WORKING DRAFT Meeting Agenda
National NEPA, Appeals, and Litigation Meeting,
USDAForest Service
National Advanced Fire and Resource Institute;Tucson, AZ
November 15-17, 2011
Meeting Objective: Provide leadership throughout the agency in NEPA & Appeals.
Desired Meeting Outcomes:
- Improve networks by furthering relationships with peers & colleagues
- Participate in shared learning, knowledge development & knowledge transfer
- Develop a shared vision for managing these program areas.
- Identify a path forward for addressing critical topics (issues) raised during the meeting.
Tuesday, November 15
Day 1 Focus: developing situation analysis and outcomes (See Logic Model).
8:00World Café: Utilize World Café exercise to help indentify issues of concerns from the group. Top issues along with issues from the large topic discussions will form the basis for breakout groups. Also serves as ice breaker and introductions.
9:15Logistics, Agenda, & Safety Considerations – Introduce participants to the logic model and how we will use it to help us define and develop action plans.
9:45Break
10:00 Large Discussion Topic: Large Landscape Scale Analyses: Rochelle Desser – Moderator
12:00Lunch
1:00Large Discussion Topic: Looking towards the Future – Developing & Growing Effective Capacity: Workforce planning, program management, exploring effective ways to accomplish work, training, quality assurance. Rita Skinner – Moderator
3:00 Break
3:15Large Topic Discussion: Lessons from the Fast Lane: Presentations by Forests who have a better than average accomplishment record for meeting or shortening timelines & dialogue about what factors contribute towards this success. Needed - Moderator
*Potential additional Large Topic Discussion (yet to be scheduled): “A New Planning Rule-What’s that mean for NEPA, Appeals, and Litigation Coordination?”
4:45Close Out & Expectations for tomorrow
5:00 Adjourn for the day: Will need group of folks to define break out groups
Wednesday, November 16
Day 2 focus: developing outputs or action items related to the desired outcomes identified from Day 1 expectations.
8:00Brain Teaser – Hidden Squares
8:15 1stRound Breakout Sessions (held concurrently): Use a logic model to complete a situation analysis and identify desired outcomes for various issues. Start (maybe complete) the makings of an action plan. Facilitated process.
10:00Break
10:152ndRound Breakout Sessions (held concurrently): Use a logic model to complete a situation analysis and identify desired outcomes for various issues. Facilitated process.
12:00Lunch
1:00Large Topic Discussion: Follow up from Litigation Trends VTC. David Seesholtz – Moderator.
2:00Break
2:15Summary of Breakout Sessions. Highlights from the outcomes & actionable items identified during the breakout groups (< 10 min/group). Facilitators will prepare “presentation” report based upon filling in logic model forms.
4:00Close Out: Alphabet Review, etc.
5:00 Adjourn
Thursday, November 17
Day 3 focus:developing and committing to Day 2 action items.
8:00Brain Teaser: Hidden Triangle – End of Plenary Session. Final thoughts; expectations for today.
8:30Concurrent Sessions.Working sessions for NEPA, Appeals, and Litigation.
These sessions represent the culmination of the previous large group discussions and the breakout sessions. Each group will set priorities and establish commitments (inputs) for specific action items identified from previous day’s activities. This will involve identifying and assigning roles and responsibilities and clarifying policy related working items. It may include the identification of skill gaps and further in-depth discussion of training and development needs.
Although the actionable items will be more fully developed during the large group discussions and the accompanying breakout session; here is an example of some anticipated outputs from discussions/breakouts related to Litigation that would warrant further discussion and role assignment as part of this section.
- Policy development for oversight and training with respect to litigation coordination.
- Guidelines on how to do an effective after action review and site visits.
- Development of a strategy for the litigation section of the Forest Service manual and handbook, and example desk guides.
Each Functional area would develop an agenda in response to the issues fleshed out during the meeting. The focus during the last day of the session would be on clarifying commitments and expectations (inputs) associated with possible actionable items (outputs).[1]
Noon – 5:00Adjourn – Travel Safely
Functional areas set their own adjourning time based upon amount of topics and issues to beaddressed.Based upon folks who indicate they will attend the meeting by each functional area we will set an adjournment time approximately one month prior to the meeting.
Other Information:
Lodging: We have a block of rooms reserved at the Staybridge Suites in Tucson under the Forest Service. Rooms are being held at the government per diem rate and you can reserve your room by calling 520-807-1004 or by booking online @ (please select the government rate)
The hotel is providing us with a free round trip airport shuttle.Please call 520-807-1004 to make arrangements with them for pickup when you make your hotel reservation.
They are also providing us with a free shuttle to and from NAFRI.
Video Conference Series:
In support of the national meeting a couple of VTC/Webinars will be held prior or after the conference to assist in transferring knowledge.
VTC 1: Large Topic Discussion: Living in an electronic world – How to use social media and electronic databases to improve our efficiency in managing and accomplishing work. Need Moderator
Approximately 3weeks after meeting.Two hours: Includes demonstrations and facilitated dialogue.
- Topic still available for breakout session as part of in person meeting if there is interest.
VTC 2: Large Topic Discussion: Litigation Trends & Enlightenment: David Seesholtz – Moderator.
Judicial review by its nature is retrospective and focused upon past actions and environmental court cases are often determined by intimate aspects of the project. So how can we learn in an organizational sense from our litigation results and how can legal knowledge/strategies be best transferred to NEPA practitioners? Are there ways to improve our quality assurance /quality control prior to getting to court that can help the agency avoid reactive policy changes? Can we predict and is it even important to project how the courts will respond in the future? Are there specific factors we can improve upon that will help us succeed at a higher rate in the future?
- OGC session was held in June and attended by 80 participants.
- Present latest figures surrounding litigation trends from OGC
- Present findings from “Lessons learned from Litigation” study (NEPA for the 21st Century).
- Provide time for clarification questions as part of the VTC.
- Provide time for large group interaction as part of in person meeting.
- Provide opportunity for Litigation Specialists to participate in “boot camp” outside of in person meeting.
- Topic still available for breakout session as part of in person meeting if there is interest.
[1] Over the past couple of years there has been tremendous attrition in all the functional areas. To be successful in developing and implementing an effective action plan participants need to interact to build a certain trust level and understanding. Face-to-face working exercises are proven methods to help establish this trust relationship.