• A public document that defines management policies and actions in the Cottonwood Field Office Planning Area;
• A means to establish goals and objectives for resource management and the measures needed to achieve those goals and objectives.
• A working guide for BLM staff who are responsible for managing Cottonwood Field Office lands.

• Update the existing management decisions for public lands in the Cottonwood Field Office Planning Area and the resource allocations affecting the Planning Area;
• Incorporate available new data;
• Resolve issues identified during public scoping;
• Integrate or modify uses of public land that have occurred since the 1981 Chief Joseph Management Framework Plan and associated amendments were completed;
• Identify lands that are open and available for certain uses, including any restrictions, and lands that are closed to certain uses; and
• Provide comprehensive management direction for and/or allocate use of all resources.

The RMP will be prepared for all the BLM-managed land within the Cottonwood Field Office Planning Area. Management measures outlined in the RMP will apply only to BLM-managed lands; no measures will be developed for private, tribal, or state lands.

In conjunction with the development of the RMP, an environmental impact statement (EIS) is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Any federal action that may affect the human or natural environment requires compliance with NEPA, and the development of this RMP is such an action. The EIS will evaluate possible environmental and social effects of different management alternatives for the BLM-managed lands in the planning area. Once an EIS is completed, the lead agency (in this case, the BLM) prepares a Record of Decision, a legally binding document that identifies the agency's decision of how it will proceed with the proposed action. The BLM has contracted with Tetra Tech, Inc. to assist BLM in preparing the RMP.