Forest Management Act [NFMA] Law and Legal Definition
The Forest Management Act refers to the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976, a federal law that governs the administration of national forests.
The NFMA requires that the Forest Service prepare and revise at fifteen-year intervals a Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) for each national forest. It is to assess the use of each part of a forest along with the standards and techniques to achieve those uses. It includes timber production, protection of old growth forest, wildlife protection, recreation. The act requires the Forest Service to adopt regulations for the management of the national forests to insure that timber production does not undercut non-commodity uses of the land. NFMA Planning regulations designs planning process to integrate the many interests concerning the forest.
