Report Summary 



EIS Starring and 

 Guidance 



The Wildlife EIS involved over 50 staff within the department. The 

 department estabhshed an EIS Team and hired two staff to work on this 

 team. The chief of the Wildlife Division's Research and Technical 

 Services Bureau was designated the team leader. This three-person 

 team was expected to guide the process and write the draft document 

 using information provided by many department employees. A Steering 

 Committee was created by the director in 1991 to provide oversight and 

 guidance through the EIS process. Several consultants were involved in 

 the project. Their work included helping the department collect pubhc 

 opinions, directing a special planning and evaluation process, and 

 editing and formatting the EIS report. 



Major Activities of the 

 EIS Process 



The department EIS process involved many different activities over the 

 eight-year period. These activities were wide ranging and included: 

 administrative actions, collecting pubhc opinions, compiling and 

 evaluating information, brainstorming, internal reviews, and decision- 

 making. Based on our review, we divided the eight-year period into four 

 major phases: 



Reasons for Extended 

 Time Frame 



1 ) Planning and initial EIS approach ( 1 99 1 to 1 993). 



2) Revisions to EIS approach ( 1 994 and 1 995). 



3) Completing the evaluation and drafting the report ( 1 996). 



4) Report editing, printing and public comment ( 1 997 and 1998). 



When the department started on the EIS process in 1991, it was 

 expected to take about four years. In reality, it has taken about twice 

 that amount of time including fmalizing the report and collecting public 

 comments on the report. Based on the information we reviewed and 

 interviews with people involved during the process, we concluded on 

 reasons for the extended time frame. We grouped the reasons into three 

 categories: limited experience, staffmg and directing methods, and 

 approach revisions. 



Since this was the department's first programmatic EIS, it is reasonable 

 to allow for a learning curve and to expect any future similar projects to 

 be completed in a shorter time frame. Experience with how to conduct a 



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