The Center for Property and Environmental Research has a new report: “Does environmental assessment exacerbate wildlife crisis? Environmental Analysis How to Delay Oil Treatment Projects. Top Stories
- Oil treatment projects designed to reduce the risk of wildfires, including mechanical treatments and prescribed fires, take longer than other US forest service projects because they require rigorous environmental assessment or litigation in court.
- It takes an average of 3.6 years to start mechanical treatment and 4.7 years to start a decontamination after the forest service has begun the environmental assessment process.
- For projects that require environmental impact statements – the most rigorous type of assessment – the time from start to implementation is an average of 5.3 years for mechanical treatments and 7.2 years for prescribed burns.
- Considering the time it will take to conduct environmental assessments and implement oil treatments, the forest service will not be able to achieve its goal of treating an additional 20 million hectares over the next 10 years.
