forested lands is defined, it is the task of the 

 specialist (economist, ecologist, silvicul- 

 turalist, biologist, landscape architect, plant 

 physiologist, etc.) to identify the outcomes of 

 all possible (or relevant) alternative manageri- 

 al policies. Both commodity and noncom- 

 modity values will be estimated, in such a way 

 that these outcomes can then be viewed and 

 ranked according to the optimal intermix of 

 goals. 



Decisionmaking is not an automatic proc- 

 ess whereby we can specify goals, measure the 

 possible output values as weighted by public 

 priorities, and then push a button to get the 

 appropriate decision. The type of planning 

 and goal formulation that has been described 

 can only provide alternatives. It then becomes 

 the function of the decisionmaker, such as the 

 land manager, to weigh these alternatives in 

 the light of the social and economic inputs 

 requisite to a balanced solution. "In the final 

 analysis, the land manager . . . has the respon- 

 sibility to decide to lengthen a road because 

 the landscape is better served. He is required 



to make the judgment to require a more cost- 

 ly logging system, logging layout, or silvicul- 

 tural system to protect soil or emphasize land- 

 scape aesthetics" (Nelson 1971, p. 14). But 

 the inputs he receives are of utmost impor- 

 tance. 



In the absence of a well-defined ranking of 

 objectives, each local decisionmaker (regional 

 forester, forest supervisor, district ranger, 

 etc.) must tend to be influenced by the inputs 

 of special interest groups. The decisionmaker 

 must collect data, measure values, and analyze 

 these according to the ranked goals. If each 

 decisionmaker is allowed to establish not only 

 the values or achievement levels, but also the 

 weights, no uniform policy will be evident. 



The foregoing discussion oversimplifies the 

 decisionmaking process, but serves to empha- 

 size the need to identify Forest Service goals 

 and develop an appropriate decision model. 

 The following section, dealing with the statu- 

 tory and legislative directions given to the 

 Forest Service, is the logical step toward es- 

 tablishing the basis for such a model. 



9 



