Table Of Content

BLM LIBRARY 88031707 FORESTS: OUR GROWING LEGACY THE SEEDS OF CHANGE [ DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT N IV$&Z\7oT N^ BLM LIBRARY ^-^ SC-653, BLDG. 50 DENVER FEDERAL CENTER ff\3 P. 0. BOX 25047 DtNVER, CO 80225-0047 UR GROWING LEGACY: THE SEEDS OF, CHANGE T fone word sums up the last few years in the Bureau ofLand Management, the word wouldbe change. JL No doubt about it, this isa time ofchange in BLM. The "new" version ofBLM is betterequipped to meet the challenges ofresource management in the 1990s andbeyond. Many ofour programs that tooka backseat to others have been elevated in the last fewyears. Recreation, cultural resources, fishand wildlife, riparian management and others are receiving more emphasis than everbefore. Forest and woodland management in BLM is changing, too. InJune of 1992, a new initiative called Total Forest Management wasannounced. It represents a majorchange in our timberharvestingphilosophy and practices. The Total ForestManagement initiative is sup- portedby the efforts ofthe Forests: OurGrowingLegacy team that was assembled in 1990 and given the charge to improve BLMs forestry capability and effectiveness. The team tookan innovative approach to complete its task. Before the first issue statement or recommendation was everwritten, the team membersinterviewed hundreds ofemployeesand interest group representatives to gam the insight needed to formulate objectives that will improve forest and woodland management. In effect, the people who were interviewed bec—ame ourpartnersin chartingthe directi—on ofBLM forestry. The product ofthe team's efforts this report and its recommendations reflects the direction that our own employees and people familiarwith BLM forestry thinkwe should be taking. The Forests: OurGrowingLegacy effort is the nuts and bolts ofhow to begin accomplishingthe wide-ranginggoals ofTotal Forest Management. Our top management endorses the recommendations contained in Forests: OurGrowing Legacy. The recommendations represent a change forthe better in forest and woodland 'management and willbe implemented rapidly. We need tobe aware of, and a—ble to adapt, to the changes'takingplace around Us that affect resource management emerging public needs, declining forest health, global environmental issues, new technology, budget capabilitiesand demands forwood products. Forests^ OurGrowingLegacy will help BLM to dojust that. Finally, more than everbefore, we need to manageour forest and woodlandecological systems to enhance biological diversityand supplya sustainable level ofproducts to the public. Oursuccessasan agency,will be measuredbyhowwell we react to new and changing demands, particularly in the next fewyears. Forests: OurGrowingLegacy provides uswith the chance to show ourcapability to manage a dynamic natural resource and prove again our commitment to better serve the needs ofourdiverse publics. Qffl»jJt Mike Penfold Assistant DirectorforLandsandRenewableResources . T AB LE OF CONTENTS BLM's ForestandWoodland Resources The BeginningsofForests: OurGrowingLegacy 3 Forests/Woodlands Issues and Challenges The Goal ofBLM Forest andWoodland Management .' 7 Objective 1 ^ > 8 Objective 2.... • 10 Objective 3...; 12 Objective4....' 14 Objective 5 * , 15 Summary 17 : : Membersofthe Forests: OurGrowingLegacy Team 19 ;