Public review is underway of the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed revisions for managing 4.9 million acres of national forests across the Blue Mountains.

The agency recently unveiled its draft Environmental Impact Statement and updated Forest Plan for the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur forests, which also covers a portion of the Ochoco National Forest administered by the Malheur.

A Forest Plan ultimately guides land management decisions in the woods based on three overarching goals: social, economic and ecological well-being. That means balancing access and recreation for users; timber harvest and livestock grazing for producers; and healthy habitat for fish and wildlife.

Plans are revised about every 15 years to take advantage of new scientific research and planning, said Wallowa-Whitman Forest Supervisor John Laurence. Each forest in the Blue Mountains will get its own management plan, but they are joined together under one environmental analysis.

And, while a Forest Plan itself does not approve site-specific projects, it does provide the framework and context for managers to achieve desired conditions.

“It’s about developing a strategy for maintaining public lands,” Laurence said. “Some desired conditions could take decades to get where we want them, depending on the landscape.”

Residents have 90 days from March 14 to submit comments about the documents, though Laurence said the period will likely be extended. In addition, the Forest Service is holding public hearings across Eastern Oregon and Washington to provide additional information.

Meetings are coming Tuesday, April 1 to the Pendleton Convention Center and Wednesday, April 2 to Heppner City Hall. All hearings run from 5:30 — 8:30 p.m., including an open house, presentation and time for questions.

Laurence encouraged people to be thoughtful and specific with their comments, as they consider alternatives to address the issues.

One major concern is the threat of closing roads and restricting access. Forest Access for All, a group based in Baker City dedicated to keeping public lands open, believes the plan — if approved — will provide the foundation for closing more roads in the Blue Mountains.

Member John George pointed to a section in the Wallowa-Whitman plan outlining roads and trails access. In particular, the plan’s desired condition calls for reducing road density in order to reduce road-related sedimentation. The plan calls for reducing road density in certain watersheds to 1 mile of road per square mile, or less.

“They’re putting in basic tenants now, so when they want to go do travel management again they’ll have the forest plan to fall back on,” George said.

FAFA is encouraging people to attend the public meetings and consider the potential for restricted access under the plan, George said.

“For as much as locals value their use of the mountains, they ought to think about how this looks for their children and grandchildren,” he said. “They need to ask how this revision will affect their opportunity to access an open forest. That’s really the key.”

The Umatilla National Forest already employs travel management, but the Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur remain open forests, George said. That could be in jeopardy with this plan.

Laurence again emphasized the plan itself will not close any roads.

“People are very concerned about access. They’re passionate about the forests here in the Blue Mountains,” he said. “This plan doesn’t open or close roads. That takes specific project-level decisions to do that. If it gets to that point, it will be open for concerns and objection.”

The Proposed Revised Forest Plan and draft Environmental Impact Statement can be downloaded online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/BlueMtnsPlanRevision. A limited number of printed copies are available by request by emailing bluemtnplanrevision@fs.fed.us, calling 541-523-1302 or 541-523-1246.

Comments can be submitted online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/BlueMountainForestPlanRevisionComments. Written comments can be submitted to the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision Team, Box 907 in Baker City.

Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4547.

This story originally appeared in East Oregonian.