Summary: The decision-making process used by the Forest Service to carry out its mission is costly and time-consuming, and the agency often fails to achieve its objectives. The agency has spent more than 20 years and $250 million to develop multiyear plans for managing national forests. It also spends about $250 million annually on environmental studies to support individual projects. According to an internal Forest Service report, however, this process is plagued by inefficiencies that have cost as much as $100 million annually at the project level alone. Moreover, by the time the agency completes its decision-making, it often finds that it is unable to achieve the plans' objectives or implement planned projects because of new information and events, as well as changes in funding and natural conditions. GAO found that the agency has made little progress in holding its managers accountable for their performance, which has forced it to request more funds to accomplish fewer objectives. This report discusses the internal and external causes of inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the Forest Service's decision-making process. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress and discussed how the Forest Service has revised its land management plan for the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska; see: Tongass National Forest: Lack of Accountability for Time and Costs Has Delayed Forest Plan Revision, by Barry T. Hill, Associate Director for Energy, Resources, and Science Issues, before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (GAO/T-RCED-97-153, Apr. 29).
