GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548

November 16, 2000

The Honorable James V. Hansen

Chairman, Subcommittee on National Parks

and Public Lands

Committee on Resources

House of Representatives

Subject: Forest Service: Consolidation of the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range

Experiment Station With the Intermountain Research Station

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The Forest Service, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), maintains 77

research laboratories, organized within regional research stations, to develop

scientific information to improve the management, protection, and use of forests and

rangelands. In response to budget-reduction initiatives in the 1990s, the Forest

Service consolidated the administrative and management functions of some of these

stations. For instance, in May 1997, the Forest Service consolidated into one

administrative unit its Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station with its

Intermountain Research Station.1The consolidated station was renamed the Rocky

Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The Ogden headquarters office of the former Intermountain Research Station, with

the remaining managerial and administrative staff, was renamed the Ogden Service

Center.

Because of your interest in the consolidation of the Rocky Mountain Research

Station, we are providing you with information on (1) the chronology of the

consolidation of the former Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station

and the former Intermountain Research Station, (2) the managerial and

administrative staff reductions and associated cost savings resulting from the

consolidation, and (3) the overall changes in the research staffing levels and research

budgets that have taken place since the consolidation of the Rocky Mountain

Research Station was proposed in fiscal year 1992.

In summary, the Forest Service originally proposed merging the managerial and

administrative staff positions of the research stations in August 1992 but delayed this

action until May 1997 so that it could complete its reorganizational assessment under

1

The former Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station was headquartered in Fort Collins,

Colorado, and managed additional research units in Fort Collins, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico;

Flagstaff, Arizona; Laramie, Wyoming; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Rapid City, South Dakota. The former

Intermountain Research Station was headquartered in Ogden, Utah, and managed additional research

units in Logan, Ogden, and Provo, Utah; Bozeman and Missoula, Montana; Reno, Nevada; and Boise

and Moscow, Idaho.
2 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

its agencywide reinvention effort. As a result of the consolidation, the Forest Service

eliminated 18 managerial and administrative staff positions. The Director of the

Rocky Mountain Research Station said that the station had eliminated staff positions

only after employees vacated those positions through retirements or buyouts and that

it did not use any reductions-in-force to complete the consolidation. We estimate

that, had these positions been filled, the Rocky Mountain Research Station would

have spent an additional $1.4 million in salary and benefits for fiscal year 2000. In

addition to the staff positions eliminated because of the consolidation, an additional

29 managerial and administrative staff positions were eliminated or transferred to

other Forest Service units between fiscal years 1992 and 2000. These reductions

occurred because of an agencywide employee buyout, across-the-board research

budget reductions, and other steps taken to achieve operational efficiencies. Since

fiscal year 1992, research funding available to the merged station and its former

components has remained relatively constant as a percentage—about 15 percent—of

the Forest Service’s overall research budget to its research stations. Finally, the

number of scientific, professional, and technical staff at the merged station has

remained relatively stable.

Chronology of the Research Station’s Consolidation

In response to congressional interest in the early 1990s and the Secretary of

Agriculture’s direction that USDA reduce its overhead and administrative costs, the

Forest Service initially considered the consolidation of the management and

administrative staffs of the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station

and the Intermountain Research Station in mid 1992. According to an August 5, 1992,

internal Forest Service memorandum, the consolidation was part of a larger Forest

Service effort to reduce its overhead and administrative costs by also consolidating

its Southern and Southeastern Research Stations into one administrative unit. The

objectives of these consolidations were to (1) improve the efficiency of research

station programs by reducing administrative and overhead costs, (2) improve

regionwide coordination between the station and associated Forest Service regions,

and (3) allocate a greater share of available funds directly to research.

To comply with an appropriations act requirement that USDA receive consent from

the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and on Agriculture before

moving or closing its research offices,2

the Secretary of Agriculture, on August 14,

1992, notified these committees of its plans for both consolidations.3In the

notification, the Secretary said that the basic scope and direction of research in the

2

Public Law 102-154 required the consent of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. The same consent requirement continued to

appear in the Forest Service’s appropriations and was expanded in its 1996 appropriation to also

require consent from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House

Committee on Resources and to cover any reorganizations based on the governmentwide reinvention

effort. See Public Law 104-134. The requirement changed again in the Forest Service’s 1997

appropriation to require consent only from the appropriations committees. See Public Law 104-208.

3

The Southern and Southeastern Research Stations were consolidated on January 20, 1995.
3 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

affected states would not change and that only a small number of employees would

need to be relocated to accomplish the consolidations.

On November 10, 1992, the Senate Committee on Appropriations requested more

information on the impacts of the two consolidation plans, including the number of

staff positions to be eliminated and potential dollar savings from the Rocky Mountain

and Intermountain merger. On January 19, 1993, USDA provided this information and

further indicated that Fort Collins was chosen over Ogden as the consolidated

station’s headquarters because (1) Fort Collins staff provided administrative support

to several USDA organizations and the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest; (2) the

Rocky Mountain station was located on the Colorado State University campus, a

major land grant university with a natural resources research arm; and (3) Fort

Collins was located near Denver, Colorado, which serves as regional headquarters to

several federal agencies, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental

Protection Agency, that the research station frequently worked with. In its June 24,

1993, report accompanying the Department of the Interior’s fiscal year 1994

appropriations, the House Committee on Appropriations noted that it agreed with the

proposed consolidation. However, neither the Senate Committee on Appropriations

report nor the conference committee report mentioned the consolidation.

According to the Forest Service’s Deputy Chief for Research and Development and

the RMRS Director, the Forest Service delayed consolidating the research stations

until it completed efforts under the governmentwide reinvention effort to look at its

entire organizational structure. The reinvention called for reducing the number of

Forest Service regional offices and changing the alignment of research stations within

the new regional boundaries. The Secretary did not accept the reinvention report’s

proposals, in part, because of several congressional concerns about closing or

realigning existing regional offices and regional boundaries.

Subsequently, in fiscal years 1995 and 1996, additional budget reductions caused the

Forest Service to once again look for operational efficiencies by consolidating its

research stations. USDA again requested congressional consent for the proposed

merger of the managerial and administrative staffs of the research stations. In a

September 10, 1996, letter to USDA, the House Committee on Appropriations gave the

agency approval to carry out the consolidation.4

In addition, on April 11, 1997, USDA

received the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ consent to the consolidation

request.

According to the RMRS Director, the consolidation of the Rocky Mountain Forest and

Range Experiment Station and the Intermountain Research Station took place on May

7, 1997. The new research station was renamed the Rocky Mountain Research

Station, and it coordinates the Forest Service’s research activities over a 13-state

territory through its work units in 10 states. Station headquarters management and

administrative staff are housed in the station’s Fort Collins Service Center, and

4

Although the Committee’s letter refers to an August 22, 1996, USDA letter seeking approval for the

consolidation, the Forest Service was unable to provide us with a copy of this letter.
4 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

remaining managerial and administrative staff are housed in the station’s Ogden

Service Center.

Managerial and Administrative Staff Reductions

and Associated Cost Savings From the Consolidation

According to the RMRS Director, consolidating the managerial and administrative

staffs of the two research stations was intended to eliminate duplicate staffing and

result in cost savings. USDA originally estimated in January 1993 that 9.5 positions in

Ogden and 2 positions in Fort Collins would be eliminated in the merger, while 16

support positions would be transferred from Ogden to Fort Collins, and 6

administrative positions would be reassigned in Ogden to support research activities.

USDA originally estimated the cost savings from these actions would be about

$900,000 annually. In January 1997, the Forest Service increased this estimate—to

exceed $1.4 million annually—on the basis of an estimate of salary savings. However,

the Forest Service was unable to provide us with its methodology and calculation for

reaching this estimate.

According to the RMRS Director, the Forest Service eventually eliminated 21

managerial and administrative staff positions because of the consolidation but

created 3 new staff positions as a result. We calculated the salary and benefit

payments for the net reduction of 18 staff positions. We estimate that, had these 18

positions been filled, the Forest Service would have spent an additional $1.4 million

in annual salary and benefits for fiscal year 2000.5

Our estimate may be somewhat

conservative because it does not include other costs, such as travel, that could be

associated with employing staff.

Overall, managerial and administrative staff decreased by 47 positions at the two

service centers from fiscal years 1992 through 2000, including the net reductions of 18

positions from the consolidation; an additional 18 positions from employee buyouts

and budget cuts; and 11 positions from employees who transferred to other Forest

Service units without being replaced. Table 1 shows these decreases in managerial

and administrative staffs at both the Ogden and Fort Collins Service Centers.

5

RMRS staff identified the federal General Schedule pay level for each of the staff positions eliminated

and created because of the consolidation. We calculated salaries for these positions using the January

2000 federal General Schedule pay charts. We calculated benefit costs for each of these positions from

estimates in the Forest Service’s fiscal year 2000 budget submission to the Congress.
5 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Table 1: Changes in Managerial and Administrative Staff Positions, Fiscal Years 1992 to 2000

Research Managerial and administrative staff positions

station In fiscal

year 1992

Eliminated due

to consolidation

Created due to

consolidation

Abolished

or not

filled

Reassigned to

other Forest

Service unit

Remaining

in fiscal

year 2000a

Ogden Service

Center 42 17 0 0 7 18

Fort Collins

Service Center 88 4 3 18 4 65

Total 130 21 3 18 11 83

a

The total number of positions at the Fort Collins Service Center is 68, the total for both service centers is 86

because 3 new accounting positions were created between fiscal years 1996 and 2000 and were not part of total

managerial and administrative staff positions in fiscal year 1992.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.

At the Ogden Service Center, the 17 positions eliminated because of the consolidation

were the station director; 3 assistant directors; and several secretarial, professional

support, and budget staff. The four positions eliminated at the Fort Collins Service

Center included an assistant director, two library staff, and one administrative

officer. Three positions—a deputy director position and two budget staff positions—

were created at the Fort Collins Service Center because of the consolidation.

Of the additional 29 positions eliminated, 11 were cut at the Fort Collins Service

Center because of fiscal year 1996 budget reductions across Forest Service research

stations and 7 positions because of restructuring of duties when vacancies occurred,

according to RMRS Director.6In addition, RMRS officials reduced staff at the two

former stations by transferring 11 positions to other nearby Forest Service units,

primarily to match staffing assignments with unit funding sources. Of the 11 staff

positions reassigned, RMRS officials indicated that

• 6 civil rights staff positions were transferred from the former Intermountain

Research Station to Forest Service Region 4 (also headquartered in Ogden) in

fiscal year 1994;

• a statistician staff position was relocated from the Ogden Intermountain Research

Station office to the Forest Sciences Laboratory, located in Logan, Utah, in fiscal

year 1995; and

• 4 staff positions—a natural resources manager position and 3 administrative

positions—were transferred from the Fort Collins Service Center to the Forest

Service’s Washington, D.C., detached staff,7

also located in Fort Collins, between

fiscal years 1995 and 1999.

6

Because these positions were not directly targeted by the consolidation, we did not estimate the

salary and benefit savings due to eliminating or not filling these positions.

7

These staff work at regional sites but are funded through the Forest Service’s headquarters accounts.
6 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Tables 3 and 4 in enclosures I and II, respectively, list the managerial and

administrative staff positions eliminated at both service centers between fiscal years

1992 and 2000.

According to the RMRS Director, employees who participated in the Forest Servicewide buyout initiative in fiscal years 1994 and 1995 allowed the consolidation and

other staff position reductions to take place without employee layoffs or without

forcing employees to transfer from Ogden to Fort Collins. Two employees from

Ogden successfully competed for positions created in Fort Collins during the

consolidation.

Overall Changes in Research Staffing and Research Budgets

While the number of managerial and administrative staff decreased between fiscal

years 1992 and 2000, the total number of scientific, professional, and technical staff at

the Rocky Mountain Research Station remained relatively constant, although the mix

of these staff varied. According to budget information from the Rocky Mountain

Research Station, the percent of research funds controlled by research units in states

served by the station also remained relatively constant. More broadly, the station’s

share of Forest Service research appropriations remained steadier than funding for

other Forest Service research stations.

Total scientific, professional, and technical staff at the former research stations in

fiscal year 1992 equaled that of the consolidated station in fiscal year 2000. Staff

listed as scientists included those leading basic or applied research and included

positions classified as research foresters, hydrologists, economists, ecologists,

fisheries biologists and plant physiologists, among others. Staff listed as professional

included positions classified as foresters, wildlife biologists, accountants, and

librarians, among others. The professional positions were generally at a lower grade

than the scientist positions and often supported research being led by staff scientists.

Technical positions included forestry technicians, accounting technicians, and

biological science technicians. Table 2 shows the number of scientific, professional,

and technical staffing at the former and current research stations.
7 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Table 2: Scientific, Professional, and Technical Staffing, Fiscal Years 1992 Through 2000

Fiscal year and number of staffa

Research station

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Former Intermountain Research

Station

Scientists 77 80 76 79 69 66

Professional 55 50 55 57 62 63

Technical 35 37 37 65 65 62

Subtotal 167 167 168 201 196 191

Former Rocky Mountain Forest

and Range Experiment Station

Scientists 69 76 74 76 61 58

Professional 12 10 21 14 22 18

Technical 21 19 20 12 10 10

Subtotal 102 105 115 102 93 86

Rocky Mountain Research

Station (combined totals

through fiscal year 1997)

Scientists 146 156 150 155 130 124 124 119 111

Professional 67 60 76 71 84 81 77 104 102

Technical 56 56 57 77 75 72 71 52 56

Total 269 272 283 303 289 277 272 275 269

a

Staffing totals for the former Intermountain Research Station and the former Rocky Mountain Forest and Range

Experiment Station were unavailable for fiscal years 1998 to 2000 because the Forest Service has only

maintained combined information since the consolidation. Totals represent only permanent employees. RMRS

also employs research staff in temporary positions.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.

As shown in table 2, the number of staff identified as scientists fell from a combined

total of 146 in fiscal year 1992 to 111 in fiscal year 2000. The RMRS Director told us

that the decline in scientists occurred because of retirements, buyouts, and acrossthe-board research budget reductions in fiscal year 1996. These reduced the number

of scientists positions funded by the research station. The Director said the station

has made greater use of temporary researchers, such as post-doctoral appointments

for finite terms, to make up for the loss of permanent full-time scientist staff. The

total number of scientists and professionals was 213 in fiscal years 1992 and 2000.

Table 2 also shows that staff identified as professional rose from a combined total of

67 in fiscal year 1992 to 102 in fiscal year 2000. The RMRS Director said that the

increase in professional staff occurred primarily because of an expansion of reporting

requirements for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program.8 Under this

program, the Forest Service collects and reports information on status and trends—

including the species, size, and health of trees; total tree growth; mortality; removals

by harvest; and wood production and utilization rate—on public and private forests.

The RMRS Director said the station’s FIA program, directed from its Ogden, Utah,

location, grew from 6 percent of the station’s appropriated funding in fiscal year 1998

to 12 percent in fiscal year 2000.

8

The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 significantly enhanced the

FIA program by requiring the Forest Service to issue FIA reports more frequently and with additional

forest health information.
8 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

While the mix of research staff changed over time, appropriated funding for the

research station remained relatively stable. Figure 1 shows appropriated funds for

the former and current research stations.

Figure 1: Appropriated Funds for Former and Current Research Stations, Constant Dollars, Fiscal Years

1992 Through 2000

Dollars in millions

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Fiscal year

 

 

 

RMRS

Former Rocky Mountain

Former Intermountain

Note: Gross domestic product base price index used is for fiscal year 1999.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.

In fiscal year 1999 constant dollars, appropriated funding for the two former stations

was $24 million in fiscal year 1992, reached $28.6 million in fiscal year 1995, but fell to

$26.3 million in fiscal year 1996 because of the across-the-board Forest Service

budget reductions for research. Funding for the consolidated RMRS was

$32.1 million in fiscal year 2000. Table 5 in enclosure III includes research station

budget allocations in actual and 1999 constant dollars from fiscal years 1992 through

2000.

Appropriated funding for RMRS has remained relatively constant when compared

with the funding for the Forest Service’s other research stations. Total research

funding for the Forest Service increased from $181 million in fiscal year 1992 to $203

million in fiscal year 2000. Taken together, the former Intermountain and Rocky

Mountain stations received a total of about 15 percent of all Forest Service research

funding in fiscal year 1992. This percentage of total research funding remained

constant throughout the 1990s. In fiscal year 2000, RMRS received a total of about 16

percent of all appropriated funding made to Forest Service research stations and

laboratories. According to the RMRS Director, the Forest Service was able to
9 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

supplement appropriated funds by making increasing use of contract funds that came

mainly from other federal agencies, including other Forest Service units, the Bureau

of Land Management, and the National Park Service. According to the RMRS

Director, these funds to support research and technical assistance have grown from

$7 million in fiscal year 1992 to $13 million in fiscal year 2000.

As noted earlier, RMRS coordinates and funds research activities across a 13-state

territory through its work units in 10 states. According to RMRS budget information,

the percent of research funds received by work units in states served by the station

also remained relatively constant. Tables 5 and 6 in enclosure III identify work unit

budget allocations by state and calculate the percent of overall funding the work

units in each state received of total RMRS funding.

Agency Comments

We provided the Forest Service with a draft of this report for its review and

comment. We met with the Forest Service’s Deputy Director of Research and

Development and the Director of the Rocky Mountain Research Station. The Forest

Service agreed with the facts as presented and provided some technical clarifications,

which we incorporated as appropriate.

-----

To develop the information for this report, we reviewed Forest Service budget

documents and interviewed current and former Forest Service officials at the Rocky

Mountain and Intermountain Research Stations and officials in the Forest Service’s

Region 4, as well as headquarters. In addition, we had RMRS staff prepare estimates

of changes in staff positions in both Fort Collins and Ogden. We reviewed these

estimates with RMRS staff. We performed our work from July through November

2000 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
10 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we

plan no further distribution of this report for 7 days after the date of this letter. At

that time, we will send copies of this report to the Honorable Dan Glickman,

Secretary of Agriculture, and the Honorable Mike Dombeck, Chief of the Forest

Service. We will make copies available to others on request.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report or need additional

information, please call me at (202) 512-3841. Key contributors to this report were

Linda Harmon and Timothy Minelli.

Sincerely yours,

Barry Hill

Director, Natural Resources

and Environment

Enclosures – 3
11 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Enclosure I

Table 3: Changes in Managerial and Administrative Staff Positions at the Ogden Service Center, Fiscal

Years 1992 Through 2000

Positions at former

Intermountain Research

Station fiscal year 1992

Position

eliminated

due to

consolidation

Position

reassigned to

other Forest

Service unit

Positions

remaining at

Ogden

Service Center

fiscal year 2000

Station Director 1

Assistant Station Director, Research 2

Assistant Station Director, Research 1

Assistant Station Director, Administration 1

Secretary 3

Office Assistant/Secretary 1

Staff Director, Budget and Research Agreements 1

Budget Analyst 1

Accounting Technician 1

Grants and Agreements Specialist 1

Staff Director, Operations/Administrative Officer 1

Management Analyst 1

Management Assistant 1

Office Assistant/Office Automation Clerk 1

Staff Director, Research Information 1

Editorial Assistant/Visual Information Specialist 1

Office Assistant/Editorial Assistant 1

Clerk Typist/Editorial Assistant 1

Visual Information Specialist/Printed Material 1

Technical Publications Editor/Writer Supervisor 1

Publications Editor 1

Visual Information Specialist 1

Visual Information Specialist 1

Public Affairs Specialist 1

Public Affairs Specialist 1

Technical Information Officer 1

Librarian 1

Library Technician 1

Library Technician 1

Technical Information Specialist 1

Mathematics Statistician 2

Mathematics Statistician 1

Staff Director for Human Rights 1

Equal Opportunity Assistant 1

Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialist 1

Employee Relations Specialist 1

Equal Opportunity Specialist 2

Total positions—42 17 7 18

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.
12 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Enclosure II

Table 4: Changes in Managerial and Administrative Staff Positions at the Fort Collins Service Center, Fiscal

Years 1992 Through 2000

Positions at former Rocky Mountain Forest and

Range Experiment Station fiscal year 1992

Position eliminated

due to consolidation

Position abolished

or not filled due to

budget reductions or

restructured duties

Position

reassigned to

other Forest

Service unit

Positions at Fort

Collins Service

Center fiscal year

2000a

Station Director 1

Assistant Station Director, Research 2

Assistant Station Director,

Administration/Operations

1

Assistant Station Director, Research, Planning

and Application

1

Global Change Program Manager 1

Secretary 4

Management Analyst 1

Management Analyst 1

Building Management Specialist 1

Support Service Supervisor 1

Information Clerk 1

Clerk 1

Computer Specialist 5

Telecommunications Specialist 1

Information Management Officer 1

Librarian, Supervisor 1

Library Technician 1

Library Technician (Typing) 1

Library Technician 1

Library Aid 1

Public Affairs Specialist 1

Visual Information Specialist 1

Technical Publications Editor/Supervisor 1

Technical Publications Editor

Supervisor/Illustrator

1

Office Automation Assistant/Information

Management Assistant

1

Editor 1

Natural Resources Manager 1

Administrative Officer 1

Student Training Contracting/Cooperative

Education

1

Copier/Duplication Equipment Operator 1

Purchasing Agent 1

Purchasing Agent 1

Contracting Specialist 1

Procurement Clerk (Typing) 1

Contracting Specialist Supervisor 1

Purchasing Agent 1

Mail Clerk 1

Supply Clerk 1

Maintenance Worker 1

Purchasing Agent Supervisor 1

Contract Specialist/Grants and Agreement

Specialist

1

Agreements Assistant/Freedom of Information

Act Privacy Specialist

1

Purchasing Agent 1

Property Management Specialist 1
13 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Enclosure II

Positions at former Rocky Mountain Forest and

Range Experiment Station fiscal year 1992

Position eliminated

due to consolidation

Position abolished

or not filled due to

budget reductions or

restructured duties

Position

reassigned to

other Forest

Service unit

Positions at Fort

Collins Service

Center fiscal year

2000a

Contracting Specialist Supervisor 1

Information Receptionist 1

File Clerk/Information Receptionist (Typing) 1

Support Services Supervisor 1

Accounting Technician 5

Budget and Accounting Officer/Financial

Manager

1

Office Automation Assistant/Accountant 1

Budget Analyst 1

Budget and Accounting Analyst 1

Personnel Clerk 4

Manpower Development Specialist 1

Personnel Officer 1

Position Classification Specialist/Personnel

Management Specialist

1

Personnel Management Specialist Supervisor 1

Personnel Management Specialist 1

Payroll Clerk (Typing) 1

Clerk Typist 1

Personnel Assistant Supervisor 1

Personnel Management Specialist 1

Safety and Occupational Health Specialist 1

Statistician 1

Statistician 1

Mathematics Statistician 1

Computer Program Analyst 1

Computer Specialist 2

Administrative Staff, Washington Field Office 3

Total positions—88 4 18 4 62

a

Three positions were later created at the Fort Collins Service Center because of the consolidation—a deputy director

position and two budget staff positions. Three additional positions—two accounting positions and a secretarial position—

were created in fiscal years 1996 and 2000, respectively, but were not due to the consolidation. A total of 68 staff

positions existed at the Fort Collins Service Center as of October 1, 2000.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.
14 GAO/01-53R Forest Service Office Consolidation

Enclosure III

Table 5: RMRS Budget Allocations by State, Fiscal Years 1992 Through 2000

Dollars in thousands

State Fiscal year

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Arizona $2,531 $2,696 $3,476 $3,560 $2,611 $3,142 $4,682 $5,269 $5,069

Colorado 5,563 6,083 6,325 6,134 5,794 5,513 4,942 5,087 5,277

Idaho 5,235 5,309 5,536 5,674 5,027 5,227 5,267 5,316 5,316

Montana 5,547 5,424 6,020 6,322 6,788 6,788 6,748 6,891 7,091

Nebraska 1,033 1,087 1,102 1,077 600 600 600 600 600

New Mexico 1,162 1,189 1,585 1,562 1,391 1,391 1,472 1,502 1,502

Nevada 214 204 465 456 464 464 464 464 464

South Dakota 564 699 690 697 714 714 714 736 311

Utah 4,145 4,178 4,086 3,789 3,267 3,267 3,422 4,153 5,153

Wyoming 1,303 1,161 1,145 1,134 816 816 816 719 719

Total $27,297 $28,030 $30,430 $30,405 $27,472 $27,922 $29,127 $30,737 $31,502

Fiscal year 1999

GDP price index .878 .900 .921 .940 .958 .975 .987 1.00 1.02

Constant dollar

total $23,967 $25,227 $28,026 $28,581 $26,318 $27,224 $28,748 $30,737 $32,132

Note: Totals for fiscal years 1992 through 1997 include combined totals for the former Intermountain Research

Station and the former Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.

Table 6: RMRS Percent Budget Allocations by State, Fiscal Years 1992 Through 2000

State Fiscal year and percent of total research budget allocation

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Arizona 9 10 11 12 10 11 16 17 16

Colorado 20 22 21 20 21 20 17 17 17

Idaho 19 19 18 19 18 19 18 17 17

Montana 20 19 20 21 25 24 23 22 23

Nebraska 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2

New Mexico 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Nevada 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1

South Dakota 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 1

Utah 15 15 13 12 12 12 12 14 16

Wyoming 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Note: Totals for fiscal years 1992 through 1997 include combined totals for the former Intermountain Research

Station and the former Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Source: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service.

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