These programs should be expanded. If, for example, watershed management is reemphasized, Congress must address how to pay for it, or how it can pay for itself. Forest or area plans should explain how the goals and outcomes would be affected by differing budgets. Annual reporting on agency performance can then compare and contrast the goals and outcomes of the plan with the requested budgets and actual appropriations. Use of the trust funds and special accounts should be reviewed and modified if necessary.
Administrative reform is warranted before legislative changes are considered.
The agencies should use care to ensure that projects funded through these accounts meet the legislative intent Congress had when developing the accounts. Congress should continue to examine the adequacy of payments in lieu of taxes and other compensation programs to ensure that the states and counties are fairly and consistently compensated for the tax-exempt status of federal lands. The issues are complex, and we do not begin to suggest that resolution will occur within one or two Congresses. After more than a century, the forest of harmony still seems to lie beyond our collective horizon. We hope that this and similar efforts will allow us to glimpse that forest among the trees of our disagreements.