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Northwest Forest Plan, Survey and Manage requirements, Bush Rollbacks
Conservation Science Initiative
SURVEY AND MANAGE REQUIREMENTS IN THE NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN
The Survey and Manage requirement of the Northwest Forest Plan ensures that land managers will complete wildlife surveys for rare species associated with older forests prior to approving a timber sale. The program complements the reserve network of the plan by ensuring that old-growth species occurring in areas scheduled for logging (outside reserves) are afforded protective buffers.
In 2004, the Bush Administration refused to defend the Northwest Forest Plan from a lawsuit brought by the timber industry. As part of the settlement of that lawsuit, the administration agreed to remove the Survey and Manage requirements to allow more logging, potentially impacting hundreds of species associated with older forests.
The National Center organized a special feature on the 10-year anniversary of the Northwest Forest Plan published in the well-respected journal, Conservation Biology, that includes an article on the importance of the survey and manage program. In addition, we have been working with conservation groups that have challenged the Survey and Manage rollbacks, providing scientific counsel that is being used to reinstate the protections through recent court decisions.
Photo by Kevin Schafer.
