The National Forest Management Act of 1976 established a planning process by which national forestland would be divided into zones by use, and given standards and guidelines to regulate those uses. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 accomplishes a similar goal for a separate set of lands. Following a series of deadly wildfire years, 2003’s Healthy Forests Restoration Act contributed further to the regulatory framework for forest management out of a concern for fire prevention. It imposed management mandates, facilitated the use of dead wood for timber and energy production, and established research money and grants for biomass energy, which all have significant climate co-benefits. The Forest Service adopted regulations in 2012 which require that national forest management plans be consistent with the Forest Service’s National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change. The regulations require a baseline assessment of carbon stocks, define carbon storage as an ecosystem service, and require new forest management plans to assess the carbon stocks for each national forest and identify the tracking of carbon stocks as a key management objective. To this end, the Forest Service Land Management Planning Handbook requires planners to identify influences on carbon stocks, such as insects, management, and wildfire. Despite their availability, uptake of these planning tools to actually manage federal forests effectively for carbon sequestration has been slow.