Environmental impact assessments not the main barrier to timely forest management in the United States

Abstract

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes are commonly used by government agencies to evaluate the merits and environmental risks of natural resource management decisions. Citing EIA as red tape, decision makers from across the political spectrum are increasingly circumventing EIA to expedite implementation of necessary actions for climate resilience and clean energy. Few studies have quantified the extent that EIA is the main barrier to efficient implementation. We combine administrative data from the US Forest Service with survival analysis to show that, for most actions, the Forest Service takes as long or longer to award first contracts and roll out initial activities than to comply with the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and that NEPA compliance accounts for approximately one-fifth of planned implementation time.