Sequoia National Forest - Projects and Plans, Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan

Giant Sequoia National Monument Management Plan

The Giant Sequoia National Monument (Monument) is a publicly owned treasure in California's southern Sierra Nevada. The Monument's diverse geologic formations, ecosystems, and human history hold unique opportunities for public education, scientific study, and recreation. The Monument covers 328,000 acres of the Sequoia National Forest.

The public review period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Management Plan ended in December 2010. We received over 79,000 public comments on the draft documents. Our interdisciplinary planning team, regional experts, and scientists have been reviewing and developing responses to these well thought out and substantive comments. The team has also been working diligently to complete the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Management Plan, including making changes to the documents in response to your comments. Since the last update letter in August 2011, the 2012 Planning Rule was released (January 2012). Though we had planned to use the objections process, the new rule requires that we use the appeal procedures for this project. Please read the latest update letter sent April 9, 2012.

THE SCIENCE REVIEW PROCESS

The Science Review Panel conducted a science consistency review of the FEIS in December 2011 and submitted their report to the Forest Service in January 2012. A copy of this report and the Forest Service response will be available for review in an appendix to the FEIS, on this webpage, and on the Science page of this website when the final documents are published.

Find out more about the Science Review Process by following the Science link in the sidebar to the right.

BACKGROUND

After the first Monument Plan was remanded in 2006, the Forest began the process for developing a new plan to guide the management of the Monument. A significant portion of the planning process has involved public involvement and collaboration. This approach to planning is about sharing power and ensuring the planning process is transparent to all--every step of the way (please see the Forest Supervisor's Message links for Stages 1, 2, and 3 in the sidebar to the right). Since the scoping period and development of draft alternatives, the interdisciplinary team has used your input to develop and analyze the final alternatives. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)and Draft Management Plan were released and available for public comment between August 6 and December 3, 2010. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), the Record of Decision (ROD), and Final Management Plan are expected to be published in July 2012.

Please use the links in the sidebar to the right to explore the background and history of the Monument, the active role Science has in Monument planning and the work of the Science Review Panel, a review of the Mediated Settlement Agreement, and partnership and recreational opportunities in the Monument.

[Thumbnail]: giant sequoia. Giant Sequoia Photo Gallery »
The old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly true when viewing photographs of giant sequoias.