Logo Department Name Agency Organization Organization Address Information United States Forest Nez Perce -Clearwater National 903 3rd Street Department of Service Forests Kamiah, ID 83536 Agriculture Supervisor's Office 208-935-2513 Fax: 208-935-4275 File Code: 1920 Date: December 18, 2017 Dear Forest Planning Participant; The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests (Forests) initiated Forest Plan Revision under the 2012 planning rule in early 2012. A notice of intent to revise was published in the Federal Register in July 2014, initiating a comment period on the 2014 proposed action. At this time, the Forests are preparing to develop alternatives. We intend to develop alternatives collaboratively with anyone interested in the process. Alternatives will be developed primarily to respond to the issue statements developed from comments on the 2014 Proposed Action. The identified issue statements concerning unresolved conflicts with the proposed action uses are as follows: Issue 1: The proposed action may not adequately apportion recommended wilderness areas across the Forest. The proposed action may not adequately apportion suitable Wild and Scenic River segments across the Forest. Issue 2: The proposed action may not adequately apportion motorized and non- motorized recreation access opportunities in the frontcountry (Management Area 3) and backcountry (Management Area 2) areas across the forest. Issue 3: Desired Conditions for forest vegetation should be met through natural processes or through active management. The rate of progress towards the desired conditions should occur at a faster or slower pace. Desired conditions should include higher compositions of early seral species and increased or decreased patch sizes and increased or decreased tree densities to meet ecological habitat needs of wildlife species, maintain resiliency of forest vegetation communities and to meet social needs of forest users at a local, regional and national scale. Issue 4: The Potential Timber Sale Quantity (PTSQ) should be increased or decreased to better provide for a balance of ecological sustainability, economic and social resiliency. The maximum regeneration harvest unit size should be increased or decreased. The Forests intends to develop alternatives using the public input. Collaborative and public meetings on alternative development will be ongoing through December, January, and into February. We intend to have alternatives finalized for analysis in early spring 2018. Stay tuned for additional information on ways to participate both in person, by e-mail and through other electronic means! Based on internal and external feedback, we have developed the attachment aid in development of alternatives. This document is not an alternative in itself but is a set of plan components, based on the original 2014 proposed action and modified based on internal and external comments received so far that may be used to develop alternatives. Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper 2 The following text includes several topics with components that have not been fully developed. Some were deferred based on time constraints, such as Recreation Opportunity Spectrum mapping and Scenic Integrity Objectives. Others, such as recommended Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers Suitability and elk security plan components were deferred so that we could develop a full range of alternatives with the public using the best available science rather than predetermining recommendations that would not respond to the issue statements by themselves. Other land allocation decisions such as management area designations, geographic areas designations, suitability determinations and potential timber sale quantities (PTSQ) are also expected to vary by alternative and are only presented in very draft form in this document. We look forward to using these areas as the basis for alternative development. Several locations in the document below include commentary highlighted in red to get the reader thinking about how that section may vary by alternative. Should we have more or less of a particular use? Should we be more or less restrictive for a particular resource? Should we allow more or less of a particular opportunity? What other ways do we have to manage habitat for a species? Do we have the correct balance of economic, ecologic and social considerations for the Forest? Are we appropriately taking into account the connection our local communities have with the Forest? We look forward to having these discussions with you in the near future. Plan components that have been identified by the interdisciplinary team as likely to vary by alternative have been highlighted in grey. We look forward to developing alternatives collaboratively with you, using this document as preparatory work. As you read, please take note of potential variations, modifications or alternate methods of addressing our major issues that could be incorporated into alternatives. Please bring those ideas with you to our collaborative alternative development engagements. For each item that may vary by alternative, please think through the following questions: 1. Are the plan components correct? Should the plan components vary by alternative? How should the plan components vary? 2. Where on the landscape does this apply? How does that land allocation vary by alternative? Alternative development will conclude in late February so that the interdisciplinary team may begin analyzing effects of the alternatives for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in March. The DEIS is scheduled to be released in November 2018, which will initiate a 90 day comment period. The FEIS is scheduled to be released in December 2019 with a planned Record of Decision and Revised Forest Plan in June of 2020. We will continue to update these timelines on our website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning. A collaborative workshop on alternative development will be held in Orofino on January 10th and 11th, 2018. All are invited to attend this two-day session. Additionally, a live webinar will be scheduled for January 9th, 2018 for those wishing to participate remotely. An alternative development workshop in Missoula focusing on recreation, wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers is tentatively planned on January 18th, 2018. More information will be forthcoming. If you are not able to join us in person or virtually during alternative development collaboration, we welcome your input at any time by phone or by emailing: [email protected]. 3 Public participation in land management planning is critical to our success. We look forward to hearing from you and we look forward to having in depth conversations regarding management of your National Forests. I would also like to sincerely thank those that have been involved to date. A special thanks to the Forest Plan Collaborative for helping us to get to where we are today. For more information, please visit our website or contact Forest Planner, Zach Peterson, at 208-935-4239 or [email protected]. Thank you again for your continued participation. We look forward to seeing you soon! Sincerely, Contents Preparing for Alternative Development ......................................................................................... 12 Management Area 1 (MA 1): Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Historic Landmark Areas ................................................................................................................ 12 Management Area 2 (MA 2): Backcountry ...................................................................... 13 Management Area 3 (MA 3): Frontcountry ...................................................................... 13 1 Physical and Biological Ecosystems ................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Terrestrial Ecosystems .................................................................................................................. 13 1.1.1 Across the Landscape .............................................................................................. 13 Goals .............................................................................................................................. 13 Desired Conditions Forest Wide .................................................................................... 14 Guidelines ...................................................................................................................... 14 1.1.2 Forestlands ............................................................................................................... 14 Desired Conditions Forest Wide .................................................................................... 15 Desired Conditions Warm Dry PVT Group ................................................................... 16 Desired Conditions Warm Moist PVT Group ................................................................ 18 Desired Conditions Cool Moist PVT Group .................................................................. 20 Desired Conditions Cold PVT Group ............................................................................ 22 Guidelines for MA2 and MA3 Across All PVT Groups ................................................ 24 Desired Conditions for MA 3 Across All PVT Groups ................................................. 25 Standards for MA 3 Across All PVT Groups ...............................................................