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Is the Forest Service Keeping Up With the Times?
Author(s) -
Jones Elise S.,
Mohai Paul
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1995.tb01747.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , service (business) , business , forest management , national forest , forestry , commodity , environmental resource management , marketing , geography , finance , economics , sociology , social science
Interest groups involved in the Forest Service's 1990 Resources Planning Act (RPA) forest planning process and representatives from accredited forestry schools were surveyed via a written questionnaire on their perceptions of change within the Forest Service since 1976. Respondents felt that the agency had changed, particularly during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Consumptive users perceived the change to be negative, while non‐consumptive user groups and forestry schools felt it was somewhat positive, although they still felt the Forest Service had much further to go in this direction before achieving these groups' desired priorities for National Forest management. These results indicate that the agency is undergoing a net shift in direction towards increased emphasis on non‐commodity forest uses. In general, external forces, such as Congress and the courts, were seen as having a greater impact on agency change than were sources of change within the agency itself. Forestry schools agreed most often with non‐consumptive users, indicating that these programs may be undergoing a change away from their traditional focus on timber production. In addition to providing valuable insights on the subject of change in the Forest Service, these survey results locate areas of agreement and disagreement, and provide valuable feedback to the agency regarding its constituent groups' views about its performance in managing the National Forests.