WSPC04645

• File Number: 8200.700
• Description: Colorado River-Colorado River Basin General Publications
• State: CO
• Date: 7/31/1985
• Title: CR Augmentation/Vegetative Management1986-88-USDA Decision on Review of Administrative Decision by Chief of Forest Services Related to Administrative Appeals
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Record of Decision

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULA/RE
OFFICE OF THE SECRETAR"-
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20250

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July 31, 1985

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SUBJ ECf:

USDA Decision on Review of Administrative
Decision by the Chief of the Forest Service Dlr;;::,r;::;,
Related to the Administrative Appeals of (C?luf~~ _
the Forest Plans and' EISs for the San Juan '~!~j~~
National Forest and the Grand Mesa, M4Y . ~
Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest 0.5 7986

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~i:~x Peterson CONSERv~ggJ:ArtF?

Forest Service 80AFrD

TO:

Pursuant to 36 CPR 211.18 (f) (5) (1984), this office elected on September 12,
1984 to review the Chief's September 10, 1984 decisions on separate ad-
ministrative appeals of the San Juan Forest Plan and accompanying Final En-
vironmental Impact Statement (FEIS)/l and the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and
Gunnison (GMUG) Forest Plan and accompanying FEIS./2 This letter constitutes
my decision on the basis of that review. Due to the similarity of issues, the
appeals for these two forests have been consolidated.

Appellant's objections to the forest plan and accompanying EISs for both
forests are similar. These objections include the following: (1) the Regional
Forester's decisions for the San Juan and GMUG are contrary to Departmental
policy because they authorize increases in timber harvesting in the face of
evidence that most of the timber sales involved will be uneconomic and will
cost the Federal government more than they will raise in revenue, (2) the
planning documents for both the San Juan and GMUG provide inadequate informa-
tion on, or,discussion of, the economic and environmental implications of con-
tinuing and increasing a timber sales program where costs substantially exceed
revenues, (3) the procedures used to determine the suitability of land for
timber management violate the requirements of the National Forest Management
Act of 1976 (NfMA), (4) the plans and the process by which they were formu-
lated violate NfMA, administrative law, and the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), and IS) the plans are an ambitious expansion of the timber program
and will significantly harm the environment.

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