Summary: The Forest Service's decision-making process is costly and time-consuming and often fails to achieve its objectives. The agency has spent more than 20 years and about $250 million developing multiyear plans to manage livestock grazing, recreation, wildlife and fish habitat, and other uses on national forests. It also spend about $250 million a year on environmental studies. However, according to an internal Forest Service report, inefficiencies within this process cost as much as $100 million each year. GAO notes three underlying causes of inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the Forest Service's decision-making process. First, the agency has not given enough attention to improving its decision-making process, including strengthening its accountability for expenditures and performance. Second, issues that transcend the agency's administrative boundaries and jurisdiction have not been adequately addressed. Third, the requirements of many planning and environmental laws, enacted during the 1960s and 1970s, have not been harmonized.
