Wildland Fire Management
Additional Actions Required to Better Identify and Priorities Lands Needing Fuels Reduction Gao ID: GAO-03-805 August 15, 2003The density of the nation's forests, along with drought and other weather conditions, has fueled wildland fires that have required billions of dollars to suppress and has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (Interior) are collaborating on a long-term effort to reduce the risk these fires pose. GAO was asked, among other things, to (1) assess the agencies' efforts to determine which federal lands require fuels reduction treatments, (2) determine how lands are prioritized for treatment, and (3) assess how progress is measured and reported.
The Forest Service and Interior have identified three categories of land for fuels reduction: (1) lands with excess fuels buildup, (2) lands in the wildland-urban interface where federal lands surround or are adjacent to urban development and communities, and (3) lands where vegetation grows rapidly and requires regular maintenance treatments to prevent excess fuels buildup. However, the agencies have not yet reliably estimated the amount or identified the location of these lands. Without identifying these lands there is no baseline against which to assess progress under the fuels reduction program. Local land management units prioritize lands for fuels reduction using a variety of methods, including professional judgment and ranking systems. Prioritization methods vary, in part, because the Forest Service and Interior have not issued specific national guidance on prioritization. Without specific national guidance on prioritization, it is difficult for the Forest Service and Interior to ensure that the highest priority fuels reduction projects nationwide are being implemented. A number of factors, including weather and diversion of resources to fire suppression have hindered the Forest Service's and Interior's ability to complete their annual fuels reduction workloads. While agency officials are addressing some of these factors, others, such as weather, are beyond human control. As a result, agency officials are uncertain whether increased funding would necessarily result in a proportional increase in acres treated. The Forest Service and Interior are developing results-oriented performance measures to assess the effectiveness of treatments in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. However, since the agencies have not identified the amount or location of lands with excess fuels buildup, there is currently no baseline from which to assess program performance. In addition, annual performance reports provide misleading information on the overall progress being achieved under the fuels reduction program because the agencies are reporting all acres treated annually without separately reporting on acres that are treated to maintain a low level of wildfire risk and other acres that require several years of treatments to reduce risk.
RecommendationsOur 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.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-03-805, Wildland Fire Management: Additional Actions Required to Better Identify and Priorities Lands Needing Fuels Reduction
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Report to Congressional Requesters:
August 2003:
Wildland Fire Management:
Additional Actions Required to Better Identify and Prioritize Lands
Needing Fuels Reduction:
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-805] GAO-03-805:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-03-805, a report to congressional requesters
Why GAO Did This Study:
The density of the nation‘s forests, along with drought and other
weather conditions, has fueled wildland fires that have required
billions of dollars to suppress and has forced thousands of people to
evacuate their homes. The Department of Agriculture‘s (USDA) Forest
Service and the Department of the Interior (Interior) are
collaborating on a long-term effort to reduce the risk these fires
pose. GAO was asked, among other things, to (1) assess the agencies‘
efforts to determine which federal lands require fuels reduction
treatments, (2) determine how lands are prioritized for treatment, and
(3) assess how progress is measured and reported.
What GAO Found:
The Forest Service and Interior have identified three categories of
land for fuels reduction: (1) lands with excess fuels buildup, (2)
lands in the wildland-urban interface where federal lands surround or
are adjacent to urban development and communities, and (3) lands where
vegetation grows rapidly and requires regular maintenance treatments
to prevent excess fuels buildup. However, the agencies have not yet
reliably estimated the amount or identified the location of these
lands. Without identifying these lands there is no baseline against
which to assess progress under the fuels reduction program.
Local land management units prioritize lands for fuels reduction using
a variety of methods, including professional judgment and ranking
systems. Prioritization methods vary, in part, because the Forest
Service and Interior have not issued specific national guidance on
prioritization. Without specific national guidance on prioritization,
it is difficult for the Forest Service and Interior to ensure that the
highest priority fuels reduction projects nationwide are being
implemented.
A number of factors, including weather and diversion of resources to
fire suppression have hindered the Forest Service‘s and Interior‘s
ability to complete their annual fuels reduction workloads. While
agency officials are addressing some of these factors, others, such as
weather, are beyond human control. As a result, agency officials are
uncertain whether increased funding would necessarily result in a
proportional increase in acres treated.
The Forest Service and Interior are developing results-oriented
performance measures to assess the effectiveness of treatments in
reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. However, since the
agencies have not identified the amount or location of lands with
excess fuels buildup, there is currently no baseline from which to
assess program performance. In addition, annual performance reports
provide misleading information on the overall progress being achieved
under the fuels reduction program because the agencies are reporting
all acres treated annually without separately reporting on acres that
are treated to maintain a low level of wildfire risk and other acres
that require several years of treatments to reduce risk.
What GAO Recommends:
To enhance fuels reduction efforts, GAO recommends, among other
things, that the Forest Service and Interior (1) collect detailed
nationwide data to identify and prioritize which federal lands need
fuels reduction and (2) report acres treated to reduce wildfire risk,
acres requiring multiyear treatments to reduce wildfire risk, and
maintenance acres separately in annual performance reports.
Commenting on the draft report, Interior and USDA agreed that
prioritization is essential to program effectiveness, but had concerns
about our recommendations on identifying lands and reporting
accomplishments.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Agencies Are Focusing Fuels Reduction on Lands in Three Categories, but
More Efforts Are Needed to Estimate the Amount and Location of These
Lands:
Local Land Units Prioritize Projects Using a Variety of Methods Because
of a Lack of Specific National Guidance:
Fuels Reduction Efforts Hindered by a Number of Factors:
Agencies Recognize Need to Better Measure the Effect of Fuels Reduction
Treatments, but Annual Reporting Practices Need Improvement:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendixes:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Summary of Fuels Treatment Accomplishments for the Forest
Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
Appendix III: Summary of Fuels Treatment Accomplishments in the
Southeast for the Forest Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
Appendix IV: Summary of Information Related to the 17 Forest Service
and BLM Local Units Visited by GAO:
Appendix V: Comments from the Departments of Agriculture and of the
Interior:
Appendix VI: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables Tables:
Table 1: Local Land Units Visited by GAO:
Table 2: Summary of FY 2001 Goals and Accomplishments:
Table 3: Summary of FY 2002 Goals and Accomplishments:
Table 4: Summary of FY 2003 Planned Accomplishments:
Table 5: Southeast Accomplishments for FY 2001:
Table 6: Southeast Accomplishments for FY 2002:
Table 7: Southeast Accomplishments Planned for FY 2003:
Table 8: 2002 Fuels Reduction Acres and Costs for 17 Local Land Units:
Table 9: 2003 Planned Fuels Reduction Acres and Costs for 17 Local
Land Units:
Table 10: Cost and Accomplishments by Fuels Reduction Treatment Methods
Used by 17 Local Land Units, 2002:
Table 11: Reasons Cited for Incomplete Fuels Reduction Work by 17 Local
Land Units, 2002:
Table 12: Acres Treated in FY 2002 or Planned in FY 2003 That Were
Treated in the Previous Fiscal Year:
Figures:
Figure 1: Movement of U.S. Population Toward the Interior West:
Figure 2: A Mechanical Thinning Project Being Used for Fuels Reduction
on a Western National Forest:
Figure 3: Prescribed Fire Being Used for Fuels Reduction on a Western
National Forest:
Figure 4: Wildfire Risk Levels:
Figure 5: Various Types of Wildland-Urban Interface:
Figure 6: Methods Used to Prioritize Projects at 17 Local Units:
Figure 7: Reasons Why Fuels Reduction Treatments Were Not Implemented by
17 Local Units, FY 2002:
Figure 8: Number of Acres Burned by Wildfires, 1993-2002:
Figure 9: Percentage of Acres Treated or Planned for Treatment in the
Southeast by the Forest Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
Figure 10: Fiscal Year 2001 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
Figure 11: Fiscal Year 2001 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
Figure 12: Fiscal Year 2002 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
Figure 13: Fiscal Year 2002 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
Figure 14: Fiscal Year 2003 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
Figure 15: Fiscal Year 2003 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
Figure 16: Elements of Local Land Units' Project Prioritization Methods:
Abbreviations:
BLM: Bureau of Land Management:
USDA: U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Letter August 15, 2003:
The Honorable Charles Taylor
Chairman
The Honorable Norman Dicks
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Scott McInnis
Chairman
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health
Committee on Resources
House of Representatives:
Nearly 100 years of fire suppression have left the nation's forests
dense with small, tightly spaced trees and thick brush. This density,
along with weather conditions, such as wind, high temperatures and
drought, has fueled wildland fires that in certain cases have spread
rapidly and become catastrophic. These fires and the resulting damage
not only compromise the forests' ability to provide timber, outdoor
recreation, clean water, and other resources, but also pose
increasingly grave risks to health, safety, and property. Two of the
more devastating fire seasons on record have occurred in the last 3
years. In 2000, wildland fires burned more than 8 million acres; and in
2002, almost 7 million acres were burnedæabout twice the 10-year annual
average. These fires required billions of dollars to suppress and
forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
In the aftermath of the wildland fires of 2000, the federal agencies
responsible for wildland fire managementæthe Forest Service in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service and National
Park Service in the Department of the Interior (Interior)--developed
the National Fire Plan, a long-term multibillion-dollar plan to address
the nation's risk of such fires. A major component of the plan is a
hazardous fuels reduction program that requires the agencies to thin
forests and rangelands, thereby reducing the risk of catastrophic fires
caused by excessive buildup of vegetation. Local land management units,
such as national forests and parks, are generally responsible for
carrying out projects to reduce the buildup of vegetation that fuels
catastrophic fires. Techniques used for managing vegetation generally
include setting fires under controlled conditions (prescribed burns)
and mechanical thinning. Another important component of the plan is for
the agencies to establish effective performance measures to assess the
results of their fuels reduction treatments. Beginning in fiscal year
2001, the agencies have received approximately $400 million annually
for fuels reduction under the plan.
According to the Forest Service and Interior, about 650 million acres,
or over 85 percent of the approximately 750 million acres of federal
land that they manage, are susceptible to wildland fire. These
susceptible lands, according to a recent government estimate, include
(1) millions of acres in the dense forests of the West that have excess
buildup of fuels and are at risk of catastrophic fires, (2) millions of
acres nationwide that either surround or are adjacent to urban
development and communities (commonly referred to as the wildland-urban
interface) that are at risk to wildland fire, and (3) still other acres
that need regular and frequent treatments to prevent rapid fuels
buildup. While fire plays a role in maintaining the health of certain
ecosystems, the overall growth of vegetation in the nation's forests
and rangelands has created unnatural hazardous fire conditions. Under
the National Fire Plan, the Forest Service and Interior are attempting
to identify and prioritize the lands most in need of fuels reduction
while dealing with a number of challenges that hinder the agencies'
implementation of fuels reduction efforts. The House of Representatives
has recently passed legislation intended to, among other things, reduce
the risk of damage to communities, municipal watersheds, and certain
federal lands from catastrophic wildfires. However, there is
controversy over whether conducting fuels reduction treatments outside
the wildland urban interface--as the House bill would authorize--is
appropriate, especially if the treatments involve clear cutting trees
in remote forest areas.
In this context, you asked us to (1) assess the Forest Service's and
Interior's efforts to determine which federal lands require fuels
reduction treatments, (2) determine how local land units within the
Forest Service and Interior prioritize land for fuels reduction
treatments, (3) identify factors that have hindered fuels reduction
efforts, and (4) assess how the Forest Service and Interior measure and
report progress under the fuels reduction program.
In conducting our review, we met with Forest Service and Interior
officials in headquarters, and visited five states, where we met with
officials in selected regional and state offices, as well as 17 Forest
Service and BLM local land units, such as national forests and BLM
field offices. While the results of our visits cannot be projected
nationwide, the visits represent a mix of local fuels reduction efforts
based on geographic diversity and level of funding. (See app. I for
details on the scope and methodology of our review.):
Results in Brief:
The Forest Service and Interior have identified three categories of
federal lands that require fuels reduction, but they have not yet
reliably estimated the amount and identified the location of these
lands. Given the potentially vast amounts of federal land at risk of
catastrophic wildfire, the agencies have stressed the importance of
treating lands that have excess fuels buildup and lands in the
wildland-urban interface. In addition, the agencies acknowledge a third
categoryælands that require regular maintenance to prevent excess fuels
buildup because vegetation grows rapidly--but they have not decided
whether these lands are as important to treat as are lands in the first
two categories. Government scientists have collected nationwide data on
lands with excess fuels buildup, but because the data were not
detailed, there was a large margin of error in the resulting estimates.
Recognizing the need for more accurate estimates, the agencies are
currently considering whether to fund a project to assess in more
detail the fuels buildup on federal land nationwide. If funded, they do
not expect to complete the effort until 2008 at the earliest. For the
second categoryælands in the wildland-urban interfaceæthe agencies have
not specifically defined the wildland-urban interface so they have been
unable to collect data that are relevant nationwide. For example, the
agencies have not decided if it includes only land near residences and
commercial development or also land near public resources, such as
power lines and watersheds. Without a clear national definition, there
is no basis for a consistent determination about which lands are part
of the wildland-urban interface. Finally, for the third category--lands
that require regular maintenance treatments because the vegetation
grows rapidly--the agencies have not estimated the total amount and
location of such lands, although they have been reducing fuels on such
lands in the Southeast for decades. Without a nationwide estimate of
the amount and location of land in each category of land that is
important to treat, it will be difficult for the agencies to assess
their progress in reducing the total amount of federal land that
requires fuels reduction.
Local land units prioritize lands within the three categories for fuels
reduction using a variety of methods including professional judgment
and ranking systems. For example, at one local unit an agency official
uses his professional judgment, local knowledge, and field observations
of vegetative conditions to prioritize projects. At another unit,
officials collect detailed data on factors such as vegetative
condition, proximity to recent fires, and proximity to communities;
then they assign points to potential fuels reduction projects, based on
the factors, and rank the projects in priority order. Still other
units--particularly in the Southeast--select lands for fuels reduction
according to a recurring schedule. Moreover, even units that use the
same prioritization method may not emphasis the same criteria in
prioritization decisions. For example, among units that rely on
professional judgment, some place far greater weight on community
preferences than others. This variation in prioritization methods
occurs, in part, because the Forest Service and Interior have not
issued specific national guidance on how to prioritize projects;
rather, they have issued broad guidance allowing local units wide
discretion. Without specific guidance on how to prioritize locations
for fuels reduction within the three categories of federal land
identified nationally, it is difficult for the Forest Service and
Interior to ensure that there is any consistent, systematic rigor to
how projects are being prioritized or that the highest priority fuels
reduction projects nationwide are being implemented.
Several factors including weather and diversion of resources to fire
suppression have hindered the Forest Service's and Interior's ability
to complete their annual fuels reduction workloads. Given these
factors, in 2002, the Forest Service and Interior reduced fuels on 56
percent of the approximately 4 million acres they could have treated.
In discussions with officials from 17 Forest Service and Interior local
land units we visited, they stated that the most prominent factor was
the weather, which accounted for 40 percent of all fuels reduction
project delays at these units in 2002. In some cases, land managers
could not ignite prescribed burns because weather conditions, such as
wind, temperature, and drought, made doing so unsafe; and they could
not use mechanical thinning equipment because of the risk that a spark
would accidentally ignite a wildfire. For example, at one local unit,
over 34,000 acres, or 72 percent of the approximately 47,000 acres
planned for fuels reduction, were not treated because of drought
conditions. A related factor hindering agencies' completion of fuels
reduction projects in 2002 was the diversion of agency resources from
fuels reduction to fire suppression efforts during the severe fire
season. This factor accounted for about 30 percent of all project
delays at the local units we visited. For example, one national forest
shifted about 22 percent of its approximately $570,000 fuels reduction
budget to support fire suppression efforts. Even in the Southeast,
where the drought and the fire season were less severe, nationwide
policy restrictions prohibited local units from implementing fuels
reduction projects because the units' staff were required to be
immediately available for suppression efforts elsewhere. In addition,
local land unit officials cited other factors, such as administrative
regulatory requirements and public resistance, that affected fuels
reduction projects. Although local land units are working to address
some of these factors, others, such as weather, are beyond human
control. Given these factors, some local officials were uncertain
whether increased funding would result in a proportional increase in
acres treated under the fuels reduction program.
To measure progress under the fuels reduction program, the Forest
Service and Interior are currently tracking and reporting the total
number of acres treated nationwide. This practice, however, measures
only the number of acres that receive fuels reduction treatmentsænot
necessarily whether progress is being made in reducing the overall risk
of wildfire. Recognizing this shortcoming, the Forest Service and
Interior are currently developing results-oriented performance
measures that assess the effect of these treatments in reducing the
risk of wildfires. However, because the Forest Service and Interior
have not yet established baseline data by identifying the acres that
are at different levels of risk to wildfire, any assessment of the
change in wildfire risk level will be subjective, and it will be
difficult to determine the actual progress being made in reducing the
risk of catastrophic wildfire nationwide. In addition, the current
method of reporting annual performance is resulting in misleading
information on what is actually being accomplished with respect to
reducing the total amount of land at risk nationwide. Currently, the
data give the indication that all the acres treated are reducing the
risk of catastrophic wildfire. This is not the situation. In some
cases, acres are being treated that will not change the risk and in
other cases multiple treatments need to be made over several years to
reduce the risk. Unless treatments in these cases are reported
separately in annual performance reports, it is, and likely will
continue to be, difficult to assess the progress being made under the
fuels reduction program in terms of reducing the overall risk of
wildfires nationwide.
In the context of vast, yet unknown acres of federal land at risk to
wildfire and major factors hindering fuels reduction on that land,
mitigating the risk of catastrophic wildfires through fuels reduction
will require a sustained, long-term effort. However, without a
nationwide estimate of the amount and location of lands that need fuels
reduction, it will be difficult to ensure that the highest priority
fuels reduction projects nationwide are being implemented and to assess
progress in reducing fuels buildup in forests and rangelands across the
nation. Accordingly, we are recommending that the Forest Service and
Interior identify which federal lands need fuels reduction so that
detailed, comparable data can be collected on the amount and location
of these lands, to facilitate prioritization decisions. In addition, we
are recommending that in annual performance reports the Forest Service
and Interior report acres treated that reduce the level of wildfire
risk separately from other acres treated, to better reflect the long-
term progress of the fuels reduction program. In commenting on a draft
of this report, the Forest Service and Interior stated that the report
aptly described the nature of the fuels problem on public lands in both
its scope and severity. They agreed that prioritization is essential to
program effectiveness, but they had some concerns about our
recommendations related to identifying lands that need fuels reduction
and reporting accomplishments in separate categories.
Background:
Nearly all forests and grasslands in North America evolved with fire as
a natural part of the ecosystem. Fire contributes to ecological health
in forests and rangelands by maintaining plant species diversity,
preventing the spread of invasive species, limiting the spread of
insects and disease, and promoting new growth. Historically, fires
occurred at a variety of frequencies ranging from 1-to 2-year cycles in
some southeastern forests, to 200-to 500-year cycles in northwestern
rain forests. These historical cycles changed in part because the
federal government began a policy of suppressing all wildland fires as
quickly as possible. Over the years, brush, small trees, and other
vegetation accumulated that can fuel fires and cause them to spread
more rapidly with catastrophic results. Weather phenomena have also
contributed to dangerous fire conditions. The weather phenomenon known
as La Niña, characterized by unusually cold Pacific Ocean temperatures,
changed weather patterns when it formed in 1998. It caused severe,
long-lasting drought across much of the country, drying out forests and
rangelands.
The Forest Service, BLM, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park
Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service manage about 750 million acres
of federal land across the United States. Most federal lands in the 48
contiguous states are located in 11 western states, which have seen a
dramatic surge in population over the last 2 decades, complicating the
management of wildland fires. As shown in figure 1, the population is
moving toward the Interior West, contributing to new development in
fire-prone areas, often adjacent to federal land, and creating a
wildland-urban interface. This relatively new phenomenon means that
more communities and structures are at risk of wildland fire and of
potential post-fire effects, including increased erosion and flooding.
Figure 1: Movement of U.S. Population Toward the Interior West:
[See PDF for image]
[A] The five fastest growing states through 1999 include Arizona,
Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
[B] People moving to the Interior West minus people leaving.
[End of figure]
Following the 2000 fire season, which was one of the most challenging
on record, the Bush Administration asked USDA and Interior to recommend
how best to respond and how to reduce the impacts of such fires in the
future. Their report, called the National Fire Plan, recommended
increased funding for several key activities, such as suppressing
wildland fires and reducing the buildup of unwanted hazardous fuels. To
fund the activities recommended in the National Fire Plan, Congress
appropriated $2.9 billion to the Forest Service and the Interior
agencies for their fiscal year 2001 wildland fire needsæan increase of
over $1 billion from the prior year funding of $1.5 billion. Of the
$2.9 billion, $400 million was for reducing hazardous fuels. For fiscal
year 2002 wildland fire needs, Congress authorized $2.3 billion for the
Forest Service and Interior agencies of which $395 million was for
reducing hazardous fuels. Of the agencies involved with the fuels
reduction program, the Forest Service and Interior's BLM spend the most
money to reduce hazardous fuels.
A key component of the National Fire Plan is the development and
implementation of a cohesive strategy aimed at lowering the risks from
catastrophic wildfires by reducing the excess buildup of hazardous
fuels in the nation's forests and rangelands.[Footnote 1] Since
beginning implementation of the National Fire Plan, the Forest Service
and Interior have treated hazardous fuels on about 4.4 million acres of
federal land in 2001 and 2002. Most of the treatments to date have been
in the southeastern region of the United States, where the vegetation
in the forests tends to grow rapidly, causing fuels to accumulate over
a short period. (See app. II and III for detailed information on
program results for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, and planned work for
fiscal year 2003.):
Local land units within the Forest Service and Interior's wildland fire
management agencies largely carry out fuels reduction treatments. The
Forest Service's local land units consist of national forests and
grasslands. These local land units are overseen by the Forest Service's
regional offices. Within Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs' local
land units consist of agencies; BLM's local land units consist of
districts, field offices, or resource areas; and the Fish and Wildlife
Service's and the National Park Service's local land units consist of
facilities, refuges, or parks. BLM's state offices oversee its local
land units, while the regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service oversee their
local land units.
These agencies plan and implement fuels reduction projects that are
required to conform to agency specific land management statutes as well
as requirements under legislation such as the National Environmental
Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Air Act, and
often involve other federal and nonfederal regulatory agencies. In
addition, as directed by the community assistance goal of the National
Fire Plan, the agencies work with and grant funds to local communities
for fuels reduction.
At the national level, the Forest Service and Interior agencies are
directed to allocate fuels reduction funding to their regional or state
offices that have the greatest fire management workload, risk to
communities, and fuels buildup. However, because it has been difficult
for the agencies to allocate funding according to these criteria, in
practice, funding allocations are primarily influenced by historical
workload and funding levels, and proportional allocations tend to be
similar from year to year. Consequently, it is left to the local land
units to identify the highest priority locations for fuels reduction
treatments.
To reduce hazardous fuels, agencies rely principally on mechanical or
hand thinning of trees and brush, prescribed burning, or a combination
of the two. Mechanical thinning includes the use of chainsaws,
traditional timber extraction machinery, and hydromowers and
slashbusters--machines that grind up small trees and shrubs into mulch-
-or other mechanized equipment. Figure 2 depicts a mechanical thinning
project. Prescribed burns are fires set deliberately by land managers
under weather, fuel, and temperature conditions that enable the fire to
be controlled at a relatively low intensity level. Figure 3 depicts a
prescribed burn project. In some cases, it is necessary to mechanically
thin an area before igniting a prescribed fire, in order to achieve
fuel conditions that prevent the fire from burning so rapidly and
intensely that it becomes uncontrollable.
Figure 2: A Mechanical Thinning Project Being Used for Fuels Reduction
on a Western National Forest:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Figure 3: Prescribed Fire Being Used for Fuels Reduction on a Western
National Forest:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Agencies Are Focusing Fuels Reduction on Lands in Three Categories, but
More Efforts Are Needed to Estimate the Amount and Location of These
Lands:
The Forest Service and Interior have determined that three categories
of federal lands require fuels reduction treatment, but they have not
yet reliably estimated the amount or identified the location of these
lands. The agencies' draft cohesive strategy emphasizes the importance
of treating lands that have excess fuels buildup and lands in the
wildland-urban interface with fuels reduction. In addition, the draft
cohesive strategy mentions that a third category should be considered
as wellælands that require regular maintenance to prevent excess fuels
buildup because vegetation grows rapidly--but the strategy is unclear
about whether lands in this category are as important to treat as lands
in the first two categories. Forest Service scientists have collected
nationwide data on lands with excess fuels buildup, but because the
data were not detailed, scientists could make only rough estimates of
the amount; and they could not identify
the specific locations of these lands.[Footnote 2] Recognizing the need
for more accurate estimates, the agencies are currently deciding
whether to fund a project that would collect more detailed data on land
with excess fuels buildup nationwide. They have not yet clearly defined
the parameters of the wildland-urban interface, and consequently have
been unable to collect data that is relevant at the national level. In
addition, the agencies have not decided whether lands requiring regular
maintenance treatments are among the lands most at risk nationally and
therefore most in need of fuels reduction treatments. As a result, they
have neither estimated the total amount nor identified the location of
such lands.
More Data Needed to Identify Land with Excess Fuels Buildup:
Although one of the categories of land targeted for fuels reduction in
the draft cohesive strategy is land with excess fuels buildup, the
agencies have not yet accurately estimated the amount or identified the
location of these lands. In an attempt to gather nationwide data on
these lands, in April 2001, Forest Service scientists completed a
national assessment of fuels buildup, resulting in a map that
classified all land in the contiguous 48 states as high, moderate, or
low risk for catastrophic wildfires. As figure 4 shows, the risk
depends on how much the vegetation has changed relative to historical
conditions, with the highest levels of fuels buildup corresponding to
the highest wildfire risk ranking.
Figure 4: Wildfire Risk Levels:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
While the initial assessment provided a rough approximation of national
risk level, it could not be used to accurately discern the total amount
of land at high risk, or to identify specific locations of such land
because it was based on data that were not detailed and therefore was
subject to a considerable margin of error. The scientists estimated
that about 75 million acres of federal land were at high risk of
wildfire, but because of the lack of detail, the estimate was rough.
The lack of detail was particularly limiting on rangelands, where
flammable nonnative weeds such as cheatgrass have replaced native
plants in many areas, leaving the land vulnerable to fast-moving, high-
intensity fires. According to Forest Service scientists, the initial
data did not sufficiently depict nonforested lands including
rangelands. In many cases, nonnative and native plants grow in a
scattered patchwork pattern, and it is difficult to distinguish small
patches of nonnative plants without detailed data. To partially address
this limitation, in 2002 scientists studied vegetative conditions on
some rangelands and found that they had underestimated the amount of
rangeland at high risk. Adding this land to the 75 million acres in the
initial assessment, they concluded that about 90 million acres of
federal land were at high risk to wildfire. Aware that the lack of
detail in the initial assessment also affected forests, in 2003
scientists collected samples of more detailed data in several forests
in the West. The detailed data revealed that the initial assessment had
also underestimated the amount of land with excess fuels buildup in
forests, and consequently, the amount of land at high risk.
Extrapolating their findings to adjust the nationwide estimate, the
scientists concluded that about 190 million acres of federal land were
at high risk, but they acknowledged that the correct number could be
anywhere from 90 to 200 million acres, considering the margin of error.
Recognizing the need for more accurate nationwide data about land with
excess fuels buildup, and aware of the limitations of existing
assessments, the Forest Service and Interior are taking actions to more
accurately estimate the amount and identify the location of such land
with excess fuels buildup. Over the long term, the agencies are
considering a proposal to collect more detailed nationwide data through
a project called LANDFIRE, but they have not yet decided whether to
fund the project. They have, however, begun to test a prototype in two
areas, which will serve as a model for applying the same methods
nationwide.[Footnote 3] If implemented, LANDFIRE is expected to provide
accurate maps showing specific locations of lands with excess fuels
buildup and computer models that can predict which areas are at highest
risk of wildfire based on vegetation type and condition, historical
fire frequency, weather, and other factors. Nevertheless, while the
agencies have been considering the project for years, they still have
not fully funded it. We first examined LANDFIRE in 1998, at which time
agency officials initially showed us one of the
prototype areas.[Footnote 4] We later reported on LANDFIRE in 2002, and
found that it had the potential to provide data critical for use in
project prioritization, but we had concerns that the project was no
closer to being funded than it was in 1998.[Footnote 5] Now, according
to agency officials, data collection efforts in the test areas has
provided sufficient information to make a decision about whether to
fund and implement LANDFIRE, which is estimated to cost $33 million.
Currently the agencies are contemplating funding the project as soon as
2003, but they have not yet made a decision; and if it is implemented,
it is not scheduled to be complete until 2008 at the earliest.
In an effort to provide usable data in the interim, the Forest Service
and Interior have proposed completing by 2005 a nationwide rapid
assessment which would use information from a variety of sources, such
as expert opinion, statistical analysis, and data previously collected
by state agencies, local governments, and federal agencies. However,
the agencies have not funded this effort either. Furthermore, because
the data used in the rapid assessment would come from a mixture of
sources, they would vary in accuracy, reliability, and level of detail,
among other things. Consequently, the results of the rapid assessment
would not be as accurate as what is expected from LANDFIRE, bringing
into question the value of funding the rapid assessment in addition to
LANDFIRE.
Consistent Definition Needed before Land in the Wildland-Urban
Interface Can Be Identified:
The President and Congress, as well as the Forest Service and Interior
have stressed the importance of reducing fuels in the wildland-urban
interface, but the agencies have not developed a specific definition of
wildland-urban interface and therefore are unable to identify the
amount and location of lands in the interface nationwide. In January
2001, a definition of wildland-urban interface was published in the
Federal Register, but it is very general and consequently, it has been
interpreted inconsistently.[Footnote 6] The definition classifies
wildland-urban interface into two primary categories: (1) lands where
structures are directly adjacent to wildlands and (2) lands where
structures are scattered throughout a wildland area.[Footnote 7] The
definition further specifies that wildland-urban interface includes
communities ranging from suburban and urban neighborhoods (3 or more
structures per acre) to widely dispersed rural dwellings (1 structure
per 40 acres). The breadth of this definition allows for diverse
interpretations--including, for example, subdivisions lining forest
boundaries, remote summer cabins in the wilderness, or land surrounding
powerlines crossing federal lands. On the basis of this definition of
wildland-urban interface, the Forest Service and Interior allowed each
state to identify a list of communities at risk from wildfire to be
published in the Federal Register in August 2001. However, given the
lack of specificity in the published definition of wildland-urban
interface, each state used criteria it believed appropriate for
selecting communities at risk. For example, figure 5 shows diverse
types of land that states could include based on different definitions
of wildland-urban interface.
Figure 5: Various Types of Wildland-Urban Interface:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
As a result, some states provided much longer lists of communities at
risk than other states, and there was no consistent standard for
inclusion on the list. To resolve this inconsistency, the draft
cohesive strategy calls for the states to develop a common definition
of communities at risk by June
2003.[Footnote 8] Toward this end, the Forest Service and Interior have
tasked the National Association of State Foresters--an organization
representing state forestry departments--with developing uniform
guidance for states to use in identifying wildland-urban interface
communities at risk, but this process is no more likely to result in a
consistently-applied definition of wildland-urban interface than the
former one. The guidance, now in draft, sets out four criteria and
recommends that states assign an adjective rating such as high, medium,
or low risk to each community or wildland-urban interface area
identified. If implemented, the guidance would provide a methodology
for states to generally assess relative risk; but because each state
would interpret and apply high, medium, and low risk independently, the
risk rankings would not be comparable on a nationwide basis. In
addition, the guidance does not define wildland-urban interface,
instead allowing each state to develop its own definition. For example,
some states may develop a very narrow definition that includes only
land immediately surrounding housing subdivisions, while other states
may develop a definition that includes remote ranches and cabins used
only seasonally, as well as land surrounding public resources, such as
power lines or communications equipment. The Forest Service and
Interior will again be left with multiple, inconsistent definitions
developed independently by each state, and because of this
inconsistency the lands identified through the process will not be
comparable. As a result, the process will not enable national decision-
makers to accurately determine how much land is in the wildland-urban
interface nationwide, or where it is located. While the task of
developing a specific, consistently used definition of wildland-urban
interface is a challenging one requiring difficult decisions to be
made, if the Forest Service and Interior do not develop such a
definition, not only will they be unable to accurately identify which
lands are in the wildland-urban interface nationwide, but they will
also be unable to identify the highest priority lands for fuels
reduction treatments.
Agencies Unclear About Importance of Maintenance Treatments in Fuels
Reduction Program:
Although the agencies have been using regular maintenance treatments as
part of their risk prevention strategy in the Southeast for decades,
and almost half of the annual acres treated under the fuels reduction
program have been in this category, the Forest Service and Interior
have not clarified whether the treatment of these acres is as important
as the treatment of lands with excess fuels buildup and lands in the
wildland-urban interface. Rather, the draft cohesive strategy
separately acknowledges the value of continuing maintenance treatments
in some areas to prevent them from becoming quickly overloaded with
fuels, especially in the Southeast where vegetation grows rapidly.
Because the agencies have not determined whether the maintenance acres
are as important as lands with excess fuels buildup and lands in the
wildland-urban interface, they do not plan to assess the total amount
of maintenance acres that need to be treated nationwide.
The vegetation in southeastern forests builds up more quickly than it
does in the West because it grows rapidly. Consequently, agency
officials in the Southeast conduct fuels reduction treatments
frequently in an attempt to prevent the forests from developing excess
fuels buildup and increasing the risk that a wildfire there would grow
into a catastrophic one. For example, on some national forests in the
Southeast, fuels reduction treatments are scheduled on various acres of
the forest annually, such that the entire forest is treated every 3 to
5 years. According to agency officials, this approach maintains forests
at the low wildfire risk level, and prevents them from growing into a
condition that would put them at a higher wildfire risk level. The
agencies have been reducing fuels in the Southeast this way for
decades. In contrast, fuels reduction in most of the West has increased
significantly since the beginning of the National Fire Plan in 2001.
With these increased efforts--and needs--in other parts of the country,
the agencies must now determine whether maintenance efforts in the
Southeast should have the same priority as fuels reduction efforts
elsewhere, and if so, assess the total amount and location of lands in
need of maintenance treatments nationwide.
Local Land Units Prioritize Projects Using a Variety of Methods Because
of a Lack of Specific National Guidance:
Local land units use a variety of methods to prioritize lands within
the three categories identified by the Forest Service and Interior as
needing fuels reduction. In large part, local units use different
methods because the Forest Service and Interior give them wide latitude
to do so through broad national guidance. Prioritization decisions are
particularly significant given that the three categories of land
identified by the agencies--land with excess fuels buildup, land in the
wildland-urban interface, and land that requires maintenance to prevent
excess fuels buildup--could collectively include nearly all federal
land. Nevertheless, prioritization decisions are deferred to the local
level because there is not sufficient data at the national level to
guide prioritization decisions.
At the national level, the Forest Service and Interior are directed to
allocate fuels reduction funding to regional and state offices that
have the greatest fire management workload, risk to communities, and
fuels buildup. However, given the lack of consistent nationwide data on
risk to communities and fuels buildup, it is difficult for the agencies
to allocate funding according to these criteria. In practice, funding
allocations are primarily influenced by historical workload and funding
levels, and proportional allocations tend to be similar from year to
year. Consequently, it is left to the local land units to identify the
highest priority locations for fuels reduction treatments.
The national guidance in the draft cohesive strategy sets out a long
list of criteria to be considered by local units in prioritizing
projects, including selecting projects that protect wildlife habitat,
contracting for work outside of federal agencies, and offsetting costs
through the sale of firewood. Furthermore, the guidance also offers
local officials the discretion to make exceptions to the national
criteria. The result is that nearly any method of project selection--
and nearly any project--is allowable. As shown in figure 6, we grouped
the various prioritization methods used by the local land units that we
visited into three general types: (1) professional judgment and staff
discussions, (2) scoring systems, and (3) schedules of recurring
treatments. In addition to these three methods, local units consider a
wide variety of criteria when prioritizing projects; and as discussed
below, even units that use the same method may not emphasize the same
criteria in prioritization decisions. A complete record of the methods
used and the criteria considered at all 17 units is shown in figure 16,
in appendix IV.
Figure 6: Methods Used to Prioritize Projects at 17 Local Units:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
The most common method used by the local units we visited to prioritize
projects for 2002 is professional judgment or staff discussions.
Specifically, under this method, agency officials make decisions either
individually or in groups through discussions among staff members, but
they do not assign numeric scores to potential projects or use a
quantitative process. In some cases, however, they consider scientific
data and other systematically documented criteria, while in other
cases, the process is informal and undocumented. For example, at BLM's
San Juan Field Office in Colorado, the fuels manager identifies and
prioritizes projects based on his knowledge of fuels buildup, location
of nearby communities, and accessibility to the project area. He also
consults with county fire chiefs and reviews community fire plans to
identify additional projects, and he aims to distribute projects evenly
across various counties. He does not, however, refer to scientific
data, or follow a formal process of ranking potential projects. At the
Klamath National Forest in northern California, the staff rely on
informal discussions to prioritize projects, in part, because they do
not have accurate, recent data to use in assessing vegetative type or
condition and scoring projects. According to an agency official, the
most recent vegetation data for this forest were collected during the
1970s. In contrast, at the Deschutes and the Ochoco National Forests in
Oregon staff discussions to determine prioritization are guided by a
documented list of prioritization criteria. They consider local data on
type of vegetation, amount of fuels buildup, and predicted fire
behavior, as well as other criteriaæincluding but not limited to the
number of acres the potential project will cover and whether the
project is (1) coordinated with other agencies, (2) will benefit other
resources, (3) will cost less than $50 per acre, and (4) has completed
planning documents. Agency officials at these forests said they want to
retain the subjective quality of the process and have therefore not put
the criteria in order or developed a numeric scoring system.
Among local units that prioritize projects through professional
judgment or staff discussions, there is considerable diversity in the
extent to which they involve nearby communities. For example, at the
San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado, agency officials
rely on a list of potential projects identified in local community
planning documents to initially select all mechanical fuels reduction
projects. Forest Service officials then conduct on-the-ground surveys
to verify that the projects are feasible and suitable. Typically,
however, they do not consult additional data on vegetative type and
condition, fire history, or other characteristics. Instead, they choose
to give priority to community preferences. Most other local land units
we visited do not emphasize community involvement in the project
prioritization process to this extent; but some consider community
acceptance as one of several factors when selecting projects. For
example, at the Stanislaus National Forest in California, projects are
given higher priority when adjacent landowners are willing to
coordinate implementation of fuels reduction projects and given lower
priority when agency officials believe it is likely that informal
resistance or formal legal challenges from the community will impede
the project.
Some local units we visited use a scoring system to prioritize
projects. For example, at the Los Padres National Forest in California,
agency officials have developed a detailed scheme for assigning points
to potential projects based on a set of weighted criteria. Each project
is assigned points for, among other factors, type and age of vegetation
proximity to recent fires and proximity to communities. Managers refer
to detailed Geographic Information System maps with data on vegetation
type and age, and locations of historical fires to determine the number
of points to assign. Once potential projects have been assigned points,
they are ranked; and those with the most points are selected for
implementation.
Some local units in the Southeast rely on schedules of recurring
treatments to select projects for maintenance treatments. Under such a
schedule, each year fuels reduction projects are implemented in areas
where more time has elapsed since the last treatment because these
areas generally have the greatest fuels buildup. For example, at the
Bienville National Forest in Mississippi, agency officials schedule
prescribed burns on each parcel of land in the forest every 3 to 5
years. To schedule specific parcels for treatment, agency officials
rely on two primary resources. First, they use a prescribed burn atlas,
in which local officials have documented the location of every
prescribed burn completed each year. Second, agency officials also
record the locations of wildfires because fuels reduction may be
unnecessary in areas where wildfires have recently occurred.
In addition to the variation among local units in the methods used and
criteria considered for prioritizing projects, there is variation in
how they apply the criteria. For example, all of the local land units
that we visited attempt to give priority to projects in the wildland-
urban interface, but they do so to varying degrees. Specifically, some
units implement only projects that are in the interface, others
complete projects both inside and outside of the interface; and two
units that we visited did not implement any projects in the interface
in 2002, but planned to do so in 2003. Further, because there is no
specific national definition of wildland-urban interface and states
have not yet developed their own definitions, it is left to local units
to define it; and they do so differently. For example, the Apalachicola
National Forest in Florida defines wildland-urban interface to include
all land within 5 miles of a populated area, while several units
include land within 1.5 miles of a populated area; and some units do
not use a uniform definition, instead relying on case-by-case
determinations. At the White River National Forest near Vail, Colorado,
much of the wildland-urban interface is in areas where the views are
critical to the economic health of the resort town according to an
agency official. Consequently, land managers use an expansive
definition of wildland-urban interface that includes land that is part
of the view from the town, as well as the populated areas. BLM's
Surprise Field Office in rural California classifies scattered ranches
as wildland-urban interface. Also, some local units consider land
around features such as municipal watersheds or power lines to be
wildland-urban interface, while others include only land surrounding
residential and commercial buildings.
Although we did not find that local units had implemented projects that
were unimportant according to agency guidance, this guidance is so
broad that nearly any project could be considered a priority. In
addition, as more projects are completed, there will be fewer priority
projects left in some localities, and it will become increasingly
difficult to ensure that fuels reduction efforts are focused in areas
that are a priority nationwide. To provide such assurance, in the
future the agencies may need to redistribute funding according to where
the highest concentrations of priority projects are located nationwide.
However, without more specific national guidance on systematically
prioritizing projects, and more consistent application of the guidance
at local units, nearly any project may continue to qualify as a
priority. In this context, it is difficult for the Forest Service and
Interior to ensure that the highest priority projects nationwide are
being implemented.
Fuels Reduction Efforts Hindered by a Number of Factors:
Several factors have hindered local land units in completing their
annual fuels reduction workloads. As shown in figure 7, weather was the
predominant factor in preventing fuels reduction projects from being
implemented at the 17 local land units we visited, according to agency
officials. This factor was followed by diversion of resources from
fuels reduction efforts to fire suppression, then by other factors
related to planning and funding issues. (See app. III for additional
details.) In 2002, largely as a result of these factors, the agencies
treated only about 2.3 million acres, or 56 percent of the
approximately 4 million acres they were ready to treat. Given these
factors, some local officials were uncertain whether increased funding
would result in a proportional increase in acres treated under the
fuels reduction program.
Figure 7: Reasons Why Fuels Reduction Treatments Were Not Implemented
by 17 Local Units, FY 2002:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Weather Was the Most Prominent Factor Hindering Fuels Reduction
Program:
Based on our discussions with officials at the 17 local land units we
visited, weather was the most prominent factor that hindered the
implementation of fuels reduction projects in 2002, which accounted for
over 40 percent of all fuels reduction project delays at these units.
For example, of the 10,259 acres planned for treatment in 2002 at the
San Juan National Forest in Colorado, 6,757 acres, or 66 percent were
not treated because of severe drought conditions. In addition, of the
2,248 acres planned for treatment at the BLM Alturas Field Office in
California, consisting of primarily rangelands and juniper trees, 1,195
acres, or 53 percent, were not treated because of a variety of weather-
related factors. According to local land unit officials, very specific
weather conditions are required for every prescribed burn, which often
leaves a small window of opportunity to complete fuels reduction
treatments. The officials explained that it is dangerous to ignite
prescribed burns under high temperatures, drought conditions, high
winds, or unfavorable wind directions, because these conditions can
cause a prescribed fire to spread out of control or emit excessive
smoke over nearby urban areas and thoroughfares. It can also be
dangerous to thin vegetation using mechanical means during drought
conditions because many of the machines used for thinning can cause
sparks that officials fear could ignite excessively dry vegetation. On
the other hand, it can be difficult to ignite prescribed burns if the
vegetation is too wet, which makes treatments difficult to complete in
the fall and winter months in some areas. For these reasons, the number
of days per year when the weather will allow local units to administer
fuels reduction treatments can be quite small. For example, in 2002,
officials at the Osceola National Forest in Florida said that because
of weather-related factors they had about 60 days to conduct fuels
reduction treatments. As a result, out of the 47,000 acres planned for
treatment in 2002 at the Osceola National Forest, 34,000 acres, or 72
percent, were not treated because a prescribed burn within the forest's
swamplands during drought conditions could have emitted heavy smoke
onto a major interstate. If acres are not treated within a specific
window of opportunity, their treatments are generally delayed until the
next fiscal year or later.
Fuels Reduction Was Hindered by Diversion of Resources to Fire
Suppression:
Another factor that hindered the agencies' completion of fuels
reduction projects in 2002 was the diversion of agency resources--
funding and staff--from fuels reduction to fire suppression during the
severe fire
season.[Footnote 9] This factor accounted for 30 percent of all project
delays at the local units we visited. In 2002, the nation endured the
second most severe fire season in half a century. In all, wildland
fires burned 6.9 million acres, far above the 10-year annual average of
4.2 million acres; Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon recorded their largest
timber fires in the last century. In fact, in the last 10-year period
(1993-2002) the number of years with severe fire seasons has been
extremely high, as shown in figure 8. Over this period, the number of
federal acres burned by wildfires has steadily increased.
Figure 8: Number of Acres Burned by Wildfires, 1993-2002:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Because suppression costs are budgeted based on the 10-year average of
actual suppression costs and have not been fully funded in recent
years, the Forest Service and Interior have, in some cases, diverted
funds from the fuels reduction program to cover the costs of fire
suppression. According to Forest Service regional officials, although
the fuels reduction program generally gets reimbursed the next fiscal
year, the uncertainty and the timing of the reimbursement makes
planning projects difficult, especially given the sometimes small
window of opportunity for conducting treatments. As such, diverting
funds from fuels reduction can delay fuels reduction projects. For
example, in 2002, the Klamath National Forest in California shifted
about 22 percent of its approximately $570,000 fuels reduction budget
to support national fire suppression efforts. As a result, the forest
was unable to treat over 500 acres or about 15 percent of its annual
target.
In addition to funds, staff were also diverted from the fuels reduction
program to fire suppression. In some cases, fuels reduction staff were
deployed locally or nationally to fight wildfires. In other cases,
local units had the staff available to complete the fuels reduction
work but were prevented from doing so because of national fire fighting
preparedness restrictions put into place by the Forest Service and
Interior. These restrictions, dictated by burning conditions, fire
activity, and resource availability, limit or cancel fuels reduction
work to ensure that the necessary personnel are prepared and
immediately available for local or national fire suppression duties.
During 2002, the national preparedness restrictions rose to the highest
level possible, 5 weeks earlier than ever before; and they remained at
that level for a record-setting 62 days. According to local officials,
at the highest preparedness level, the Forest Service and Interior
generally cancel all fuels reduction work across the country, no matter
what the local weather conditions are or the number of staff on hand to
do the work. As a result, some local units were not able to complete
their 2002 fuels reduction workloads. For example, the BLM Prineville
District in Oregon, which primarily consists of juniper trees and
rangelands, was unable to treat over 3,500 acres because of the
national restrictions. Staffing obligations for fire suppression even
affected the fuels reduction efforts of the local units in the
Southeast. For example, out of the 145,208 acres scheduled for
treatment in 2002 at the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida,
31,518 acres, or 22 percent were not treated owing, in part, to the
national fire restrictions. In addition, nearly 20 percent of the
54,634 acres planned at the Bienville National Forest in Mississippi
were not treated because local staff were deployed to fight western
wildfires. If the trend illustrated in figure 8 continues, more
instances of funds and staff being diverted to fire suppression could
take place in the future.
Agency Officials Cited Additional Factors That Affected Fuels
Reduction:
In addition to the weather and the diversion of resources, local land
unit officials also cited, to a lesser degree, other factors that
affected the fuels reduction program. These factors included such
things as public resistance to fuels reduction projects, administrative
work to fulfill regulatory requirements, and the uncertainty of annual
funding. Citizens may generally challenge a local unit's decision to
proceed with a fuels reduction project. This allows greater citizen
involvement in the fuels reduction program. While the issue of formal
public resistance, such as appeals and litigation, has recently been
contentious, only a few local land unit officials we visited indicated
that this type of resistance had delayed particular fuels reduction
treatments. Local unit officials noted that more informal methods of
public resistance to fuels reduction have prevented them from
completing treatments and can even dissuade them from planning projects
in some areas. For example, agency officials from a national forest in
Oregon told us that they terminated a prescribed burning project that
was in progress because they received numerous complaints from local
residents about the smoke. Since that incident, officials have been
hesitant to initiate prescribed burns in the area, they said. Other
local unit officials stated that, because of the possibility of public
resistance over fuels reduction work and the necessity to comply with
regulatory requirements, their staff has to spend more time researching
and analyzing the possible impacts of fuels reduction treatments. For
example, according to officials at the Los Padres National Forest in
California, many of their projects are delayed for months while waiting
for the mandatory external consultations to comply with the Endangered
Species Act. In another example, a recent Forest Service report noted
that to avert legal challenges at the Santa Fe watershed project,
Forest Service officials spent almost 5 years and $1 million on
planning and public involvement.[Footnote 10]
Another factor that affects fuels reduction projects at the local level
is the uncertainty of annual funding. Some local officials stated that
it is difficult to plan projects, especially multiyear projects,
without consistent and sustained funding over a period of years.
Officials also said that the timing of the budget cycle makes planning
difficult because the annual budget process and fuels reduction
planning cycle often overlap with the fire season. According to one
local unit, officials often do not know how much funding they will
receive until April--well past the fall and winter months, which are
ideal for planning. Other officials explained that it is difficult to
hire people, identify targets, and write contracts when they do not
know the amount of funding they will receive. Because of this
uncertainty, officials pointed out, it is often necessary to fund fuels
reduction projects piece by piece. When projects are funded piecemeal
and the following years' funding is not guaranteed, projects may remain
incomplete for several years. Under these circumstances, costly and
time-consuming regulatory paperwork may have to be redone, because much
of the necessary environmental analysis needs to be updated after 3 to
5 years. In addition, projects that are only partially complete can
leave areas more susceptible to wildfire risk than they were before
their initial treatments because vegetation that is cut but left on the
ground or stacked in piles creates a dry, dense concentration of fuels
that can be highly flammable. While local units were generally more
concerned about the timing of the budget cycle, officials at five of
the local land units we visited indicated that inadequate funding
itself was a factor that hindered the implementation of fuels reduction
treatments. The most notable example was the Los Padres National
Forest, where officials claimed that they were not able to complete
over 44,000 acres, or approximately 96 percent, of their fuels
reduction workload in part because of limited funding. In addition to
these factors, local officials also mentioned staffing and contractor
shortages as sometimes limiting their ability to plan and implement
fuels reduction projects.
The Forest Service and Interior acknowledge these factors that hinder
the fuels reduction program, and some local land units have made
efforts to address them.
* The BLM San Juan District in Colorado and other local land units
sponsor public education programs and citizen meetings to help curb
public resistance to fuels reduction work.
* Officials at the Bienville National Forest in Mississippi said they
regularly have more acres ready for treatment than they expect to
treat, as part of their annual workload. This gives them the
flexibility to treat other acres if adverse factors prevent them from
treating the acres originally scheduled.
* Officials at the Osceola National Forest in Florida said that they
borrow resources from other local area forests and adjust workforce
schedules to take advantage of ideal weather conditions.
* To help streamline the planning process, officials at the Klamath
National Forest in California prepare a "programmatic biological
assessment" which can accommodate the necessary regulatory compliance
paperwork for several fuels reduction projects.
While these efforts are encouraging, some factors hindering the fuels
reduction program, such as the weather, are beyond human control; and
it is uncertain whether increased funding would result in a
proportional increase in acres treated under the fuels reduction
program.
Agencies Recognize Need to Better Measure the Effect of Fuels Reduction
Treatments, but Annual Reporting Practices Need Improvement:
The Forest Service and Interior currently measure the performance of
the fuels reduction program by counting the actual number of acres
treated. Assessing the performance of the fuels reduction program by
counting the number of acres treated is problematic, however, because
it does not provide information on how or if the level of risk to
catastrophic wildfire has been reduced. To address this weakness, the
Forest Service and Interior are currently developing results-oriented
performance measures to better assess the effects of fuels reduction
treatments. The new performance measures are intended to assess how
well the treatments are reducing the risk of wildfire by counting the
number of acres where the vegetative condition of the land has been
converted to a lower level of wildfire risk. However, because the
Forest Service and Interior do not currently have detailed nationwide
baseline data on wildfire risk and vegetative condition, the assessment
of risk level is generally left up to the judgment of local land
officials. As such, it will be difficult to ensure that any change in
wildfire risk as reported in annual performance reports is consistent
and accurate.
The current method of reporting annual performance under the fuels
reduction program is resulting in misleading data on what is actually
being accomplished. For example, reporting on the total number of acres
actually treated during the year provides an inaccurate assessment on
what is being accomplished to reduce the overall risk of catastrophic
wildfire because maintenance acres are being reported together with
other acres that are treated primarily to reduce the level of wildfire
risk. Maintenance acres, currently located primarily in the Southeast,
receive regular and frequent treatments to control their rapid
vegetation growth and maintain them at a low risk to wildfire.
According to agency officials, failure to regularly treat these acres
could quickly result in a higher risk to catastrophic wildfire. All
four local land units we visited in the Southeast treat the same acres
at each of their units about every 3 to 5 years to keep the vegetation
from growing and maintain them at a low level of wildfire risk. While
the treatment of these types of acres is important to maintain a low
risk of wildfire, reporting the treatment of these acres annually
together with nonmaintenance acres--those acres treated primarily to
reduce the overall risk of catastrophic wildfire--in annual performance
reports is misleading the Congress and the public over exactly what the
agencies are accomplishing with the fuels reduction program.
For example, if the Forest Service and Interior were to treat a total
of 2 million acres per year for the next 10 years, of which 1 million
acres per year were maintenance acres, and the other 1 million acres
per year were treated to reduce the level of wildfire risk, the
performance reports as currently structured would indicate that the
agencies had treated 20 million acres toward the total number of acres
nationwide that are at risk to wildfire. However, this assessment would
be incorrect in two ways. First, the 1 million maintenance acres
treated and reported were most likely treated 2 to 3 times, thus
reported 2 to 3 times during the 10-year period, making the number of
new acres actually treated one third or one half of the 20 million
reported. Second, because maintenance acres will continue to require
additional treatments beyond the 10-year period, it is misleading to
link these treatments to any long-term progress in further reducing the
total lands at risk to wildfire. This reporting practice can be
especially misleading under the fuels reduction program because of the
large proportion of maintenance acres treated each year, compared with
the other acres treated. For example, as shown in figure 9, for the 3-
year period for which the agencies have been counting the number of
acres treated for fuels reduction under the National Fire Plan (2001-
2003), between 40 to 50 percent of the total acres treated, or were
planned to be treated, each year have been maintenance acres in the
Southeast.
Figure 9: Percentage of Acres Treated or Planned for Treatment in the
Southeast by the Forest Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Furthermore, as the fuels reduction program progresses in the future
and an increasing amount of acres are reduced to a low level of
catastrophic wildfire risk, treatments to maintain these acres may
become an even greater proportion of the agencies' annual fuels
reduction nationwide workload. For example, the BLM Medford District in
Oregon stated that most of their lands would require maintenance
treatments in 7 or 8 years. As a result, because maintenance acres are
counted together with nonmaintenance acres, it will continue to be
difficult to accurately assess how annual fuels reduction
accomplishments are reducing the total number of acres at risk to
wildfire over time.
Also under the current reporting system, the way acres are reported
when multiple treatments are necessary to reduce the risk of wildfire
is also resulting in misleading data on what is actually being
accomplished for that year. By reporting multiple treatments on the
same acres as separate accomplishments, the agencies are creating the
impression that more acres are receiving treatments than what is
actually occurring. Specifically, not all of the acres reported as
treated in annual performance reports reflect "new" accomplishments--
some of the same acres may have been reported as treated in the
previous fiscal year. For example, on one national forest in Oregon,
13,000 acres were treated in 2002 and reported as accomplishments.
However, about 5,600 acres of the 13,000 acres, or 43 percent, were
also treated in 2001 and reported as accomplishments in 2001. As such,
only about 7,400 "new" acres were actually treated in fiscal year 2002.
In addition, over 500 of the 5,600 acres treated in 2001 were also
treated and reported a third time in 2002. While reporting acres in
this manner is an appropriate workload measure, it is nonetheless
difficult to assess the progress of the fuels reduction program beyond
a single fiscal year if some of the same acres are reported year after
year in annual performance reports.
Conclusions:
The Forest Service and Interior are working collaboratively to reduce
the buildup of underbrush and other vegetative fuels that has
accumulated to dangerous levels over the past several decades. Because
this task is an enormous undertaking, it will be nearly impossible for
the agencies to treat all of this land. Instead, they must first treat
the areas where the threat of wildfire presents the greatest risk. As
such, the agencies will have to make difficult decisions about which
locations should be treated first, and allocate funding accordingly.
Before the Forest Service and Interior can accurately identify which
lands need fuels reduction, they will have to collect detailed data on
lands with excess fuels buildup. Recognizing this need, they are
considering funding the LANDFIRE project as well as an interim rapid
assessment to collect these data. However, given that the rapid
assessment is unlikely to provide results that are as accurate and
consistent nationwide as those from LANDFIRE, we believe the agencies
should concentrate their efforts on LANDFIRE. In addition, the agencies
will have to define which lands are part of the wildland-urban
interface and determine whether lands that require regular maintenance
are as important to treat as other lands. Without doing so, they will
be constrained in their ability to prioritize locations for fuels
reduction treatments and allocate funding accordingly. In the future,
as more projects are completed, it will be increasingly important to
ensure that high-risk areas are identified systematically so the
agencies can identify the highest priority locations nationwide and
allocate funding accordingly. Also, because fuels reduction will
require a long-term sustained effort, it will be essential to report
accurate data concerning what is actually being accomplished so that
the progress made each year through these efforts may be monitored. To
this end, the agencies need to report accomplishments so that the
number of acres on which the level of wildfire risk is reduced in a
given year can be distinguished from other acres on which fuels
reduction work was accomplished.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To better ensure that federal lands most in need of fuels reduction are
treated, and provide the Congress and the relevant agencies with better
information for making fuels reduction funding decisions, we recommend
that the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior direct the
agencies to:
* fund and implement LANDFIRE so they can more accurately identify the
amount and location of lands with excess fuels buildup and facilitate
the prioritization of fuels reduction treatments;
* develop a consistent, specific definition of the wildland-urban
interface so that detailed, comparable nationwide data can be collected
to identify the amount and location of lands in the wildland-urban
interface which will facilitate the prioritization of fuels reduction
treatments;
* decide whether lands that require regular maintenance treatments are
an important area needing continuous fuels reduction treatments and, if
so, identify the amount and location of these lands nationwide to
facilitate the prioritization of fuels reduction treatments; and:
* distinguish in annual performance reports (1) acres that are treated
to reduce the level of risk of wildfire from high or moderate to low;
(2) acres that require multiple treatments over several years to reduce
their risk of wildfire; and (3) acres being treated to maintain their
low risk to wildfire, to more accurately reflect the actual progress
being made under the fuels reduction program.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided a draft of this report to the Secretaries of Agriculture
and of the Interior for review and comment. The departments provided a
consolidated, written response to our report, which is included in
appendix V of this report. The departments stated that the report aptly
described the nature of the fuels problem on public lands in both its
scope and severity. The departments agreed that prioritization is
essential to program effectiveness and acknowledged that it may be
possible to create broad categories of high, medium, and low priority
for fuel treatments. They further indicated that they are nearing a
decision on whether to fund and implement LANDFIRE. Regarding our
recommendation that they decide whether lands requiring regular
maintenance are an important part of the fuels reduction program, the
departments said they had decided that these lands are an integral part
of the program. However, they expressed concerns related to our
recommendations that they develop a specific definition of the
wildland-urban interface and that they distinguish among categories of
fuels treatments when reporting accomplishments.
The departments commented that it has been difficult to reach consensus
on a specific definition of the wildland-urban interface and they
believe that (1) landscape differences preclude the application of a
single geographic definition and (2) a too-detailed definition would
compromise the effectiveness of local collaboration and community
participation in this process. We recognize that reaching consensus on
a specific definition is difficult. We are not advocating an inflexible
geographic definition such as one based on a uniform radius around
communities. On the contrary, we agree that landscape differences
should be considered when defining the wildland-urban interface. We do,
however, believe that a more specific definition than currently exists
is needed to provide greater consistency among local units when
selecting projects in the wildland-urban interface; and we believe that
such a definition could be compatible with landscape differences. We
also continue to believe that without narrowing the definition of what
constitutes wildland-urban interface, a wide variety and large quantity
of land will continue to fit within the broad definition; and it will
be difficult for the departments to identify the highest priority areas
for fuels reduction nationwide.
In commenting on our recommendation that the agencies distinguish among
the types of acres treated in annual performance reports for the fuels
reduction program, the departments expressed concerns that our report
apparently assumes maintenance treatments and the first of multiple
treatments on the same acreage do not lower fire risk. We agree that
maintenance treatments do lower fire risk, but as noted in the report,
we believe that without separately reporting these treatments, it will
be difficult to accurately measure the progress that fuels reduction
treatments are having in reducing the total number of acres at the
highest level of risk to wildfire. To clarify this point, we have
changed our recommendation to more specifically focus on distinguishing
treatments done in high or moderate risk areas from treatments done in
low-risk areas.
As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce the
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until
30 days after the date of this letter. At that time, we will send
copies of this report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member,
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, Senate Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources; the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, House
Committee on Resources; the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on
Forests and Forest Health, House Committee on Resources; and other
interested congressional committees. We will also send copies of this
report to the Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of the Interior;
the Chief of the Forest Service; the Directors of BLM, the National
Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service; the Deputy
Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Director, Office of
Management and Budget; and other interested parties. We will make
copies available to others upon request. In addition, this report will
be available at no charge on GAO's web site at [Hyperlink, http://
www.gao.gov/] http://www.gao.gov/.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-3841. Key contributors to this report are
listed in app. VI.
Signed by:
Barry T. Hill
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
[End of section]
Appendixes:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
To assess the Forest Service's and the Department of the Interior's
(Interior) efforts to determine which federal lands require fuels
reduction treatments, we obtained interagency strategy and planning
documents that described the mission of the fuels reduction program and
an approach for achieving that mission. We interviewed department and
agency officials in national, regional, and state offices, as well as
at local land units. We obtained scientific studies about nationwide
fuels buildup in forests and other vegetated areas from the Rocky
Mountain Research Station and the Washington Office of Fire and
Aviation Management, and we interviewed some of the authors. We
reviewed a Forest Service proposal for a rapid assessment that will
collect data on nationwide fuels buildup in the near-term and
interviewed officials about LANDFIRE, a long-term plan to collect more
detailed data on nationwide fuels buildup. We also interviewed regional
and local unit officials from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the National Park Service, as well as officials
representing state departments of forestry, nonprofit organizations,
and research institutions.
To determine how local land units within the Forest Service and
Interior prioritize land for fuels reduction treatments, we obtained
interagency strategy documents and memorandums describing
prioritization criteria and process requirements. We also obtained
guidance from regional, state, and local offices where available. We
interviewed Forest Service and BLM officials representing state and
regional offices. We visited Forest Service and BLM fire and fuels
specialists representing 11 national forests and 6 BLM field offices
located in California, Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, and Oregon. (See
table 1.) We selected these two agencies because they received the
largest funding allocations for fuels reduction and treated the most
acres. We selected these states because they received the largest
funding allocations and treated the most acres under the fuels
reduction program. We included states in the Southeast as well as in
the West to ensure that diverse vegetation, climate, and treatment
strategies were represented. Through consultation with regional and
state agency officials we selected local land units to visit that
received the largest funding allocations, treated the most acres, and
represented diversity, with respect to predominant vegetative type,
treatment strategies used, and proximity to communities and urban
development. In addition, we verified that some of the units we
selected had faced challenges that prevented them from completing all
of the fuels reduction projects they had planned to implement in 2002.
Finally, we considered cost-effective logistics and travel for our
staff in selecting the 17 local land units to visit. At each local land
unit, we collected fiscal year 2002 and 2003 data about implemented and
planned fuels reduction projects; and in some cases, we observed field
locations where projects were proposed, had begun implementation, or
had been completed. While the results of our visits cannot be projected
nationwide, the locations represent a mix of local fuels reduction
efforts based on geographic diversity and level of funding.
Table 1: Local Land Units Visited by GAO:
Agency and local land unit: Forest Service:
Agency and local land unit: Apalachicola National Forest; State:
Florida.
Agency and local land unit: Bienville National Forest; State:
Mississippi.
Agency and local land unit: Deschutes National Forest; State: Oregon.
Agency and local land unit: DeSoto National Forest; State: Mississippi.
Agency and local land unit: Klamath National Forest; State: California.
Agency and local land unit: Los Padres National Forest; State:
California.
Agency and local land unit: Ochoco National Forest; State: Oregon.
Agency and local land unit: Osceola National Forest; State: Florida.
Agency and local land unit: San Juan National Forest; State: Colorado.
Agency and local land unit: Stanislaus National Forest; State:
California.
Agency and local land unit: White River National Forest; State:
Colorado.
Agency and local land unit: BLM:
Agency and local land unit: Alturas Field Office; State: California.
Agency and local land unit: Grand Junction Resource Area; State:
Colorado.
Agency and local land unit: Medford District, Ashland Resource Area;
StateService: Oregon.
Agency and local land unit: Prineville District; State: Oregon.
Agency and local land unit: San Juan Field Office; State: Colorado.
Agency and local land unit: Surprise Field Office; State: California.
Source: GAO.
[End of table]
To identify factors that have hindered recent fuels reduction efforts,
we interviewed Forest Service and Interior officials in headquarters,
regional, and state offices, and collected data about the percentage of
federal land ready for fuels reduction treatments in 2002 that was
treated. We interviewed agency officials from the 17 Forest Service and
BLM local land units we visited and collected information about fuels
reduction treatments planned and completed for fiscal year 2002, and
treatments planned for fiscal year 2003. Specifically, for each
treatment, officials provided the number of acres covered, whether the
treatment was in the wildland-urban interface, the type of treatment
used (e.g., prescribed burn or mechanical treatment), whether the same
area had been treated the previous year, whether the treatment was
completed as scheduled, and if not, the reasons why the treatment was
not completed.
To assess how the Forest Service and Interior measure progress under
the fuels reduction program, we reviewed interagency strategy and
planning documents that specified performance measures for the fuels
reduction program. We also collected nationwide accomplishment data for
the fuels reduction program in fiscal years 2001 and 2002 from the
Forest Service, BLM, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife
Service, and National Park Service, and analyzed the data to detect
patterns across fuels reduction projects. These data were obtained from
annual performance reports from the Forest Service and Interior for
fiscal years 2001 and 2002 that summarized annual performance and
provided quantitative data about fuels reduction accomplishments and
program costs nationwide. In addition, we received planned
accomplishment and projected cost data for fiscal year 2003 directly
from the agencies. We also reviewed the agency files we received to
ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data required for our
assessment. Finally, we interviewed agency officials in headquarters,
in the National Interagency Fire Center, and at local units to obtain
information about reporting systems and databases currently in use and
those planned for future use.
We conducted our work from June 2002 through May 2003 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Summary of Fuels Treatment Accomplishments for the Forest
Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
The following tables summarize the hazardous fuels reduction
accomplishments of the Forest Service and Interior for fiscal years
2001 and 2002 and planned accomplishments for 2003. The 2001 and 2002
tables summarize the number of acres treated and total obligated costs
for lands both in and outside of the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
The 2003 table summarizes the number of acres the agencies plan to
treat and the projected costs of those treatments. Except where noted,
the information was taken from the annual National Fire Plan
performance reports and was further analyzed by GAO.
Table 2: Summary of FY 2001 Goals and Accomplishments:
Agency: Forest Service; Acre targets: 1,800,000; Treated acres:
1,323,705; Percentage treated of planned acres: 74%; Total costs:
$145,473,000; WUI acres: 611,551; WUI costs: $87,967,000; Non-
WUI acres: 712,154; Non-WUI costs: $57,506,000; Non-WUI cost/acre: $81; WUI: cost/acre: $144.
Agency: Bureau of Land Management; Acre targets: unavailable; Treated
acres: 313,978; Percentage treated of planned acres: N/A; Total costs:
58,784,000; WUI acres: 98,590; WUI costs: 40,823,000; Non-WUI
acres: 215,388; Non-WUI costs: 17,961,000; Non-WUI cost/acre:
83; WUI: cost/acre: 414.
Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs; Acre targets: unavailable; Treated
acres: 74,010; Percentage treated of planned acres: N/A; Total costs:
25,544,000; WUI acres: 8,415; WUI costs: 18,212,000; Non-WUI
acres: 65,595; Non-WUI costs: 7,332,000; Non-WUI cost/acre:
112; WUI: cost/acre: 2,164.
Agency: National Park Service; Acre targets: unavailable; Treated
acres: 97,691; Percentage treated of planned acres: N/A; Total costs:
12,204,000; WUI acres: 2,843; WUI costs: 1,640,000; Non-WUI
acres: 94,848; Non-WUI costs: 10,564,000; Non-WUI cost/acre:
111; WUI: cost/acre: 577.
Agency: Fish and Wildlife Service; Acre targets: unavailable; Treated
acres: 242,433; Percentage treated of planned acres: N/A; Total costs:
18,263,000; WUI acres: 54,489; WUI costs: 8,795,000; Non-WUI
acres: 187,944; Non-WUI costs: 9,468,000; Non-WUI cost/acre:
50; WUI: cost/acre: 161.
Agency: Department of Interior; Acre targets: 1,400,000; Treated acres:
728,112; Percentage treated of planned acres: 52%; Total costs:
114,795,000; WUI acres: 164,337; WUI costs: 69,470,000; Non-
WUI acres: 563,775; Non-WUI costs: 45,325,000; Non-WUI cost/acre: 80;
WUI: cost/acre: 423.
Total for FS and Interior; Acre targets: 3,200,000; Treated
acres: 2,051,817; Percentage treated of planned acres: 64%; Total
costs: $260,268,000; WUI acres: 775,888; WUI costs:
$157,437,000; Non-WUI acres: 1,275,929; Non-WUI costs:
102,831,000.
Agency: Averages for FS and Interior; Acre targets: 1,600,000; Treated
acres: 410,363; Percentage treated of planned acres: 63%; Total costs:
52,053,600; WUI acres: 155,178; WUI costs: 31,487,400; Non-WUI
acres: 255,186; Non-WUI costs: 20,566,200; Non-WUI cost/acre:
81; WUI: cost/acre: 203.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
Notes: Totals do not include 197,148 acres of Wildland Fire Use
including 37,992 acres for Forest Service and 159,156 acres for
Interior. Wildland Fire Use is the management of naturally ignited
wildland fires to accomplish specific resource management objectives.
Forest Service cost data are project totals and do not reflect
administrative costs.
[End of table]
Figure 10: Fiscal Year 2001 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Figure 11: Fiscal Year 2001 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Table 3: Summary of FY 2002 Goals and Accomplishments:
Agency: Forest Service; Planned acres: 2,101,234; Treated: acres:
1,198,518; Percentage treated of planned acres: 57%; Total costs:
$127,379,000; WUI acres: 764,367; WUI costs: $73,524,000; Non-WUI
acres: 434,151; Non-WUI costs: $53,855,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: $124;
WUI cost/acre: $96.
Agency: Bureau of Land Management; Planned acres: 862,321; Treated:
acres: 321,087; Percentage treated of planned acres: 37%; Total costs:
80,850,000; WUI acres: 118,275; WUI costs: 54,979,000; Non-WUI acres:
202,812; Non-WUI costs: 25,871,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: 128; WUI cost/
acre: 465.
Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs; Planned acres: 246,634; Treated:
acres: 120,761; Percentage treated of planned acres: 49%; Total costs:
25,731,000; WUI acres: 24,501; WUI costs: 14,911,000; Non-WUI acres:
96,260; Non-WUI costs: 10,820,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: 112; WUI cost/
acre: 609.
Agency: National Park Service; Planned acres: 212,166; Treated: acres:
163,511; Percentage treated of planned acres: 77%; Total costs:
27,485,000; WUI acres: 15,030; WUI costs: 10,559,000; Non-WUI acres:
148,481; Non-WUI costs: 16,926,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: 114; WUI cost/
acre: 703.
Agency: Fish and Wildlife Service; Planned acres: 578,694; Treated:
acres: 453,605; Percentage treated of planned acres: 78%; Total costs:
25,314,000; WUI acres: 51,514; WUI costs: 10,210,000; Non-WUI acres:
402,091; Non-WUI costs: 15,104,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: 38; WUI cost/
acre: 198.
Agency: Department of Interior; Planned acres: 1,899,815; Treated:
acres: 1,058,964; Percentage treated of planned acres: 56%; Total
costs: 159,380,000; WUI acres: 209,320; WUI costs: 90,659,000; Non-WUI
acres: 849,644; Non-WUI costs: 68,721,000; Non-WUI costs/acre: 81; WUI
cost/acre: 433.
Total for FS and Interior; Planned acres: 4,001,049; Treated:
acres: 2,257,482; Percentage treated of planned acres: 56%; Total
costs: $286,759,000; WUI acres: 973,687; WUI costs: 164,183,000; Non-
WUI acres: 1,283,795; Non-WUI costs: $122,576,000.
Agency: Averages for FS and Interior; Planned acres: 800,210; Treated:
acres: 451,496; Percentage treated of planned acres: 60%; Total costs:
57,351,800; WUI acres: 194,737; WUI costs: 32,836,600; Non-WUI acres:
256,759; Non-WUI costs: 24,515,200; Non-WUI costs/acre: 95; WUI cost/
acre: 169.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
Notes: Planned acres refer to the total amount of land that the agency
would like to treat in the fiscal year. These acres do not refer to
formal targets or goals, and agencies do not use them for
accountability purposes. Formal targets are established when the
agencies receive their final appropriations and are further adjusted as
additional challenges arise.
Forest Service dollar amounts are project totals and do not reflect
administrative costs.
In addition to above accomplishments, 1,024,846 acres (59,385 for
Forest Service and 965,441 for Interior) were "treated" through
Wildland Fire Use. Also, an additional 458,456 acres were treated
through the Forest Service's Forest Health Program. The total for all
of these acres is 1,483,300.
[End of table]
Figure 12: Fiscal Year 2002 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Figure 13: Fiscal Year 2002 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Table 4: Summary of FY 2003 Planned Accomplishments:
Agency: Forest Service; Planned acres: 1,944,453; Total costs:
$205,008,413; WUI acres: 1,047,200; WUI costs: $104,575,084; Non-WUI
acres: 897,253; Non-WUI costs: $100,433,328; Non-WUI cost/acre: $112;
WUI cost/acre: $100.
Agency: Bureau of Land Management; Planned acres: 415,861; Total costs:
65,185,014; WUI acres: 153,292; WUI costs: 37,601,168; Non-WUI acres:
262,569; Non-WUI costs: 27,583,846; Non-WUI cost/acre: 105; WUI cost/
acre: 245.
Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs; Planned acres: 188,114; Total costs:
16,416,775; WUI acres: 14,425; WUI costs: 8,446,191; Non-WUI acres:
155,170; Non-WUI costs: 7,970,584; Non-WUI cost/acre: 51; WUI cost/
acre: 586.
Agency: National Park Service; Planned acres: 131,010; Total costs:
8,779,231; WUI acres: 18,935; WUI costs: 5,154,304; Non-WUI acres:
112,075; Non-WUI costs: 3,624,927; Non-WUI cost/acre: 32; WUI cost/
acre: 272.
Agency: Fish and Wildlife Service; Planned acres: 325,440; Total costs:
15,851,449; WUI acres: 99,541; WUI costs: 10,387,148; Non-WUI acres:
225,899; Non-WUI costs: 5,464,301; Non-WUI cost/acre: 24; WUI cost/
acre: 104.
Agency: Department of Interior; Planned acres: 1,060,425; Total costs:
106,232,469; WUI acres: 286,193; WUI costs: 61,588,811; Non-WUI acres:
755,713; Non-WUI costs: 44,643,658; Non-WUI cost/acre: 59; WUI cost/
acre: 215.
Total for FS and Interior; Planned acres: 3,004,878; Total
costs: $311,240,882; WUI acres: 1,333,393; WUI costs: $166,163,895;
Non-WUI acres: 1,652,966; Non-WUI costs: 145,076,986.
Agency: Averages for FS and Interior; Planned acres: 600,976; Total
costs: 62,248,176; WUI acres: 266,679; WUI costs: $ 33,232,779; Non-WUI
acres: 330,593; Non-WUI costs: 29,015,397; Non-WUI cost/acre: 88; WUI
cost/acre: 125.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
Notes: Planned acres refer to the total amount of land that the agency
would like to treat in the fiscal year. These acres do not refer to
formal targets or goals, and the agencies do not use them for
accountability purposes. Formal targets are established when the
agencies receive their final appropriations and are further adjusted as
additional challenges arise.
Planned acres and projected cost data received directly from the Forest
Service and Interior.
[End of table]
Figure 14: Fiscal Year 2003 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Acre
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Figure 15: Fiscal Year 2003 Fuels Reduction WUI and Non-WUI Cost
Distribution:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Summary of Fuels Treatment Accomplishments in the
Southeast for the Forest Service and Interior, FY 2001-2003:
These tables summarize the hazardous fuels reduction accomplishments in
the southeastern portion of the United States for the Forest Service
and Interior for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 and planned accomplishments
for 2003. The 2001 and 2002 tables summarize the number of acres
treated and total obligated costs of the hazardous fuels program in the
Southeast. The 2003 table summarizes the number of acres the agencies
plan to treat and the projected costs of those treatments. Except where
noted, the information was taken from the annual National Fire Plan
performance reports and further analyzed by GAO. To ensure consistency
among agencies, states were selected based on their inclusion in the
Forest Service's Southeastern Region.
Table 5: Southeast Accomplishments for FY 2001:
State: AL; Acres treated: Forest Service: 83,232; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 548; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
$83,780; Total costs: $1,710,000; Cost/acre: $ 20.
State: AR; Acres treated: Forest Service: 55,044; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 2,521; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 1,940; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
59,505; Total costs: 3,174,000; Cost/acre: 53.
State: FL; Acres treated: Forest Service: 108,282; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 72,172; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 19,589; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: 5;
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 3,430; Acres treated: Total:
203,478; Total costs: 5,110,000; Cost/acre: 25.
State: GA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 25,863; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 2,293; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Total: 28,156; Total costs: 933,000; Cost/acre: 33.
State: KY; Acres treated: Forest Service: 7,065; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Total: 7,065; Total costs: 1,018,000; Cost/acre: 144.
State: LA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 116,397; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 8,672; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Total: 125,069; Total costs: 2,836,000; Cost/acre:
23.
State: MS; Acres treated: Forest Service: 177,794; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 5,335; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Total: 183,129; Total costs: 3,907,000; Cost/acre:
21.
State: NC; Acres treated: Forest Service: 25,702; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 8,962; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 16; Acres treated:
Total: 34,680; Total costs: 1,826,000; Cost/acre: 53.
State: OK; Acres treated: Forest Service: 14,550; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 378; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 7,739; Acres treated:
Total: 22,667; Total costs: 747,000; Cost/acre: 33.
State: SC; Acres treated: Forest Service: 52,676; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 463; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 7,195; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
60,334; Total costs: 2,414,000; Cost/acre: 40.
State: TN; Acres treated: Forest Service: 17,275; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 1,707; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
18,982; Total costs: 1,036,000; Cost/acre: 55.
State: TX; Acres treated: Forest Service: 60,426; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 3,854; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 27,029; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 300; Acres treated: Total:
91,609; Total costs: 3,727,000; Cost/acre: 41.
State: VA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 3,623; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 139; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 88; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total: 3,850;
[Empty]; Total costs: 318,000; Cost/acre: 83.
State: Total; Acres treated: Forest Service: 747,929; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 81,404; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 81,481; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: 5;
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 11,485; Acres treated: Total:
$922,304; Total costs: $28,756,000; Cost/acre: [Empty].
State: Averages; Acres treated: Forest Service: 57,533; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 6,262; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 6,268; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: 0; Acres
treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 883; Acres treated: Total: 70,946;
[Empty]; Total costs: 2,212,000; Cost/acre: 31.
Percent of treated acres; Acres treated: Forest
Service: 55%; Acres treated: National Park Service: 83%; Acres treated:
Fish and Wildlife Service: 34%; Acres treated: Bureau of Land
Management: 0%; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 16%.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[End of table]
Table 6: Southeast Accomplishments for FY 2002:
State: AL; Acres treated: Forest Service: 64,688; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 863; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 89; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
$65,640; Total costs: $1,085,000; Cost/acre: $17.
State: AR; Acres treated: Forest Service: 84,558; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 6,501; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 1,467; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
92,526; Total costs: 2,725,000; Cost/acre: 29.
State: FL; Acres treated: Forest Service: 148,922; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 100,005; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 46,572; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 6,667; Acres treated:
Total: 302,166; Total costs: 4,746,000; Cost/acre: 16.
State: GA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 17,167; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 22; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 64,865; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
82,054; Total costs: 4,899,000; Cost/acre: 60.
State: KY; Acres treated: Forest Service: 9,191; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 130; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
9,321; Total costs: 572,000; Cost/acre: 61.
State: LA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 88,384; Acres
treated: National Park Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 29,384; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management:
[Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Total: 117,768; Total costs: 2,100,000; Cost/acre:
18.
State: MS; Acres treated: Forest Service: 214,326; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 1,056; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 13,271; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
228,653; Total costs: 4,060,000; Cost/acre: 18.
State: NC; Acres treated: Forest Service: 14,268; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 48; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 17,865; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
32,181; Total costs: 1,693,000; Cost/acre: 53.
State: OK; Acres treated: Forest Service: 14,348; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 722; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 5,042; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 10,521; Acres treated: Total:
30,633; Total costs: 1,672,000; Cost/acre: 55.
State: SC; Acres treated: Forest Service: 44,324; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 1,739; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 16,205; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
62,268; Total costs: 371,000; Cost/acre: 6.
State: TN; Acres treated: Forest Service: 10,053; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 1,553; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: [Empty]; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
11,606; Total costs: 1,259,000; Cost/acre: 108.
State: TX; Acres treated: Forest Service: 50,950; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 3,711; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 55,066; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty];
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
109,727; Total costs: 3,184,000; Cost/acre: 29.
State: VA; Acres treated: Forest Service: 4,463; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 348; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 193; Acres treated: Bureau of Land Management: [Empty]; Acres
treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Acres treated: Total:
5,004; Total costs: 528,000; Cost/acre: 106.
Total; Acres treated: Forest Service: 765,642; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 116,698; Acres treated: Fish and
Wildlife Service: 250,019;
Acres treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 17,188; Acres treated: Total:
$1,149,547; Total costs: $28,894,000.
Averages; Acres treated: Forest Service: 58,896; Acres
treated: National Park Service: 8,977; Acres treated: Fish and Wildlife
Service: 19,232; Acres
treated: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 1,322; Acres treated: Total: 88,427;
Total costs: 2,222,615; Cost/acre: 44.
Percent of treated acres; Acres treated: Forest
Service: 62%; Acres treated: National Park Service: 71%; Acres treated:
Fish and Wildlife Service: 55%; Acres treated: Bureau of Indian
Affairs: 16%.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[End of table]
Table 7: Southeast Accomplishments Planned for FY 2003:
State: AL; Forest Service: 60,702; National Park Service:
1,083; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 1,098; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
$62,883.
State: AR; Forest Service: 137,188; National Park Service:
15,658; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 2,180; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
155,026.
State: FL; Forest Service: 214,236; National Park Service:
52,260; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 27,716; Bureau of
Land Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 34,367;
Total: 328,579.
State: GA; Forest Service: 17,604; National Park Service: 4;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 8,430; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
26,038.
State: KY; Forest Service: 8,580; National Park Service: 424;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: [Empty]; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
9,004.
State: LA; Forest Service: 134,583; National Park Service:
[Empty]; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 19,700; Bureau of
Land Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty];
Total: 154,283.
State: MS; Forest Service: 218,733; National Park Service:
562; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 6,160; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 1,850; Total:
227,305.
State: NC; Forest Service: 54,971; National Park Service: 45;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 10,048; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 51; Total:
65,115.
State: OK; Forest Service: 27,264; National Park Service: 833;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 2,230; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 5,887; Total:
36,214.
State: SC; Forest Service: 38,550; National Park Service: 841;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 14,461; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
53,852.
State: TN; Forest Service: 20,132; National Park Service:
2,100; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 220; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
22,452.
State: TX; Forest Service: 88,427; National Park Service:
11,897; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 29,608; Bureau of
Land Management: 91; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total:
130,023.
State: VA; Forest Service: 14,387; National Park Service: 47;
Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 317; Bureau of Land
Management: [Empty]; Bureau of Indian Affairs: [Empty]; Total: 14,751.
State: Total; Forest Service: 1,035,357; National Park
Service: 85,754; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 122,168;
Bureau of Land Management: 91; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 42,155;
[Empty]; Total: $1,285,525.
State: Averages; Forest Service: 79,643; National Park
Service: 6,596; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 9,398; Bureau
of Land Management: 7; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 3,243; Total:
98,887.
State: Percent of treated acres; Forest Service: 53%; National
Park Service: 65%; Acres planned: Fish and Wildlife Service: 38%;
Bureau of Land Management: 0%; Bureau of Indian Affairs: 0%.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
Note: Planned acres and projected cost data received directly from the
Forest Service and Interior.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Summary of Information Related to the 17 Forest Service
and BLM Local Units Visited by GAO:
Tables 8 through 12 and figure 16 summarize the hazardous fuels
reduction accomplishments, reasons for incomplete treatments, and
prioritization methods for the local Forest Service and BLM units that
we visited. Table 8 summarizes the number of acres actually treated and
total obligated costs of the hazardous fuels program for the local
units. Table 9 summarizes the number of acres the agencies plan to
treat. Except where noted, the information was taken from data provided
by the local units.
Table 8: 2002 Fuels Reduction Acres and Costs for 17 Local Land Units:
Local land units: California:
Local land units: Alturas BLM; 2002 planned acres[A]: 2,248; Acres
completed: 653; Percentage of planned acres completed: 29%; Estimated
total costs[B]: $190,000; Estimated cost per acre[B]: $291; Estimated
WUI cost per acre[B]: $2,069.
Local land units: Klamath NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 5,642; Acres
completed: 3,348; Percentage of planned acres completed: 59%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 539,760; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 161; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 184.
Local land units: Los Padres NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 46,124; Acres
completed: 6,704; Percentage of planned acres completed: 15%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 269,000; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 40; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 40.
Local land units: Stanislaus NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 11,321; Acres
completed: 4,892; Percentage of planned acres completed: 43%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 445,570; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 91; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 114.
Local land units: Surprise BLM; 2002 planned acres[A]: 753; Acres
completed: 448; Percentage of planned acres completed: 59%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 165,178; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 369; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 440.
Local land units: Colorado:
Local land units: Grand Junction BLM; 2002 planned acres[A]: 8,186;
Acres completed: 3,073; Percentage of planned acres completed: 38%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 150,951; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 49;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 56.
Local land units: San Juan BLM; 2002 planned acres[A]: 2,013; Acres
completed: 1,573; Percentage of planned acres completed: 78%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 216,435; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 138; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 138.
Local land units: San Juan NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 10,259; Acres
completed: 3,113; Percentage of planned acres completed: 30%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 167,139; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 54; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 101.
Local land units: White River NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 4,470; Acres
completed: 520; Percentage of planned acres completed: 12%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 34,000; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 65; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: [Empty].
Local land units: Florida:
Local land units: Apalachicola NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 145,208;
Acres completed: 94,661; Percentage of planned acres completed: 65%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 1,893,220; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 20;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 20.
Local land units: Osceola NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 46,935; Acres
completed: 12,960; Percentage of planned acres completed: 28%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 233,280; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 18;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: [Empty].
Local land units: Mississippi:
Local land units: Bienville NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 54,694; Acres
completed: 43,497; Percentage of planned acres completed: 80%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 483,604; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 11;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 11.
Local land units: DeSoto NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 96,392; Acres
completed: 80,407; Percentage of planned acres completed: 83%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 1,179,405; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 15;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 15.
Local land units: Oregon:
Local land units: Deschutes NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 13,655; Acres
completed: 13,470; Percentage of planned acres completed: 99%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 2,365,562; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 176;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 281.
Local land units: Ashland Resource Area, Medford BLM[C]; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 8,888; Acres completed: 8,113; Percentage of planned acres
completed: 91%; Estimated total costs[B]: 3,475,132; Estimated cost per
acre[B]: 428; Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 428.
Local land units: Ochoco NF; 2002 planned acres[A]: 12,847; Acres
completed: 4,701; Percentage of planned acres completed: 37%; Estimated
total costs[B]: 380,443; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 81; Estimated WUI
cost per acre[B]: 98.
Local land units: Prineville BLM[D]; 2002 planned acres[A]: 28,221;
Acres completed: 18,749; Percentage of planned acres completed: 66%;
Estimated total costs[B]: 451,963; Estimated cost per acre[B]: 24;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: 35.
Local land units: Total; 2002 planned acres[A]: 497,856; Acres
completed: 300,882; Percentage of planned acres completed: 60%;
Estimated total costs[B]: $12,640,642; Estimated cost per acre[B]:
[Empty]; Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: [Empty].
Local land units: Average Per Unit; 2002 planned acres[A]: 29,286;
Acres completed: 17,699; Percentage of planned acres completed: 60%;
Estimated total costs[B]: $743,567; Estimated cost per acre[B]: $119;
Estimated WUI cost per acre[B]: $269.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[A] Planned acres refers to acres for which officials at local units
have completed preliminary documentation. It does not refer to local
units' formal acreage targets that they expect to complete in a given
year.
[B] Because we were unable to estimate costs for a small number of
fuels projects that were not fully completed, their costs are not
included in these calculations.
[C] A portion of Medford District, Ashland Resource Area's fuels
reduction work was paid for by funds outside of the fuels program, but
all acres were reported as accomplishments under the fuels reduction
program.
[D] BLM's Prineville District reduced fuels on 1,200 acres of Park
Service land as a joint effort between the two agencies. These 1,200
acres and BLM costs associated with them are included here in order to
more accurately measure accomplishments and unit costs.
[End of table]
Table 9: 2003 Planned Fuels Reduction Acres and Costs for 17 Local Land
Units:
Local land units: California:
Local land units: Alturas BLM; 2003 acres planned[A]:
746; Estimated cost: $200,000; Estimated cost per acre:
$268; Estimated WUI cost per acre: $268.
Local land units: Klamath NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
5,903; Estimated cost: 875,560; Estimated cost per acre:
148; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 149.
Local land units: Los Padres NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
10,192; Estimated cost: 809,625; Estimated cost per acre:
79; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 79.
Local land units: Stanislaus NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
14,134; Estimated cost: 2,767,584; Estimated cost per
acre: 196; Estimated WUI cost per acre:
175.
Local land units: Surprise BLM; 2003 acres planned[A]:
540; Estimated cost: 212,000; Estimated cost per acre:
393; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 947.
Local land units: Colorado:
Local land units: Grand Junction BLM; 2003 acres planned[A]:
11,395; Estimated cost: 760,661; Estimated
cost per acre: 67; Estimated WUI cost per acre:
86.
Local land units: San Juan BLM; 2003 acres planned[A]:
2,280; Estimated cost: 386,000; Estimated cost per acre:
169; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 169.
Local land units: San Juan NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
16,900; Estimated cost: 2,137,200; Estimated cost per
acre: 126; Estimated WUI cost per acre:
163.
Local land units: White River NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
3,960; Estimated cost: 447,500; Estimated cost per acre:
113; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 347.
Local land units: Florida:
Local land units: Apalachicola NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
155,027; Estimated cost: 3,410,594; Estimated cost per
acre: 22; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 22.
Local land units: Osceola NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
27,890; Estimated cost: 502,020; Estimated cost per acre:
18; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 18.
Local land units: Mississippi:
Local land units: Bienville NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
55,370; Estimated cost: 595,529; Estimated cost per acre:
11; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 11.
Local land units: DeSoto NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
101,656; Estimated cost: 1,524,840; Estimated cost per
acre: 15; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 15.
Local land units: Oregon:
Local land units: Deschutes NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
44,469; Estimated cost: 2,601,882; Estimated cost per
acre: 59; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 48.
Local land units: Ashland Resource Area, Medford BLM; 2003 acres
planned[A]: 7,856; Estimated cost:
3,223,784; Estimated cost per acre: 410; Estimated WUI
cost per acre: 410.
Local land units: Ochoco NF; 2003 acres planned[A]:
17,000; Estimated cost: 1,268,000; Estimated cost per
acre: 75; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 116.
Local land units: Prineville BLM; 2003 acres planned[A]:
17,810; Estimated cost: 540,500; Estimated cost per acre:
30; Estimated WUI cost per acre: 42.
Local land units: Total; 2003 acres planned[A]: 493,128;
Estimated cost: $22,263,279; Estimated cost per acre:
$45; Estimated WUI cost per acre: $42.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[A] Planned acres refers to acres for which officials at local units
have completed preliminary documentation. It does not refer to local
units' formal acreage targets that they expect to complete in a given
year.
[End of table]
Table 10: Cost and Accomplishments by Fuels Reduction Treatment Methods
Used by 17 Local Land Units, 2002:
Local land units: California:
Local land units: Alturas BLM; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 460; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
$86; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 193; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: $780; Total:
Acres treated: 653; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: $291.
Local land units: Klamath NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 2,403; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
119; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 945; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 269; Total:
Acres treated: 3,348; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 161.
Local land units: Los Padres NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 6,343; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
38; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 361; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 82; Total: Acres
treated: 6,704; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 40.
Local land units: Stanislaus NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 1,029; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
44; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 3,863; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 104; Total:
Acres treated: 4,892; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 91.
Local land units: Surprise BLM; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: [Empty]; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty];
[Empty]; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 448; Mechanical thinning:
Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 369; Total: Acres treated:
448; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 369.
Local land units: Colorado:
Local land units: Grand Junction BLM; Prescribed burning:
Acres treated: 532; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 7; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 2,541;
Mechanical thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 58;
Total: Acres treated: 3,073; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
49.
Local land units: San Juan BLM; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: [Empty]; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty];
[Empty]; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 1,573; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 138; Total:
Acres treated: 1,573; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 138.
Local land units: San Juan NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 2,556; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
36; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 557; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 136; Total:
Acres treated: 3,113; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 54.
Local land units: White River NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 520; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
65; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: [Empty]; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty]; Total: Acres
treated: 520; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 65.
Local land units: Florida:
Local land units: Apalachicola NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 94,661; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 20; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: [Empty]; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty]; Total: Acres
treated: 94,661; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 20.
Local land units: Osceola NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 12,960; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 18; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: [Empty]; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty]; Total: Acres
treated: 12,960; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 18.
Local land units: Mississippi:
Local land units: Bienville NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 43,497; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 11; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: [Empty]; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty]; Total: Acres
treated: 43,497; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 11.
Local land units: DeSoto NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 80,407; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 15; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: [Empty]; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty]; Total: Acres
treated: 80,407; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 15.
Local land units: Oregon:
Local land units: Deschutes NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 4,615; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
93; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 8,855; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 219; Total:
Acres treated: 13,470; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 176.
Local land units: Ashland Resource Area, Medford BLM[B];
Prescribed burning: Acres treated: 3,936; Prescribed burning: Estimated
average cost per acre[A]: 115; Mechanical thinning: Acres
treated: 4,177; Mechanical thinning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 723; Total: Acres treated: 8,113; Total: Estimated
average cost per acre[A]: 428.
Local land units: Ochoco NF; Prescribed burning: Acres
treated: 4,201; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
79; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 500; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 100; Total:
Acres treated: 4,701; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 81.
Local land units: Prineville BLM[C]; Prescribed burning:
Acres treated: 14,294; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 17; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 4,455;
Mechanical thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: 46;
Total: Acres treated: 18,749; Total: Estimated average cost per
acre[A]: 24.
Local land units: Total; Prescribed burning: Acres treated:
272,414; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: $51;
[Empty]; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 28,468; Mechanical
thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: $252; Total:
Acres treated: 300,882; Total: Estimated average cost per acre[A]:
$119.
Local land units: Percentage of treated acres; Prescribed
burning: Acres treated: 91%; Prescribed burning: Estimated average cost
per acre[A]: [Empty]; Mechanical thinning: Acres treated: 9%;
Mechanical thinning: Estimated average cost per acre[A]: [Empty];
Total: Acres treated: 100%.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[A] Because we were unable to estimate costs for a small number of
fuels projects that were not fully completed, their costs are not
included in these calculations.
[B] A portion of Medford District, Ashland Resource Area's fuels
reduction work was paid for by funds outside of the fuels program, but
all acres were reported as accomplishments under the fuels reduction
program.:
[C] BLM's Prineville District reduced fuels on 1,200 acres of Park
Service land as a joint effort between the two agencies. These 1,200
acres and BLM costs associated with them are included here in order to
more accurately measure accomplishments and unit costs.
[End of table]
Table 11: Reasons Cited for Incomplete Fuels Reduction Work by 17 Local
Land Units, 2002:
Local land units: California.
Local land units: Alturas BLM; Projects planned: 8; Projects not
completed: 4; Percentage projects not completed: 50%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 2,248; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 3;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: 1; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: All other reasons: 1.
Local land units: Klamath NF; Projects planned: 19; Projects not
completed: 8; Percentage projects not completed: 42%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 5,642; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 2; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: 4; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Los Padres NF; Projects planned: 15; Projects not
completed: 8; Percentage projects not completed: 53%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 46,124; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: 8; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: 2; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Stanislaus NF; Projects planned: 41; Projects not
completed: 19; Percentage projects not completed: 46%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 11,321; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 4;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 1; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: 11; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: Administrative requirements: 1; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: All other reasons: 2.
Local land units: Surprise BLM; Projects planned: 11; Projects not
completed: 7; Percentage projects not completed: 64%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 753; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 3;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 2; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: 1; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: All other reasons: 5.
Local land units: Colorado:
Local land units: Grand Junction BLM; Projects planned: 14; Projects
not completed: 11; Percentage projects not completed: 79%; 2002
planned acres[A]: 8,186; Reasons cited for incomplete projects:
Weather: 4; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 3;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: 1; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: All other reasons: 4.
Local land units: San Juan BLM; Projects planned: 7; Projects not
completed: 2; Percentage projects not completed: 29%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 2,013; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather:
[Empty]; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: San Juan NF; Projects planned: 16; Projects not
completed: 11; Percentage projects not completed: 69%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 10,259; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 9;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: 2.
Local land units: White River NF; Projects planned: 10; Projects not
completed: 9; Percentage projects not completed: 90%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 4,470; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 7; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Florida:
Local land units: Apalachicola NF; Projects planned: 117; Projects not
completed: 42; Percentage projects not completed: 36%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 145,208; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 42;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 24; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Osceola NF; Projects planned: 47; Projects not
completed: 35; Percentage projects not completed: 74%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 46,935; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 35;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Mississippi:
Local land units: Bienville NF; Projects planned: 29; Projects not
completed: 5; Percentage projects not completed: 17%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 54,694; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 4;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 4; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: 1.
Local land units: DeSoto NF; Projects planned: 61; Projects not
completed: 12; Percentage projects not completed: 20%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 96,392; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 11;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 11; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: 1.
Local land units: Oregon:
Local land units: Deschutes NF; Projects planned: 369; Projects not
completed: 6; Percentage projects not completed: 2%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 13,655; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 6;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Ashland Resource Area, Medford BLM; Projects
planned: 222; Projects not completed: 18; Percentage projects not
completed: 8%; 2002 planned acres[A]: 8,888; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Weather: [Empty]; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: Fire season: 18; Reasons cited for incomplete projects:
Funding: [Empty]; Reasons cited for incomplete projects:
Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: All other reasons: [Empty].
Local land units: Ochoco NF; Projects planned: 23; Projects not
completed: 20; Percentage projects not completed: 87%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 12,847; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 18; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: 18; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: Administrative requirements: [Empty]; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: All other reasons: 18.
Local land units: Prineville BLM; Projects planned: 35; Projects not
completed: 16; Percentage projects not completed: 46%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 28,221; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather: 2;
Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 4; Reasons cited
for incomplete projects: Funding: 1; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: Administrative requirements: 3; Reasons cited for incomplete
projects: All other reasons: 8.
Local land units: Total; Projects planned: 1,044; Projects not
completed: 233; Percentage projects not completed: 22%; 2002 planned
acres[A]: 497,856; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Weather:
131; Reasons cited for incomplete projects: Fire season: 96; Reasons
cited for incomplete projects: Funding: 42; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: Administrative requirements: 9; Reasons cited for
incomplete projects: All other reasons: 42.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.
[A] Planned acres refers to acres for which officials at local units
have completed preliminary documentation. It does not refer to local
units' formal acreage targets that they expect to complete in a given
year.:
Note: Because several factors can delay fuels work, some local units
cited more than one reason for incomplete fuels reduction projects. The
17 local units visited during our review cited 320 reasons to explain
233 incomplete projects.
[End of table]
Table 12: Acres Treated in FY 2002 or Planned in FY 2003 That Were
Treated in the Previous Fiscal Year:
Local land units: California:
Local land units: Alturas BLM; FY 2002 acres completed: 653; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 746; Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY 2003
acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Klamath NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 3,348; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 5,903; Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY 2003
acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Los Padres NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 6,704; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: 82; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: 1%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 10,192; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Stanislaus NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 4,892; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: 1,264; Percentage of FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: 26%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 14,134;
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 420; Percentage of
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 3%.
Local land units: Surprise BLM; FY 2002 acres completed: 448; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: 5; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: 1%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 540; Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY 2003
acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Colorado:
Local land units: Grand Junction BLM; FY 2002 acres completed: 3,073;
FY 2002 acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 11,395;
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: San Juan BLM; FY 2002 acres completed: 1,573; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: 37; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: 2%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 2,280; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: San Juan NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 3,113; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 16,900; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 600; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 4%.
Local land units: White River NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 520; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 3,960; Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY 2003
acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Florida:
Local land units: Apalachicola NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 94,661; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 155,027; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Osceola NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 12,960; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 27,890; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 2,200; Percentage of Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 8%.
Local land units: Mississippi:
Local land units: Bienville NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 43,497; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 55,370; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: DeSoto NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 80,407; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 101,656; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Oregon:
Local land units: Deschutes NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 13,470; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: 5,592; Percentage of FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: 42%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 44,469;
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 33,968; Percentage of
Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 76%.
Local land units: Ashland Resource Area, Medford BLM; FY 2002 acres
completed: 8,113; FY 2002 acres previously treated in 2001: 2,662;
Percentage of FY 2002 acres previously treated in 2001: 33%; Planned FY
2003 acres: 7,856; Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002:
3,363; Percentage of Planned FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002:
43%.
Local land units: Ochoco NF; FY 2002 acres completed: 4,701; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 17,000; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Prineville BLM; FY 2002 acres completed: 18,749; FY
2002 acres previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: [Empty]; Planned FY 2003 acres: 17,810; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty]; Percentage of Planned FY
2003 acres previously treated in 2002: [Empty].
Local land units: Total; FY 2002 acres completed: 300,882; FY 2002
acres previously treated in 2001: 9,642; Percentage of FY 2002 acres
previously treated in 2001: 3%; Planned FY 2003 acres: 493,128; Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 40,551; Percentage of Planned
FY 2003 acres previously treated in 2002: 8%.
Source: GAO analysis of Forest Service and Interior data.:
Note: In 6 of the 17 local land units that we visited, some acres of
land that were treated for fuels reduction and counted as acres
accomplished during fiscal year 2001 were treated and counted again as
acres accomplished in 2002. Treating an acre of land more than once is
sometimes necessary. For example, some areas with hazardous fuels
buildup are too dense to be treated with a prescribed burn because fire
would possibly burn too intensely and destroy valued resources,
defeating the original objective. In these cases, a series of
treatments, such as hand chopping and piling of fuels and small
prescribed burns, are performed on the same land over a period of time,
ranging from several months to several years. Forest Service and
Interior's internal reporting guidelines direct local land units to
report accomplishments on the same acres in separate fiscal years as a
workload measure showing the results from their annual funding
allotments. Overall, we found that, for the 17 local land units, 3
percent of the acres treated and counted as accomplishment for fiscal
year 2002 had been treated and counted in fiscal year 2001.
[End of table]
Figure 16: Elements of Local Land Units' Project Prioritization
Methods:
[See PDF for image]
[A] Access includes physical as well as legal access to potential
locations for fuels reduction projects. For example, in some cases, the
terrain is too steep for fuels reduction equipment to operate, and in
other cases snowy or muddy conditions can make a road impassable. Also,
in cases where private or other nonfederal land must be traversed in
order to reach a parcel of federal land, legal access becomes relevant
and agency officials must obtain formal permission to cross the
nonfederal land.
[B] In addition to a schedule of recurring treatments, the Apalachicola
National Forest uses a scoring system to prioritize projects.
[End of figure]
[End of section]
Appendix V: Comments from the Departments of Agriculture and of the
Interior:
WASHINGTON:
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR:
June 26, 2003:
Barry T. Hill, Director:
Natural Resources and Environment United States General Accounting
Office 441 G Street, N. W.
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Director Hill:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to review the draft report,
Wildland Fire Management: Additional Actions Required to Better
Identify and Prioritize Lands Needing Fuels Reduction (GAO-03-805). The
report is a well-prepared document that appropriately focuses on
strategic issues.
The report aptly describes the nature of the fuel problem on public
lands in both its scope and severity. Likewise, it accurately portrays
the range of issues that may have impacts on hazardous fuels reduction
treatments as they are actually accomplished on the landscape.
We agree with the fundamental premise that prioritization is essential
to program effectiveness. We note, however, that the nation's enormous
diversity in settlement patterns, land use, topography, vegetation, and
other geographic factors all influence wildland fire risk. These same
factors also impact how people in various parts of the country view the
landscape, identify and evaluate features at risk, and thus prioritize
fuels reduction treatments.
The Congress recognized the importance of regional differences when it
instructed the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to engage in a
collaborative process in the fuels program. It declared that State and
local governments were to be full partners and that "key decisions be
made at local levels.":
Regional differences impact the fuel program in two areas of concern to
GAO. First, these differences frustrate efforts to devise a systematic
method to rank order the thousands of annual individual treatments. It
may be possible, however, to develop techniques that create broad
landscape categories of high, medium, and low priority for fuel
treatments. Second, landscape differences preclude the application of
any single geographically useful definition of the wildland urban
interface (WUI).
The House of Representatives recently passed the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act (H.R. 1904) that adopted a flexible January 4, 2001
Federal Register WUI definition cited by GAO. The States, charged with
the responsibility of developing a definition of the WUI for the
Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) created at Congressional
behest, also endorse the Federal Register definition. Likewise, the
Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, Western Governors Association,
National Association of Counties, National Association of State
Foresters, Intertribal Timber Council, and other stakeholders adopted a
pliant definition of the WUI in A Collaborative Approach for Reducing
Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment: A 10-Year
Comprehensive Strategy.
Prioritization based on a too detailed and prescriptive national
definition for the WUI, combined with overly rigid prioritization
guidelines, would severely limit the effectiveness of local
collaboration and community participation that lies at the heart of the
fuels treatment program.
Nonetheless, we are sensitive to GAO's concern for the need for
national guidelines in order to reach national goals of reducing the
risks abnormal wildland fire poses to people, communities, and natural
resources and doing so in an effective and efficient manner. Hence, we
agree that local collaboration should operate within nationally
determined guidelines. We are persuaded, however, that such guidance is
exemplified by the January 14, 2003 FY 2004 project prioritization
letter from the Secretary of the Interior and a similar letter from
Chief of the Forest Service (copies attached). The nearly completed
"Protecting People and Natural Resources: A Cohesive Fuel Treatment
Strategy," amplifies on that direction.
We offer the following comments regarding GAO's four specific
recommendations for executive action to ensure that federal lands most
in need of fuels reduction are treated.
Fund and implement LANDFIRE so they can more accurately identify the
amount and location of lands with excess fuels buildup and facilitate
the prioritization offuels reduction treatments.
The Departments are nearing a decision on the funding of LANDFIRE. The
first prototype will be completed in the spring of 2004 and the second
in the fall of 2004. Since development of LANDFIRE began, other methods
for identifying and prioritizing fuel treatments have emerged (e.g.
those adopted by the State of Florida and since expanded to include
thirteen southern States). We are considering these alternatives as
part of our LANDFIRE evaluation process.
Develop a consistent, specific definition of the wildland-urban
interface so that detailed comparable nationwide data can be collected
to identify the amount and location of lands in the wildland-urban
interface which will facilitate the prioritization offuels reduction
treatments.
Since the development and implementation of the National Fire Plan, a
marked increase in attention to fuels treatment in the WUI has
occurred. In fiscal year 2001, for example, the agencies treated
775,000 WUI acres while they expect to treat 1,075,000 acres in FY
2004, an increase of nearly 40 percent.
While we understand the desire for geographic specificity, for the
reasons noted previously, it has been difficult to reach consensus on a
precise definition that adequately reflects the spatial complexity of
human settlement across diverse landscapes.
However, we are working to resolve this and have made significant
progress. As part of the collaborative process in identifying fuel
treatments projects, the States, through the National Association of
State Foresters (NASF), have the lead in developing a more nationally
consistent WUI definition for the WFLC. On June 20th, NASF proposed,
and the WFLC approved, using the January 4, 2001 Federal Register
definition of the wildland urban interface. Through the collaborative
process we will continue to refine this WUI definition and its
application as we prioritize fuels reduction treatments.
Decide whether lands that require regular maintenance treatments are an
important area needing continuous fuels reduction treatments and, if
so, identify the amount and location of these lands nationwide to
facilitate the prioritization offuels reduction treatments.
What GAO refers to as maintenance treatments remove fuel from lands
that are in fire regime condition class 1, meaning they have not missed
normally occurring fire return intervals. Such treatments most often
occur in the Southeast where vegetation grows quickly and are required
to prevent increased risk of wildland fire in such heavily vegetated
areas.
We have already determined that maintenance treatments (perhaps better
thought of as prevention treatments) are an integral part of the fuels
treatment program. In FY 2003 we expect to treat some 700,000 condition
class 1 acres. Without these treatments fuels conditions in the
Southeast could quickly spiral into dangerous situations that would
require much more costly treatments as it is more cost effective to
keep lands in condition class 1 than it is to return them to that
status after allowing them to slip into condition classes 2 or 3.
Distinguish in annual performance reports (1) acres that are treated to
reduce the risk of wildfire, (2) acres that require multiple treatments
over several years to reduce their risk to wildfires, and (3) acres
being treated to maintain their low risk to wildfire, to more
accurately reflect the actual progress being made under the fuels
reduction program.
The report argues that maintenance acres and non-maintenance acres are
fundamentally different (e.g., treatments done to maintain land in fire
condition class 1 - maintenance acres or maintenance treatments - do
not lower risk, while treatments done in areas within fire condition
classes 2 and 3 do lower risk). Consequently, it recommends that these
acres should be reported separately to give Congress and the public a
more accurate description of program accomplishments. GAO also argues
that annual reporting of these incremental treatments is misleading
when a series of treatments to complete risk reduction are needed on
the same area over several years, and that reporting multiple
treatments on the same area exaggerates the total risk reduction
accomplished.
We can report treatments by condition class.
Starting this fiscal year, we are requiring field units to report acres
treated by condition class, indeed one performance measure in the FY
2004 budget justification calls for the agencies to treat a specified
number of condition class 2 and 3 acres. To support this requirement,
we have developed a standard field procedure to evaluate changes in
condition class resulting from treatments. These procedures are new to
field practitioners. As the field offices become more experienced in
applying them, more complete information on risk reduction will become
available at a finer scale of resolution.
We are concerned, however, about the apparent assumptions that
maintenance treatments or the first of multiple treatments on the same
acreage do not lower fire risk. Removal of fuel means risk reduction
irrespective of the fire condition class of the land at the time of
removal and irrespective of the fact that multiple treatments may have
to be applied to the same acreage to lower its fire regime condition
class. In the Southeast, where
maintenance treatments are most common, fuel reduction in priority
condition class 1 areas not only immediately lessens the ever-
increasing risk of fire, but also keeps these areas from deteriorating
into condition class 2 and 3 lands that would require multiple,
expensive treatments over a period of years in order to reduce risk
back to acceptable levels. Similarly, when the full prescription for
lowering the fire regime condition class of an area includes thinning
and slash removal followed by prescribed burning, carrying out the
first part of the program will lower risk independent of subsequent
actions.
We appreciate the opportunity to review the draft Wildland Fire
Management: Additional Actions Required to Better Identify and
Prioritize Lands Needing Fuels Reduction report (GAO-03-805) and look
forward to working with GAO on future reports.
Mark Rey
Under Secretary
Natural Resources and the Environment
U.S. Department of Agriculture
P. Lynn Scarlett
Assistant Secretary
Policy, Management and Budget
U.S. Department of the Interior:
Signed by Mark Rey and P. Lynn Scarlett:
[End of section]
Appendix VI: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Barry T. Hill (202) 512-3841 Chester F. Janik (202) 512-6508:
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to those named above, Paul Bollea, Ridge Bowman, Lee
Carroll, Christine Colburn, Richard Johnson, and Cynthia Norris made
key contributions to this report.
(360168):
FOOTNOTES
[1] At the time of our review, the Forest Service and Interior had not
finalized the cohesive strategy. As a result, local land units are
continuing to operate under draft guidance.
[2] The Forest Service and Interior jointly funded the initial
assessment, and subsequent studies were funded by the Forest Service.
[3] Although the initial assessment covered only the 48 contiguous
states, the new efforts will cover all 50 states.
[4] See U.S. General Accounting Office, Western National Forests: A
Cohesive Strategy Is Needed to Address Catastrophic Wildfire Threats,
GAO/RCED-99-65 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 2, 1999).
[5] See U.S. General Accounting Office, Severe Wildland Fires:
Leadership and Accountability Needed to Reduce Risks to Communities and
Resources, GAO-02-259 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 31, 2002).
[6] 66 Fed. Reg. 753 (2001).
[7] A third category included the less-common situation when
structures, often within a city, abut an island of wildland fuels
(e.g., a park or open space).
[8] As of August 2003, a common definition of communities at risk had
not been developed.
[9] In 2002, the fire season was particularly severe. Agencies may not
experience the same resource diversions in years when the fire season
is less severe. However, recent history suggests that agencies will
continue to face severe fire seasons in the future. (See fig. 8.)
[10] U.S. Forest Service, The Process Predicament: How Statutory,
Regulatory and Administrative Factors Affect National Forest
Management, (Washington, D.C; June 2002).
GAO's Mission:
The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress,
exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability
of the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use
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