Notice of the Preparation of the Ozark/Ouachita Highlands Assessment and the Beginning of Forest Plan Revision Efforts for the Ouachita, Ozark-St. Francis, and Mark Twain National Forests

الملخص

This Notice announces the U.S. Forest Service's participation in the preparation of the Ozark/Ouachita Highlands Assessment (OOHA). The Assessment is being prepared by the Southern and Eastern Regions of the National Forest System, the Southern Research Station, and the North Central Forest Experiment Station, in cooperation with other Federal and State agencies, in order to compile information about regional conditions and trends relevant to upcoming revisions of the land and resource management plans of three National Forests. Assessment findings will help establish the need for any changes in National Forest land and resource management plans and, possibly, land management plans of some other public lands in the Ozark/Ouachita Highlands. National Forest lands within the study area include those of the Ouachita, Ozark-St. Francis, and Mark Twain National Forests, totalling nearly 4.5 million acres. Other federal lands within the assessment area include National Park Service lands (Hot Springs National Park, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Buffalo National River, and several smaller untis); more than 20 reservoirs managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including Lake Ou