STRATEGIC GOALS 8c ACTIONS 



This section of the plan sets forth the Forest Service's strategic 

 goals to protect forest health. Twelve strategic goals have been 

 identified, along with appropriate actions. Each goal is a state- 

 ment of the ultimate desired condition. Each goal is supported 

 by rationale statements that explain the basis for the goal and 

 actions. 



The 12 strategic goals address planning, prevention, suppression, 

 environmental analysis, pesticides, forest protection technology, 

 forest health monitoring, forest health restoration, management 

 of introduced forest pests, exclusion of exotic forest pests, inter- 

 national cooperation in forest health protection, and public in- 

 volvement. The first eight goals are continued from the 1988 

 Forest Health Strategic Plan. These goals, identified as "issues" in 

 the 1988 plan, are restated as goals, and rationale statements and 

 actions for these goals have been revised. The strategic goals 

 were developed by reviewing forest health concerns, the new and 

 existing threats of introduced pests, and new Forest Service em- 

 phasis on ecosystem management and an expanded international 

 forestry role. Actions are identified to achieve each goal. Some of 

 the actions require further analysis and the consideration of alter- 

 native procedures before they will be ready for implementation. 



Planning 



GOAL 



The ecological significance of pests and wildfire is 

 considered in all forest resource management 

 planning processes. 



RATIONALE 



Failure to consider the ecological significance of pests and wild- 

 fire can result in resource management objectives (including 

 timber, wildlife, recreation, wilderness, and water) not being met 

 and problems that are difficult and expensive to correct. Not 

 considering pests and wildfire in forest planning processes will 

 result in overly optimistic assumptions about forest health and in 

 the use of emergency measures that are usually expensive and 

 do not provide a long-term solution. In the past, forest resource 

 planning processes have focused on what will be done after a pest 

 epidemic occurs, rather than on changing or avoiding ecosystem 

 conditions that favor pest epidemics. 



Healthy Forests for America 's Future — A Strategic Plan 23 



