Analysis and Recommendations
General Accounting Office Report
The Forest Service manages about 155 national forests covering 192 million acres of land — nearly 9 percent of the Nation’s total surface area. About 70 percent of these lands are located in the dry, interior portions of the western United States. Laws guiding the management of the national forests require them to be managed under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield to meet the diverse needs of the American people. Under the multiple-use principle, the Forest Service is required to plan for six renewable surface uses — outdoor recreation, rangeland, timber, watersheds and water flows, wilderness, and…
