Opinion ID: 170421
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The National Forest Management Act (NFMA)

Text: The National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) requires that the Forest Service develop a land and resource management plan, commonly known as a forest plan, for each unit of national forest. UEC III, 443 F.3d at 736; 16 U.S.C. § 1604(a), (e), (g)(3)(B). Each forest plan accounts for various interests and uses, including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish, and wilderness, and provides for `diversity of plant and animal communities based on the suitability and capability of the specific land area.' UEC III, 443 F.3d at 737 (quoting 16 U.S.C. § 1604(g)(3)(B) and (e)(1)). The Forest Service must adhere to the forest plan when approving or disapproving particular projects, each of which must comply with the applicable forest plan. Utah Envt'l Cong. v. Troyer, 479 F.3d 1269, 1272 (10th Cir.2007) ( UEC IV ) (quoting UEC III, 443 F.3d at 737) (quotation marks omitted). Thus, the NFMA requires the Forest Service to develop broad directives for management of a given forest and to consider individual projects within the context of this forestwide management plan. Silverton Snowmobile Club v. U.S. Forest Serv., 433 F.3d 772, 785 (10th Cir.2006). Additionally, [t]he Secretary of Agriculture has promulgated a number of regulations that set forth the procedures for planning under the NFMA. The first set of regulations . . . was implemented in 1982. Utah Envt'l Cong. v. Richmond, 483 F.3d 1127, 1131 (10th Cir.2007) (citation omitted) ( UEC V ). The 1982 forest planning regulations . . . were superseded in November 2000, when new regulations were promulgated. Ecology Ctr. Inc. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 451 F.3d 1183, 1190 (10th Cir.2006). However, [t]he 2000 planning rules were not immediately promulgated. Instead, the new regulations contained transition provisions which provided that, beginning on November 9, 2000, until the promulgation of the new, final rule, the Forest Service should consider `the best available science in implementing a forest plan.' UEC III, 443 F.3d at 737 (footnote and citation omitted). Accordingly, we have since held that site-specific project decisions made from November 9, 2000 to January 5, 2005, that implemented pre-November 9, 2000 forest plans, were to be made only under the `best available science' standard. UEC V, 483 F.3d at 1132.