Federal Land Policy and Management Act and Other Environmental Laws Provide the Statutory Framework for BLM Timber Sales

BLM manages its public domain forestry management program within a  statutory framework consisting of a land management statute and various  other environmental laws. FLPMA  gives BLM broad management discretion over how it emphasizes one use,  such as offering timber for sale, in relation to another, such as providing  recreation. BLM timber sales on public domain lands must also comply with the  requirements of other environmental laws, including the National  Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean  Water Act. Shift in Program Emphasis Was the Primary Cause of the Decline in Timber Offered for Sale

Beginning in the late 1980s, the program emphasis on BLM public domain  lands, like that on most other federal forests, increasingly shifted from  timber production to emphasizing forest ecosystem health. Shift in Program Emphasis to Forest Ecosystem Health Has Contributed to Reduced Timber Sale Offerings

The 74 percent decline in the volume of timber sale offerings from BLM  public domain lands since 1990, according to BLM officials, was primarily  due to the shift in program emphasis to forest ecosystem health. According to BLM, the need to  reduce forest density and restore composition diversity in forest  ecosystems has necessitated a refocusing of federal forest management  activities, including timber sale offerings, on the removal of smaller trees  and materials that generate less volume than the larger trees more  commonly offered for sale in prior years. They noted, however, that the shift had resulted in timber becoming  largely a by-product, rather than a focus, of the public domain forestry  management program. Scope and Methodology

To determine the legal framework for BLM timber sales on public domain  lands, we reviewed laws and regulations governing BLM’s timber sales  activities. To determine the trend in the volume of timber that BLM offered for sale  from public domain lands, we obtained BLM information on the volumes  and composition—sawtimber, firewood, posts, poles, and other wood  products—of timber offered for sale by state office for fiscal years 1990  through 2002. To determine what factors contributed to the trend in the volume of  timber offered for sale from public domain lands from 1990 to 2002, we  met with BLM headquarters officials and visited or contacted officials at  9 of the 12 BLM state offices and six field offices—two each in the states  of Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. We will send copies of this report to the Secretary of the Interior; the  Director of the Bureau of Land Management; the Director, Office of  Management and Budget; and other interested parties. GAO’s Comments

1. 2. 3. The department agreed with  this clarification.
Why GAO Did This Study

For several decades, debate over how to balance timber sales with resource protection and recreational use on federally managed lands has been at the heart of controversy surrounding federal land management. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is one of the federal agencies that manages some of the nation's forests--about 53 million acres--under its public domain forestry management program and offers timber for sale from these lands. With regard to BLM's offerings of timber for sale, congressional requesters asked GAO to determine (1) the statutory framework for BLM timber sales, (2) the trend in BLM timber volume offered for sale, and (3) factors contributing to any observed trends. GAO reviewed laws, regulations, and BLM policy governing BLM timber sales. GAO obtained and reviewed data on the volumes and composition of BLM timber sale offerings from fiscal years 1990 through 2002 and met with agency officials and others to identify factors affecting timber sale offering trends and their importance.

What GAO Found

A variety of land management and other environmental laws provide the statutory framework for timber sales on BLM public domain land. In particular, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act permits timber sales as one of several uses for BLM public lands. Timber sales also must comply with other environmental laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. From 1990 to 2002, the volume of timber offered for sale by BLM declined about 74 percent. Declines were experienced for each of the timber's components--sawtimber (trees or logs suitable for conversion into lumber) and other wood products (small logs used to make firewood, posts, and poles). Consequently, in 2002, the proportion of sawtimber in the total volume offered for sale was less than it was in 1990. The principal factor contributing to the decline in timber volume was the governmentwide shift in forestry program emphasis beginning in the late 1980s from timber production to enhancing forest ecosystem health. This shift was based on the need to provide more protection for nontimber resources and to place a greater emphasis on the removal of smaller trees to reduce the risks of insects, fire, and disease. As a result, according to BLM officials, timber became a by-product rather than the focus of BLM's management of its public domain forests.