It has been 17 years since the Wayne National Forest created a plan for the land. Now, they're selecting a brand-new plan, which residents will have a chance to learn about and even help shape on Thursday.

"It's like having a zoning plan for a city," said WNF Ironton District Ranger Gloria Chrismer. "We have different management areas, and we're just deciding how we're going to manage those areas."

Locals will be able to give their input on area management during an open house that will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Ironton Ranger Station off State Route 93.

Chrismer said that everyone will find an issue of interest to them being dealt with in the plan.

"We updated some things like vegetation management and harvest techniques," Chrismer said. "We going to be dealing with more prescribed fire, it is going to set a ceiling on the amount of timber we will cut down each year."

Those who want to lease forest land for oil and gas development will be happy to hear that the new plan will cut out one of the three steps of that process.

Also of interest to 4-wheeling fans is the way in which the plan will affect their off-road recreation opportunities.

Any member of the public may attend.

Chrismer is quick to point out that there will be no speeches, just one-on-one conversations between forest specialists and locals, which she hopes will create a comfortable environment for visitors to learn and mold the forest's future.