    Forest Service: Information on Decisions Involving Fuels
    Reduction Activities (14-MAY-03, GAO-03-689R).

    Human activities--especially the federal government's decades-old
    policy of suppressing all wildland fires--have resulted in
    dangerous accumulations of brush, small trees, and other
    vegetation on federal lands. This vegetation has increasingly
    provided fuel for large, intense wildland fires, particularly in
    the dry, interior western United States. The scale and intensity
    of the fires in the 2000 wildland fire season made it one of the
    worst in 50 years. That season capped a decade characterized by
    dramatic increases in the number of wildland fires and the costs
    of suppressing them. These fires have also posed special risks to
    communities in the wildland-urban interface--where human
    development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildland--as
    well as to watersheds and other resources, such as threatened and
    endangered species, clean water, and clean air. The centerpiece
    of the federal response to the growing threat of wildland fires
    has been the development of the National Fire Plan. This plan
    advocates a new approach to wildland fires by shifting emphasis
    from the reactive to the proactive--from attempting to suppress
    wildland fires to reducing the buildup of hazardous vegetation
    that fuels fires. The plan recognizes that unless these fuels are
    reduced, the number of severe wildland fires and the costs
    associated with suppressing them will continue to increase.
    Implementation of the National Fire Plan began in fiscal year
    2001; full implementation of the plan is expected to be a
    long-term, multibillion-dollar effort. In fiscal year 2001, the
    first year the National Fire Plan was in effect, the Congress
    substantially increased funding for hazardous forest fuels
    reduction--from $108 million in FY 2000 to $401 million in FY
    2001. The Congress continued this increased funding level for
    2002 and 2003. Among the federal agencies, the Forest Service
    receives, by far, the largest portion of these funds. Since the
    National Fire Plan began emphasizing the need to reduce forest
    fuels buildup and the Congress has supported this initiative with
    substantially increased funding, concerns have been raised about
    delays in implementing forest fuels reduction projects.
    Essentially, these concerns focus on whether Forest Service
    decisions to implement specific forest fuels reduction activities
    are being delayed by the appeals and litigation of these
    decisions. In August 2001, we were asked to report on some
    limited aspects of this issue. We provided this information to
    the congressional requesters on August 31, 2001. In 2002, the
    Forest Service also analyzed specific aspects of this issue and
    provided its findings to the Congress. While the subject of these
    reports was the same, the specific objectives and scope of the
    analyses differed considerably. Not unexpectedly, these
    differences led to different analytical results. Accordingly, in
    the summer of 2002, Congress asked us to perform a more
    comprehensive analysis of the issue. Specifically, we determined
    (1) the number of decisions involving fuels reduction activities
    and the number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002, (2) the
    number of decisions that were appealed and/or litigated and the
    number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002, (3) the outcomes
    of the appealed and/or litigated decisions and the names of the
    appellants and plaintiffs, (4) whether the appeals were processed
    within prescribed time frames, (5) the number of acres treated or
    planned to be treated by each of the fuels reduction methods, and
    (6) the number of decisions involving fuels reduction activities
    in the wildlandurban interface and inventoried roadless areas.
    -------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
    REPORTNUM:   GAO-03-689R
        ACCNO:   A06900
      TITLE:     Forest Service: Information on Decisions Involving Fuels
    Reduction Activities
         DATE:   05/14/2003
      SUBJECT:   Data collection
    	     Forest conservation
    	     Forest management
    	     Internal controls
    	     National forests
    	     National Fire Plan

    ******************************************************************
    ** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
    ** GAO Product.                                                 **
    **                                                              **
    ** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
    ** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
    ** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
    **                                                              **
    ** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
    ** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
    ** document's contents.                                         **
    **                                                              **
    ******************************************************************
    GAO-03-689R

    GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction United States General
    Accounting Office

    Washington, DC 20548

    May 14, 2003 Congressional Requesters Subject: Forest Service: Information
    on Decisions Involving Fuels Reduction

    Activities Human activities* especially the federal government*s decades-
    old policy of suppressing all wildland fires* have resulted in dangerous
    accumulations of brush, small trees, and other vegetation on federal
    lands. This vegetation has increasingly provided fuel for large, intense
    wildland fires, particularly in the dry, interior western United States.

    The scale and intensity of the fires in the 2000 wildland fire season made
    it one of the worst in 50 years. That season capped a decade characterized
    by dramatic increases in the number of wildland fires and the costs of
    suppressing them. These fires have also posed special risks to communities
    in the wildland- urban interface* where human development meets or
    intermingles with undeveloped wildland* as well as to watersheds and other
    resources, such as threatened and endangered species, clean water, and
    clean air.

    The centerpiece of the federal response to the growing threat of wildland
    fires has been the development of the National Fire Plan. This plan
    advocates a new approach to wildland fires by shifting emphasis from the
    reactive to the proactive* from attempting to suppress wildland fires to
    reducing the buildup of hazardous vegetation that fuels fires. The plan
    recognizes that unless these fuels are reduced, the number of severe
    wildland fires and the costs associated with suppressing them will
    continue to increase. Implementation of the National Fire Plan began in
    fiscal year 2001; full implementation of the plan is expected to be a
    long- term, multibillion- dollar effort.

    Reducing the buildup of hazardous forest fuels is typically accomplished
    through a number of treatment methods. Most often, federal land managers
    use controlled fires (prescribed burns) or mechanical treatments such as
    chainsaws, chippers, mulchers and bulldozers. Other means include using
    livestock grazing and herbicides. On federal lands, these activities are
    managed by five agencies: the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife
    Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
    all within the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service within
    the Department of Agriculture.

    Page 2 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction In fiscal year 2001,
    the first year the National Fire Plan was in effect, the Congress
    substantially increased funding for hazardous forest fuels reduction* from
    $108

    million in FY 2000 to $401 million in FY 2001. The Congress continued this
    increased funding level for 2002 and 2003. Among the federal agencies, the
    Forest Service receives, by far, the largest portion of these funds.

    Since the National Fire Plan began emphasizing the need to reduce forest
    fuels buildup and the Congress has supported this initiative with
    substantially increased funding, concerns have been raised about delays in
    implementing forest fuels reduction projects. Essentially, these concerns
    focus on whether Forest Service decisions to implement specific forest
    fuels reduction activities are being delayed by the appeals and litigation
    of these decisions.

    In August 2001, we were asked to report on some limited aspects of this
    issue. We provided this information to the congressional requesters on
    August 31, 2001. 1 In 2002, the Forest Service also analyzed specific
    aspects of this issue and provided its findings to the Congress. 2 While
    the subject of these reports was the same, the specific objectives and
    scope of the analyses differed considerably. Not unexpectedly, these
    differences led to different analytical results. Accordingly, in the
    summer of 2002, you asked us to perform a more comprehensive analysis of
    the issue. 3 Specifically, you asked us to determine

    the number of decisions involving fuels reduction activities and the
    number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002,

    the number of decisions that were appealed and/ or litigated and the
    number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002,

    the outcomes of the appealed and/ or litigated decisions and the names of
    the appellants and plaintiffs,

    whether the appeals were processed within prescribed time frames, the
    number of acres treated or planned to be treated by each of the fuels
    reduction methods, 4 and

    the number of decisions involving fuels reduction activities in the
    wildlandurban interface and inventoried roadless areas. 5 To respond to
    your request, we conducted a Web- based survey of all 155 national

    forests. The survey focused on all Forest Service decisions with a forest
    fuels 1 U. S. General Accounting Office, Forest Service: Appeals and
    Litigation of Fuels Reduction Projects,

    GAO- 01- 1114R (Washington, D. C.: Aug. 31, 2001). 2 U. S. Forest Service,
    Factors Affecting Timely Mechanical Fuel Treatments Decisions (Washington,
    D. C.: July 2002).

    3 We received a request from Representative McInnis and Senators Craig and
    Smith in July 2002. We received a separate request from Senator Bingaman
    in August 2002. 4 The same acreage can be the subject of more than one
    decision. 5 Inventoried roadless areas are defined in 36 C. F. R. part 294
    subpart B as *areas identified in a set of inventoried roadless area maps,
    contained in Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final
    Environmental Impact Statement, volume 2, dated November 2000.*

    GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction Page 3 reduction component
    that were issued in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. 6 We obtained a

    100 percent response rate from the national forests, and we have partially
    completed our verification of 10 percent of the reported decisions for
    accuracy.

    In discussions with your staffs, we agreed to provide you with a briefing
    on the preliminary results of our work, with a final report to follow when
    we have completed our analysis and verification. This briefing occurred on
    May 9, 2003. As we pointed out at the briefing, there are some limitations
    to the information provided. First, we have not yet completed our
    verification work, so some of the preliminary information in the briefing
    and this report may change. However, on the basis of the partial
    verification work we have done, we do not anticipate significant changes
    to the reported information. Further, as with any survey, the information
    obtained from the national forests was self- reported, and we were not
    able to independently ensure that all decisions were reported. In
    addition, the Forest Service does not have a common definition of a fuels
    reduction activity. Accordingly, if the Forest Service decision documents
    explicitly stated that the purpose of an activity was fuels reduction, we
    accepted it. Likewise, if the decision documents did not include an
    explicit discussion of fuels reduction, we did not include the decision in
    our analysis. Finally, the Forest Service does not have a uniformly
    applied definition of the wildland- urban interface. Consequently,
    individual forests may have their own definition or no definition at all
    which could result in inconsistent data.

    Enclosure II contains the information we provided during our May 9, 2003,
    briefing with your office. This report briefly summarizes our preliminary
    answers to your questions.

    In brief, the national forests reported the following:

    762 decisions involved fuels reduction activities in FY 2001 and FY 2002.
    The fuels reduction activities in these decisions covered 4.7 million
    acres. The national forests originally reported 851 decisions involving
    fuels reduction activities. Of these, we eliminated 67 because respondents
    did not identify fuels reduction as a stated purpose of the activities. We
    also eliminated 22 decisions because they may not have been issued in FY
    2001 or FY 2002.

    180 decisions were appealed affecting 900,000 acres. These decisions
    represented 24 percent of all decisions or 59 percent of appealable
    decisions. Generally, decisions that were categorically excluded from the
    requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement are not
    appealable; 457 decisions covering 3 million acres were not appealable.
    Conversely, decisions that were issued after preparation of an
    environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement are
    appealable; 305 decisions covering 1.7 million acres were appealable. All
    decisions can be litigated; 23, or 3 percent of decisions were litigated,
    affecting 100,000 acres.

    The outcomes of the 180 appealed decisions and 23 litigated decisions are
    as follows: 6 Our work focused only on national forests, national
    grasslands were not included.

    Page 4 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction o Of the 180 appealed
    decisions, 7 133 required no change before implementation (i. e., the
    Forest Service affirmed its original decision);

    16 were modified to some degree (i. e., the Forest Service allowed the
    decision to be implemented with changes);

    19 were reversed (i. e., the Forest Service did not allow the decision to
    be implemented); and

    12 were withdrawn by the Forest Service, but it was unclear if changes
    were required.

    84 interest groups and 39 private individuals appeared as appellants in FY
    2001 and FY 2002.

    o Of the 23 litigated decisions,

    10 were still in the courts at the time of our survey;

    5 were settled by agreement of the parties;

    3 were reversed, overturning the Forest Service*s decision;

    1 was upheld by the court; and

    the outcomes of 4 were unknown because the respondents did not report
    their status.

    27 interest groups and one private individual appeared as plaintiffs in
    the litigated decisions.

    The national forests processed 79 percent of appeals within the prescribed
    90- day time frame. The national forests reported many reasons for
    exceeding the 90- day time limit 21 percent of the time, including the
    following: in general, staffing was inadequate; insufficient staff were
    available around the holiday season; appeals were backlogged; and
    settlement of some appeals was imminent.

    The national forests planned to use prescribed burning on 3.3 million
    acres and mechanical treatments on 800,000 acres. In addition, the
    national forests reported using other methods on 1.1 million acres (mostly
    because of an annual firewood removal program at one forest). Because the
    same acreage can be treated by more than one method, the sum is greater
    than the total acreage treated.

    The national forests issued 464 decisions involving fuels reduction
    activities in the wildland- urban interface covering 1.5 million acres of
    planned treatments. Of these, 163 were appealable, and 84 were appealed.
    73 decisions involved fuels reduction activities in inventoried roadless
    areas covering 200,000 acres of planned treatments. Of these 73 decisions,
    39 were appealable, and 24 were appealed.

    7 We have not yet analyzed to what extent activities planned under the
    reversed and withdrawn decisions still occurred after problems leading to
    the reversal or withdrawl were resolved.

    GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction Page 5 We provided a draft of
    this report to the Forest Service for its review and comment.

    The Forest Service generally agreed with the information presented in the
    report. In commenting on the report, however, the Forest Service had one
    major concern. Specifically, the agency believes that we should not have
    included a 1 million acre personal use firewood program at one forest in
    the material presented because, in their opinion, it unnecessarily skews
    the data by increasing the amount of acreage with fuel reduction
    activities. However, we did not change the report to omit the information
    because, as the Forest Service agrees, it was reported and documented as a
    fuels reduction project by the agency. Nonetheless, in the interest of
    full disclosure, we highlighted the unique nature of the project in the
    information we are providing, as appropriate. In addition, the agency
    provided some editorial comments that we considered in finalizing the
    report.

    - - - - - As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce its
    contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30
    days after the date of this report. At that time, we will send copies to
    the Secretary of Agriculture; the Chief of the Forest Service; the
    Director, Office of Management and Budget; and other interested parties.
    We will make copies available to others upon request. This report will
    also be available on GAO*s home page at http:// www. gao. gov.

    If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact
    me at (202) 512- 3841 or Cliff Fowler at (202) 512- 8029. Major
    contributors to this report include Carolyn Boyce, Curtis Groves, Roy
    Judy, Nicole Shivers, Patrick Sigl, and Shana Wallace.

    Barry T. Hill Director, Natural Resources and Environment Enclosure

    Page 6 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction List of Requesters

    The Honorable Scott McInnis Chairman, Subcommittee on Forests

    and Forest Health Committee on Resources House of Representatives

    The Honorable Larry E. Craig Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Lands

    and Forests Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate

    The Honorable Jeff Bingaman Ranking Member, Committee on Energy

    and Natural Resources United States Senate

    The Honorable Gordon Smith United States Senate

    Enclosure Page 7 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    1

    Briefing for Congressional Requesters

    Information on Forest Service Decisions Involving Fuels Reduction
    Activities

    Enclosure Page 8 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    2

    Background

    * Decades of well- intended fire management policies have resulted in
    dangerous accumulations of brush, small trees and other hazardous
    vegetation (i. e. forest fuels) on federal lands.  These accumulations of
    forest materials have increasingly provided

    fuel for large, intense wildfires that all too often become catastrophic
    and result in the loss of life and property.

     As a result, addressing the threat of catastrophic wildfires has become
    an overarching theme in managing national forests.  The policy and
    management principles guiding the nation*s efforts in addressing this
    danger are provided in the National Fire Plan.

    Reducing the buildup of forest fuels is a central component of this
    initiative.

    Enclosure Page 9 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    3

    Background (cont.)

     To carry out forest fuels reduction activities, the Forest Service must
    comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
    (NEPA), as well as other statutes.

     NEPA requires the Forest Service, and all other federal agencies, to
    assess the environmental impacts of their major actions that significantly
    affect environmental quality.  As part of the NEPA process, the Forest
    Service generally publishes a document* referred to as a decision
    document*

    detailing the specific activities to be implemented. This document can
    include activities to reduce forest fuels.  Under certain circumstances
    the public can appeal decision

    documents. An appeal is a written document filed with a designated forest
    service official objecting to a decision. The designated forest service
    official renders a decision on the appeal. In addition, the public can
    file a lawsuit with a federal district court objecting to a decision.

    Enclosure Page 10 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    4

    Background (cont.)

     Each decision can include many activities, such as those aimed at
    reducing forest fuels.  In response to the National Fire Plan, the
    Congress appropriated

    hundreds of millions of dollars for the Forest Service to undertake fuels
    reduction activities.  Controversy has arisen about whether the appeals
    and litigation of

    Forest Service decisions delays the implementation of fuels reduction
    activities.  Recent legislative and administrative proposals would revise
    the

    appeals process or exempt certain fuels reduction activities from it.

    Enclosure Page 11 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    5

    Objectives

    We were asked to provide information on: 1) The number of decisions
    involving fuels reduction activities and

    the number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002 2) The number of
    decisions that were appealed and/ or litigated and

    the number of acres affected in FY 2001 and FY 2002 3) The outcomes of the
    appealed and/ or litigated decisions and the

    names of the appellants and plaintiffs 4) Whether appeals are processed
    within prescribed time frames 5) The number of acres treated or planned to
    be treated by each of

    the fuels reduction methods 6) Decisions involving fuels reduction
    activities in wildland- urban

    interface and inventoried roadless areas

    Enclosure Page 12 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    6

    Scope and Methodology

     The Forest Service has no national database of fuels reduction
    decisions, appeals, or litigation.  We consulted with Forest Service
    headquarters, regional, and

    national forest officials on where needed information resides.  We
    conducted a web- based survey of all 155 national forests to

    collect data on decisions issued in fiscal years 2001 and 2002 * the first
    2 years of activity under the National Fire Plan. We did not include
    national grasslands in our analysis.  We had a 100% response rate.  We
    sampled 10% of the reported decisions to verify the accuracy of

    reported data.  We have not yet completed our verification work. On the
    basis of

    work done so far, we do not anticipate any major problems with data
    accuracy.

    Enclosure Page 13 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    7

    Scope and Methodology

     The national forests originally reported 851 decisions involving fuels
    reduction activities. Of these, we eliminated  67 because respondents did
    not identify fuels reduction as a

    purpose of the project. We have not yet analyzed why respondents did not
    identify these decisions as having fuels reduction activities.  22
    because they may not have been issued within the time frame we were
    analyzing. We have not completed verification to ascertain when these
    decisions were signed.

    Enclosure Page 14 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    8

    Limitations/ Caveats

     Information obtained from the national forests was self- reported.
    Therefore, we have no independent assurance that all decisions were
    reported.

     The Forest Service does not have a common definition of a fuels
    reduction activity.  If documentation described the activity as fuels
    reduction, we accepted it in our analysis.  Although the Forest Service
    published a general definition of the the wildland- urban interface in the
    federal register, it is not uniformly applied to all national forests.
    Because verification is incomplete, some numbers presented in this
    briefing may change.

    Enclosure Page 15 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    9

    Results in Brief

     The national forests reported:  762 decisions involving fuels reduction
    activities covering 4.7M acres. 457 decisions (60% of all decisions)
    covering 3M acres were not appealable, and 305 decisions covering

    1.7M acres were appealable.  180 decisions were appealed (0. 9M acres)
    representing

    59% of appealable decisions or 24% of all decisions; 23, or 3% of all
    decisions, were litigated (0. 1M acres).  Of those appealed, 133
    decisions required no change before implementation; 35 required changes;
    and 12 were withdrawn and it is unclear whether changes were required. Of
    those litigated, many were still in the courts at the time of our
    analysis; many appellants/ litigants were interest groups.

    Enclosure Page 16 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    10

    Results in Brief (cont.)

     79% of appeals were processed within the prescribed 90day time frame.
    Reasons given for not processing the appeals within 90- days included
    inadequate staffing, availability of staff around the holiday season,
    appeal backlog, and settlement of the appeal was imminent.

     3. 3M acres were treated, or treatment was planned using prescribed
    burning; 0.8M acres using mechanical methods; 1.1M using other means
    (mostly due to firewood removal at one forest). Because the same acreage
    can be treated by more than one method, the sum is greater than the total
    acreage treated.

     464 decisions (1. 5M acres) involved fuels reduction activities in the
    wildland- urban interface; 73 decisions (0. 2M acres) involved such
    activities in inventoried roadless areas.

    Enclosure Page 17 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    11

    Objective 1: Number of decisions and acres affected

    In FY 2001 and FY 2002, there were 762 decisions involving fuels reduction
    activities.

     There are three kinds of decisions.  Those that were categorically
    excluded (CE) from the preparation of an environmental assessment (EA) or
    an environmental impact statement (EIS). CEs are generally not appealable.
     Those for which an EA was prepared.  Those for which an EIS was
    prepared.

    Enclosure Page 18 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    12

    Objective 1 (cont.)

    Decisions and acreage by decision type: 100 6 30 64 %of total acres 4.7M
    0.3M 1.4M 3M No. of acres

    100 6 34 60 % of total decisions 762 49 256 457 No. of decisions

    Total EISs EAs CEs a a One activity covered by a CE treats approximately
    1M acres under an annual program to allow private individuals to collect
    firewood.

    Enclosure Page 19 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    13

    Objective 1 (cont.) Figure 1: Total decisions and acres, by Forest Service
    region

    Enclosure Page 20 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    14

    Objective 1 (cont.) Figure 2: Regional data on decisions

    Enclosure Page 21 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    15

    Objective 1( cont.) Figure 3: Regional data on acres

    Enclosure Page 22 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    16

    Objective 2: Number of decisions appealed and/ or litigated and acreage
    affected

    Appealed decisions and acreage:  Of 762 decisions, 305 were appealable.

     Generally, decisions covered by CEs are not appealable.  Decisions
    covered by EAs and EISs are appealable.  180 decisions were appealed (59%
    of appealable decisions or 24%

    of all decisions).  63 decisions were appealed more than once* at least
    267 appeals

    on the 180 decisions.  The appealed decisions covered 0.9M acres.

    Enclosure Page 23 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    17

    Objective 2 (cont.) Figure 4: Appeal rates of all decisions and appealable
    decisions by region

    Enclosure Page 24 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    18

    Objective 2 (cont.)

    Litigated decisions and acreage:  Of the 762 decisions:

     23 were litigated (3%) covering 0. 1M acres.  All decisions can be
    litigated.  None of the 457 CEs were litigated.  23 of the 305 decisions
    covered by EAs and EISs were litigated covering 0.1M acres.

    Enclosure Page 25 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    19

    Objective 2 (cont.) Figure 5: Decisions, appeals, and litigation by region

    Enclosure Page 26 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    20

    Objective 3: The outcomes of the appealed and/ or litigated decisions and
    the names of the appellants and plaintiffs

    Appeal Outcomes  Of the 180 appealed decisions:

     133 required no change before implementation.  16 were modified to some
    degree (i. e., the Forest Service allowed the decision to be implemented
    with changes).  19 were reversed (i. e., the Forest Service did not allow
    the decision to be implemented).  12 were withdrawn (the Forest Service
    withdrew the decision, but it was unclear if changes were required).

    Enclosure Page 27 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    21

    Objective 3 (cont.)

    Appellants  A decision can be appealed multiple times. There were at
    least 267

    appeals on the 180 appealed decisions. About 84 interest groups and 39
    private individuals appeared as appellants in the 267 appeals.

     Multiple appellants can appear as parties to an appeal. The 84 interest
    groups appeared about 432 times as parties to the appeals. The 39 private
    individuals appeared about 48 times as parties to the appeals.

     Of the interest groups:  7 groups each appeared as appellants 20 or
    more times: the Alliance

    for Wild Rockies, Ecology Center, Forest Conservation Council, Lands
    Council, National Forest Protection Alliance, Oregon Natural Resources
    Council, and Sierra Club.  Interest groups were most active in Forest
    Service*s Northern, Pacific

    Southwest, and Pacific Northwest regions-- regions 1, 5, and 6
    respectively.

    Enclosure Page 28 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    22

    Objective 3 (cont)

    Litigation outcomes  Of the 23 litigated decisions:

     10 were still in litigation at the time of the survey.  5 were settled
    by agreement of the parties.  3 were reversed, overturning the Forest
    Service*s decision; the Forest Service has appealed one of these to a
    higher court.

     1 was upheld by the court, allowing the Forest Service to proceed with
    the decision.  4 are unknown because the respondents did not report
    outcomes.

    Enclosure Page 29 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    23

    Objective 3 (cont.)

    Litigants  Of the 23 litigated decisions, 27 different interest groups
    appeared

    77 times as plaintiffs and 1 private individual appeared once as a
    plaintiff.

     Of the interest groups:  5 groups appeared as plaintiffs in 4 or more
    decisions: the

    Ecology Center, Sierra Club, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Hell*s
    Canyon Preservation Council, and Native Ecosystems Council.

     Interest groups were most active in the Forest Service*s Northern,
    Intermountain, Pacific Southwest, and Pacific Northwest regions* regions
    1, 4, 5 and 6, respectively.

    Enclosure Page 30 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    24

    Objective 4: Information on whether appeals are processed within
    prescribed time frames

     Appeals must be processed within 90 days of the date a decision was
    legally published  There were at least 267 appeals on 180 decisions:

     At least 212 appeals (79%) affecting 141 decisions were processed within
    90 days.  At least 55 appeals (21%) affecting 39 decisions were not
    processed within 90 days.

    Enclosure Page 31 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    25

    Objective 4 (cont.)

     The national forests reported various reasons for not processing the 55
    appeals within 90 days, including:

     Inadequate staffing  Availability of staff around the holiday season
    Appeal backlog  Settlement of the appeal was imminent.  If an appeal is
    filed, a decision may not be implemented until 15

    days after the outcome of the appeal is determined. However, an *emergency
    mechanism* permits the Forest Service chief to implement a decision even
    if an appeal was filed. This mechanism was not used in FY 2001 or FY 2002.

    Enclosure Page 32 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    26

    Objective 5: The number of acres treated or planned to be treated by each
    of the fuels reduction methods.

    Treatment Methods  3. 3M acres were treated, or treatment was planned by
    prescribed burning.

     0. 8M acres were treated by mechanical treatment (e. g., bulldozers,
    chainsaws, chippers, mulchers).

     687 acres were treated by chemical/ herbicide treatment.  300 acres
    were treated by grazing.  1. 1M acres were reported as *other* treatment
    methods. Most of these acres were for a single firewood program.

     Because multiple treatment methods can be used on the same acres, the
    numbers will not total to 4. 7M acres treated in FY 2001 and FY 2002.

    Enclosure Page 33 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    27

    Objective 5 (cont.) Figure 6: Acres treated or planned to be treated by
    prescribed burning under each decision type

     Of the 3.3M prescribed burning acres:  1. 9M acres were covered under
    CEs.  1. 2M acres were covered under EAs.  0. 2M acres were covered
    under EISs.

    Source: U. S. Department of the Interior

    Enclosure Page 34 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    28

    Objective 5 (cont.) Figure 7: Acres treated or planned to be treated by
    mechanical treatment under each decision type

     Of the 0.8M acres mechanically treated:  0. 2M acres were covered under
    CEs.  0. 5M acres were covered under EAs.  0. 1M acres were covered
    under EISs. Note: Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding.

    Enclosure Page 35 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    29

    Objective 5 (cont.) Figure 8: Acres treated or planned to be treated by
    chemical treatment, grazing, and other methods under each decision type

    Of the 1,060,687 acres treated by chemical, grazing, and other methods:
    1,007,064 were covered under CEs 53,573 were covered under EAs 50 were
    covered under EISs

    Enclosure Page 36 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    30

    Objective 6: Information on decisions with fuels reduction activities in
    wildland- urban interface and inventoried roadless areas

    Wildland- urban interface (WUI) decisions:  Of the 762 decisions, the
    national forests reported 464 (61%) decisions with fuels reduction
    activities in the WUI.

     These 464 decisions covered 1.5M acres (32% of total acreage for all
    reported fuels reduction activities).

    Enclosure Page 37 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    31

    Objective 6 (cont.) Figure 9: Comparison of WUI and non- WUI acreage
    covered by fuels reduction activities

    Enclosure Page 38 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    32

    Objective 6 (cont.) Figure 10: WUI acreage by decision type

     Of the 1.5M acres in the WUI:  1. 0M were covered under CEs  0. 4M
    were covered under EAs  0. 1M were covered under EISs

    Note: Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding.

    Enclosure Page 39 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    33

    Objective 6 (cont.)

    WUI appeals:  Of the 464 decisions involving activities in the WUI (1. 5M
    acres),

    163 were appealable (0. 5M acres).  84 decisions were appealed (0. 2M
    acres).

    Enclosure Page 40 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    34

    Objective 6 (cont.)

    Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA) decisions:  Of the 762 decisions, the
    national forests reported 73 (10%) decisions with fuels reduction
    activities in an IRA.

     These 73 decisions covered 0.2M acres (4% of total acreage for all
    reported fuels reduction activities).

    Enclosure Page 41 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    35

    Objective 6 (cont.) Figure 11: Comparison of IRA and non- IRA acreage
    covered by fuels reduction activities

    Enclosure Page 42 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    36

    Objective 6 (cont.) Figure 12: IRA acreage by decision type

     Of the 240K acres in the IRA:  95K were covered under CEs  129K were
    covered under EAs  16K were covered under EISs

    Note: Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding.

    Enclosure Page 43 GAO- 03- 689R Forest Service Fuels Reduction

    37

    Objective 6 (cont.)

    IRA appeals:  Of the 73 decisions involving IRAs (0. 2M acres), 39 were
    appealable (0. 15M acres).

     24 decisions were appealed (0. 08M acres).

    (360272)
    *** End of document. ***