IB 

Union Calendar No. 52

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1904

[Report No. 108–96, Parts I and II] 

To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of the Interior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects 

on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management 

lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other 

at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect 

watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including 

catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2003

Mr. MCINNIS (for himself, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. POMBO, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. AKIN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BARTON of 

Texas, Mr. BEAUPREZ, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. BLUNT, 

Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. 

CALVERT, Mr. CANNON, Mr. COLE, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. 

DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. 

DUNCAN, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. GALLEGLY, 

Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. GREEN

of Wisconsin, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. 

HAYES, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. 

ISSA, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. JOHN, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. 

KOLBE, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. LINDER, Mr. 

MCKEON, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, 

Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. NUNES, Mr. 

OBERSTAR, Mr. OTTER, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. OSE, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PICKERING, 

Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. RENZI, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, 

Mr. ROSS, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. 

SHADEGG, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. SHERWOOD, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. SMITH of 

Michigan, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. TANCREDO, 

Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. TERRY, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TURNER of 

Texas, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. WILSON of New 
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Mexico, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on 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 

MAY 9, 2003

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture 

MAY 9, 2003

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a period ending not later 

than May 9, 2003

MAY 9, 2003

Committee on Resources discharged 

MAY 9, 2003

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for a period ending not later than 

May 16, 2003 for consideration of such provisions of the bill as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee pursuant to clause 1(k), rule X 

MAY 16, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. BONNER, Mr. GOODE, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CANTOR, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. BROWN of 

South Carolina, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. BURNS, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, Mr. SWEENEY, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. SAM

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PITTS, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. KLINE, Mr. 

CHOCOLA, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. WAMP, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. 

FOLEY, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. 

ROHRABACHER, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mrs. BLACKBURN, 

Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. CARTER, Mr. COX, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. CAMP, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. COBLE, Mr. 

COLLINS, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. FORBES, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. PAUL, and Mr. WHITFIELD

MAY 16, 2003

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

A BILL

To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture 

and the Secretary of the Interior to plan and conduct 

hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest 
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System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands 

aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain 

other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance 

efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, 

across the landscape, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purpose. 

TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LANDS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects. 

Sec. 103. Prioritization for communities and watersheds. 

Sec. 104. Environmental analysis. 

Sec. 105. Special Forest Service administrative review process. 

Sec. 106. Special requirements regarding judicial review of authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects. 

Sec. 107. Standard for injunctive relief for agency action to restore fire-adapted 

forest or rangeland ecosystems. 

Sec. 108. Rules of construction. 

TITLE II—BIOMASS 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Grants to improve the commercial value of forest biomass for electric 

energy, useful heat, transportation fuels, and petroleum-based 

product substitutes. 

Sec. 204. Reporting requirement. 

TITLE III—WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 301. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 302. Establishment of watershed forestry assistance program. 

TITLE IV—INSECT INFESTATIONS 
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Sec. 401. Definitions, findings, and purpose. 

Sec. 402. Accelerated information gathering regarding bark beetles, including 

Southern pine beetles, hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash 

borers, red oak borers, and white oak borers. 

Sec. 403. Applied silvicultural assessments. 

Sec. 404. Relation to other laws. 

Sec. 405. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE V—HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM 

Sec. 501. Establishment of healthy forests reserve program. 

Sec. 502. Eligibility and enrollment of lands in program. 

Sec. 503. Conservation plans. 

Sec. 504. Financial assistance. 

Sec. 505. Technical assistance. 

Sec. 506. Safe harbor. 

Sec. 507. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 601. Forest stands inventory and monitoring program to improve detection 

of and response to environmental threats.

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is—

3 (1) to reduce the risks of damage to commu4 nities, municipal water supplies, and some at-risk 

5 Federal lands from catastrophic wildfires; 

6 (2) to authorize grant programs to improve the 

7 commercial value of forest biomass for electric en8 ergy, useful heat, transportation fuels, petroleum9 based product substitutes and other commercial pur10 poses; 

11 (3) to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and 

12 address threats to forest and rangeland health, in13 cluding catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape; 
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1 (4) to promote systematic information gath2 ering to address the impact of insect infestations on 

3 forest and rangeland health; 

4 (5) to improve the capacity to detect insect and 

5 disease infestations at an early stage, particularly 

6 with respect to hardwood forests; and 

7 (6) to protect, restore, and enhance degraded 

8 forest ecosystem types in order to promote the recov9 ery of threatened and endangered species as well as 

10 improve biological diversity and enhance carbon se11 questration. 

12 TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION 

13 ON FEDERAL LANDS 

14 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title:

16 (1) AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUC17 TION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘authorized hazardous 

18 fuels reduction project’’ means a hazardous fuels re19 duction project described in subsection (a) of section 

20 102, subject to the remainder of such section, that 

21 is planned and conducted using the process author22 ized by section 104. 

23 (2) CONDITION CLASS 2.—The term ‘‘condition 

24 class 2’’, with respect to an area of Federal lands, 

25 refers to the condition class description developed by 
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1 the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Sta2 tion in the general technical report entitled ‘‘Devel3 opment of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for Wildland 

4 Fire and Fuel Management’’ (RMRS–87), dated 

5 April 2000, under which—

6 (A) fire regimes on the lands have been 

7 moderately altered from their historical range; 

8 (B) there exists a moderate risk of losing 

9 key ecosystem components from fire; 

10 (C) fire frequencies have departed (either 

11 increased or decreased) from historical fre12 quencies by one or more return interval, which 

13 results in moderate changes to fire size, fre14 quency, intensity, severity, or landscape pat15 terns; and 

16 (D) vegetation attributes have been mod17 erately altered from their historical range. 

18 (3) CONDITION CLASS 3.—The term ‘‘condition 

19 class 3’’, with respect to an area of Federal lands, 

20 refers to the condition class description developed by 

21 the Rocky Mountain Research Station in the general 

22 technical report referred to in paragraph (2), under 

23 which—

24 (A) fire regimes on the lands have been 

25 significantly altered from their historical range 
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1 (B) there exists a high risk of losing key 

2 ecosystem components from fire; 

3 (C) fire frequencies have departed from 

4 historical frequencies by multiple return inter5 vals, which results in dramatic changes to fire 

6 size, frequency, intensity, severity, or landscape 

7 patterns; and 

8 (D) vegetation attributes have been signifi9 cantly altered from their historical range. 

10 (4) DAY.—The term ‘‘day’’ means a calendar 

11 day, except that, if a deadline imposed by this title 

12 would expire on a nonbusiness day, the deadline will 

13 be extended to the end of the next business day. 

14 (5) DECISION DOCUMENT.—The term ‘‘decision 

15 document’’ means a decision notice or a record of 

16 decision, as those terms are used in applicable regu17 lations of the Council on Environmental Quality and 

18 the Forest Service Handbook. 

19 (6) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

20 lands’’ means—

21 (A) National Forest System lands; and 

22 (B) public lands administered by the Sec23 retary of the Interior, acting through the Bu24 reau of Land Management. 
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1 (7) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION

2 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction 

3 project’’ refers to the measures and methods de4 scribed in the definition of ‘‘appropriate tools’’ con5 tained in the glossary of the Implementation Plan. 

6 (8) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Im7 plementation Plan’’ means the Implementation Plan 

8 for the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy for a Col9 laborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire 

10 Risks to Communities and the Environment, dated 

11 May 2002, which was developed pursuant to the con12 ference report for the Department of the Interior 

13 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 

14 (House Report 106–646). 

15 (9) INTERFACE COMMUNITY AND INTERMIX

16 COMMUNITY.—The terms ‘‘interface community’’ 

17 and ‘‘intermix community’’ have the meanings given 

18 those terms on page 753 of volume 66 of the Fed19 eral Register, as published on January 4, 2001. 

20 (10) MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.—The 

21 term ‘‘municipal water supply system’’ means the 

22 reservoirs, canals, ditches, flumes, laterals, pipes, 

23 pipelines, or other surface facilities and systems con24 structed or installed for the impoundment, storage, 
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1 transportation, or distribution of drinking water for 

2 a community. 

3 (11) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

4 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the Secretary of Agri5 culture with respect to National Forest System lands 

6 and the Secretary of the Interior with respect to 

7 public lands administered by the Bureau of Land 

8 Management. Any reference in this title to the ‘‘Sec9 retary concerned’’, the Secretary of Agriculture’’, or 

10 the ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ includes the designee 

11 of the Secretary concerned. 

12 (12) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

13 HABITAT.—The term ‘‘threatened and endangered 

14 species habitat’’ means Federal lands identified in 

15 the listing decision or critical habitat designation as 

16 habitat for a threatened species or an endangered 

17 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

19 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION 

20 PROJECTS. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—Subject to the remain22 der of this section, the Secretary concerned may utilize 

23 the process authorized by section 104 to plan and conduct 

24 hazardous fuels reduction projects on any of the following 

25 Federal lands: 
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1 (1) Federal lands located in an interface com2 munity or intermix community. 

3 (2) Federal lands located in such proximity to 

4 an interface community or intermix community that 

5 there is a significant risk that the spread of a fire 

6 disturbance event from those lands would threaten 

7 human life and property in the interface community 

8 or intermix community. 

9 (3) Condition class 3 or condition class 2 Fed10 eral lands located in such proximity to a municipal 

11 water supply system or a stream feeding a municipal 

12 water supply system that a significant risk exists 

13 that a fire disturbance event would have adverse ef14 fects on the water quality of the municipal water 

15 supply, including the risk to water quality posed by 

16 erosion following such a fire disturbance event.

17 (4) Condition class 3 or condition class 2 Fed18 eral lands identified by the Secretary concerned as 

19 an area where windthrow or blowdown, or the exist20 ence or threat of disease or insect infestation, pose 

21 a significant threat to forest or rangeland health or 

22 adjacent private lands. 

23 (5) Federal lands not covered by paragraph (1), 

24 (2), (3), or (4) that contain threatened and endan25 gered species habitat, but only if—
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1 (A) natural fire regimes on such lands are 

2 identified as being important for, or wildfire is 

3 identified as a threat to, an endangered species, 

4 a threatened species, or its habitat in a species 

5 recovery plan prepared under section 4 of the 

6 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

7 1533) or in a decision document under such 

8 section determining a species to be an endan9 gered species or a threatened species or desig10 nating critical habitat; 

11 (B) the project will provide enhanced pro12 tection from catastrophic wildfire for the spe13 cies or its habitat; and 

14 (C) the Secretary complies with any appli15 cable guidelines specified in the species recovery 

16 plan prepared under the Endangered Species 

17 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

18 (b) RELATION TO AGENCY PLANS.—An authorized 

19 hazardous fuels reduction project shall be planned and 

20 conducted in a manner consistent with the land and re21 source management plan or land use plan applicable to 

22 the Federal lands covered by the project. 

23 (c) ACREAGE LIMITATION.—Not more than a total 

24 of 20,000,000 acres of Federal lands may be included in 

25 authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects. 
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1 (d) TREE REMOVAL LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

2 concerned, in the sole discretion of the Secretary con3 cerned, shall plan and conduct an authorized hazardous 

4 fuels reduction project so as to maintain species composi5 tion, size class distribution, and density of trees, including 

6 old and large trees appropriate for each ecosystem type 

7 covered by the project, consistent with the purposes of this 

8 title. 

9 (e) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS.—The 

10 Secretary concerned may not plan or conduct an author11 ized hazardous fuels reduction project that would occur 

12 on any of the following Federal lands: 

13 (1) A component of the National Wilderness 

14 Preservation System. 

15 (2) Federal lands where, by Act of Congress or 

16 Presidential proclamation, the removal of vegetation 

17 is prohibited or restricted. 

18 (3) Wilderness Study Areas. 

19 (f) PROTECTION OF ROADLESS AREAS.—The Sec20 retary of Agriculture shall not construct any new perma21 nent road in any Inventoried Roadless Area as part of any 

22 authorized hazardous fuels reduction project. 
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1 SEC. 103. PRIORITIZATION FOR COMMUNITIES AND WATER2 SHEDS. 

3 As provided for in the Implementation Plan, the Sec4 retary concerned shall give priority to authorized haz5 ardous fuel reduction projects that provide for the protec6 tion of communities and watersheds. 

7 SEC. 104. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

9 this title, the Secretary concerned shall plan and conduct 

10 authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects in accord11 ance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

12 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) and any other applicable laws. 

13 (b) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE AL14 TERNATIVES.—In the case of an authorized hazardous 

15 fuels reduction project, the Secretary concerned is not re16 quired to study, develop, or describe any alternative to the 

17 proposed agency action in the environmental assessment 

18 or environmental impact statement prepared for the pro19 posed agency action pursuant to section 102(2) of the Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4332(2)). 

22 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND MEETING.—

23 (1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary concerned 

24 shall provide notice of each authorized hazardous 

25 fuels reduction project in accordance with applicable 

26 regulations and administrative guidelines. 
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1 (2) PUBLIC MEETING.—During the planning 

2 stage of each authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

3 project, the Secretary concerned shall conduct a 

4 public meeting at an appropriate location proximate 

5 to the administrative unit of the Federal lands in 

6 which the authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

7 project will be conducted. The Secretary concerned 

8 shall provide advance notice of the date and time of 

9 the meeting. 

10 (d) PUBLIC COLLABORATION.—In order to encourage 

11 meaningful public participation in the identification and 

12 development of authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

13 projects, the Secretary concerned shall facilitate collabora14 tion among governments and interested persons during 

15 the formulation of each authorized fuels reduction project 

16 in a manner consistent with the Implementation Plan. 

17 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC COM18 MENT.—In accordance with section 102(2) of the National 

19 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) 

20 and the applicable regulations and administrative guide21 lines in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the Secretary concerned shall provide an opportunity for 

23 public input during the preparation of any environmental 

24 assessment or environmental impact statement for pro-
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1 posed agency action for an authorized hazardous fuels re2 duction project. 

3 (f) DECISION DOCUMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

4 shall sign a decision document for each authorized haz5 ardous fuels reduction project and provide notice of the 

6 decision document. 

7 (g) PROJECT MONITORING.—As provided for in the 

8 Implementation Plan, the Secretary concerned shall mon9 itor the implementation of authorized hazardous fuels re10 duction projects. 

11 SEC. 105. SPECIAL FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRATIVE RE12 VIEW PROCESS. 

13 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.—

14 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue final 

16 regulations to establish an administrative process that will 

17 serve as the sole means by which a person described in

18 subsection (c) can seek administrative redress regarding 

19 an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project. 

20 (b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible to partici21 pate in the administrative process developed pursuant to 

22 subsection (a) regarding an authorized hazardous fuels re23 duction project, a person must have submitted specific and 

24 substantive written comments during the preparation 

25 stage of that authorized hazardous fuels reduction project. 
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1 (c) RELATION TO APPEALS REFORM ACT.—Section 

2 322 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agen3 cies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102–381; 16 

4 U.S.C. 1612 note), does not apply to an authorized haz5 ardous fuels reduction project. 

6 SEC. 106. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING JUDICIAL 

7 REVIEW OF AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS 

8 REDUCTION PROJECTS. 

9 (a) FILING DEADLINE.—

10 (1) TIME LIMIT ESTABLISHED FOR FILING.—

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to be 

12 timely, an action in a court of the United States 

13 challenging an authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

14 project shall be filed in the court before the end of 

15 the 15-day period beginning on the date on which 

16 the Secretary concerned publishes, in the local paper 

17 of record, notice of the final agency action regarding 

18 the authorized hazardous fuels reduction project. 

19 This time limitation supersedes any notice of intent 

20 to file suit requirement or filing deadline otherwise 

21 applicable to a challenge under any provision of law. 

22 (2) WAIVER PROHIBITED.—The Secretary con23 cerned may not agree to, and a district court may 

24 not grant, a waiver of the requirements of this sub25 section. 
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1 (b) DURATION OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION.—

2 (1) DURATION; EXTENSION.—Any preliminary 

3 injunction granted regarding an authorized haz4 ardous fuels reduction project shall be limited to 45 

5 days. A court may renew the preliminary injunction, 

6 taking into consideration the goal expressed in sub7 section (c) for the expeditious resolution of cases re8 garding authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

9 projects. 

10 (2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—As part of 

11 a request to renew a preliminary injunction granted 

12 regarding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

13 project, the parties shall present the court with an 

14 update on any changes that may have occurred dur15 ing the period of the injunction to the forest or 

16 rangeland conditions that the authorized hazardous 

17 fuels reduction project is intended to address. 

18 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—In the 

19 event of the renewal of a preliminary injunction re20 garding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction 

21 project, the Secretary concerned shall submit notice 

22 of the renewal to the Committee on Resources and 

23 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
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1 ural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, 

2 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 

3 (c) EXPEDITIOUS COMPLETION OF JUDICIAL RE4 VIEW.—Congress intends and encourages any court in 

5 which is filed a lawsuit or appeal of a lawsuit concerning 

6 an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project to expe7 dite, to the maximum extent practicable, the proceedings 

8 in such lawsuit or appeal with the goal of rendering a final 

9 determination on jurisdiction, and if jurisdiction exists, a 

10 final determination on the merits, within 100 days from 

11 the date the complaint or appeal is filed. 

12 SEC. 107. STANDARD FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR AGEN13 CY ACTION TO RESTORE FIRE-ADAPTED FOR14 EST OR RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS. 

15 If an action brought against the Secretary concerned 

16 under section 703 of title 5, United States Code, involves 

17 an agency action on Federal lands in which the Secretary 

18 concerned found that the agency action is necessary to re19 store a fire-adapted forest or rangeland ecosystem, includ20 ing an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, the 

21 court reviewing the agency action, in considering a request 

22 for a prohibitory or mandatory injunction against the 

23 agency action, shall—

24 (1) consider the public interest in avoiding long25 term harm to the ecosystem; and 
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1 (2) give deference to any agency finding, based 

2 upon information in the administrative record, that 

3 the balance of harm and the public interest in avoid4 ing the short-term effects of the agency action is 

5 outweighed by the public interest in avoiding long6 term harm to the ecosystem. 

7 SEC. 108. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

8 (a) RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

9 this title shall be construed to affect, or otherwise bias, 

10 the use by the Secretary concerned of other statutory or 

11 administrative authorities to plan or conduct a hazardous 

12 fuels reduction project on Federal lands, including Federal 

13 lands identified in section 102(e), that is not planned or 

14 conducted using the process authorized by section 104. 

15 (b) RELATION TO LEGAL ACTION.—Nothing in this 

16 title shall be construed to prejudice or otherwise affect the 

17 consideration or disposition of any legal action concerning 

18 the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, part 294 of title 36, 

19 Code of Federal Regulations, as amended in the final rule 

20 and record of decision published in the Federal Register 

21 on January 12, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244). 

22 TITLE II—BIOMASS 

23 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

24 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Thousands of communities in the United 

2 States, many located near Federal lands, are at risk 

3 to wildfire. Approximately 190,000,000 acres of land 

4 managed by the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

5 Secretary of the Interior are at risk of catastrophic 

6 fire in the near future. The accumulation of heavy 

7 forest and rangeland fuel loads continues to increase 

8 as a result of disease, insect infestations, and 

9 drought, further raising the risk of fire each year. 

10 (2) In addition, more than 70,000,000 acres 

11 across all land ownerships are at risk to higher than 

12 normal mortality over the next 15 years from insect 

13 infestation and disease. High levels of tree mortality 

14 from insects and disease result in increased fire risk, 

15 loss of old growth, degraded watershed conditions, 

16 and changes in species diversity and productivity, as 

17 well as diminished fish and wildlife habitat and de18 creased timber values.

19 (3) Preventive treatments such as removing fuel 

20 loading, ladder fuels, and hazard trees, planting 

21 proper species mix and restoring and protecting 

22 early successional habitat, and other specific restora23 tion treatments designed to reduce the susceptibility 

24 of forest and rangeland to insect outbreaks, disease, 

25 and catastrophic fire present the greatest oppor-
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1 tunity for long-term forest and rangeland health by 

2 creating a mosaic of species-mix and age distribu3 tion. Such prevention treatments are widely acknowl4 edged to be more successful and cost effective than 

5 suppression treatments in the case of insects, dis6 ease, and fire. 

7 (4) The by-products of preventive treatment 

8 (wood, brush, thinnings, chips, slash, and other haz9 ardous fuels) removed from forest and rangelands 

10 represent an abundant supply of biomass for bio11 mass-to-energy facilities and raw material for busi12 ness. There are currently few markets for the ex13 traordinary volumes of by-products being generated 

14 as a result of the necessary large-scale preventive 

15 treatment activities. 

16 (5) The United States should—

17 (A) promote economic and entrepreneurial 

18 opportunities in using by-products removed 

19 through preventive treatment activities related 

20 to hazardous fuels reduction, disease, and insect 

21 infestation; and 

22 (B) develop and expand markets for tradi23 tionally underused wood and biomass as an out24 let for by-products of preventive treatment ac25 tivities. 
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1 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) BIOMASS.—The term ‘‘biomass’’ means 

4 trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, nee5 dles, and other woody parts, and by-products of pre6 ventive treatment, such as wood, brush, thinnings, 

7 chips, and slash, that are removed—

8 (A) to reduce hazardous fuels; or 

9 (B) to reduce the risk of or to contain dis10 ease or insect infestation. 

11 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

12 has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of 

13 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist14 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 

15 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes—

16 (A) an individual; 

17 (B) a community (as determined by the 

18 Secretary concerned); 

19 (C) an Indian tribe; 

20 (D) a small business, micro-business, or a 

21 corporation that is incorporated in the United 

22 States; and 

23 (E) a nonprofit organization. 

24 (4) PREFERRED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘pre25 ferred community’’ means—
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1 (A) any town, township, municipality, or 

2 other similar unit of local government (as deter3 mined by the Secretary concerned) that—

4 (i) has a population of not more than 

5 50,000 individuals; and 

6 (ii) the Secretary concerned, in the 

7 sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, 

8 determines contains or is located near 

9 land, the condition of which is at signifi10 cant risk of catastrophic wildfire, disease, 

11 or insect infestation or which suffers from 

12 disease or insect infestation; or 

13 (B) any county that—

14 (i) is not contained within a metro15 politan statistical area; and 

16 (ii) the Secretary concerned, in the 

17 sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, 

18 determines contains or is located near 

19 land, the condition of which is at signifi20 cant risk of catastrophic wildfire, disease, 

21 or insect infestation or which suffers from 

22 disease or insect infestation. 

23 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec24 retary concerned’’ means—
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1 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture with re2 spect to National Forest System lands; and 

3 (B) the Secretary of the Interior with re4 spect to Federal lands under the jurisdiction of 

5 the Secretary of the Interior and Indian lands. 

6 SEC. 203. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE 

7 OF FOREST BIOMASS FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY, 

8 USEFUL HEAT, TRANSPORTATION FUELS, 

9 AND PETROLEUM-BASED PRODUCT SUB10 STITUTES. 

11 (a) BIOMASS COMMERCIAL USE GRANT PROGRAM.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

13 may make grants to any person that owns or oper14 ates a facility that uses biomass as a raw material 

15 to produce electric energy, sensible heat, transpor16 tation fuels, or substitutes for petroleum-based prod17 ucts to offset the costs incurred to purchase biomass 

18 for use by such facility. 

19 (2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—A grant under this sub20 section may not exceed $20 per green ton of biomass 

21 delivered. 

22 (3) MONITORING OF GRANT RECIPIENT ACTIVI23 TIES.—As a condition of a grant under this sub24 section, the grant recipient shall keep such records 

25 as the Secretary concerned may require to fully and 
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1 correctly disclose the use of the grant funds and all 

2 transactions involved in the purchase of biomass. 

3 Upon notice by a representative of the Secretary 

4 concerned, the grant recipient shall afford the rep5 resentative reasonable access to the facility that pur6 chases or uses biomass and an opportunity to exam7 ine the inventory and records of the facility. 

8 (b) VALUE ADDED GRANT PROGRAM.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

10 may make grants to persons to offset the cost of 

11 projects to add value to biomass. In making such 

12 grants, the Secretary concerned shall give preference 

13 to persons in preferred communities. 

14 (2) SELECTION.—The Secretary concerned shall 

15 select a grant recipient under paragraph (1) after 

16 giving consideration to the anticipated public bene17 fits of the project, opportunities for the creation or

18 expansion of small businesses and micro-businesses, 

19 and the potential for new job creation. 

20 (3) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub21 section may not exceed $100,000. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the 

24 fiscal years 2004 through 2008 to carry out this section. 
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1 SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

2 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than October 1, 

3 2010, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with 

4 the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to the Com5 mittee on Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 

6 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En7 ergy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agri8 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

9 describing the results of the grant programs authorized 

10 by section 203. 

11 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall include 

12 the following: 

13 (1) An identification of the size, type, and the 

14 use of biomass by persons that receive grants under 

15 section 203. 

16 (2) The distance between the land from which 

17 the biomass was removed and the facility that used 

18 the biomass. 

19 (3) The economic impacts, particularly new job 

20 creation, resulting from the grants to and operation 

21 of the eligible operations. 

22 TITLE III—WATERSHED 

23 FORESTRY ASSISTANCE 

24 SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) There has been a dramatic shift in public 

2 attitudes and perceptions about forest management, 

3 particularly in the understanding and practice of 

4 sustainable forest management. 

5 (2) It is commonly recognized that the proper 

6 stewardship of forest lands is essential to sustaining 

7 and restoring the health of watersheds. 

8 (3) Forests can provide essential ecological 

9 services in filtering pollutants, buffering important 

10 rivers and estuaries, and minimizing flooding, which 

11 makes its restoration worthy of special focus. 

12 (4) Strengthened education, technical assist13 ance, and financial assistance to nonindustrial pri14 vate forest landowners and communities, relating to 

15 the protection of watershed health, is needed to real16 ize the expectations of the general public. 

17 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to—

18 (1) improve landowner and public under19 standing of the connection between forest manage20 ment and watershed health; 

21 (2) encourage landowners to maintain tree 

22 cover on their property and to utilize tree plantings 

23 and vegetative treatments as creative solutions to 

24 watershed problems associated with varying land 

25 uses; 
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1 (3) enhance and complement forest manage2 ment and buffer utilization for watersheds, with an 

3 emphasis on urban watersheds; 

4 (4) establish new partnerships and collaborative 

5 watershed approaches to forest management, stew6 ardship, and conservation; 

7 (5) provide technical and financial assistance to 

8 States to deliver a coordinated program that en9 hances State forestry best-management practices 

10 programs, as well as conserves and improves for11 ested lands and potentially forested lands through 

12 technical, financial, and educational assistance to 

13 qualifying individuals and entities; and 

14 (6) maximize the proper management and con15 servation of wetland forests and to assist in their 

16 restoration as necessary. 

17 SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT OF WATERSHED FORESTRY AS18 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

19 The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 is 

20 amended by inserting after section 5 the following new 

21 section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 6. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE. 

23 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE.—The 

24 Secretary, acting through the Forest Service, may provide 

25 technical, financial, and related assistance to State for-
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1 esters and equivalent State officials for the purpose of ex2 panding State forest stewardship capacities and activities 

3 through State forestry best-management practices and 

4 other means at the State level to address watershed issues 

5 on non-Federal forested lands and potentially forested 

6 lands. 

7 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO PROTECT WATER

8 QUALITY.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera10 tion with State foresters or equivalent State officials, 

11 shall engage interested members of the public, in12 cluding nonprofit organizations and local watershed 

13 councils, to develop a program of technical assist14 ance to protect water quality, as described in para15 graph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The program 

17 under this subsection shall be designed—

18 ‘‘(A) to build and strengthen watershed 

19 partnerships that focus on forested landscapes 

20 at the local, State, and regional levels; 

21 ‘‘(B) to provide State forestry best-man22 agement practices and water quality technical 

23 assistance directly to nonindustrial private for24 est landowners; 
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1 ‘‘(C) to provide technical guidance to land 

2 managers and policy makers for water quality 

3 protection through forest management; 

4 ‘‘(D) to complement State and local efforts 

5 to protect water quality and provide enhanced 

6 opportunities for consultation and cooperation 

7 among Federal and State agencies charged with 

8 responsibility for water and watershed manage9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(E) to provide enhanced forest resource 

11 data and support for improved implementation 

12 and monitoring of State forestry best-manage13 ment practices. 

14 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The program of tech15 nical assistance shall be implemented by State for16 esters or equivalent State officials. 

17 ‘‘(c) WATERSHED FORESTRY COST-SHARE PRO18 GRAM.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab20 lish a watershed forestry cost-share program to be 

21 administered by the Forest Service and implemented 

22 by State foresters or equivalent State officials. 

23 Funds or other support provided under such pro24 gram shall be made available for State forestry best-
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1 management practices programs and watershed for2 estry projects. 

3 ‘‘(2) WATERSHED FORESTRY PROJECTS.—The 

4 State forester or equivalent State official of a State, 

5 in coordination with the State Forest Stewardship 

6 Coordinating Committee established under section 

7 19(b) for that State, shall annually make awards to 

8 communities, nonprofit groups, and nonindustrial 

9 private forest landowners under the program for wa10 tershed forestry projects described in paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(3) PROJECT ELEMENTS AND OBJECTIVES.—A 

12 watershed forestry project shall accomplish critical 

13 forest stewardship, watershed protection, and res14 toration needs within a State by demonstrating the 

15 value of trees and forests to watershed health and 

16 condition through—

17 ‘‘(A) the use of trees as solutions to water 

18 quality problems in urban and rural areas; 

19 ‘‘(B) community-based planning, involve20 ment, and action through State, local and non21 profit partnerships; 

22 ‘‘(C) application of and dissemination of 

23 monitoring information on forestry best-man24 agement practices relating to watershed for25 estry; 
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1 ‘‘(D) watershed-scale forest management 

2 activities and conservation planning; and 

3 ‘‘(E) the restoration of wetland (as defined 

4 by the States) and stream-side forests and the 

5 establishment of riparian vegetative buffers. 

6 ‘‘(4) COST-SHARING.—Funds provided under 

7 this subsection for a watershed forestry project may 

8 not exceed 75 percent of the cost of the project. 

9 Other Federal funding sources may be used to cover 

10 a portion of the remaining project costs, but the 

11 total Federal share of the costs may not exceed 90 

12 percent. The non-Federal share of the costs of a 

13 project may be in the form of cash, services, or other 

14 in-kind contributions. 

15 ‘‘(5) PRIORITIZATION.—The State Forest Stew16 ardship Coordinating Committee for a State shall 

17 prioritize watersheds in that State to target water18 shed forestry projects funded under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(6) WATERSHED FORESTER.—Financial and 

20 technical assistance shall be made available to the 

21 State Forester or equivalent State official to create 

22 a State best-management practice forester to lead 

23 statewide programs and coordinate small watershed24 level projects. 

25 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall devote 

2 at least 75 percent of the funds appropriated for a 

3 fiscal year pursuant to the authorization of appro4 priations in subsection (e) to the cost-share program 

5 under subsection (c) and the remainder to the task 

6 of delivering technical assistance, education, and 

7 planning on the ground through the State Forester 

8 or equivalent State official. 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—Distribution 

10 of these funds by the Secretary among the States 

11 shall be made only after giving appropriate consider12 ation to—

13 ‘‘(A) the acres of nonindustrial private 

14 forestland and highly erodible land in each 

15 State; 

16 ‘‘(B) each State’s efforts to conserve for17 ests; 

18 ‘‘(C) the acres of forests in each State that 

19 have been lost or degraded or where forests can 

20 play a role in restoring watersheds; and 

21 ‘‘(D) the number of nonindustrial private 

22 forest landowners in each State. 

23 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
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1 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

2 2008.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—INSECT 

4 INFESTATIONS 

5 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 

7 (1) APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENT.—

8 The term ‘‘applied silvicultural assessment’’ means 

9 any vegetative or other treatment, for the purposes 

10 described in section 402, including timber harvest, 

11 thinning, prescribed burning, and pruning, as single 

12 treatment or any combination of these treatments. 

13 (2) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

14 lands’’ means—

15 (A) National Forest System lands; and 

16 (B) public lands administered by the Sec17 retary of the Interior, acting through the Bu18 reau of Land Management. 

19 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec20 retary concerned’’ means—

21 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

22 through the Forest Service, with respect to Na23 tional Forest System lands; and 

24 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

25 through appropriate offices of the United States 
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1 Geological Survey, with respect to federally 

2 owned land administered by the Secretary of 

3 the Interior. 

4 (4) 1890 INSTITUTIONS.—The term ‘‘1890 In5 stitution’’ means a college or university eligible to 

6 receive funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 

7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including Tuskegee University. 

8 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) High levels of tree mortality due to insect 

10 infestation result in—

11 (A) increased fire risk; 

12 (B) loss of old growth; 

13 (C) loss of threatened and endangered spe14 cies; 

15 (D) loss of species diversity; 

16 (E) degraded watershed conditions;

17 (F) increased potential for damage from 

18 other agents of disturbance, including exotic, 

19 invasive species; and 

20 (G) decreased timber values. 

21 (2) Bark beetles destroy hundreds of thousands 

22 of acres of trees each year. In the West, over 

23 21,000,000 acres are at high risk of bark beetle in24 festation and in the South over 57,000,000 acres are 

25 at risk across all land ownerships. Severe drought 
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1 conditions in many areas of the South and West will 

2 increase risk of bark beetle infestations. 

3 (3) The hemlock woolly adelgid is destroying 

4 streamside forests throughout the mid-Atlantic and 

5 Appalachian region, threatening water quality and 

6 sensitive aquatic species, and posing a potential 

7 threat to valuable commercial timber lands in North8 ern New England. 

9 (4) The emerald ash borer is a nonnative, 

10 invasive pest that has quickly become a major threat 

11 to hardwood forests as a emerald ash borer infesta12 tion is almost always fatal to the affected trees. This 

13 pest threatens to destroy over 692,000,000 ash trees 

14 in forests in Michigan and Ohio alone, and between 

15 five and ten percent of urban street trees in the 

16 Upper Midwest. 

17 (5) Epidemic populations of Southern pine bee18 tle are ravaging forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Flor19 ida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, 

20 South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In 2001, 

21 Florida and Kentucky experienced 146 percent and 

22 111 percent increases, respectively, in beetle popu23 lations. 

24 (6) These epidemic outbreaks of Southern pine 

25 beetle have forced private landowners to harvest 
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1 dead and dying trees, in both rural areas and in2 creasingly urbanized settings. 

3 (7) According to the Forest Service, recent out4 breaks of the red oak borer in Arkansas have been 

5 unprecedented, with almost 800,000 acres infested 

6 at population levels never seen before. 

7 (8) Much of the damage from the red oak borer 

8 has taken place in National forests, and the Federal 

9 response has been inadequate to protect forest eco10 systems and other ecological and economic resources. 

11 (9) Previous silvicultural assessments, while 

12 useful and informative, have been limited in scale 

13 and scope of application, and there has not been suf14 ficient resources available to adequately test a full 

15 array of individual and combined applied silvicul16 tural assessments. 

17 (10) Only through the rigorous funding, devel18 opment, and assessment of potential applied silvicul19 tural assessments over specific time frames across 

20 an array of environmental and climatic conditions 

21 can the most innovative and cost effective manage22 ment applications be determined that will help re23 duce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to attack 

24 by forest pests. 
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1 (11) Funding and implementation of an initia2 tive to combat forest pest infestations should not 

3 come at the expense of supporting other programs 

4 and initiatives of the Secretary concerned. 

5 (c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title—

6 (1) to require the Secretary concerned to de7 velop an accelerated basic and applied assessment 

8 program to combat infestations by bark beetles, in9 cluding Southern pine beetles, hemlock woolly 

10 adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, and 

11 white oak borers; 

12 (2) to enlist the assistance of universities and 

13 forestry schools, including Land Grant Colleges and 

14 Universities and 1890 Institutions, to carry out the 

15 program; and 

16 (3) to carry out applied silvicultural assess17 ments. 

18 SEC. 402. ACCELERATED INFORMATION GATHERING RE19 GARDING BARK BEETLES, INCLUDING 

20 SOUTHERN PINE BEETLES, HEMLOCK WOOL21 LY ADELGIDS, EMERALD ASH BORERS, RED 

22 OAK BORERS, AND WHITE OAK BORERS. 

23 (a) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Secretary con24 cerned shall establish, acting through the Forest Service 
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1 and United States Geological Survey, as appropriate, an 

2 accelerated program—

3 (1) to plan, conduct, and promote comprehen4 sive and systematic information gathering on bark 

5 beetles, including Southern pine beetles, hemlock 

6 woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, 

7 and white oak borers, including an evaluation of—

8 (A) infestation prevention and control 

9 methods; 

10 (B) effects of infestations on forest eco11 systems; 

12 (C) restoration of the forest ecosystem ef13 forts; 

14 (D) utilization options regarding infested 

15 trees; and 

16 (E) models to predict the occurrence, dis17 tribution, and impact of outbreaks of bark bee18 tles, including Southern pine beetles, hemlock 

19 woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak 

20 borers, and white oak borers; 

21 (2) to assist land managers in the development 

22 of treatments and strategies to improve forest health 

23 and reduce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to 

24 severe infestations of bark beetles, including South25 ern pine beetles, hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald 
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1 ash borers, red oak borers, and white oak borers on 

2 Federal lands and State and private lands; and 

3 (3) to disseminate the results of such informa4 tion gathering, treatments, and strategies. 

5 (b) COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

6 concerned shall establish and carry out the program in co7 operation with scientists from universities and forestry 

8 schools, State agencies, and private and industrial land 

9 owners. The Secretary concerned shall designate univer10 sities and forestry schools, including Land Grant Colleges 

11 and Universities and 1890 Institutions, to assist in car12 rying out the program. 

13 SEC. 403. APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENTS. 

14 (a) ASSESSMENT EFFORTS.—For information gath15 ering purposes, the Secretary concerned may conduct ap16 plied silvicultural assessments on Federal lands that the 

17 Secretary concerned determines, in the sole discretion of 

18 the Secretary concerned, is at risk of infestation by, or

19 is infested with, bark beetles, including Southern pine bee20 tles, hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak 

21 borers, and white oak borers. Any applied silvicultural as22 sessments carried out under this section shall be con23 ducted on not more than 1,000 acres per assessment. 

24 (b) LIMITATIONS.—
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1 (1) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS.—Sub2 section (a) does not apply to—

3 (A) a component of the National Wilder4 ness Preservation System; 

5 (B) Federal lands where, by Act of Con6 gress or Presidential proclamation, the removal 

7 of vegetation is restricted or prohibited; or 

8 (C) congressionally designated wilderness 

9 study areas. 

10 (2) CERTAIN TREATMENT PROHIBITED.—Sub11 section (a) does not authorize the application of in12 secticides in municipal watersheds and associated ri13 parian areas. 

14 (3) ACREAGE LIMITATION.—Applied silvicul15 tural assessments may be implemented on not more 

16 than 250,000 acres using the authorities provided by 

17 this title. 

18 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—

19 (1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary concerned 

20 shall provide notice of each applied silvicultural as21 sessment proposed to be carried out under this sec22 tion in accordance with applicable regulations and 

23 administrative guidelines. 

24 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—During the planning 

25 stage of each applied silvicultural assessment pro-
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1 posed to be carried out under this section, the Sec2 retary concerned shall provide an opportunity for 

3 public input. 

4 (d) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—Applied silvicultural 

5 assessments carried out under this section are deemed to 

6 be categorically excluded from further analysis under the 

7 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

8 4321 et seq.). The Secretary concerned need not make any 

9 findings as to whether the project, either individually or 

10 cumulatively, has a significant effect on the environment. 

11 SEC. 404. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

12 The authorities provided to the Secretary concerned 

13 by this title are supplemental to their respective authori14 ties provided in any other law. 

15 SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 

17 2004 through 2008 such sums as may be necessary to 

18 carry out this title. 

19 TITLE V—HEALTHY FORESTS 

20 RESERVE PROGRAM 

21 SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTHY FORESTS RE22 SERVE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

24 shall establish the healthy forests reserve program as a 

25 program within the Forest Service for the purpose of pro-
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1 tecting, restoring, and enhancing degraded forest eco2 systems to promote the recovery of threatened and endan3 gered species as well as improve biodiversity and enhance 

4 carbon sequestration. 

5 (b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

6 shall carry out the healthy forests reserve program in co7 operation with the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

8 through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

9 SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT OF LANDS IN 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 (a) ELIGIBLE LANDS.—The Secretary of Agriculture, 

12 in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall 

13 designate rare forest ecosystems to be eligible for the 

14 healthy forests reserve program. The following lands are 

15 eligible for enrollment in the healthy forests reserve pro16 gram: 

17 (1) Private lands whose enrollment will protect, 

18 restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase 

19 the likelihood of recovery of an endangered species 

20 or threatened species in the wild. 

21 (2) Private lands whose enrollment will protect, 

22 restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase 

23 the likelihood of the recovery of an animal or plant 

24 species before the species reaches threatened or en-
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1 dangered status, such as candidate, State-listed spe2 cies, rare, peripheral, and special concern species. 

3 (b) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In enrolling lands 

4 that satisfy the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub5 section (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall give addi6 tional consideration to those lands whose enrollment will 

7 also improve biological diversity and increase carbon se8 questration. 

9 (c) ENROLLMENT BY WILLING OWNERS.—The Sec10 retary of Agriculture shall enroll lands in the healthy for11 ests reserve program only with the consent of the owner 

12 of the lands. 

13 (d) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total number of 

14 acres enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program shall 

15 not exceed 1,000,000 acres. 

16 (e) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.—Lands may be en17 rolled in the healthy forests reserve program pursuant to 

18 a 10-year cost-share agreement, a 30-year easement, or 

19 a permanent easement with buyback option. The extent 

20 to which each enrollment method is used shall be based 

21 on the approximate proportion of owner interest expressed 

22 in that method in comparison to the other methods. 

23 (f) ENROLLMENT PRIORITY.—The Secretary of Agri24 culture shall give priority to the enrollment of lands that, 

25 in the sole discretion of the Secretary, will provide the best 
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1 opportunity to resolve conflicts between the presence of 

2 an animal or plant species referred to in paragraph (1) 

3 or (2) of subsection (a) and otherwise lawful land use ac4 tivities. 

5 SEC. 503. CONSERVATION PLANS. 

6 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Lands enrolled in the healthy 

7 forests reserve program shall be subject to a conservation 

8 plan, to be developed jointly by the land owner and the 

9 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The conservation 

10 plan shall include a description of the land-use activities 

11 that are permissible on the enrolled lands. 

12 (b) INVOLVEMENT BY OTHER AGENCIES AND ORGA13 NIZATIONS.—A State fish and wildlife agency, State for14 estry agency, State environmental quality agency, and 

15 other State conservation agencies and nonprofit conserva16 tion organizations may assist in providing technical or fi17 nancial assistance, or both, for the development and imple18 mentation of conservation plans.

19 (c) COST EFFECTIVENESS.—The conservation plan 

20 shall maximize the environmental benefits per dollar ex21 pended. 

22 SEC. 504. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) PERMANENT EASEMENT WITH BUYBACK OP24 TION.—
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1 (1) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—In the case of land 

2 enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program using 

3 a permanent easement with a buyback option, the 

4 Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the 

5 land an amount equal to—

6 (A) the fair market value of the enrolled 

7 land less the fair market value of the land en8 cumbered by the easement; plus 

9 (B) the actual costs of the approved con10 servation practices or the average cost of ap11 proved practices, as established by the Sec12 retary. 

13 (2) BUYBACK OPTION.—Beginning on the 50th 

14 anniversary of the enrollment of the land, and every 

15 10th-year thereafter, the owner shall be able to pur16 chase the easement back from the United States at 

17 a rate equal to the fair market value of the easement 

18 plus the costs, adjusted for inflation, of the approved 

19 conservation practices. 

20 (b) 30-YEAR EASEMENT.—In the case of land en21 rolled in the healthy forests reserve program using a 30-

22 year easement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the 

23 owner of the land an amount equal to—
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1 (1) 75 percent of the fair market value of the 

2 land less the fair market value of the land encum3 bered by the easement; plus 

4 (2) 75 percent of the actual costs of the ap5 proved conservation practices or 75 percent of the 

6 average cost of approved practices, as established by 

7 the Secretary. 

8 (c) 10-YEAR AGREEMENT.—In the case of land en9 rolled in the healthy forests reserve program using a 10-

10 year cost-share agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture 

11 shall pay the owner of the land an amount equal to—

12 (1) 75 percent of the actual costs of the ap13 proved conservation practices; or 

14 (2) 75 percent of the average cost of approved 

15 practices, as established by the Secretary. 

16 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec17 retary of Agriculture may accept and use contributions of 

18 non-Federal funds to make payments under this section. 

19 SEC. 505. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

20 The Forest Service and the United States Fish and 

21 Wildlife Service shall provide landowners with technical 

22 assistance to comply with the terms of agreements and 

23 easements under the healthy forests reserve program and 

24 conservation plans. 
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1 SEC. 506. SAFE HARBOR. 

2 In implementing the healthy forests reserve program, 

3 the Secretary of the Interior shall provide safe harbor or 

4 similar assurances, through section 7 or other authorities 

5 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

6 1531 et seq.), consistent with the implementing regula7 tions of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to 

8 landowners who enroll land in the healthy forests reserve 

9 program when such enrollment will result in a net con10 servation benefit for listed species. 

11 SEC. 507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 

13 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008 to carry 

14 out this title. 

15 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

16 PROVISIONS 

17 SEC. 601. FOREST STANDS INVENTORY AND MONITORING 

18 PROGRAM TO IMPROVE DETECTION OF AND 

19 RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

21 carry out a comprehensive program to inventory, monitor, 

22 characterize, assess, and identify forest stands (with em23 phasis on hardwood forest stands) and potential forest 

24 stands—
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1 (1) in units of the National Forest System 

2 (other than those units created from the public do3 main); and 

4 (2) on private forest land, with the consent of 

5 the owner of the land. 

6 (b) ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.—In carrying out the 

7 program, the Secretary shall address issues including—

8 (1) early detection, identification, and assess9 ment of environmental threats (including insect, dis10 ease, invasive species, fire, and weather-related risks 

11 and other episodic events); 

12 (2) loss or degradation of forests; 

13 (3) degradation of the quality forest stands 

14 caused by inadequate forest regeneration practices; 

15 (4) quantification of carbon uptake rates; and 

16 (5) management practices that focus on pre17 venting further forest degradation. 

18 (c) EARLY WARNING SYSTEM.—In carrying out the 

19 program, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive 

20 early warning system for potential catastrophic environ21 mental threats to forests to increase the likelihood that 

22 forest managers will be able to—

23 (1) isolate and treat a threat before the threat 

24 gets out of control; and 
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1 (2) prevent epidemics, such as the American 

2 chestnut blight in the first half of the twentieth cen3 tury, that could be environmentally and economically 

4 devastating to forests. 

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

8 2008.

Union Calendar No. 52

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1904

[Report No. 108–96, Parts I and II] 

A BILL

To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to plan 

and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other atrisk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other purposes. 

MAY 16, 2003

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union, and ordered to be printed