The Act declared national environmental policy and goals for the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of the environment and it provided a procedural framework for implementing these goals within the federal agencies. NEPA integration into planning activities. Agencies shall integrate the NEPA process with other planning at the earliest possible time to insure that planning and decisions reflect environmental values, to avoid delays later in the process, and to head off potential conflicts. Risk assessment is the process of identifying a hazard and evaluating the risk of a specific hazard, whether in absolute or relative terms. It includes estimates of uncertainty and is based on the best reasonably obtainable and sound scientific knowledge available.
Risk is the likelihood of harm or loss.
Risk Management involves the selection of a course of action in response to an identified risk that may involve social, legal, political and economic factors in addition to the risk assessment results. Risk assessment and management must be an integral part of the decision making process, rather than a gratuitous add-on technical analysis. For such regulations, the Reorganization Act requires USDA to conduct a thorough analysis that makes clear the nature of the risk, alternative ways of reducing it, the reasoning that justifies the proposed rule, and a comparison of the likely costs and benefits of reducing the risk. SIP is a cost-share assistance program designed to help private forest landowners accomplish their management objectives. Landowners may develop a Forest Stewardship Plan through a variety of sources, such as service foresters, private consultants or coached planning workshops.