1989 Resources Planning Act Assessment Cycle

1989 Resources Planning Act Assessment

The Forest Service increased its analysis capabilities in all resource areas for the 1989 Resources Planning Act Assessment. A  specialist for each resource area produced a technical document that provided supporting information and analysis to the assessment summary document. A series of documents held detailed supporting technical information. Seven documents reported on the findings in each resource area—wildlife and fish, range forage, outdoor recreation and wilderness, water, timber, minerals, and land base. Five additional documents covered resource interactions, global climate change, programs and responsibilities of the Forest Service, evolving uses of the Nation's resources, and basic assumptions.

Update to the 1989 Assessment

The Forest Service published an update to the 1989 Assessment in 1993. Although the update included new information on supply and demand trends, it mainly focused on domestic and international resource issues. Based on 1989 Assessment findings, the update identified resource issues that had the potential to impact resource availability and use. The agency commissioned studies to further research a subset of those issues; the results of this research are the basis of the update. A technical document supports each issue analysis. Issues studied included biological diversity, recycling, threatened and endangered species, customer diversity and the demand for recreation, forest productivity and climate change, private forest investment, and water quality. 

Last updated July 14, 2026