Tongass National Forest: Administration of Two Long-Term Alaskan Timber Contracts
RCED-90-87
Published: Feb 21, 1990. Publicly Released: Mar 26, 1990.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed two long-term timber contracts in the Tongass National Forest, focusing on: (1) timber harvested under the two contracts; (2) timber deleted from the contractors' operating plans; (3) backlogged timber; and (4) Forest Service management of the Tongass timber program.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief, Forest Service, to ensure that, at the Tongass National Forest, forest supervisors conduct log accountability audits at each district office every 2 years, as required by Forest Service policy. |
Closed – Implemented
Forest Service Region 10 headquarters is monitoring forest supervisors log accountability reviews to ensure that the required reviews are being conducted.
|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief, Forest Service, to ensure that, at the Tongass National Forest, the information needed to document when and why timber sale deletions occur is accurately recorded in the agency's records. |
Closed – Implemented
The Forest Service's record of decision for final environmental impact statements for the current 5-year plans on the two long-term sales contracts involved have had language included requiring documentation of changes in cutting units.
|
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Topics
Contract administrationContract modificationsForest managementInternal controlsNative American claimsPublic landsRecordsSales contractsTimber salesEconomic development