Natural Resource Land Management Planning Using Large-Scale Linear Programs: The USDA Forest Service Experience with FORPLAN

Abstract

FORPLAN (FORest PLANning) is a large-scale linear programming system used to support national forest land management planning. It is available in two versions, and is used extensively to help interdisciplinary planning teams develop forest-wide plans as dictated by the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Nine years of experience clearly show that while the system is working in a technical sense, troublesome issues remain. This paper begins with an overview of how USDA Forest Service planning has evolved. We then give mathematical formulations for portions of FORPLAN models and examples of how the system is used to aid planners on national forests. We present an evaluation of the use of FORPLAN that addresses five criteria including, problems associated with large-scale models and systematic, comprehensive planning, Forest Service organizational issues, the role of foresters in national forest management, and conflicts over competing land uses. We then consider lessons for operations research practitioners. Finally, we discuss a number of conclusions and recommendations, the most important being the need for the Forest Service to more clearly specify the role of forest planning in the overall agency planning hierarchy and the role of FORPLAN in forest planning.