Species to Species of Conservation Concern; the Washington Office EMC staff said that guidance on this was forthcoming.

### 4.3 Wilderness

The workshops included a 45-minute presentation and discussion session addressing considerations of wilderness areas in forest planning. The planning rule requires that, as a part of plan development, national forests assess lands for wilderness designation (§219.7). This session focused on a presentation from Forest Service Washington Office staff involved with wilderness and Wild and Scenic River inventories on a recent lessons learned document developed based on wilderness inventory efforts completed by the Flathead, Cibola, Nantahala-Pisgah, Coronado, and Prescott National Forests which can be found on the Lessons Learned Event Library within the Early Adopters SharePoint site (link found in the introduction). This session emphasized the need to engage experts, both from the Forest Service and relevant NGOs, in undertaking wilderness inventorying. One participant suggested that forests should define terms, especially “substantially” and “noticeable.” Several forests cautioned against showing wilderness inventory maps too early in the process, because the public may not react well. Instead, they suggested that forests conduct public meetings before revealing wilderness inventory maps. One participant suggested that forests should include the caveat from the planning directives that the inventory does not denote future implications for particular areas.

### 4.4 Objections

The workshop included a presentation and discussion related to the objection process. Subpart B of the planning rule establishes pre-decisional administrative review, also referred to as objection (§219.50-219.62). Much of the information that was covered can be found in Chapter 50 of the handbook, which provides additional guidance. The objection process provides the opportunity for an independent review and resolution of issues before the plan approval. Experiences shared by workshop attendees suggested that the objection process represents a continuation of the public engagement process, which starts with assessment. Accordingly, workshop attendees suggested that forests should have a plan for the objection process throughout plan development, particularly in terms of relationships with the public, groups, agencies, and stakeholders. Participants noted that project management plans should include guidelines that address timelines and staffing for the objection process. Workshop participants advocated for mindful and deliberate approaches to considering public input and responding to comments to set the stage successfully for objections. Resources available to forests include a national administrative review Sharepoint site, public brochures, a cooperating agency briefing paper, various training materials, Leaders-as-Conveners Workshops, and the Collaboration Cadre.

### 4.5 Broad-scale monitoring

The rule requires “the development of a broader-scale monitoring strategy (BSMS) for plan monitoring questions that can best be answered at a geographic scale broader than one plan area” (§219.12). Members of the team conducting the Region 2/3 BSMS pilot project gave a brief presentation. The Southwestern Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) were in the process of conducting this project, set to be completed in late 2016, in partnership with the Forest Service Washington Office (National Forest System and State and Private Forestry), the Rocky Mountain