[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR219.6]

[Page 50-51]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
          CHAPTER II--FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 219_PLANNING--Table of Contents
 
 Subpart A_National Forest System Land and Resource Management Planning
 
Sec.  219.6  Evaluations and monitoring.

    (a) Evaluations. The Responsible Official shall keep the Plan Set of 
Documents up to date with evaluation reports, which will reflect 
changing conditions, science, and other relevant information. The 
following three types of

[[Page 51]]

evaluations are required for land management planning: comprehensive 
evaluations for plan development and revision, evaluations for plan 
amendment, and annual evaluations of monitoring information. The 
Responsible Official shall document evaluations in evaluation reports, 
make these reports available to the public as required in Sec.  219.9, 
and include these reports in the Plan Set of Documents (Sec.  
219.7(a)(1)). Evaluations under this section should be commensurate to 
the level of risk or benefit associated with the nature and level of 
expected management activities in the plan area.
    (1) Comprehensive evaluations. These evaluate current social, 
economic, and ecological conditions and trends that contribute to 
sustainability, as described in Sec.  219.10. Comprehensive evaluations 
and comprehensive evaluation reports must be updated at least every five 
years to reflect any substantial changes in conditions and trends since 
the last comprehensive evaluation. The Responsible Official must ensure 
that comprehensive evaluations, including any updates necessary, include 
the following elements:
    (i) Area of analysis. The area(s) of analysis must be clearly 
identified.
    (ii) Conditions and trends. The current social, economic, and 
ecological conditions and trends and substantial changes from previously 
identified conditions and trends must be described based on available 
information, including monitoring information, surveys, assessments, 
analyses, and other studies as appropriate. Evaluations may build upon 
existing studies and evaluations.
    (2) Evaluation for a plan amendment. An evaluation for a plan 
amendment must analyze the issues relevant to the purposes of the 
amendment and may use the information in comprehensive evaluations 
relevant to the plan amendment. When a plan amendment is made 
contemporaneously with, and only applies to, a project or activity 
decision, the analysis prepared for the project or activity satisfies 
the requirements for an evaluation for an amendment.
    (3) Annual evaluation of the monitoring information. Monitoring 
results must be evaluated annually and in accordance with paragraph 
(b)(2) of this section.
    (b) Monitoring. The plan must describe the monitoring program for 
the plan area. Monitoring information in the Plan Document or Set of 
Documents may be changed and updated as appropriate, at any time. Such 
changes and updates are administrative corrections (Sec.  219.7(b)) and 
do not require a plan amendment or revision.
    (1) The plan-monitoring program shall be developed with public 
participation and take into account:
    (i) Financial and technical capabilities;
    (ii) Key social, economic, and ecological performance measures 
relevant to the plan area: and
    (iii) The best available science.
    (2) The plan-monitoring program shall provide for:
    (i) Monitoring to determine whether plan implementation is achieving 
multiple use objectives;
    (ii) Monitoring to determine the effects of the various resource 
management activities within the plan area on the productivity of the 
land;
    (iii) Monitoring of the degree to which on-the-ground management is 
maintaining or making progress toward the desired conditions and 
objectives for the plan; and
    (iv) Adjustment of the monitoring program as appropriate to account 
for unanticipated changes in conditions.
    (3) The Responsible Official may conduct monitoring jointly with 
others, including but not limited to, Forest Service units, Federal, 
State or local government agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, 
and members of the public.