The Forest Service Since the National Forest Management Act

There has been considerable recent discussion and debate about change and the need for change in the United States Forest Service. A number of observers have argued that the agency has shifted its emphasis from commodity to non-commodity values of the National Forests, has become more sensitive to environmental and ecological concerns, and has become more responsive to public input. However, to date most articles on the topic of change in the Forest Service have been either theoretical and speculative in nature or have based their conclusions on attitude surveys of agency employees. So far no studies have provided “hard,” empirical evidence of change or have conducted any systematic examination of the presumed causes. This symposium attempts to fill this gap. What follows is the presentation of the analyses of a wide range of important quantitative indicators of agency change. From these analyses, we attempt to answer the following questions: Has the Forest Service indeed been changing? If so, what direction has it taken and how significant has this change been? What are the possible causes of change, and what have been the consequences for National Forest policy? What factors are likely to influence future change in the agency?