Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and

Integration

Economic Uses Fact Sheet: 5

NEPA and Economics

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

Research Note

RMRS-RN-20-5-WWW

September 2004

Economics Team Co-Leads:

Roger Fight

Jamie Barbour

USDA Forest Service

Pacific Northwest Research Station

620 SW Main Street, Suite 400

Portland, OR 97205

Fuels planning: Science synthesis and integration, an interagency research/management partnership to support the Ten-Year

Fire Plan, led by Russell T. Graham, RMRS,

and Sarah M. McCaffrey, NCRS.

Synthesizing

Scientific Information

for Fire and Fuels

Project Managers

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

The information for this

fact sheet was provided by

Roger Ogden and Seth

White at the USFA Region

6 and PNW Station, Portland, Oregon.

What Is NEPA?

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is considered the ìStop and Thinkî

statuteóit is a law that requires Federal agencies to consider the environmental

impacts of their actions, involve the public in the decisionmaking process, and

Rough skinned newt in its river habitat (photo

courtesy of USDA Forest Service).

disclose information, starting at the

initial stages of planning. This includes

direct agency actions such as implementing fuel treatments, or any time

an agency grants a permit or license

for someone else to do the work, such

as a private contractor or citizen group.

NEPA helps ensure that managers are

fully aware of the potential beneficial

and harmful consequences of Federal

actions.

Should I Consider Economics in the NEPA Process?

From a practical standpoint, managers will want to know how much each alternative action will cost in dollars. But in the formal NEPA process, when, if ever,

should economic considerations weigh in? Simply put, economics should not be a

factor in deciding whether or not an action has a significant impact on the environment, and likewise should not be weighed against environmental impacts when

considering alternative actions. NEPA, however, does not mandate which action

should be selected (although other statutes mayósee below), so managers will be

interested in knowing the economic costs associated with all of the alternatives.

When to Do an Analysis

So when should a detailed analysis and disclosure of economic impacts be performed? Economic analysis and disclosure should occur when it is important to

make an informed choice among alternatives. The responsible line officer determines the scope, appropriate level, and complexity of the social and economic

analysis needed to make an informed decision. The scope of any economic analysis

should be done in context of full interdisciplinary team (IDT) participation. A

basic premise is that most physical and biological issues important in making an

informed decision also have social and economic effects. For further direction,

refer to the Forest Service Manual (FSM 1970) and the Forest Service Handbook

(FSH 1909.17).
The Fuels Planning fact sheets are based on preliminary findings. Information from fact sheets will be synthesized in an upcoming publication.

Economics Team Fact Sheets

Look for fact sheet topics from the Economics Team including prescribed

fire costs, harvesting, log hauling, NEPA and other regulations, wood utilization, economic impacts on communities, markets for wood, and harvest equipment requirements.

Fuels Planning: Synthesis and Integration

This fact sheet is one in a series being produced as part of a larger project

supported by the USDA Forest Service to synthesize new knowledge and

information relevant to fire and fuels management. Fact sheets address

topics related to stand structure, environmental impacts, economics, and

human responses to these factors. Information in the fact sheets is targeted for the dry forests of the Inland West, but is often applicable across

broad regions of the country. For more information, please visit our Web

site at:

www.fs.fed.us/fire/tech_transfer/synthesis/synthesis_index

Do I Need an Economist To Do a Detailed

Analysis of Impacts?

Maybe, or maybe not! The required skill level of the interdisciplinary team depends on the nature and complexity of the needed analysis. Proposals for less complex

actions may be done by the collective knowledge of the

interdisciplinary team. This means the team will consider

the economic issues identified and determine the level

of analysis needed to provide a meaningful disclosure of

the site-specific consequences for each alternative. Also

see FSM 1905, 40 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations)

1508.14, for more economic discussion relevant to planning. When an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

is prepared and natural and physical effects are interrelated, the EIS should discuss all of these effects on the

human environment (40 CFR 1508.14).

What Other Statutes Should I Be Aware of ?

While NEPA requires that managers take a hard look at

the consequences of alternative actions, other laws, statutes, and regulations may mandate that certain actions

be taken or avoided. The following statutes and regulations may have substantial impacts on decisionmaking:

• Clean Air Act

• Clean Water Act

• Data Quality Act

• Endangered Species Act

• Multiple Sustained Yield Act

• National Forest Management Act

• Organic Act

• Wilderness Act

For More Information

Existing Forest Plans include a comprehensive analysis

of the economic and social environment for your National Forest, consistent with the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). For more information on these

or other policies and the economics of fuels treatments,

the following references may provide helpful insights:

Cleaves, David A.; Brodie, J. Douglas. 1990. Economic

analysis of prescribed burning. Pp. 271ñ282 in Natural

and prescribed fire in Pacific Northwest Forests, J. D.

Walstad et al., eds. Oregon State University Press,

Corvallis, OR.

Cleaves, David A.; Haines, Terr K.; Martinez, Jorge. 1999.

Prescribed burning costs: trends and influences in the

National Forest System. P. 227 in Proceedings of the

symposium on fire economics, planning and policy: bottom lines. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSWGTR-173.

Rideout, Douglas B.; Omi, Philip N. 1995. Estimating the cost of fuels treatment. Forest Science 41(4):

664ñ674.

USDA Forest Service. 1993. The principal laws relating

to Forest Service activities. 21 p. U.S. GPO, Superintendant

of Documents.

USDA/USDI. 1995. Federal wildland fire management

policy and program review report. U.S. Department of

the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington, DC. 41 p.