Practice Test Geeks(SAF) Society of American Foresters Certification Practice Test
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Environmental Impact Assessment Flashcards

7 cards from real SAF practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Environmental Impact Assessment flashcards as text

  1. Which federal regulation requires that an EIS analyze impacts on environmental justice — specifically disproportionate effects on minority and low-income populations?

    Answer: Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice)

    Executive Order 12898 directs federal agencies to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their actions on minority and low-income populations.

  2. When a Forest Service timber sale crosses a jurisdictional boundary into a watershed containing waters of the U.S., which law requires a separate permit for fill or dredge activities?

    Answer: Clean Water Act Section 404

    CWA Section 404, administered by the Army Corps of Engineers with EPA oversight, requires permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands.

  3. An EIA for a large-scale reforestation project should include analysis of hydrological impacts. Which effect is MOST directly associated with converting grassland to young dense forest stands?

    Answer: Decreased streamflow due to higher evapotranspiration as canopy develops

    As reforested stands mature, increasing evapotranspiration typically reduces annual streamflow compared to grassland, a well-documented hydrological consequence relevant to EIA analysis.

  4. The concept of 'tiering' in NEPA allows subsequent, site-specific EAs or EISs to incorporate by reference a broader programmatic EIS. What is the primary benefit of tiering?

    Answer: It avoids repetition of broad policy analyses already addressed at the programmatic level

    Tiering allows site-specific analyses to focus on project-level issues by incorporating programmatic analyses by reference, improving efficiency without sacrificing required analysis.

  5. Which soil impact indicator is MOST relevant to assess in an EIA for a ground-based logging operation?

    Answer: Soil bulk density increase due to compaction from equipment traffic

    Ground-based logging equipment causes soil compaction, increasing bulk density and reducing pore space, which impairs water infiltration, root growth, and long-term site productivity.

  6. Under the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations, what is the maximum recommended page limit for an Environmental Impact Statement?

    Answer: 300 pages

    CEQ regulations recommend EISs be no longer than 300 pages (150 pages for proposals of unusual scope or complexity), encouraging concise and focused documents.

  7. A forester reviewing an EIA for a road decommissioning project would expect which environmental benefit to be documented as a primary positive impact?

    Answer: Reduced sediment delivery to streams and improved aquatic habitat

    Road decommissioning — including removing road surfaces, restoring drainage, and re-vegetating — is primarily documented for reducing erosion and sediment delivery to streams, benefiting aquatic ecosystems.