The objective of this scenario is to let the forests within the MFR develop with minimal human intervention, letting natural processes take the lead in shaping the future forest conditions.

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Key features of this scenario include:

• No standard harvesting each year. Harvesting would only be done for fire smart requirements or safety hazard issues, such as windthrow.
• This scenario option scores lower for Sensitive Ecosystems than Scenario 3 because there would not be any harvesting to maintain the historically more open woodlands.
• There would not be any management activities to encourage “old forest” characteristics, so those forest habitat benefits would take longer to occur than with the active management of Scenario 3.
• The costs would be lower than Scenario 3 because of the lack of consistent harvesting.
• This scenario performs the best in terms of carbon capture and protection of watersheds.
• The opportunity for carbon credits is the highest of the four scenario options.

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