December 10, 2001

Chief Dale Bosworth
Forest Service
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Sidney R. Yates Federal Building
201 14th Street, SW at Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Chief Bosworth:

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) is concerned about the misappropriation of National Fire Plan (NFP) funds to support commercial timber sale management and other unrelated activities. According to the Office of Inspector General’s “Forest Service: National Fire Plan Implementati.png” Audit Report (08601-26-SF, November 2001), the Bitterroot National Forest was planning to use $1.8 million from NFP appropriations to prepare and administer commercial timber sales.

It should be one of your top priorities to ensure that NFP funds are properly utilized. Otherwise, projects will be met with criticism, and future funding for important national forest restoration work will be jeopardized. The Forest Service should immediately review all NFP projects to ensure that they meet the criteria and specifications of the NFP. Failure to do so will subject the projects to increased opposition and will delay the implementation of the projects.

In order to address this problem, TCS urges you to immediately review all NFP projects to ensure that they are not in violation of the conditions of the NFP. The scope of the problem surely is not limited to the Bitterroot National Forest , and it will be crucial to identify the objectionable projects before they move forward. Accountability is one of the cornerstones of the NFP, as such, it is essential that steps are taken to ensure that funds are appropriately spent.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Oppenheimer
Forest Campaign Director