219.9—Revision.
(a) Application of the revision process.
Revision of a plan is required by 16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5). The revision process is a review of the overall management of a unit of the National Forest System and an opportunity to consider the likely results if plan decisions were to remain in effect.
(2)
Summarize those issues the responsible official determines to be appropriate for consideration ( § 219.4 ), any relevant inventories, new data, findings and conclusions from appropriate broad-scale assessments and local analyses, monitoring and evaluation results, new or revised Forest Service policies, relevant portions of the Forest Service national strategic plan, and changes in circumstances affecting the entire or significant portions of the plan area;
(4)
Evaluate the effectiveness of the current plan in contributing to sustainability ( Secs. 219.19-219.21) based on the information, analyses, and requirements described in § 219.20(a) and (b) and § 219.21(a) and (b), and provide for an independent scientific peer review ( § 219.22) of the evaluation;
(5)
Identify new proposals for special areas, special designation, or for recommendation as wilderness ( § 219.27 );
(8)
Identify and evaluate inventoried roadless areas and unroaded areas based on the information, analyses, and requirements in § 219.20(a) and § 219.21(a). During the plan revision process or at other times as deemed appropriate, the responsible official must determine which inventoried roadless areas and unroaded areas warrant additional protection and the level of protection to be afforded; and
(9)
Develop an estimate of outcomes that would be anticipated, including uses, values, products, or services, for a 15-year period following initiation of the revision process, if the plan decisions in effect at the time the revision process began remain in effect.
(c) Public notice of revision process and review of information.
After the responsible official has compiled the information required under paragraph (b) of this section, the responsible official must give public notice of the plan revision process and make the information compiled under paragraph (b) of this section available for public comment for at least 45 calendar days.
(d) Notice of Intent.
Based upon the information compiled under paragraph (b) of this section and any comments received during the comment period required under paragraph (c) of this section, the responsible official must publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to add, modify, remove, or continue in effect the decisions embodied in a plan. The responsible official must give the public notice and an opportunity to comment on the draft environmental impact statement for at least 90 calendar days. Following public comment, the responsible official must oversee preparation of a final environmental impact statement in accordance with Forest Service NEPA procedures.
(e) Final decision on plan revision.
The revision process is completed when the responsible official signs a record of decision for a plan revision.