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125053 1 (1984-08-14)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacxwg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: (UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20648 ResOURCeS, COMMUNYrv, August 14, 1984 ANO ECONOMIC DeVELOPMONT OIVISION Mr. Dallas L. Peck 125053 Director, U.S. Geological Survey Department of the Interior Dear Mr. Peck: Subject: Wilderness Mineral Assessment Reports Could Be Improved to Better Meet Land Use Decisionmaking Needs (008483) Over the last 2 years the General Accounting Office has been examining a number of federal mineral land assessment programs. As part of that work we have explored aspects of the wilderness- mineral assessment program conducted jointly by the U.S. Geolog- ical Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Mines (BOM) for the Depart- ment of Agriculture's Forest Service (FS). We found that these USGS/BOM assessment reports are not as useful to FS planners as they could be. We are taking this opportunity to bring this matter to your attention and are offering suggestions for improvement. As you are aware, the 1964 Wilderness Act requires USGS and BOM to prepare assessment reports of the oil, gas, and other mineral resource potential of candidate wilderness lands. These reports provide FS land managers and the Congress with mineral information to help them determine the suitability or unsuit- ability'of areas of national forests for wilderness preservation. FS managers incorporate this information into environmental impact statements and forest plans, which serve as the basis for land use decisions. These plans are required for each national forest under the National Forest Management Act. In interviews with FS officials we found that while the primary purpose of the wilderness mineral surveys is to aid land use decisionmakers, the survey reports are often difficult to understand and to use. We were told that many forest planners find the reports to be little more than raw data, requiring addi- tional--and sometimes very lengthy--interpretation before the information becomes useful. PS officials also felt that informa- tion necessary to place mineral data in perspective was missing. The wilderness area surveys performed by USGS and BOM are fairly detailed, as you know. Depending on the size and com- plexity of the area to be studied, a USGS and BOM survey team may 0),qqo 2

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