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Federal land management is often criticized for being slow and cumbersome, particularly when insect, disease, and fire demands a rapid response. The 2014 Farm Bill contained an amendment to the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) that potentially addresses this concern. This amendment would allow for the insect and disease restoration projects on US Forest Service land to fall under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as a categorical exclusion, provided that collaboration occurs while creating and implementing the projects. This could allow for the US Forest Service to implement restoration projects at a faster rate then they had previously been able to. Each state was required to nominate restoration lands on their National Forests. These nominations ranged from very detailed to extremely vague and from just a few watersheds to entire national forests. This research documents the variation in designation nominations in their detail and the amount of acres requested. It also examines the collaborative processes used in projects to determine if it contributes to or impedes the speed and quality the national forests are looking for in restoration projects. In the end this research document intends to give recommendations for effective utilization of this legal authority for the future.