Decision making, procedural compliance, and outcomes definition in U.S. forest service planning processes

Journal Article · Fri Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 2011 · Environmental Impact Assessment Review

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2011.01.006· OSTI ID:21499670

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dictates a process of analyzing and disclosing the likely impacts of proposed agency actions on the human environment. This study addresses two key questions related to NEPA implementation in the U.S. Forest Service: 1) how do Interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders and decision makers conceptualize the outcomes of NEPA processes? And 2), how does NEPA relate to agency decision making? We address these questions through two separate online surveys that posed questions about recently completed NEPA processes - the first with the ID team leaders tasked with carrying out the processes, and the second with the line officers responsible for making the processes' final decisions. Outcomes of NEPA processes include impacts on public relations, on employee morale and team functioning, on the achievement of agency goals, and on the achievement of NEPA's procedural requirements (disclosure) and substantive intent (minimizing negative environmental impacts). Although both tended to view public relations outcomes as important, decision makers' perceptions of favorable outcomes were more closely linked to the achievement of agency goals and process efficiency than was the case for ID team leaders. While ID team leaders' responses suggest that they see decision making closely integrated with the NEPA process, decision makers more commonly decoupled decision making from the NEPA process. These findings suggest a philosophical difference between ID team leaders and decision makers that may pose challenges for both the implementation and the evaluation of agency NEPA. We discuss the pros and cons of integrating NEPA with decision making or separating the two. We conclude that detaching NEPA from decision making poses greater risks than integrating them.

• OSTI ID: 21499670
• Journal Information: Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Journal Name: Environmental Impact Assessment Review Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 31; ISSN 0195-9255; ISSN EIARDK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COMPLIANCE
DECISION MAKING
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EVALUATION
FORESTS
HAZARDS
IMPLEMENTATION
LAWS
MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
PUBLIC RELATIONS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
US NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT