66 



6 



authorizations. As such, appellants to the appeal process are 

 limited to parties directly affected by the decision on appeal. 

 Under section 251, 166 appeals were processed in fiscal year 

 1995. To date, 83 appeals have been filed this fiscal year. We 

 believe that the section 251 appeals process works in a 

 relatively effective and expeditious manner. 



We will be proposing some changes to the 251 regulations that 

 will streamline the administrative process and make the 

 terminology consistent with 36 CFR 215. The most substantive 

 change is the result of provisions in Section 282 of the Federal 

 Crop Insurance Reform and USDA Reorganization Act of 1994, 

 relating to participation in mediation of livestock grazing 

 disputes on National Forest System Lands. Currently, we are 

 determining how best to comply with this provision and expect to 

 have proposals for public review in the next few months. 



Closing 



In closing, I would like to return to my testimony from last 

 year. At that time, I said: 



The changes in the project level appeals process were 

 designed to increase public participation, to help the Forest 

 Service focus even more on listening and ensuring that the 

 views of the public are considered before decisions are made, 

 and to streamline the process. We believe that the new 



