Description

Participants in this course learn how to make successful project decisions to implement land and resource management plans using the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA).The interactive workshop is based on the USDA Forest Service 1900-01 course - enhanced and updated..

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to do the following:

• Link the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA)

• Conduct and document environmental analyses resulting in successful decisions that contribute to the implementation of the Forest Plan
• Specify procedures to ensure that land management plans are prepared in accordance with NEPA
• Prepare high-quality, well-edited NEPA documents

Content

We tailor each workshop to meet the needs of the participants. The basic format of the interactive workshop includes the following components:

• Staged Decisionmaking
  Discuss the decisions made in the forest plan and how project-level decisions relate to the forest plan.
• Integration of Public Involvement
  Discuss basic public involvement concepts within the Forest Service. A five-question public involvement framework is introduced for participants to apply and discuss throughout the planning and environmental analysis process.
• Proposed Action, Purpose, and Need
  Participants will examine the process of formulating and writing.
• Environmental Documents
  The framework of NEPA Documentation requirements is presented,including environmental document content requirements for an Environmental Assessment (EA), Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and associated decision documents.
• AMS & EMS Alternatives
  Explore techniques for creating and comparing alternatives, including the use of adaptive management systems (AMS) and environmental management systems (EMS).
• Environmental Effects Analysis
  These units identify direct, indirect, and cumulative effects from past, present, and future activities; quantifying and describing effects; interpreting effects; and addressing uncertainty and risk.

Audience

Participants for this training generally include USDA Forest Service line officers responsible for decisions, and people who participate on and are consultants to interdisciplinary teams that conduct environmental analyses (including ID team leaders, resource professionals, and public affairs specialists).

Process

Forest Plan Implementation is an interactive workshop designed with both new and experienced managers in mind. For optimal learning, class size is limited to 20 participants.This 3- or 4-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following:

• 60% Lecture
• 40% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive a comprehensive workshop manual designed to support the instruction and to serve as an ongoing reference.