Special Area designation established through the Bureau’s land use planning process (43 CFR 1610.7-2) where special management attention is needed to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historical, cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources, or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from natural hazards. The level of allowable use within an ACEC is established through the collaborative planning process. Designation of an ACEC allows for resource use limitations in order to protect identified resources or values.

The amount of timber that may be sold within a certain time period from an area of suitable land. The suitability of the land and the time period are specified in the Forest Plan.

The quantity of forage required by one mature cow and her calf (or the equivalent, in sheep or horses, for instance) for one month.

A suite of techniques that guide, or may be applied to, management actions to aid in achieving desired outcomes. Best management practices are often developed in conjunction with land use plans, but they are not considered a land use plan decision unless the land use plan specifies that they are mandatory. They may be updated or modified without a plan amendment if they are not mandatory.

Federal land management agency established by Federal Lands Policy Management Act. The BLM manages more land – 258 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.8 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, and cultural resources on the public lands.

Conservation Agreement

A category of actions (identified in agency guidance) that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment, and for which neither an environmental assessment nor an EIS is required (40 CFR 1508.4).

Code of Federal Regulations

Areas that have been inventoried and proposed for Wilderness designation by citizens.

A Forest Service planning document that evaluates ecological, social, and economic conditions and trends that contribute to sustainability.