United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-06-28 monographic deposited born digital 20 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-1016T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T P0b002ee180375951 f:d071016t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T GAO-07-1016T Environmental assessment Environmental impact statements Environmental law Forest management National forests Policy evaluation Program evaluation Testimony A71614 The Forest Service manages over 192 million acres of land, often conducting a variety of vegetation management projects such as thinning trees. Before approving projects that may significantly affect the environment, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) generally requires the Forest Service to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS). However, the Forest Service can decide not to prepare an EA or EIS if the project involves categories of activities that it previously found to have no significant environmental effect (categorical exclusions). As of 2003, the Forest Service had established one such exclusion affecting vegetation management projects and has since added four new ones. This testimony is based on GAO's report, Forest Service: Use of Categorical Exclusions for Vegetation Management Projects, Calendar Years 2003 through 2005 (GAO-07-99). For vegetation management during these years, GAO determined (1) how many projects the Forest Service approved, including those approved using categorical exclusions; (2) which categorical exclusions it used to approve projects; and (3) if categorical exclusions are not being used in any field offices, why. To answer these questions, GAO surveyed Forest Service officials at all 155 national forests. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T.pdf GAO-07-1016T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-1016T Testimony GAO-07-1016T; Forest Service: Vegetation Management Projects Approved during Calendar Years 2003 through 2005 Using Categorical Exclusions; Environmental assessment Environmental impact statements Environmental law Forest management National forests Policy evaluation Program evaluation