Forest Service

Over the years, the Forest Service's annual reports to Congress have indicated that receipts from the timber sales program exceeded the expense of preparing and administering the sales. However, these reports did not show the extent to which timber sales receipts were distributed to various Forest Service funds or accounts established for specific purposes, such as reforesting the land and making payments to the states in which the forests are located. GAO found that during fiscal years 1992-94, the Forest Service collected nearly $3 billion in timber sales receipts and distributed about $2.7 billion, or 90 percent, to various Forest Service funds or accounts for specific purposes. The Forest Service deposited the remaining receipts--about $300 million--in the General Fund of the Treasury. Outlays for preparing and administering timbers sales totaled about $1.3 billion for the same period.

GAO found that: (1) timber sales receipts for fiscal years 1992 through 1994 totalled nearly $3 billion; (2) the Forest Service distributed about 90 percent of those receipts to various Forest Service accounts for specific purposes; (3) specific distribution percentages for the Roads and Trails Fund and payments to states are mandated by law; (4) other accounts include those for reforestation, timber salvage, brush removal and erosion control, purchaser-built road credits, and interest and penalties; (5) although at the national level more monies were collected than distributed, some regions and forests distributed more monies than they collected; (6) the Forest Service deposited about $302.7 million in the Treasury's General Fund, which was about 10 percent of total timber sales receipts collected over the 3-year period; (7) timber sale preparation and administration costs totalled about $1.3 billion; and (8) there is no requirement that timber sales receipts cover the total amount of distributions and timber sale preparation and administrative costs.