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Forest Service: Proposed Regulations Adequately Address Some, but Not All, Key Elements of Forest Planning

RCED-00-256 Published: Sep 29, 2000. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 2000.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Forest Service's forest plan, focusing on the extent to which the Forest Service's proposed regulations: (1) make clear the agency's mission priorities before beginning the process of revising a forest plan; (2) link forest plans to agencywide goals, objectives, and strategies; and (3) hold the forests more accountable for key elements of forest planning.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture Although the Forest Service's 1999 proposed planning regulations would help national forests to resolve conflicts among competing uses when developing and implementing forest plans by making clear that ecological sustainability is the agency's highest priority, Congress has never explicitly accepted this as the Forest Service's highest priority. Therefore, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service to work with Congress to ensure agreement on what the agency's mission priorities should be.
Closed – Not Implemented
The Bush administration has proposed forest planning regulations to replace the Clinton-era regulations that were the subject of GAO's recommendation. These new proposed regulations do not address the issues GAO raised in its report. Accordingly, this recommendation is being closed as being no longer likely to be implemented.
Department of Agriculture Since forest plans play a pivotal role in translating the agency's strategic goals, objectives, and strategies into on-the-ground projects and activities, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service to revise the agency's proposed planning regulations to: (1) require national forests to clearly link forest plans to the agency's strategic goals, objectives, and strategies; and (2) blend them with local priorities in revising the forest plans.
Closed – Implemented
In its final revised forest plan regulations issued on November 9, 2000, the Forest Service added or clarified linkage to its strategic plan in several places. However, these changes fall far short of requiring national forests to clearly link their plans to the agency's strategic goals, objectives, and strategies as GAO recommended.
Department of Agriculture While GAO continues to believe that it would be preferable to place the necessary direction and guidance relating to public participation and monitoring in the Forest Service's planning regulations, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service to, at a minimum, revise the agency's system of directives to require the national forests to develop: (1) communications strategies describing how the public and other governmental entities will participate in all stages of revising a forest plan; and (2) comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategies describing how implementation of the plan will be monitored to determine how well their objectives and requirements have been met and how the data will be used to make changes to management decisions. Also, the forests should be required to: (1) involve the public and other interested parties in developing these strategies; and (2) make the strategies available to the public as a basis for holding the forests more accountable for their performance.
Closed – Not Implemented
The Bush administration has proposed forest planning regulations to replace the Clinton-era regulations that were the subject of GAO's recommendation. These new proposed regulations do not address the issues GAO raised in its report. Accordingly, this recommendation is being closed as being no longer likely to be implemented.

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Topics

AccountabilityAgency missionsForest managementNational forestsPerformance measuresStrategic planningForest planLaws and regulationsEcosystemsStrategic plan