Opinion ID: 166930
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Forest Service's Reliance on Personal Observations

Text: 44 The Conservation Groups claim that the Forest Service impermissibly relied on the personal observations of the Interdisciplinary Teams conducting the post-implementation review process as a basis for finding that the reviewed projects did not have significant environmental impacts. The Conservation Groups draw upon Northwest Motorcycle Ass'n v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 18 F.3d 1468, 1475 (9th Cir.1994), and Heartwood, 73 F.Supp.2d at 975, in support of this proposition. 45 We find Northwest Motorcycle Ass'n and Heartwood distinguishable. In Northwest Motorcycle Ass'n, the Ninth Circuit was not concerned with the agency's reliance on the personal observations of its interdisciplinary team to support its substantive conclusions, but rather the court was troubled by the lack, in the administrative record, of any direct statements from the [i]nterdisciplinary [t]eam that illustrates the personal experiences of the [agency] employees. 18 F.3d at 1475. Likewise, the Heartwood court's rejection of the Forest Service's rationale for the Former CE was similarly predicated on the lack of any evidentiary support in the administrative record, not on the Forest Service's reliance on the personal observations of its own personnel. See Heartwood, 73 F.Supp.2d at 975. 46 Here there are no such evidentiary deficiencies. The record fully demonstrates the factors the Interdisciplinary Teams considered (e.g., whether the timber harvest project's effects met Forest Plan Standards or Guidelines, state water quality standards, etc.), the monitoring techniques they employed (personal observations, measurements, photo-point, etc.), and the resulting data. Based on this field monitoring data, the respective Forest Service line officer responsible made a determination as to whether the timber harvest project caused a significant impact on the human environment. Supported by this record, we are unpersuaded that the Forest Service acted arbitrarily or capriciously in relying on the personal observations of its Interdisciplinary Teams. 47 The Conservation Groups further contend that because it was in the Forest Service's self-interest to find `no significance' for [the projects reviewed], reliance on `personal observation[s]' of the Forest Service personnel is particularly questionable. Aplt. Br. at 24-25. This argument must be rejected as speculative. Accordingly, we reject all claims by the Conservation Groups that the methodology employed by the Forest Service in promulgating Category 13 was arbitrary or capricious. 48 2. The Forest Service's Substantive Conclusions 49 In addition to challenging the methodology employed by the Forest Service in promulgating Category 13, the Conservation Groups assert, on several grounds, that the record shows the Forest Service erred substantively in concluding that projects under Category 13 will normally not have significant impact on the human environment. 50 A. Dead Timber Salvaging v. Green Timber Harvesting 51 Relying on Heartwood, the Conservation Groups strenuously press the proposition that dead timber salvaging and green timber harvesting have the same environmental impacts. The Conservation Groups claim, therefore, that the Forest Service acted arbitrarily and capriciously in promulgating Category 13 because it allows dead timber salvaging on 250 acres while Category 12 limits green timber harvesting to 70 acres. 52 The Forest Service does not maintain that there is an intrinsic difference between the environmental impacts of green timber harvesting and dead timber salvaging. The Forest Service argues, however, that Heartwood is distinguishable on the basis that, unlike here, in Heartwood the Forest Service failed to provide evidence in the administrative record to support its decision to have differing limitations applicable to green timber harvesting and dead timber salvaging. We agree. 53 In developing Categories 12 and 13, the Forest Service reviewed 154 timber harvest projects, 53 of which involved green timber harvesting and 101 of which involved dead timber salvaging. Based on data gathered from this review, the Forest Service found that none of these projects caused significant environmental impacts. The Forest Service then determined that the mean acreage size of the projects involving dead timber salvaging was 255 acres, while the mean acreage size of the project involving green timber harvesting was 70 acres. As such, the Forest Service concluded that the evidence supported a 70 acre limit applicable to green timber harvesting, while the evidence available for dead timber salvaging supported a larger applicable acreage limit of 255 acres. There is nothing in Heartwood to suggest that this approach is arbitrary or capricious. Rather, the Forest Service's decision to set different acreage limitations applicable to Categories 12 and 13 was a rational response to the evidence before it. Cf. Motor Vehicle Mfrs., 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856 (agency action will be set aside if the agency has ... offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency...). 54 The Conservation Groups contend that the Forest Service's rationale is a false syllogism, because it only shows that larger salvage projects were chosen for analysis than green timber projects. Aplt. Br. at 30. The Conservation Groups maintain that this result was preordained by the project selection process, whereby the projects reviewed were those that were, or could have been, approved under the Former CE. That is, because the Former CE allowed green timber harvests of 250,000 board feet, and dead timber salvages of one million board feet, it is logical that the latter would be almost four times larger than the former. 55 We are not, however, persuaded that this observation compels a different conclusion. When developing the new CEs, pursuant to CEQ Regulations and Guidance, the Forest Service was to consider types of actions that, based on [its] experience, do not cause significant environmental impacts. 48 Fed.Reg. 34,265. In accordance therewith, the Forest Service drew upon prior timber harvest projects, which based on its experience did not cause significant environmental impacts. It is true, as it were, that these projects were previously approved under the Former CE, which had differing board feet limitations applicable to green timber harvesting and dead timber salvaging, and that the resulting data was thereby affected. However, this fact does not place the Forest Service's rationale in conflict with the proposition that the environmental impacts from these two actions are the same. Nor does it prove that dead timber salvaging normally causes significant environmental impacts. Rather, it merely demonstrates the Forest Service's lack of experience with, and ability to provide an evidentiary record for, a CE applicable to green timber harvests of a size equal to dead timber salvages. B. The Record Showing No Significant Impact 56 The Conservation Groups next forward a succession of substantive claims, through a series of quotations from public comment letters opposing the then proposed Category 13, regarding the following: (1) the reduction of collaboration between the Forest Service and states and tribes, (2) the use of an acreage limit rather than a timber volume limit, (3) the potential for significant cumulative impacts from the use of multiple CEs, and (4) the significance of environmental impacts from temporary road construction. We address each in turn. 57 First, the Conservation Groups contend that use of Category 13 will severely limit the opportunity for State agencies, Indian Tribes, and the public to provide meaningful input into the decision making process of the Forest Service. Aplt. Br. at 34-36. Public involvement is an important aspect of preparing an EIS. See 40 C.F.R. §§ 1503.1, 1503.3 (requiring an agency preparing an EIS to request, and respond to, comments from federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public). Public involvement, of a lesser magnitude, is also required for preparing an EA. See id. § 1501.4(b). CEQ regulations do not, however, require public involvement in an agency's decision to employ a CE once that CE has been approved. 58 The Conservation Groups' contention is, of course, grounded in its concern that the Forest Service will approve dead timber salvages under Category 13 without the level of public involvement that it deems necessary to making appropriate environmental decisions. However, the CEQ regulations clearly do not contemplate the level of public involvement that the Conservation Groups seek, nor do the Conservation Groups attack, in this litigation, the CEQ regulations in that regard. As such, while the Conservation Groups may feel strongly about their contention, we are certain that it has no bearing on whether the Forest Service acted arbitrarily or capriciously in promulgating category 13. 59 Second, the Conservation Groups argue that the Forest Service erred in limiting Category 13 by acreage rather than the total volume of timber removed, or some other un-disclosed hybrid thereof. Aplt. Br. at 37, 38, 43. Although the Conservation Groups concede that an acreage limit may be proper if small enough, they maintain that the 250 acre limit, without some kind of a volume restriction, is impermissible because it may allow a single project to salvage hundreds of thousands, even millions, of board feet of dead timber, which could cause significant environmental impacts. 60 As stated previously, our role in reviewing the Forest Service's decisions in promulgating Category 13 is not to inject our own views or pick sides, see Motor Vehicle Mfrs., 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856; Marsh, 490 U.S. at 378, 109 S.Ct. 1851; rather, our role is to ascertain whether the Forest Service examined the relevant data and articulated a rational connection between the facts found and the decision made. See Motor Vehicle Mfrs., 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856. This review also requires us to determine whether the Forest Service's decision was supported by facts in the record. Olenhouse, 42 F.3d at 1574. 61 Our review of the record reveals that the Forest Service gave due consideration to limiting Category 13's application by the total volume of timber removed. However, in gathering data on the 154 timber harvest projects reviewed, various problems associated with using a volume limit were revealed that made its selection less favorable, including the fact that [h]arvesting a given volume of timber from one acre is likely to have different environmental impacts than harvesting the same volume from tens of hundreds of acres, and that timber volumes are estimated in advance of the sale, and there can be errors associated with those predications; an acreage limit is not as subject to uncertainty of estimation. 68 Fed.Reg. 44,604. Considering the problems associated with using a volume limit, the Forest Service concluded that potential environmental impacts are better predicted using acres treated rather than the total volume of timber removed, regardless of acreage. Id. Moreover, according to the Forest Service, acreage limits are easier to control and administer in the field. Id. Based on the record and its consideration of the problems associated with using a volume limit, we find the Forest Service's decision to use an acreage limitation permissible and rational. 62 The Conservation Groups' concerns, while certainly not trivial, ignore Category 13's own limitations. Each dead timber salvage project proposed under Category 13 will have different environmental consequences, some of which could pose the risk of significant environmental impacts. For example, one proposed project could significantly impact federally listed threatened or endangered species, flood plains, research natural areas, etc., while another proposed project could, in fact, involve the intense harvest of a large (e.g., 240 acre) densely populated timber area. Yet, both scenarios are adequately addressed by Category 13's own requirement that the Forest Service consider whether extraordinary circumstances are present that would preclude its use, see 68 Fed.Reg. 44,599, and we must presume that the Forest Service will act properly in applying it. See, e.g., Sullivan v. Everhart, 494 U.S. 83, 94, 110 S.Ct. 960, 108 L.Ed.2d 72 (1990). 63 Third, the Conservation Groups argue that multiple uses of Category 13 may result in cumulatively significant impacts on the environment. The Conservation Groups' contention in this respect is twofold: (1) there is a risk that similar salvage projects, over both time and different geographic areas, will cause significant cumulative impacts on the environment, and (2) there is a risk that the Forest Service will split up larger salvage projects into smaller ones so as to fit them within Category 13. 64 The Conservation Groups' concerns are fully addressed in the CEQ regulations adopted by the Forest Service applicable to all proposed projects, including those falling under Category 13. As to the first of the Conservation Group's cumulative effect contentions, the Forest Service requires scoping on all proposed projects, including those that would appear to be categorically excluded. FSH 1909.15, ch. 30, § 30.3. In determining the scope of a proposed project, the responsible Forest Service officer is required to consider the cumulative impacts of connected, cumulative, and similar actions. See, e.g., 40 C.F.R. § 1508.25(a)(3) (the Forest Service must consider [s]imilar actions, which when viewed with other reasonably foreseeable or proposed agency actions, have similarities that provide a basis for evaluating their environmental consequences together, such as common timing or geography); FSH 1909.15, ch. 10, § 11.2 (referencing 40 C.F.R. § 1508.25). If the responsible Forest Service official determines, based on this scoping, that he is uncertain whether the proposed project may have a significant effect on the environment, he must prepare an EA. FSH 1909.15, ch. 30, § 30.3 (emphasis added). The scoping process therefore addresses the risk that similar salvage projects, over both time and different geographic areas, will cause significant cumulative impacts on the environment. 65 As to the second of the Conservation Group's cumulative effect arguments, CEQ regulations preclude the breaking down of projects into small component parts to avoid cumulative significance. See 40 C.F.R. § 1508.27(b)(7) (in evaluating the significance of impact, an agency must consider [w]hether the action is related to other actions with individually insignificant but cumulatively significant impacts.... Significance cannot be avoided by ... breaking [a project] down into small component parts.). The Conservation Groups contends that the Forest Service has shown, through other cases, that it has lost its presumption of good faith when it comes to heeding this prohibition. In support of this assertion, they Conservation Groups rely on Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Blackwood, 161 F.3d 1208, 1215 n. 6 (9th Cir.1998) (holding that a single EIS was required to address the cumulative effects of five projects that were part of a coordinated strategy); Foundation for Global Sustainability v. McConnell, 829 F.Supp. 147, 151 (W.D.N.C.1993) (finding that the evidence that the Forest Service did not segment the operation purposely to avoid the mandatory documentation outweighed the inference of improper motive); and Mahler v. U.S. Forest Service, 128 F.3d 578, 5881, 583 n. 6 (7th Cir.1997) (while not an issue in the litigation, providing a factual background that the Former CE was used for three dead timber salvages). These cases certainly fail, however, to the rebut the presumption that the Forest Service is entitled to here, in this facial challenge, that it will observe this CEQ regulation. See Sullivan, 494 U.S. at 94, 110 S.Ct. 960. 66 Last, the Conservation Groups claim that the Forest Service erred in allowing up to one-half mile of temporary road construction under Category 13 because the record, i.e., several comment letters, shows that such road building may cause significant environmental impacts. The Forest Service counters, of course, arguing that the administrative record supports its decision in this regard. Our function in this review is not to weigh the evidence. See Pennaco Energy, 377 F.3d at 1159. Rather, our role is confined to ascertaining whether the Forest Service's decision was supported by substantial evidence. See Olenhouse, 42 F.3d at 1574. 67 As discussed supra, the administrative record demonstrates that the Forest Service reviewed 35 timber harvest projects that involved temporary road construction of an average of one-half mile. Each such project reviewed resulted in a finding of no significant environmental impacts from the limited road construction involved. Based on this record, the Forest Service was adequately supported in its determination that temporary road construction of an average of one-half mile does not cause significant environmental impacts. The fact that the administrative record contains some evidence pointing to a different conclusion does not render the Forest Service's decision arbitrary and capricious. See Pennaco Energy, 377 F.3d at 1159. 68 Accordingly, we reject all claims by the Conservation Groups that the substantive conclusions reached by the Forest Service in promulgating Category 13 were arbitrary or capricious. 69 AFFIRMED.