The Resource Management Plan

Description

The purpose of this section is to describe the Coos Bay District resource management plan (RMP). This section includes descriptions of:

-		Concepts underlying the plan (vision, strategy, and major principles).
-		Land use allocations and resource programs in the plan.
-		Miscellaneous guidance such as coordination and consultation, use of the completed plan, and monitoring.

The RMP was developed partially in response to public comments related to the Bureau of Land Management's August 1992 draft resource management plans for western Oregon. In addition, the plan incorporates the land use allocations and management direction from the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (SEIS). Finally the plan was slightly modified in response to public comments and protests on the September 1994 Proposed Resource Management Plans for western Oregon. The approved RMP incorporates the following nonsubstantive changes from the Proposed RMP:

-		Language revisions intended to clarify some management direction.
-		Language revisions intended to strengthen the link between the approved RMP and the 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl and Standards and Guidelines for Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl.
-		Revisions that incorporate guidelines issued by the Regional Ecosystem Office since the issuance of the 1994 Record of Decision named above. Such guidelines may clarify or interpret the 1994 Record of Decision.

Vision

The Bureau of Land Management will manage land and natural resources under its jurisdiction in western Oregon to help enhance and maintain the ecological health of the environment and the social well being of human populations.

This vision is supported by several basic principles:

-		Natural resources can be managed to provide for human use and a healthy environment.
-		Resource management must be focused on ecological principles to reduce the need for single resource or single species management.
-		Stewardship, the involvement of people working with natural processes, is essential for successful implementation.
-		The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cannot achieve this vision alone but can, by its management processes and through cooperation with others, be a significant contributor to its achievement.
-		A carefully designed program of monitoring, research and adaptation will be the change mechanism for achieving this vision.

Strategy

Lands administered by the BLM will be managed to maintain healthy, functioning ecosystems from which a sustainable production of natural resources can be provided. This management strategy is called ecosystem management and involves the use of ecological, economic, social, and managerial principles to achieve healthy and sustainable natural systems. Ecosystem management emphasizes the complete ecosystem instead of individual components and looks at sustainable systems and products that people want and need.

The building blocks for this strategy are comprised of several major land use allocations—Riparian Reserves, Late-Successional Reserves, and the Matrix which includes General Forest Management Areas and Connectivity/Diversity Blocks. These land use allocations have differing management direction and are located and configured in the landscape to support overall ecosystem function and to meet the vision for management of federal lands in western Oregon. The strategy considers a variety of special purpose management areas such as recreation sites, wild and scenic rivers, and visual resource management areas.

Each land use allocation will be managed according to specific objectives and management actions/direction. During initial implementation of the plan, the stated objectives and management actions/direction will provide the direction and limits that govern actions and also provide the principles that specify the environmental conditions or levels to be achieved and maintained. The stated objectives and management actions/direction will be refined as BLM gains experience in implementing the plan and applying the adaptive management concepts for specific geographic areas.

The major land use allocations of the RMP are as follows:

Land Allocations

Acres ¹

Congressional Reserves

600

Late-Successional Reserves

136,800

District Defined Reserves ²

20,400

Riparian Reserves

89,600

General Forest Management Area

55,300

Connectivity/Diversity Blocks

6,600

Total

309,300

¹	Allocations do not have any overlapping designations.
²	District Defined Reserves include areas designated for Special Management Areas, Existing or Potential Recreation Sites/Areas, TPCC Unavailable Lands, and Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat.

A summary of all land use allocations and management actions/direction is presented in Appendix A.

Maps of RMP land use allocations are located in the accompanying map packet. (Riparian Reserves are not mapped.)

Two major management concepts underlay the objectives and management actions/direction: (1) Ecological Principles for Management of Late-Successional Forests, and (2) the Aquatic Conservation Strategy. These concepts are summarized below.