The zone of influence or riparian area typically has a profound effect on the condition of the stream and its bordering vegetation. Failing to protect the riparian zone threatens multiple values such as storage of flood waters, nutrient cycling, water quality, and terrestrial and aquatic habitat. In order to prepare for possible global climate change, a corridor system of suitable habitat should be established within the forest to allow for migration of both plants and animals. The appearance of new plant species within a given tract of forest land may signal a response to climate change, and such shifts in plant distribution should be studied and monitored. NPSO advocates careful, case by case management of forest resources occurring in specially designated lands including Research Natural Areas, Special Interest Areas, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, wilderness areas, relict areas, wild and scenic river corridors, national parks, national monuments, wildlife refuges, Wilderness Study Areas and other special natural areas.
Careful management means no scheduled or salvage logging.
Hazard trees may be upset, but left on site. Many forested wetlands are destroyed during road-building and logging. The focus of adaptive management areas should be on restoration projects rather than production or resource exploitation. Research should be conducted cooperatively by forest scientists and resource managers, and should identify the most efficient management practices compatible with maintaining sustained yields, and removal with minimal degradation to the land. NPSO encourages agencies to manage and monitor the harvest of special forest products, including fungi, bryophytes, lichens and other botanical material collected for commercial or personal use.