The National Environmental Policy Act and the USDA Forest Service: Where We Agree, Where We Disagree, and Why

In this article, we respond to a critique of our earlier work examining the USDA Forest Service's (USFS's) planning processes. We appreciate that our critics introduce new data to the discussion of USFS planning. Further data integration is a promising path to developing a deeper understanding of agency activities. Our critics' analysis largely supports our original claims. Our most important difference is in our conceptualization of the planning process's relationship to agency goals. Although our critics conceive of the USFS's legally prescribed planning processes as a barrier to land management activities, we believe that public comment periods, scientific analysis, and land management activities are tools the agency uses to achieve its goals of managing land in the public interest. Study Implications: The USDA Forest Service's current planning process has been critiqued as a barrier to accomplishing land management activities, but it is also an important tool for insuring science-based management and understanding public values and interests that the agency is legally bound to uphold.

Automated summary

In this article, the authors respond to critiques of their previous work on the planning processes of the USDA Forest Service. They appreciate the introduction of new data by the critics and acknowledge the potential of data integration for a deeper understanding of agency activities. The authors' analysis largely aligns with their original claims, with the main difference being in their conceptualization of the planning process's relationship to agency goals. While the critics see the planning processes as barriers, the authors argue that they are tools used by the agency to achieve its land management goals.