The National Forest System (NFS) is administered by the Forest Service (FS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although 87% of NFS lands are in the West, the FS administers more federal land in the East than all other federal agencies combined. ), livestock grazing, timber harvesting, watershed protection, and fish and wildlife habitats. Six years later, Congress stated that the forest reserves were
to improve and protect the forest within the reservation, or for the purpose of securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of the citizens of the United States. NFS management is still one of the three principal FS responsibilities. The other two principal responsibilities are providing assistance programs to nonfederal forest owners and conducting forestry research programs. Management of the National Forest System

		Overview and Land Management Planning

The management goals for the national forests were articulated in Section 1 of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, which states:
It is the policy of the Congress that the national forests are established and shall be administered for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife and fish purposes. The FS has developed 125 plans to guide the management of the 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands in the NFS. The various uses of NFS lands are to be balanced in the "combination that will best meet the needs of the American people" with the "harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources, each with the other ... in perpetuity of a high-level annual or regular periodic output ... without impairment of the productivity of the land." Although not a stated statutory purpose of the national forests, many of the uses and services of the national forests generate revenue. This revenue may be used to offset agency costs, shared with the communities containing the national forests, or deposited into the General Treasury, depending on the use, location, and varying statutory requirements. The NFS also includes several other types of land designations. However, several of the mandatory accounts also fund NFS activities, although this report focuses on discretionary appropriations. In FY2016, Congress appropriated $1.51 billion to the NFS discretionary account. The NFS account includes several subaccounts, programs, and activities, many of which reflect the different ways the national forests are used. Forest Products funds activities to analyze, prepare, offer, award, and administer timber sales, stewardship contracts, and special forest products permits on NFS lands (FY2016: $359.8 million, 24% of NFS). The IRR proposal combined the forest products, wildlife and fish habitat management, vegetation and watershed management, and CFLRP subaccounts into one budget line item. The pilot was authorized to be conducted in three regions (1, 3, and 4). IRR proponents—notably, the FS—assert that the increased budgetary flexibility facilitates integrated land and resource management objectives to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve forest resistance and resiliency to disturbance events. Congress has been concerned about the cost of WFM generally and suppression activities specifically. There are several ongoing concerns regarding wildfire management, including the total federal costs of wildfire management, the strategies and resources used for wildfire management, and the impact of wildfire on both the quality of life and the economy of communities surrounding wildfire activity.
The 193 million acres of the National Forest System (NFS) comprise 154 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and several other federal land designations. Management of the NFS is one of the three principal responsibilities of the Forest Service (FS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The other two principal responsibilities are providing assistance to nonfederal forest owners and conducting forestry research. Most NFS lands are concentrated in the western United States, although the Forest Service administers more federal land in the East than all other federal agencies combined.
The original forest reserves were established to improve and protect federal forests and watersheds and provide a source of timber. Today, the statutory mission of the National Forest System is to provide a variety of uses and values—timber production, watershed management, livestock grazing, energy and mineral development, outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife habitat management, and wilderness—without impairing the productivity of the land. Although there is not a statutory mandate to do so, many of the uses and services available on NFS lands generate revenue. The revenue may be used to offset agency costs, shared with the local communities containing the NFS lands, or returned to the Treasury. Growing demands for the various uses, values, and services have led to conflicts over the location and timing of activities.
In FY2016, the Forest Service received $1.5 billion to fund National Forest System management, approximately 24% of the $6.4 billion the agency received in discretionary appropriations. The NFS account includes several subaccounts, programs, and activities, many of which reflect the different ways in which national forests are used. These uses include activities related to recreation and wilderness, grazing, wildlife and fish habitat management, forest products and timber sales, and energy and minerals management. However, in FY2012, Congress authorized a pilot budget structure that consolidated several of the budget line items for three Forest Service regions. The Forest Service asserts that the budget flexibility provided in this Integrated Resources Restoration (IRR) program will facilitate various land and resource management objectives across the NFS.
Reducing the risk and expense of catastrophic wildfires on National Forest System lands has been a major focus of Congress, the Forest Service, and the public. Reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires involves land and resource management activities to restore the resilience and resistance of the forest ecosystem, such as reducing accumulated levels of biomass (which fuels fires) through timber sales, stewardship contracts, or prescribed burns. Many are also concerned about the cost of wildfires. Although wildfire management is funded separately from NFS management, some are concerned about the rising proportion of fire suppression costs on the rest of the Forest Service budget. In FY2006, wildfire management activities accounted for 44% of the agency's total discretionary appropriations; in FY2016, the $3.9 billion appropriated to wildfire management is 61% of the agency's total discretionary appropriation.
This report provides an overview of the history and management of the National Forest System, including a discussion of the statutory framework for making land management plans and decisions as well as for acquiring or disposing of system lands. The report also discusses the multiple uses of the NFS and the revenue generated by those activities, appropriations to manage the NFS, and wildfire management issues and costs. It concludes with a discussion of the issues that Congress often debates regarding national forest management.