Forest Restoration

Forest Restoration
Author: United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 56
Release: 2017-10-05
Genre:
ISBN: 9781977944306

The Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and BIA, BLM, FWS, and NPS within the Department of the Interior have increasingly promoted landscape-scale forest restoration as a way to improve forest health. Through landscape-scale projects, agencies can treat tens or hundreds of thousands of acres, in contrast to projects commonly of under 1,000 acres. Such projects must comply with NEPA by assessing the effects of major federal actions that significantly affect the environment. GAO was asked to examine federal landscape-scale forest restoration efforts. This report examines (1) the number of such projects the agencies have conducted and how they are scoped; (2) the actions taken by agencies to track the projects' progress; (3) successes and challenges experienced by agencies; and (4) steps taken by agencies to help increase NEPA efficiency for such projects. GAO reviewed agency guidance and documentation related to landscape-scale forest restoration and NEPA processes; examined the number of landscape-scale projects conducted from 2004-2014; and interviewed managers of 20 projects, as well as numerous stakeholders, about their efforts.