I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5218 

To direct the Secretary concerned to coordinate with impacted parties when 

conducting a forest management activity, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 

Mr. MCCLINTOCK (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. 

CALVERT, Mr. NEWHOUSE, and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary concerned to coordinate with impacted parties when conducting a forest management 

activity, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Proven Forest Man5 agement Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR NATIONAL 

2 FOREST SYSTEM LAND. 

3 (a) COORDINATION.—In conducting a forest manage4 ment activity on National Forest System land, the Sec5 retary concerned shall, as appropriate, coordinate with im6 pacted parties to increase efficiency and maximize the 

7 compatibility of management practices across National 

8 Forest System land. 

9 (b) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), in conducting a forest management activ12 ity on National Forest System land, the Secretary 

13 concerned shall conduct such activity in a manner 

14 that attains multiple ecosystem benefits, including— 

15 (A) reducing forest fuels; 

16 (B) maintaining biological diversity; 

17 (C) improving wetland and water quality, 

18 including in Stream Environment Zones; and 

19 (D) increasing resilience to changing water 

20 temperature and precipitation. 

21 (2) EXCEPTION FOR COST.—Paragraph (1) 

22 shall not apply if the Secretary concerned deter23 mines that the costs associated with attaining mul24 tiple ecosystem benefits are excessive. 

25 (c) GROUND DISTURBANCE.—Consistent with appli26 cable Federal law and the forest plan developed for the 


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1 relevant National Forest System land, the Secretary con2 cerned shall— 

3 (1) establish any post-program ground condi4 tion criteria for a ground disturbance caused by a 

5 forest management activity required by such plan; 

6 and 

7 (2) provide for monitoring to ascertain the at8 tainment of relevant post-program conditions. 

9 (d) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR

10 CERTAIN FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—A forest 

11 management activity conducted on National Forest Sys12 tem land for the purpose of reducing forest fuels is cat13 egorically excluded from the requirements of the National 

14 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

15 seq.) if the forest management activity— 

16 (1) notwithstanding section 423 of the Depart17 ment of the Interior, Environment, and Related 

18 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 (division E of 

19 Public Law 111–8; 123 Stat. 748), does not exceed 

20 10,000 acres, including not more than 3,000 acres 

21 of mechanical thinning; 

22 (2) is developed— 

23 (A) in coordination with impacted parties, 

24 specifically including representatives of local 


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1 governments, such as county supervisors or 

2 county commissioners; and 

3 (B) in consultation with other interested 

4 entities; and 

5 (3) is consistent with the forest plan developed 

6 for the relevant National Forest System land. 

7 (e) COOPERATIVE AUTHORITIES.—During the period 

8 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

9 ending on the date that is four years after, the Secretary 

10 concerned, in conjunction with land adjustment programs, 

11 may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with 

12 a qualified entity to provide for fuel reduction, erosion 

13 control, reforestation, Stream Environment Zone restora14 tion, and similar management activities on Federal land 

15 and non-Federal land within the programs. 

16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) INTERESTED ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘inter18 ested entities’’ includes— 

19 (A) the Administrator of the National Oce20 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

21 (B) State, local, and Tribal governments; 

22 (C) local fire departments; and 

23 (D) other relevant volunteer groups. 

24 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

25 term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project 


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1 or activity carried out by the Secretary concerned on 

2 National Forest System land and consistent with the 

3 forest plan covering such land. 

4 (3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

6 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range7 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

8 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

9 (4) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

10 has the meaning given that term in section 103 of 

11 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

12 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that the term in13 cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or14 egon and California Railroad Grant lands. 

15 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec16 retary concerned’’ means— 

17 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re18 spect to National Forest System land; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re20 spect to public lands. 

21 (6) STREAM ENVIRONMENT ZONE.—The term 

22 ‘‘Stream Environment Zone’’ means an area that 

23 generally owes the biological and physical characterVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5218.IH H5218

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1 istics of the area to the presence of surface water or 

2 groundwater. 

Æ 


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