Wildland Fires
Forest Service's Removal of Timber Burned by Wildland Fires Gao ID: GAO-03-808R July 10, 2003Wildland fires burned over 8 million acres during the 2000 wildfire season, making it one of the worst in the past 50 years. As a result, a National Fire Plan was implemented beginning in 2001 to better prevent, prepare for, respond to, and repair damage caused by wildland fires. In fiscal years 2001 through 2003, Congress provided $4.9 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service to implement the National Fire Plan on land that it manages. Of this amount, Congress earmarked $212 million to fund the rehabilitation of land burned by wildland fires. In general, rehabilitation covers long-term efforts to improve lands unlikely to recover naturally from wildland fire damage. In some cases, rehabilitation may include removing timber from burnt land to, among other things, reduce hazardous fuels. Questions have been raised, however, about whether it is appropriate to use rehabilitation funds for removing such timber, which can be sold. Trees that are removed from National Forest System land can be either green and healthy or dead or dying as a result of disease or wildland fire. Depending on their value, the trees may be disposed of or sold. In general, if the trees have little or no commercial value, the Forest Service will use service contracts to have the trees removed and disposed of. If the trees have commercial value, they are considered timber, and the Forest Service will use timber sale contracts to have the timber removed and sold. Timber sale contracts generally proceed through two phases--a planning phase and an implementation and award phase. The Forest Service can use different funding sources to have timber removed depending on the reason for removal. Congress asked us to determine (1) if the Forest Service uses wildland fire rehabilitation funding to remove timber from burnt land, and, if not, the source of funding the Forest Service uses as well as the types of contracts used, and (2) why this timber is removed.
GAO found that the Forest Service relied exclusively on timber sale funding, and did not use wildland fire rehabilitation funding, for implementing and awarding timber sale contracts to have timber removed from burnt land. As of April 2003, 88 timber sale contracts had been implemented and awarded to remove timber from burnt land in Forest Service regions 1, 3, and 4. According to the Forest Service, it has timber removed from burnt land for several reasons--to reduce hazardous fuels, recover the economic value of the timber, protect public health and safety, and restore vegetation. While the Forest Service cited one primary reason for having timber removed for 69 of the contracts, it cited multiple reasons for 19 contracts.
GAO-03-808R, Wildland Fires: Forest Service's Removal of Timber Burned by Wildland Fires
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Letter July 10, 2003:
The Honorable Jeff Bingaman
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
United States Senate:
Subject: Wildland Fires: Forest Service's Removal of Timber Burned by
Wildland Fires:
Dear Senator Bingaman:
Wildland fires burned over 8 million acres during the 2000 wildfire
season, making it one of the worst in the past 50 years. As a result, a
National Fire Plan was implemented beginning in 2001 to better prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and repair damage caused by wildland fires. In
fiscal years 2001 through 2003, Congress provided $4.9 billion to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service to implement the
National Fire Plan on land that it manages. Of this amount, Congress
earmarked $212 million to fund the rehabilitation of land burned by
wildland fires. In general, rehabilitation covers long-term efforts to
improve lands unlikely to recover naturally from wildland fire damage.
In some cases, rehabilitation may include removing timber from burnt
land to, among other things, reduce hazardous fuels. Questions have
been raised, however, about whether it is appropriate to use
rehabilitation funds for removing such timber, which can be sold.
Trees that are removed from National Forest System land can be either
green and healthy or dead or dying as a result of disease or wildland
fire. Depending on their value, the trees may be disposed of or sold.
In general, if the trees have little or no commercial value, the Forest
Service will use service contracts to have the trees removed and
disposed of. If the trees have commercial value, they are considered
timber, and the Forest Service will use timber sale contracts to have
the timber removed and sold. Timber sale contracts generally proceed
through two phases--a planning phase and an implementation and award
phase. The Forest Service can use different funding sources to have
timber removed depending on the reason for removal.
You asked us to determine (1) if the Forest Service uses wildland fire
rehabilitation funding to remove timber from burnt land, and, if not,
the source of funding the Forest Service uses as well as the types of
contracts used, and (2) why this timber is removed. For this review, we
requested data from the Forest Service for calendar years 2000 through
2002, as of April 2003, on the sources of funding used to award
contracts to have timber removed from burnt land, the numbers and types
of contracts awarded to remove this timber, and the primary objective
for removing the timber. We requested data on timber removed from burnt
land in Forest Service regions 1, 3, and 4--the Northern, Southwestern,
and Intermountain regions, respectively--because these three Forest
Service regions received about 76 percent of the agency's
rehabilitation funds in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. We used April 2003
as our cut-off date because this date includes the most recent data
available to respond to your request.
In summary, we found the following:
* The Forest Service relied exclusively on timber sale funding, and did
not use wildland fire rehabilitation funding, for implementing and
awarding timber sale contracts to have timber removed from burnt land.
As of April 2003, 88 timber sale contracts had been implemented and
awarded to remove timber from burnt land in Forest Service regions 1,
3, and 4.
* According to the Forest Service, it has timber removed from burnt
land for several reasons--to reduce hazardous fuels, recover the
economic value of the timber, protect public health and safety, and
restore vegetation. While the Forest Service cited one primary reason
for having timber removed for 69 of the contracts, it cited multiple
reasons for 19 contracts.
In responding to a draft of this letter, the Forest Service agreed with
the factual contents of the letter and provided us several technical
changes that we incorporated, as appropriate.
Background:
The Forest Service relies primarily on two types of contracts to remove
trees--service contracts and timber sale contracts. Service contracts
are used to remove and dispose of trees that have little or no
commercial value. In contrast, timber sale contracts are used to remove
and sell trees that are considered to have commercial value. Both
service contracts and timber sale contracts are generally competitively
bid. Winning contractors on service contracts are paid by the Forest
Service to remove and dispose of trees, while winning contractors on
timber sale contracts pay the Forest Service an agreed-upon price to
remove and sell timber from land in the National Forest System. A
timber sale contract involves two phases--a planning phase and an
implementation and award phase. The planning phase includes two steps:
(1) initial planning and (2) project analysis and design, including
appropriate environmental analysis and documentation. The
implementation and award phase includes four steps: (1) preparing for
the timber sale, (2) advertising the sale, (3) opening the bid(s), and
(4) awarding the contract.
The Forest Service has several funding sources available for selling
timber. Its Salvage Sale Fund provides funding for selling dead,
damaged, or down timber. Salvage sale funds are intended to cover the
costs of preparing for and supervising the removal of timber damaged
through natural events such as insect infestation, strong winds, and
wildland fires. The Forest Service uses salvage sale funds for timber
sales whose sole or primary purpose is to salvage dead or dying trees,
as well as those portions of sales that include salvage timber. In
addition to the salvage sale fund, the Forest Service can use National
Forest System and, in particular, forest product monies,[Footnote 1]
for timber sales that have no salvage component. A timber sale that
includes both healthy and dead or dying trees may be funded entirely
with forest product monies, or the funding may be split between forest
product monies and salvage sale funds, in proportion to the healthy and
salvage components of the sale.
In response to the 2000 wildland fire season, the administration asked
USDA and the Department of the Interior to recommend how best to
respond to the fires and how to reduce the effects of such fires in the
future.[Footnote 2] The resulting report--the National Fire Plan--
recommended increased funding for several key activities, including
rehabilitating burnt land. USDA's Office of Inspector General's report
on the Forest Service's implementation of the National Fire Plan
included a review of, among other things, rehabilitation projects at
the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana.[Footnote 3] In reviewing an
environmental analysis that the forest selected to fund, which was an
analysis of alternative rehabilitation treatments, the Office of
Inspector General noted that the environmental analysis contained, as
an alternative treatment, salvaging timber burned by wildland fires
during the 2000 season. While the Office of Inspector General did not
question the use of rehabilitation funds for conducting the
environmental analysis of alternative treatments, it had concerns as to
whether rehabilitation funds should be used on projects whose primary
purpose was selling timber. According to the Forest Service, because
the environmental analysis had not been completed for activities on the
Bitterroot National Forest, and because projects such as timber sales
had not been selected for implementation, the Forest Service had not
used rehabilitation funds to plan or administer a commercial timber
sale on the forest.
The Forest Service Relied on Timber Sale Funds to Have Timber Removed
from Burnt Land:
From January 2000 through April 2003, the three Forest Service regions
we reviewed used timber sale funding to implement and award 88 timber
sale contracts for removing timber from burnt land. The 88 contracts
were valued at about $8 million to remove and sell about 279,000
hundred cubic feet of timber.[Footnote 4] Of these contracts, 78 were
financed with salvage sale funds, while 10 were financed with forest
product monies. Forests in region 1--the Northern Region--awarded most
of these contracts, as shown in table 1. No rehabilitation funds were
used to carry out these activities. (The enclosure to this letter
provides more detailed information on the timber sale contracts awarded
by the three regions and the sources of funding that they used.):
Table 1: Number of Contracts Funded, Source of Timber Sale Funding,
Value of Contracts, and Timber Included in Contracts Used in Regions 1,
3, and 4 to Have Timber Removed from Land Burned during 2000, 2001, and
2002, as of April 2003:
[See PDF for image]
Source: USDA's Forest Service.
[End of table]
According to Forest Service officials, either salvage sale funds or
forest product monies are to be used for implementing and awarding
timber sale contracts. This approach is consistent with the Forest
Service's "primary purpose policy," which the Forest Service adopted in
fiscal year 2000. The policy requires that the Forest Service fund an
activity, including any associated coordination or support activities,
from the designated source of funding--the budget line item--as
provided by Congress. If no specific budget line item exists to fund
the activity, then the activity is to be funded according to the
primary purpose or objective of the activity. Because timber sales have
designated sources of funding, these sources are to be used.
The use of forest product monies was limited to those timber sales
where salvage sale funds were not available or where the timber being
sold did not qualify for such funding. For example, according to region
1's Gallatin National Forest in Montana, it used forest product monies
to administer two contracts for removing timber from land burned by the
2001 Purdy and Fridley fires because the forest had no funds available
in its salvage sale fund. A forester at region 1's Helena National
Forest in Montana said that this forest used forest product monies to
administer two contracts used to remove and sell timber on land burned
by the 2000 Maudlow Toston and Cave Gulch fires because the timber did
not meet the requirements for using salvage sale funds. The timber
being sold was healthy prior to the sale, as opposed to being dead or
dying. The healthy timber was quickly felled and sold in advance of the
fires to create fire lines intended to slow or stop the fires.
Even though none of these sales were funded during the implementation
and award phase with funds other than those from timber sales, under
certain circumstances the Forest Service could have used other funding
sources, such as wildland fire rehabilitation funds, in the planning
phase associated with the sales. During the planning phase, the Forest
Service may have to conduct an environmental analysis, such as an
environmental impact statement, before deciding on the need for and
extent of a sale. The environmental analysis, however, may include
numerous proposed activities, only one of which may be a timber sale.
Depending on the purpose of and need for the environmental analysis,
under the Forest Service's primary purpose policy adopted in fiscal
year 2000, funding sources other than salvage sale or forest product
may have funded the analysis. For example, if the purpose of and need
for the environmental analysis was wildland fire rehabilitation, those
monies could be used.[Footnote 5] Of the 88 contracts, 38 required the
preparation of an environmental impact statement.[Footnote 6] It is not
known if funds other than salvage sale funds or forest product monies
were used to fund planning activities because the Forest Service's
accounting system does not track actual sale-by-sale planning or
implementation and award costs.[Footnote 7]
The Forest Service Cited a Variety of Objectives for Having Timber
Removed from Burnt Land:
The Forest Service cited a variety of objectives for having timber
removed from burnt land. While it cited one primary objective for
having timber removed for 69 of the contracts, it cited more than one
objective for the remaining 19 contracts. The most frequently cited
objective was to reduce hazardous fuels. Table 2 provides information
on the primary objective cited for having timber removed. (The
enclosure to this letter also includes more detailed information on the
specific objective[s] cited.):
Table 2: Primary Objective Cited by Regions 1, 3, and 4 for Having
Timber Removed from Land Burned in 2000, 2001, and 2002:
Primary objective: Reduce hazardous fuels; Region 1: 29; Region 3: 0;
Region 4: 0; Total: 29.
Primary objective: Recover economic value of the timber; Region 1: 12;
Region 3: 10; Region 4: 1; Total: 23.
Primary objective: Protect public health and safety; Region 1: 7;
Region 3: 1; Region 4: 6; Total: 14.
Primary objective: Restore vegetation; Region 1: 3; Region 3: 0; Region
4: 0; Total: 3.
Primary objective: Multiple objectives; Region 1: 19; Region 3: 0;
Region 4: 0; Total: 19.
Primary objective: Total; Region 1: 70; Region 3: 11; Region 4: 7;
Total: 88.
Source: USDA's Forest Service.
[End of table]
Scope and Methodology:
To conduct this review, we requested information from the Forest
Service on contracts awarded to have timber removed from land that
burned in Forest Service regions 1, 3, and 4--the Northern,
Southwestern, and Intermountain regions, respectively--as of April
2003. We limited our request to these three regions because they
accounted for about 76 percent of the funding provided to the Forest
Service for rehabilitation in fiscal years 2001 and 2002. We also
limited our request to contracts awarded to remove timber from land
burned by wildland fires that occurred in calendar years 2000, 2001,
and 2002 because the National Fire Plan, adopted in fiscal year 2001,
began to provide additional funds for wildland fire activity, including
reducing hazardous fuels and rehabilitating burnt land. We asked for
the number of contracts awarded by national forest and wildland fire
name, the funding source used for the contract, the type of contract,
the acreage included in the wildland fire and the contract, the value
of the contract, and the amount of material that could be removed under
the terms of the contract. We did not request information on the source
of funding that the Forest Service may have used in advance of awarding
the timber sale contracts, such as funding used to conduct any required
environmental analyses because, as previously noted, USDA's accounting
system does not track actual sale-by-sale planning or implementation
and award costs.
We also requested data on the primary objective for removing the
timber. In addition, we met with officials from the Forest Service,
including representatives from Forest and Rangeland Management, Policy
and Budget Analysis, and the wildland fire rehabilitation program. We
did not independently verify the accuracy of the reported data or
otherwise independently review contract administration or financial
management data. However, we contacted officials within selected
national forests to clarify data provided to us on the types of
contracts and funding sources used. We conducted our work between April
and June 2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of this letter to the Secretary of Agriculture for
review and comment and obtained oral comments from the Forest Service.
In commenting on the draft, the Forest Service's National Forest System
Budget Coordinator and the Director of Forest and Rangeland stated that
they agreed with the factual contents of the letter. The Forest Service
also provided us several technical changes that we incorporated into
the letter, as appropriate.
As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this letter until 14 days
after the date of this letter. At that time, we will send copies of
this letter to interested congressional committees and others upon
request. In addition, the letter will be available at no charge on the
GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this letter, please call
me at (202) 512-3841 or Chester Janik, Assistant Director, at (202)
512-6508. Major contributors to this letter include Marcia Brouns
McWreath.
Sincerely yours,
Barry T. Hill
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
Signed by Barry T. Hill:
Enclosure:
:
[End of section]
Enclosure Forest Service Regions 1, 3, and 4 Timber Removal Contracts
for Land Burned in Calendar Years 2000-2002:
Information on Contracts Awarded by Forest Service Regions 1, 3, and 4
to Have Timber Removed from National Forest System Land Burned by
Calendar Year 2000, 2001, or 2002 Wildland Fires, as of April 2003:
REGION 1:
Beaverhead-Deerlodge:
fire name: Mussigbrod; Total
acres burned by the fire: 46,681; Acreage included in the contract(s):
473; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1);
Contract value: $216,792; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 7,561; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Mussigbrod; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s):
31; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 8,032; Timber included in the contract(s)
(hundred cubic feet): 504;
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective
for removing timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Mussigbrod; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s): 1;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 5,992; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
93; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Mussigbrod; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s): 14;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract
value: 448; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
167; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Restore vegetation.
Fire name: Mussigbrod; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s): 5;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (10); Contract
value: 100; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
26; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Middle Fork; Total acres burned by the
fire: 5,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 14; Contract
type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: 4,396;
Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet): 303;
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Middle Fork; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s): 1;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 20,418; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
221; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
National Park: Bitterroot:
Fire name: Blodgett; Total acres burned by
the fire: 11,276; Acreage included in the contract(s): 415;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale[A] (1); Contract
value: 12,294; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
3,034; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective
for removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Skalkaho Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: 55,252; Acreage included in the contract(s):
910; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale[A] (1); Contract
value: 8,184; Timber included in the contract(s)
(hundred cubic feet): 6,600;
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective
for removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Skalkaho Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s):
920; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value:
42,777; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 10,780; Funding
source: Forest product monies; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Skalkaho Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s):
1,650; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract value:
278,519; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 17,693; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Valley Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: 172,030; Acreage included in the contract(s):
2,375; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale[A] (2); Contract
value: 84,246; Timber included in the contract(s)
(hundred cubic feet): 14,073;
[Empty]; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Valley Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s):
794; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (3); Contract value:
19,976; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 1,734; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Valley Complex; Total acres
burned by the fire: [Empty]; Acreage
included in the contract(s): 2,516; [Empty]; Contract type (and number
of contracts): Timber sale (5); Contract value: 304,410; Timber
included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet): 17,884; [Empty];
Funding source: Forest product monies; Primary objective for removing
timber: Reduce fuels.
National Park: Clearwater; Fire name: Crooked; Total acres burned by
the fire: 2,673; Acreage included in the contract(s): 2;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 2,747; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
34; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Public health and safety.
National Park: Flathead; Fire name: Moose; Total acres burned by the
fire: 35,380; Acreage included in the contract(s): 310;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 117,557; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 1,418; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Moose; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the
contract(s): 1,896;
[Empty]; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (3);
Contract value: 700,913; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 26,999; Funding source: Salvage sale fund;
Primary objective for removing timber: Reduce
fuels, recover economic value, restore vegetation.
National Park: Gallatin; Fire name: Purdy; Total acres burned by the
fire: 3,621; Acreage included in the contract(s): 19; Contract
type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: 1,661;
Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet): 195;
Funding source: Forest product monies; Primary objective for removing
timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Fridley; Total acres burned by the
fire: 15,577; Acreage included in the
contract(s): 77;
[Empty]; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1);
Contract value: 64,213; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 1,200[B];Funding source: Forest product monies; Primary
objective for removing timber: Restore vegetation.
National Park: Helena; Fire name: Maudlow Toston; Total acres burned
by the fire: 10,678; Acreage included in the contract(s): 1,700;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1);
Contract value: 542,358; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 17,876; Funding source: Salvage sale fund;
Primary objective for removing timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Maudlow Toston; Total acres burned by the
fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the contract(s): 40; Contract type
(and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value:
57,335; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 287; Funding
source: Forest product monies; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels.
Fire name: Cave Gulch; Total acres burned by the fire:
27,659; Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 490; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: National
forest: 173,137; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 4,909; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Cave Gulch; Total acres burned by
the fire: [Empty]; Acreage included in the
contract(s): 10;
[Empty]; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: 5,500; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 74;
[Empty]; Funding source: Forest product
monies; Primary objective for removing timber:
Reduce fuels.
National Park: Kootenai; Fire name: Stone Hill; Total acres burned by
the fire: 10,960; Acreage included in the contract(s): 1,407;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (4); Contract
value: 811,554; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 16,615; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Reduce fuels, recover economic value,
restore vegetation, improve watershed health.
Fire name: Stone Hill; Total acres burned by the
fire: Acreage included in the contract(s): 52; Contract
type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (3); Contract value:
103,964; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
1,030; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective
for removing timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Lydia Mountain; Total acres burned by the
fire: 5,434; Acreage included in the contract(s):
1,603; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (3); Contract value:
1,611,813; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 23,268; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels, recover economic value,
restore vegetation, improve watershed health.
Fire name: Lydia Mountain; Total acres burned by the
fire: Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 22; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract value: National
forest: 69,388; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 618; Funding source:
Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Young J; Total acres burned by the fire:
825; Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 406; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: National
forest: 57,832; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 5,698; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce fuels, recover economic value,
improve watershed health.
Fire name: Young J; Total acres burned by the fire:
Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 2; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: National
forest: 15,249; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 211; Funding source:
Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Cliff Point; Total acres burned by the
fire: 6,627; Acreage included in the contract(s):
17; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract value:
81,505; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 652; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Cliff Point; Total acres burned by the
fire: Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 30; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: National
forest: 8,742; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
109; Funding source:
Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Upper Beaver; Total acres burned by the
fire: 9,017; Acreage included in the contract(s):
675; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract value:
433,501; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 8,187; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Reduce hazardous fuels, recover
economic value, restore vegetation, improve watershed health, promote
old forest, provide access, maintain wildlife security, public health
and safety.
Fire name: Kelsey Creek; Total acres
burned by the fire: 2,769; Acreage
included in the contract(s): 473;
[Empty]; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (4)[C];
Contract value: 644,190; Timber
included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet): 10,174; [Empty];
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Reduce hazardous fuels, recover economic value, restore
vegetation, improve watershed health, promote old forest, provide
access, maintain wildlife security, public health and safety.
National Park: Lewis and Clark; Fire name: Lost Fork; Total acres
burned by the fire: 2,323; Acreage included in the contract(s): 739;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1);
Contract value: 143,160; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 5,349; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Recover economic value.
National Park: Lolo; Fire name: Landowner; Total acres burned by the
fire: 5,700; Acreage included in the contract(s): 568;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 122,907; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 8,599; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Reduce fuels, restore vegetation.
Fire name: Idaho Gulch; Total acres burned by
the fire: 9,500; Acreage included in the
contract(s): 49; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale
(1); Contract value: 24,461; Timber included in the contract(s)
(hundred cubic feet): 434;
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Reduce fuels,
recover economic value, restore vegetation, improve watershed health.
National Park: Nez Perce; Fire name: Burnt Flats; Total acres burned
by the fire: 22,500; Acreage included in the contract(s): 800;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 489,480; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 16,396; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Recover economic value.
REGION 3:
National Park: Kaibab; Fire name: Pumpkin; Total acres burned by the
fire: 16,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 35;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 3,112; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
130; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Stooge Complex; Total acres burned by the
fire: 570; Acreage included in the contract(s):
228; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value:
204,300; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 2,043; Funding
source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Recover economic value.
National Park: Lincoln; Fire name: Cree; Total acres burned by the
fire: 8,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 500;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract
value: 1,900[D]; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 1,900; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Recover economic value.
Fire name: Penasco; Total acres burned by the fire:
1,600; Acreage included in the contract(s): National
forest: 300; Contract type (and number of
contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: National
forest: 4,750; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
1,900; Funding source:
Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Recover economic value.
National Park: Santa Fe; Fire name: Viveash; Total acres burned by
the fire: 30,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 1,800;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (2); Contract
value: 20,198[D,E]; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic
feet): 20,198; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Recover economic value.
REGION 4:
National Park: Boise; Fire name: Trail Creek; Total acres burned by
the fire: 32,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 95;
Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (3); Contract
value: 3,700; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet):
90; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for
removing timber: Public health and safety.
National Park: Salmon-Challis; Fire name: Clear Creek; Total acres
burned by the fire: 208,000; Acreage included in the contract(s): 260;
[Empty]; Contract type (and number of contracts): Timber sale (3);
Contract value: 404,935; Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred
cubic feet): 8,800; Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary
objective for removing timber: Public health and safety.
Fire name: Fire name: Clear Creek; Total acres burned by
the fire: Total acres burned by the fire: [Empty];
Acreage included in the contract(s): 534; Contract type (and
number of contracts): Timber sale (1); Contract value: 38,524;
Timber included in the contract(s) (hundred cubic feet): 3,458;
Funding source: Salvage sale fund; Primary objective for removing
timber: Recover economic value.
Source: USDA's Forest Service.
[A] The timber sale contract includes a service component. Under the
terms of the contract, the contractor removes and sells timber, a
portion of which is in exchange for agreed-upon services provided to
the Forest Service, such as reducing hazardous fuels. Congress
authorized these contracts, which are termed "stewardship" contracts.
[B] This volume is over and above that volume agreed to in a
previously-approved sale of healthy, green trees that were being sold
to finance a land exchange with a private company. A portion of the
healthy, green trees that were to have been sold to finance the land
exchange were burned in the Friday Fire.
[C] Included in these contracts is timber that was burned in the
Roderick South fire.
[D] This reflects a value of $1 per hundred cubic feet.
[E] In addition, the contractor is paying an equal amount for, among
other things, road maintenance.
[End of table]
(360329):
FOOTNOTES
[1] The Forest Service is in the process of revising its handbook on
the terminology used for categorizing funding sources. One of the
revisions is the use of the term "forest product" in lieu of "timber
sales management" as a funding source. This funding source is to be
used for expenses necessary to prepare National Forest System timber
for sale and for expenses necessary to administer timber sales from the
date of award to closing.
[2] We did not include the Department of the Interior in our review
because it was not a basis for your request.
[3] USDA, Office of Inspector General, Forest Service National Fire
Plan Implementation, Western Region Audit Report No. 08601-26-SF
(Washington, D.C.: November 2001).
[4] The Forest Service estimates that in 1998, an average sized single-
family home consisting of 2,190 square feet of living area required
about 1,730 cubic feet of wood products to construct. USDA, Forest
Service, Domestic Market Activity in Solid Wood Products in the United
States, 1950-1998, PNW-GTR-524 (Portland, Oreg.: 2002).
[5] According to a Forest Service budget official, the Forest Service
is considering developing guidance for allocating the cost associated
with completing an environmental analysis to different programs and
budget line items if the environmental analysis includes multiple
proposed actions that have more than one purpose and need.
[6] One environmental impact statement at a national forest could
result in multiple timber sale contracts.
[7] We reported on the Forest Service's tracking of salvage sale costs
in Forest Service: Actions Needed to Ensure That Salvage Sale Fund Is
Adequately Managed, GAO/RCED-97-228 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 26, 1997).
