The Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative is hosting a webinar with Peter Nelson, Senior Policy Advisor with Defenders of Wildlife in Bozeman, Montana. He was extensively involved in the development of the 2012 Planning Rule, serves on the Federal Advisory Committee tracking implementation of the Rule, and is working on forest plan revisions across the National Forest System, including those within the Northern Rockies.  

The 2012 Forest Service Planning Rule guides the management of national forest lands through the preparation and implementation of forest plans. The 2012 Planning Rule includes direction for managing for ecological connectivity on national forest lands and facilitating connectivity planning across land ownerships – the first such requirements in the history of U.S. public land management. The pending revisions of most forest plans provide a significant opportunity to protect and enhance the diversity of habitat and wildlife on national forest lands by developing forest plans that promote the conservation and restoration of ecological connectivity.

This presentation summarizes information on the role of connectivity within the conservation framework of the 2012 Planning Rule and presents recommendations and examples of how to develop effective connectivity conservation strategies within the forest planning process.