Forest Management Plans

For the Colville and Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forests

The Forest Service is currently revising its long-term management plans for the Colville and Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forests in eastern Washington. The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) requires each national forest to update its forest plans, and to engage the public in the process, every 10 to 15 years.

Learn more about the on-going Wenatchee-Okanogan Forest Plan Revision

Planning rules rollback

In 2005, the Bush administration eliminated important NFMA protections from the forest planning rules, including maintaining species viability and requiring environmental review in forest planning. These rollbacks harm our national forests, including the Colville and Wenatchee-Okanogan.

Planning rules comeback?

In March 2007, in a sweeping blow to the Bush administration, a federal judge ruled illegal the government's rollback of forest management act regulations and protections for forest wildlife and habitat. The ruling forbids the Forest Service from using the 2005 rule to revise forest management plans until the agency has fully complied with US environmental laws. In response, the agency has said that it will correct deficiencies as outlined by the court and is now preparing an environmental impact statement on the regulations.