Federal Timber Sales

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Forest Service's and Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) process for appraising timber offered for sale.

GAO found that: (1) BLM and the Forest Service used the transaction evidence appraisal method to advertise timber sales because the method better estimated the timber's fair market value; (2) two of the Forest Service's main timber-producing regions used the residual value method because of limited staff resources and outdated data; (3) Forest Service regions received limited guidance and oversight from headquarters in implementing the appraisal method; (4) regions reduced their appraisal estimates to stimulate competition and compensate for any price inaccuracies; and (5) the Forest Service did not have adequate internal controls over the timber appraisal process. GAO also found that: (1) neither appraisal method ensured a minimum selling price that would adequately protect the government's interest and enhance revenues; and (2) BLM and the Forest Service advertised their fiscal year (FY) 1988 timber sales for less than the costs of preparing and administering the sales.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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