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Notes

36 C.F.R. §§ 219.8–219.10

3 sections in range

§219.8. Sustainability.

36 C.F.R. § 219.8

A plan developed or revised under this part must provide for social, economic, and ecological sustainability within Forest Service authority and consistent with the inherent capability of the plan area, as follows:
(a)
Ecological sustainability.
(1)
Ecosystem Integrity. The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore the ecological integrity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and watersheds in the plan area, including plan components to maintain or restore structure, function, composition, and connectivity, taking into account:
(i)
Interdependence of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the plan area.
(ii)
Contributions of the plan area to ecological conditions within the broader landscape influenced by the plan area.
(iii)
Conditions in the broader landscape that may influence the sustainability of resources and ecosystems within the plan area.
(iv)
System drivers, including dominant ecological processes, disturbance regimes, and stressors, such as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area to adapt to change.
(v)
Wildland fire and opportunities to restore fire adapted ecosystems.
(vi)
Opportunities for landscape scale restoration.
(2)
Air, soil, and water. The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore:
(i)
Air quality.
(ii)
Soils and soil productivity, including guidance to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation.
(iii)
Water quality.
(iv)
Water resources in the plan area, including lakes, streams, and wetlands; ground water; public water supplies; sole source aquifers; source water protection areas; and other sources of drinking water (including guidance to prevent or mitigate detrimental changes in quantity, quality, and availability).
(3)
Riparian areas.
(i)
The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore the ecological integrity of riparian areas in the plan area, including plan components to maintain or restore structure, function, composition, and connectivity, taking into account:
(A)
Water temperature and chemical composition;
(B)
Blockages (uncharacteristic and characteristic) of water courses;
(C)
Deposits of sediment;
(D)
Aquatic and terrestrial habitats;
(E)
Ecological connectivity;
(F)
Restoration needs; and
(G)
Floodplain values and risk of flood loss.
(ii)
Plans must establish width(s) for riparian management zones around all lakes, perennial and intermittent streams, and open water wetlands, within which the plan components required by paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section will apply, giving special attention to land and vegetation for approximately 100 feet from the edges of all perennial streams and lakes.
(A)
Riparian management zone width(s) may vary based on ecological or geomorphic factors or type of water body; and will apply unless replaced by a site-specific delineation of the riparian area.
(B)
Plan components must ensure that no management practices causing detrimental changes in water temperature or chemical composition, blockages of water courses, or deposits of sediment that seriously and adversely affect water conditions or fish habitat shall be permitted within the riparian management zones or the site-specific delineated riparian areas.
(4)
Best management practices for water quality. The Chief shall establish requirements for national best management practices for water quality in the Forest Service Directive System. Plan components must ensure implementation of these practices.
(b)
Social and economic sustainability. The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to guide the plan area's contribution to social and economic sustainability, taking into account:
(1)
Social, cultural, and economic conditions relevant to the area influenced by the plan;
(2)
Sustainable recreation; including recreation settings, opportunities, and access; and scenic character;
(3)
Multiple uses that contribute to local, regional, and national economies in a sustainable manner;
(4)
Ecosystem services;
(5)
Cultural and historic resources and uses; and
(6)
Opportunities to connect people with nature.
Notes, amendments, and revision history

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]

Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 1604, 1613.

Source

Source: 77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]

§219.9. Diversity of plant and animal communities.

36 C.F.R. § 219.9

This section adopts a complementary ecosystem and species-specific approach to maintaining the diversity of plant and animal communities and the persistence of native species in the plan area. Compliance with the ecosystem requirements of paragraph (a) of this section is intended to provide the ecological conditions to both maintain the diversity of plant and animal communities and support the persistence of most native species in the plan area. Compliance with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section is intended to provide for additional ecological conditions not otherwise provided by compliance with paragraph (a) of this section for individual species as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. A plan developed or revised under this part must provide for the diversity of plant and animal communities, within Forest Service authority and consistent with the inherent capability of the plan area, as follows:
(a)
Ecosystem plan components.
(1)
Ecosystem integrity. As required by § 219.8(a), the plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore the ecological integrity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and watersheds in the plan area, including plan components to maintain or restore their structure, function, composition, and connectivity.
(2)
Ecosystem diversity. The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore the diversity of ecosystems and habitat types throughout the plan area. In doing so, the plan must include plan components to maintain or restore:
(i)
Key characteristics associated with terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem types;
(ii)
Rare aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal communities; and
(iii)
The diversity of native tree species similar to that existing in the plan area.
(b)
Additional, species-specific plan components.
(1)
The responsible official shall determine whether or not the plan components required by paragraph (a) of this section provide the ecological conditions necessary to: contribute to the recovery of federally listed threatened and endangered species, conserve proposed and candidate species, and maintain a viable population of each species of conservation concern within the plan area. If the responsible official determines that the plan components required in paragraph (a) are insufficient to provide such ecological conditions, then additional, species-specific plan components, including standards or guidelines, must be included in the plan to provide such ecological conditions in the plan area.
(2)
If the responsible official determines that it is beyond the authority of the Forest Service or not within the inherent capability of the plan area to maintain or restore the ecological conditions to maintain a viable population of a species of conservation concern in the plan area, then the responsible official shall:
(i)
Document the basis for that determination (§ 219.14(a)); and
(ii)
Include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore ecological conditions within the plan area to contribute to maintaining a viable population of the species within its range. In providing such plan components, the responsible official shall coordinate to the extent practicable with other Federal, State, Tribal, and private land managers having management authority over lands relevant to that population.
(c)
Species of conservation concern. For purposes of this subpart, a species of conservation concern is a species, other than federally recognized threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, that is known to occur in the plan area and for which the regional forester has determined that the best available scientific information indicates substantial concern about the species' capability to persist over the long-term in the plan area.
Notes, amendments, and revision history

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]

Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 1604, 1613.

Source

Source: 77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]

§219.10. Multiple use.

36 C.F.R. § 219.10

While meeting the requirements of §§ 219.8 and 219.9, a plan developed or revised under this part must provide for ecosystem services and multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife, and fish, within Forest Service authority and the inherent capability of the plan area as follows:
(a)
Integrated resource management for multiple use. The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, for integrated resource management to provide for ecosystem services and multiple uses in the plan area. When developing plan components for integrated resource management, to the extent relevant to the plan area and the public participation process and the requirements of §§ 219.7, 219.8, 219.9, and 219.11, the responsible official shall consider:
(1)
Aesthetic values, air quality, cultural and heritage resources, ecosystem services, fish and wildlife species, forage, geologic features, grazing and rangelands, habitat and habitat connectivity, recreation settings and opportunities, riparian areas, scenery, soil, surface and subsurface water quality, timber, trails, vegetation, viewsheds, wilderness, and other relevant resources and uses.
(2)
Renewable and nonrenewable energy and mineral resources.
(3)
Appropriate placement and sustainable management of infrastructure, such as recreational facilities and transportation and utility corridors.
(4)
Opportunities to coordinate with neighboring landowners to link open spaces and take into account joint management objectives where feasible and appropriate.
(5)
Habitat conditions, subject to the requirements of § 219.9, for wildlife, fish, and plants commonly enjoyed and used by the public; for hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, observing, subsistence, and other activities (in collaboration with federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, other Federal agencies, and State and local governments).
(6)
Land status and ownership, use, and access patterns relevant to the plan area.
(7)
Reasonably foreseeable risks to ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
(8)
System drivers, including dominant ecological processes, disturbance regimes, and stressors, such as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and the ability of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area to adapt to change (§ 219.8);
(9)
Public water supplies and associated water quality.
(10)
Opportunities to connect people with nature.
(b)
Requirements for plan components for a new plan or plan revision.
(1)
The plan must include plan components, including standards or guidelines, to provide for:
(i)
Sustainable recreation; including recreation settings, opportunities, and access; and scenic character. Recreation opportunities may include non-motorized, motorized, developed, and dispersed recreation on land, water, and in the air.
(ii)
Protection of cultural and historic resources.
(iii)
Management of areas of tribal importance.
(iv)
Protection of congressionally designated wilderness areas as well as management of areas recommended for wilderness designation to protect and maintain the ecological and social characteristics that provide the basis for their suitability for wilderness designation.
(v)
Protection of designated wild and scenic rivers as well as management of rivers found eligible or determined suitable for the National Wild and Scenic River system to protect the values that provide the basis for their suitability for inclusion in the system.
(vi)
Appropriate management of other designated areas or recommended designated areas in the plan area, including research natural areas.
(2)
Other plan components for integrated resource management to provide for multiple use as necessary.
Notes, amendments, and revision history

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]

Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 1604, 1613.

Source

Source: 77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

Amendments

[77 FR 21260, Apr. 9, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 90737, Dec. 15, 2016]