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This project evaluated the consistency of individual 

 management plans with planning criteria specified by the Forest 

 Service and BLM. The criteria were based upon existing agency 

 policy and program guidance. 



Our study has led us to a number of findings, conclusions 

 and recommendations that we would like to share with the 

 Subcommittee , 



First, the Forest Service and BLM land management plans do 

 not adequately address the cumulative effects of land management 

 practices on fisheries and other aquatic resources. Agency 

 management plans do not describe existing fish habitat in 

 quantitative terms, nor is the relationship between existing and 

 historic habitat conditions described in a meaningful manner. 

 The result is that managers are unable to predict the response of 

 aquatic ecosystems to land management practices, including timber 

 harvest and road construction. 



There is an increasing scientific consensus that land 

 management plans should identify the relationship between land 

 management activities and cumulative effects on watershed 

 conditions and fish habitat. This must be done by stressing 

 quantitative evaluations of the effects of land management 

 activities on aquatic habitats. Existing plans rarely achieve 

 this objective and only rarely include quantitative standards 



