What is in the Multi-Resource Management Plan?
Updated: Dec 21, 2022
The Arch Cape Forest Multi-Resource Management Plan (which you can read here) has been developed over multiple years of collaboration between Ben Hayes with Springboard Forestry and the Arch Cape Forest Advisory committee to satisfy the goals of the Arch Cape Forest, as recommended by the Arch Cape Water District Board of Directors. The plan focuses on forest management around five identified goals of the Forest Advisory Committee. These goals include:
- Water Quality and Quantity
- Affordability
- Community Connection
- Forest Ecology
- Habitat
The Arch Cape Forest Multi-Resource Management Plan is separated into five distinct sections to satisfy the goals identified by the Forest Advisory Committee. The sections of the management plan include:
- Background on the current status and condition of the Arch Cape Forest.
- Objective for achieving or maintaining the forest in relation to identified goals.
- Strategies, actions and tools relating to identified goals.
- Performance measures relating that will indicate accomplishment of objectives.
- Stakeholder input from Forest Advisory Committee.
Section 1: The Plan Purpose section summarizes the purpose of the plan, as well as different types of Multi-Resource Management Plans. This section also outlines the five goals of the Arch Cape Forest, and the four objectives. In the end, the section summarizes the eight policies relating to forest management decisions in the Arch Cape Forest.
Section 2: The Governance section of the plan describes the roles and responsibilities of the District Board of Directors, the three-member Arch Cape Forest Management Committee, and consultants or other land managers. In addition, this section identifies a budgeting and management schedule to achieve forest management goals. The governance section also includes options of property management and responsibilities of a property manager.
Section 3: The Goals and Objectives section describes goals and associated policies for the Arch Cape Forest. This section provides a framework for how the forest and watershed will be managed, and are listed in order of importance to reflect the motivations for acquisition of the Arch Cape Forest. These goals were developed during the initial 2021-2022 management planning process with the Forest Advisory Committee. This section notes that this plan is not a recreational use plan. A separate public access plan will be developed through the National Park Service Planning Framework process – these meetings occur via Zoom and are open to the public. You can find meeting information on the Arch Cape Water District Website here.
Section 4: The Forest Management Activities section outlines proposed management and stewardship activities for the Arch Cape Forest. The activities comply with policies and practices included in Sections 3 and 5 of the Multi-Resource Management Plan. All activities are intended to accomplish the underlying goals of improving or retaining reliable quantities of high-quality source water. Activities discussed in this section include:
- Timber Harvest
- Road Maintenance
- Timber Stand Improvement
- Planting
- Access/ Fire Management.
Section 5: The Management Policies section includes a set of management policies meant to support and ensure the goals and objectives described in prior sections. These policies are intended as a minimum level of watershed protection, and all efforts to provide greater protection for source water and other goals will be considered. Each section discusses the policy at hand and includes the Arch Cape Forest policy recommendation for the specified resource issue.
Timeline for Public Comment: The Arch Cape Forest Multi-Resource Management plan has been presented to the Arch Cape Water District Board of Directors. Between December 19 and January 11, the plan is available for public comment, which can be found here.
A special thank you goes out to Ben Hayes, our contracting forester and the Arch Cape Forest Advisory Committee. The committee, led by Pat Noonan, was comprised of Charlotte Blakesley, Bob Cerelli, Larry Crashaw, David Dougherty, Dale Mosby, and Melissa Reich, worked closely to develop all recommendations made in this Management Plan.