§ 217.7 - Levels of appeal.

(a) Decisions made by the Chief. If the Chief of the Forest Service is the Deciding Officer, the notice of appeal is filed with the Secretary of Agriculture. Review by the Secretary is wholly discretionary. Within 15 days of receipt of a notice of appeal, the Secretary shall determine whether or not to review the decision in question. If the Secretary has not decided to review the Chief's decision by the expiration of the 15-day period, the requester(s) shall be notified by the Secretary's office that the Chief's decision is the final administrative decision of the Department of Agriculture. When the Secretary elects to review an initial decision made by the Chief, the Secretary shall conduct the review in accordance with the first level appeal procedures outlined in this rule.

(b) Decisions made by Forest Supervisors and Regional Foresters. The levels of available review are as follows:

(1) If the decision is made by a Forest Supervisor, the notice of appeal is filed with the Regional Forester;

(2) If the decision is made by a Regional Forester, the notice of appeal is filed with the Chief of the Forest Service.

(c) Discretionary review of dismissal decisions. Dismissal decisions rendered by Forest Service line officers pursuant to this part (§ 217.11) are subject to discretionary review as follows:

(1) If the initial Reviewing Officer was the Regional Forester, the Chief has discretion to review.

(2) If the Reviewing Officer was the Chief, the Secretary of Agriculture has discretion to review.

(d) Discretionary review of appeal decisions. Appeal decisions rendered by Regional Foresters and the Chief pursuant to this part are subject to discretionary review as follows:

(1) If the Reviewing Officer was the Regional Forester, the Chief has discretion to review.

(2) If the Reviewing Officer was the Chief, the Secretary of Agriculture has discretion to review.