the Forest Plan Final EIS and Record of Decision and regulation found at 36 CFR 219.10 (g).
36 CFR 219.10 (g) - "The Forest Supervisor shall review the conditions on the land covered by the plan at least every 5 years to determine whether conditions or demands of the public have changed significantly."
The Tongass Forest Plan, Final EIS, and Record of Decision (ROD) were completed in 1997. A new Forest Plan ROD was issued in 1999 and subsequently set aside in 2001 because of litigation. Another Court decision in 2001 indicated the Forest Plan Final EIS needed to be supplemented to evaluate roadless areas on the Tongass National Forest for wilderness recommendations. This Forest Plan SEIS was completed in 2003. The 2003 SEIS also updated many of the analyses conducted in the 1997 Final EIS. The 5 Year Review addressed potential concerns regarding the Forest Plan and its interpretations and applications that have accumulated between 1997 and 2004.
Potential concerns related to the Forest Plan were identified by the assessment of existing information (like Annual Monitoring Reports), assessment of concerns expressed by Forest personnel and the public, assessment of items noted in the Forest Plan that are to be reviewed in 5 years, etc. Potential concerns were then assessed to determine whether conditions on the land covered by the plan or the demands of the public have changed significantly. The Forest Supervisor used the results of these assessments to make his overall Determination.
The potential concerns identified in the 5 Year Review along with a suite of tools designed to help promote consistent resolution and management of these potential concerns have been used as a foundation for a new Forest Plan Maintenance Program on the Tongass. This new web-based program not only allows for consistent tracking of Forest Plan-related concerns, but also allows for the public to submit new potential concerns to the Forest Service. The program and associated tools will allow for consistent assessment and processing of these new potential concerns in an ongoing manner, rather than limiting this type of assessment to once every 5 years.