II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4835 

To provide for the removal of small-diameter trees in fire hazard areas, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 

Mr. KING introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the removal of small-diameter trees in fire 

hazard areas, 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 ‘‘Small-diameter Timber 

5 and Underutilized Material Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

9 means land under the jurisdiction of— 

10 (A) the Bureau of Land Management; 


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1 (B) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

2 (C) the National Park Service; 

3 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

4 Service; or 

5 (E) the Forest Service. 

6 (2) FIRE HAZARD AREA.—The term ‘‘fire haz7 ard area’’ means an area that— 

8 (A) has been identified by the Secretary 

9 concerned as having a very high wildfire hazard 

10 potential; 

11 (B) is located on Federal land; and 

12 (C) is located west of the 100th meridian. 

13 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec14 retary concerned’’ means— 

15 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

16 through the Chief of the Forest Service, with 

17 respect to Federal land administered by that 

18 Secretary; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re20 spect to Federal land administered by that Sec21 retary. 

22 (4) SMALL-DIAMETER TREE.—The term ‘‘small23 diameter tree’’ means a tree, or portion thereof, that 

24 has a diameter at breast height of not greater than 

25 8 inches. 


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1 SEC. 3. PRICES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (b), notwithstanding any other provision of law— 

4 (1) the Secretary concerned may not— 

5 (A) charge a fee to authorize a person to 

6 remove a small-diameter tree in a fire hazard 

7 area, including a fee for a special use permit; 

8 or 

9 (B) recover any processing or monitoring 

10 cost of authorizing a person to remove a small11 diameter tree in a fire hazard area; and 

12 (2) if the Secretary concerned authorizes a per13 son to remove a small-diameter tree, including 

14 through a timber sale, in a fire hazard area, the Sec15 retary concerned shall not require the person to pay 

16 any amount for the small-diameter tree. 

17 (b) FEES.—The Secretary concerned may charge a 

18 fee for removal of a small-diameter tree of a particular 

19 species of tree in a fire hazard area if the Secretary con20 cerned— 

21 (1) determines that the fee is appropriate; and 

22 (2) discloses that determination to the public. 

23 (c) NO VOLUME DETERMINATIONS; APPRAISALS.— 

24 As part of a small-diameter tree removal described in sub25 section (a), the Secretary concerned may not— 


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1 (1) require a volume determination, including 

2 by scaling, measuring, weighing, or counting small3 diameter trees before or after cutting or removal; or 

4 (2) conduct a timber appraisal to determine the 

5 fair-market value of the small-diameter trees being 

6 removed. 

7 (d) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall only apply to 

8 contracts authorizing a person to remove a small-diameter 

9 tree as described in subsection (a) entered into on or after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 4. FREE-USE AREA DESIGNATION. 

12 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

13 Chief of the Forest Service, shall designate as a free-use 

14 area under section 223.6 of title 36, Code of Federal Reg15 ulations (or a successor regulation), any fire hazard area 

16 in the National Forest System that contains a small-di17 ameter tree. 

18 SEC. 5. TREE DESIGNATION. 

19 The Secretary concerned shall seek to designate for 

20 removal small-diameter trees in a fire hazard area— 

21 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, through 

22 means that do not include physically marking a 

23 small-diameter tree for removal; and 

24 (2) by providing a written description of— 


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1 (A) the small-diameter trees to be removed 

2 and to be retained from a project area; or 

3 (B) the desired post-harvest stand charac4 teristics within the project area from which the 

5 small-diameter tree would be removed. 

Æ 


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