The Brush Disposal Fund is one of the smaller U.S. Forest Service “trust funds” that depend on the federal timber program. Forest Service trust funds are similar in many ways to a private bank account. These funds allow the Forest Service to deposit and withdraw money without guidance from Congress. Unlike most other government spending, these funds do not receive annual appropriations from Congress, which means they are not subject to Congressional or public oversight. This lack of accountability to Congress and the American public is one of the primary reasons that these funds are so abused by forest managers across the country.

WHAT IS THE “BRUSH DISPOSAL FUND”?

When a tree is cut, the loggers will often strip the trunk of all its limbs on site. These excess tree parts are referred to as “brush” or “slash”. The Brush Disposal Fund was created in 1916 to burn the excess brush and slash resulting from logging operations.

PROBLEMS WITH THE BRUSH DISPOSAL FUND:

The Brush Disposal Fund requires timber purchasers to pay a brush disposal fee in addition to the timber sale price. Unfortunately, forest managers have been diverting a large percentage of Brush Disposal funds to bureaucratic overhead – such as computers, salaries, and rent – rather than clean-up efforts. According to a General Accounting Office report, in 1997 over 34% of Brush Disposal funds were spent on items or projects that could not be directly linked to the removal of excess brush and slash on the National Forests.

THE SOLUTION:

In order to rectify these abuses, the Brush Disposal Fund should be subject to Congress’ annual appropriations process. Since this would require that Congress earmark a fixed dollar amount for Brush Disposal, the Forest Service would not be able to spend these funds on anything but their intended purpose, forcing the agency to become accountable to Congress and the American taxpayer.