Statewide Strategic Forest Resource Planning Programs

Abstract

Strategcc planning of forest resources is an increasingly common government activity in the United States. Lacking clearly defined products of planning programs and experiencing limited conceptual foundations for analysis, attempts to evaluate the costs and benefits of strategic planning becomes a very difficult exercise. Statewide forest resource planning programs imple mented by state governments were evaluated in 1986. Chent-based perspectives were sought with regard to the context within which planning was undertaken, the nature of planning process used, the outputs/benefits of planning, and the overall performance of planning programs.