Managing across levels of government: Evaluation of federal-state roles and responsibilities involving nonfederal forests in the United States

With the assistance of state foresters and federal agency executives, an evaluation was made of federal and state government roles and responsibilities focused nonfederal forests in the United States. The evaluation involved an inventory of legally (and administratively) defined federal roles, identification of federal programs supporting accomplishment of such roles, and assessment of the appropriateness of these roles and the effectiveness of supporting programs. Legal specification of federal roles occurs in myriad laws, rules, and planning documents, while nearly 190 federal programs represent actual expressions of federal roles. State foresters and federal agency executives favor federal roles that promote financial stability, technical competence, and coordination between states. From a state perspective, few (or no) restrictions on state discretion are an important consideration when judging the appropriateness of a federal role or program, while direct federal financial support is viewed as the most appropriate way of formally linking federal roles to state governments. Inadequate resources, cumbersome administrative process, and absence of a shared federal-state vision for nonfederal forests are important deterrents to effective federal-state working relationships.