I

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2169

To save taxpayers money, reduce the deficit, cut corporate welfare, protect

communities from wildfires, encourage Federal land management agency

reform and accountability, and protect and restore America’s natural

heritage by eliminating the fiscally wasteful and ecologically destructive

commercial logging program on Federal public lands, restoring native

biodiversity in our Federal public forests, and facilitating the economic

recovery and diversification of communities affected by the Federal logging program.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 20, 2003

Mr. LEACH (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN,

Mr. BECERRA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of

Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr.

CASE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois,

Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ENGEL,

Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOEFFEL,

Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE,

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Ms.

MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms.

MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO,

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr.

PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms.

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SAXTON, Ms.

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN,

Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TOWNS,

Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WALSH, Ms. WATERS, Mr.

WATT, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, and

Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture

and Education and the Workforce, 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
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A BILL

To save taxpayers money, reduce the deficit, cut corporate

welfare, protect communities from wildfires, encourage

Federal land management agency reform and accountability, and protect and restore America’s natural heritage by eliminating the fiscally wasteful and ecologically

destructive commercial logging program on Federal public lands, restoring native biodiversity in our Federal

public forests, and facilitating the economic recovery and

diversification of communities affected by the Federal

logging program.

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 ‘‘National Forest Protection and Restoration Act’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

Sec. 3. Findings.

Sec. 4. Prohibition on timber sales to protect Federal public lands.

Sec. 5. Effect of prohibition on existing timber sale contracts.

Sec. 6. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 7. Natural heritage restoration.

Sec. 8. Worker retraining.

Sec. 9. Allocation of funds.

Sec. 10. Continuation of payments for States and counties containing Federal

public lands under Public Law 106–393.

Sec. 11. Enforcement by citizens.

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

9 For purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘agencies’’ means

2 the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the

3 Bureau of Land Management, and the United

4 States Fish and Wildlife Service.

5 (2) COMMERCIAL LOGGING.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘commercial

7 logging’’ means—

8 (i) the sale of timber;

9 (ii) the execution of a timber sale; or

10 (iii) any other transfer of timber or

11 biomass to an individual, company, cor12 poration, or other entity, which then offers

13 the transferred timber or biomass, or any

14 product produced from that timber or bio15 mass, for sale or uses the transferred tim16 ber or biomass for other commercial pur17 poses.

18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘commercial

19 logging’’ includes a sale, execution, or other

20 transfer specified in subparagraph (A) regard21 less of—

22 (i) the stated reason for the sale, exe23 cution, or transfer; or

24 (ii) whether the timber is standing,

25 fallen, living, or dead.
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1 (3) FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘Fed2 eral public lands’’ means—

3 (A) all lands in the United States included

4 in the National Forest System;

5 (B) all lands in the United States included

6 in the National Wildlife Refuge System;

7 (C) all lands in the United States included

8 in the National Park System; and

9 (D) all lands under the jurisdiction of the

10 Bureau of Land Management.

11 (4) NATIVE BIODIVERSITY.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘native bio13 diversity’’ means—

14 (i) the full range of variety and varia15 bility within and among living organisms;

16 and

17 (ii) the ecological complexes in which

18 the living organisms would have occurred

19 in the absence of significant human im20 pact.

21 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘native bio22 diversity’’ includes diversity—

23 (i) within a species (including genetic

24 diversity, species diversity, and age diver25 sity);
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1 (ii) within a community of species;

2 (iii) between communities of species;

3 (iv) within a total area, such as a wa4 tershed;

5 (v) along a vertical plane from ground

6 to sky, including application of the plane

7 to all the other types of diversity; and

8 (vi) along the horizontal plane of the

9 earth-surface, including application of the

10 plane to all the other types of diversity.

11 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘native bio12 diversity’’ excludes genetically modified or engi13 neered organisms.

14 (5) LATE-SUCCESSIONAL/OLD GROWTH FOR15 EST.—The term ‘‘late-successional/old growth for16 est’’ refers to any stand of forest within the bound17 aries of a timber sale that may contain trees that ex18 ceed 80 years in age.

19 (6) ROADLESS AREA.—The term ‘‘roadless

20 area’’ means each of the following:

21 (A) Any inventoried roadless area.

22 (B) Any area of at least 1,000 contiguous

23 acres meeting Forest Service road density

24 guidelines.
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1 (C) Any area of less than 1,000 contiguous

2 acres meeting Forest Service road density

3 guidelines, if the area is adjacent to a unit of

4 the National Wilderness Preservation System, a

5 unit of the National Park System, an inven6 tories roadless area, or a designated Wilderness

7 Study Area.

8 (7) TIMBER SALE.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘timber sale’’

10 means—

11 (i) the sale of timber;

12 (ii) the offering of timber for sale or

13 consideration; or

14 (iii) any other transfer of timber or

15 biomass to an individual, company, cor16 poration, or other entity, which then offers

17 the transferred timber or biomass, or any

18 product produced from that timber or bio19 mass, for sale or uses the transferred tim20 ber or biomass for other commercial pur21 poses.

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘timber sale’’

23 includes a sale, offer, or other transfer specified

24 in subparagraph (A) regardless of—
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1 (i) the stated reason for the sale,

2 offer, or transfer; or

3 (ii) whether the timber is standing,

4 fallen, living, or dead.

5 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

6 Congress finds the following:

7 (1) Polls conducted by the Forest Service show

8 that a strong majority of the American people think

9 that natural resources on Federal public lands

10 should not be made available to produce consumer

11 goods.

12 (2) The 1995 Forest Service draft report enti13 tled ‘‘Forest Service Program for Forest and Range14 land Resources: A Long-Term Strategic Plan’’ shows

15 that recreation and tourism in the National Forest

16 System creates over 30 times more jobs, and gen17 erates over 30 times more income, than commercial

18 logging on national forests.

19 (3) According to Forest Service figures, timber

20 cut from Federal public lands comprises less than

21 five percent of the annual timber consumption of the

22 United States.

23 (4) The vast majority of America’s original

24 pristine forests have been logged, and what little pri-
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1 mary forest that remains exists almost entirely on

2 public lands.

3 (5) The ecological crisis resulting from this se4 vere habitat loss and fragmentation of American for5 ests requires bold action to protect this Nation’s

6 natural heritage so that pristine forests may remain

7 pristine, and damaged forests may have an oppor8 tunity to recover.

9 (6) It is in the interests of the American people

10 and the international community to protect and re11 store native biodiversity in our Federal public lands

12 for its inherent benefits, the resulting economic ben13 efits, and for the protection of this natural heritage

14 for current and future generations.

15 (7) The 1995 report of the Comptroller General

16 regarding distribution of Forest Service timber sales

17 receipts (GAO/RCED–95–237FS) and the 1998 fol18 low-up report (GAO/RCED–99–24) reveal that, of

19 the hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer

20 money that is annually expended on the Forest Serv21 ice timber sales program, only a small fraction finds

22 its way back to the Federal Treasury, resulting in

23 an enormous net loss to taxpayers.

24 (8) In September 2001, the General Accounting

25 Office stated that it was ‘impractical, if not impos-
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1 sible, for us or anyone to accurately determine the

2 Forest Service’s timber sales program cost.’’ (GAO–

3 01–1101R Forest Service Timber Costs), and this

4 lack of accurate accounting results in waste and

5 abuse of taxpayer funds and natural resources.

6 (9) Forests absorb rainfall, retard stream run7 off, reduce floods, increase slope stability, and retain

8 topsoil, and retard soil erosion and siltation in

9 streams, irrigation ditches, and reservoirs.

10 (10) Commercial logging has many indirect

11 costs which are very significant, but not easily meas12 ured, such as flooding damage and relief of flooding

13 damage through Federal funds, damage to the salm14 on fishing industry; and harm to the recreation and

15 tourism industries.

16 (11) A congressionally commissioned scientific

17 study of the Sierra Nevada forests found that more

18 than any other human activity, commercial logging

19 has increased the risk and severity of fires by remov20 ing the cooling shade of trees and leaving flammable

21 debris (see Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project Final

22 Report to Congress, Vol. 1, Assessment Summaries

23 and Management Strategies, 1996).

24 (12) Forest Service studies have confirmed the

25 finding that logging, including both thinning and
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1 clearcutting, increases fire severity (United States

2 Forest Service, Historical and Current Forest Land3 scapes in Eastern Oregon and Washington, Part II:

4 Linking Vegetation Characteristics to Potential Fire

5 Behavior and Related Smoke Production, PNW–

6 GTR–355, p. 22 (1995); United States Forest Serv7 ice, Integrated Scientific Assessment for Ecosystem

8 Management in Interior Columbia Basin, PNW–

9 GTR–382, p. 61 (1996)).

10 (13) The Forest Service’s chief fire specialist

11 has stated that the material that needs to be re12 duced to prevent unnaturally severe forest fires is

13 underbrush that is less than two or three inches in

14 diameter, not mature trees (Washington Journal, C–

15 SPAN, Aug. 10, 2000).

16 (14) The Forest Service’s own fire research sta17 tion found that the only effective way to protect

18 homes in the urban/wildland interface from forest

19 fires is to reduce the flammability of the home itself

20 and its immediate surroundings within 40 meters,

21 not engage in logging activities on Federal public

22 lands (Jack Cohen, Reducing the Wildland Fire

23 Threat to Homes: where and how much?, United

24 States Forest Service, Fire Sciences Laboratory,

25 Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Mon-
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1 tana, report presented at the Fire Economics, Policy

2 and Planning: Bottom Line Symposium, April 5–9,

3 1999, San Diego, California).

4 (15) It is in the interests of the American peo5 ple to protect watersheds on Federal public lands in

6 order to prevent potentially damaging and deadly

7 floods.

8 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON TIMBER SALES TO PROTECT FED9 ERAL PUBLIC LANDS.

10 (a) PROHIBITION ON NEW TIMBER SALES.—Not11 withstanding any other provision of law, effective as of the

12 date of the enactment of this Act, no timber sales shall

13 be prepared, advertised, offered, or awarded on Federal

14 public lands and, except as provided in section 5, no com15 mercial logging shall occur on Federal public lands.

16 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The use of forest materials for

17 noncommercial use, including personal-use permits under

18 the personal use component of the forest management pro19 gram of the Forest Service or an equivalent program of

20 the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Serv21 ice, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to the

22 extent allowed under existing law, is not prohibited by sub23 section (a), but any such use of forest materials for non24 commercial use must be consistent with section 7, includ25 ing subsection (k) of such section.
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1 (c) NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES.—Nothing contained

2 in this Act shall be construed to modify, amend, or breach

3 any treaty in existence on the date of enactment of this

4 Act with any Native American tribe.

5 SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PROHIBITION ON EXISTING TIMBER

6 SALE CONTRACTS.

7 (a) REMAINING SALVAGE RIDER SALES.—Notwith8 standing any outstanding judicial order or administrative

9 proceeding interpreting section 2001 of Public Law 104–

10 19 (109 Stat. 240; 16 U.S.C. 1611 note), the Secretary

11 of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall im12 mediately suspend each timber sale or activity that was

13 being undertaken in whole or in part under the authority

14 provided in such section.

15 (b) ROADLESS AREAS AND LATE-SUCCESSIONAL/

16 OLD GROWTH FORESTS.—Notwithstanding any other

17 provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec18 retary of the Interior shall immediately suspend each tim19 ber sale in any roadless area or late-successional/old

20 growth forest on Federal public lands.

21 (c) PHASE-OUT PERIOD AUTHORIZED.—There shall

22 be a 2-year period to phase out those timber sale contracts

23 in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

24 The phase-out period shall begin on the date of the enact25 ment of this Act. Any remaining timber sales on Federal
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1 public lands shall be automatically suspended upon the ex2 piration of the phase-out period. Notwithstanding any

3 other provision of law, no commercial logging shall occur

4 anywhere on Federal public lands after the end of the

5 phase-out period.

6 (d) EARLY TERMINATION.—For all timber sales sus7 pended under subsection (a), subsection (b), and sub8 section (c) of this subsection, the Secretary concerned

9 shall—

10 (1) exercise any provision of the original con11 tract that authorizes termination and payment of

12 specified damages; or

13 (2) terminate the contract to avoid adverse ef14 fects on the environment or natural resources.

15 (e) PAYMENT FOR TIMBER SALE CONTRACTS RELIN16 QUISHED.—Any claim, whether as a result of a judgment

17 or an agreement against the Federal Government, arising

18 from termination of any timber sale contract under sub19 section (d) of this subsection, may be—

20 (1) paid from funds made available under sec21 tion 1304 of title 31, United States Code, and shall

22 not require reimbursement under section 13(c) of

23 the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C.

24 612(c));
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1 (2) offset by forgiveness of a Federal Govern2 ment loan or loan guarantee;

3 (3) paid through funds appropriated for the

4 purpose; or

5 (4) paid through the transfer of funds from

6 Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management ac7 counts for forest management, road construction, or

8 general administration for such purposes.

9 (f) DISPUTES.—Any claim by a purchaser against the

10 Federal Government relating to a contract terminated

11 under this section shall be subject to the Contract Dis12 putes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 (a) CALCULATION OF TAXPAYER LOSSES FROM LOG15 GING.—The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with

16 the Secretary of the Interior, shall determine the average

17 amount of Federal funds appropriated annually from the

18 General Fund of the Treasury over the five fiscal years

19 immediately preceding the date of the enactment of this

20 Act for commercial logging and commercial logging21 related activities on Federal public lands. In making this

22 determination, the Secretary shall include amounts ex23 pended for the following, using estimates when necessary:

24 (1) Timber sales management.

25 (2) Forest-land vegetation management.
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1 (3) Land management planning, inventory, and

2 monitoring related to commercial logging.

3 (4) Research related to commercial logging.

4 (5) The portion of the forest roads and road

5 maintenance program related to commercial logging.

6 (6) General administration expenses related to

7 commercial logging.

8 (7) Landline location related to commercial log9 ging.

10 (8) Law enforcement related to commercial log11 ging.

12 (9) The portion of the forest fire fighting and

13 prevention program related to commercial logging.

14 (10) The portion of any other activities related

15 to commercial logging.

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out

18 this Act in the fiscal years beginning after the date of the

19 enactment of this Act, but not to exceed for any fiscal

20 year two-thirds of the amount calculated in subsection (a)

21 as the taxpayer losses from logging.

22 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than

23 ten percent of the funds appropriated or allocated to carry

24 out sections 7 and 8 may be reserved for the administra25 tion of activities authorized under those sections.
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1 SEC. 7. NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION.

2 (a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any

3 other provision of law, agency projects or programs to re4 store biological diversity and ecological processes on Fed5 eral public lands shall be carried out in a manner con6 sistent with this section and shall be integrated into the

7 program established by this section.

8 (b) PURPOSES, FINDINGS, AND BASIC MANAGEMENT

9 REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The purpose of this section is to

10 protect and restore the natural heritage of the Federal

11 public lands through the restoration of native biodiversity

12 and natural ecological complexes and processes. In most

13 circumstances, natural processes will heal damaged areas

14 without assistance, but, in many circumstances, where ex15 tensive damage from logging and road-building is evident,

16 it is necessary to take immediate action to stop soil erosion

17 and pervasive resource damage. The primary emphasis of

18 this section is to change circumstances that effectively act

19 as barriers to natural restoration processes. This section

20 does not envision the broad application of largely experi21 mental techniques or tactics for which there is no solid

22 scientific support or concrete evidence of effectiveness.

23 (2) It is also the purpose of this section to provide

24 guidance and limitations for the protection and restoration

25 of native biological diversity. The inherent guiding prin26 ciple or basic approach that managers shall use to imple-
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1 ment the ecological restoration provisions of this section

2 is to ‘‘do no harm’’ to ecosystems when implementing ac3 tive management projects and programs.

4 (3) Scientific uncertainty about complex ecosystems

5 requires a precautionary approach to active management.

6 Therefore, proposed projects that are intended to restore

7 ecological processes must have short- and long-term bene8 fits that significantly outweigh any short- or long-term

9 risks.

10 (4) In most cases ecosystems are inherently resilient

11 if left to function without interference from man, but in

12 some cases action is necessary to stop immediate resource

13 damage. Therefore, ecological restoration projects shall

14 emphasize the removal of barriers that prevent ecosystems

15 from restoring themselves. Some examples of such barriers

16 are roads, erosion, landslides, nonnative invasive species,

17 fire suppression, certain types of hazardous fuels, dams

18 or man-made barriers in streams, and other significant

19 man-made damage and developments that interfere with

20 natural ecological processes.

21 (5) In other cases ecosystems require the reintroduc22 tion of native species that once contributed to natural eco23 logical processes. Therefore, each ecological restoration

24 project shall include an evaluation of which native species

25 may be missing from the ecosystem and shall ensure the
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1 presence of adequate habitat and forage or prey for the

2 native species, to be followed by a scheduled reintroduction

3 of the native species in coordination with State natural

4 heritage and wildlife agencies and the United States Fish

5 and Wildlife Service.

6 (c) NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION CORPS.—

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In8 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each es9 tablish a special unit (to be known as the ‘‘Natural

10 Heritage Restoration Corps’’) for the purposes of—

11 (A) conducting ecological restoration of na12 tive biodiversity in areas of Federal public lands

13 where the integrity of natural ecosystems has

14 been degraded;

15 (B) assisting in the monitoring of forest

16 resources, including effectiveness monitoring of

17 ecological restoration projects; and

18 (C) in cooperation with each agency’s law

19 enforcement programs, monitoring and pro20 tecting public resources from various illegal ac21 tivities, including timber theft and poaching.

22 (2) USE OF PERSONNEL FROM EXISTING PRO23 GRAMS.—The Natural Heritage Restoration Corps

24 may be created using personnel in existing programs

25 in the agencies.
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1 (3) OTHER PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT.—In

2 addition to the personnel selected under paragraph

3 (2), the Natural Heritage Restoration Corps may

4 hire other personnel, which may include private con5 tractors, and purchase or lease the necessary equip6 ment to implement the Natural Heritage Restoration

7 Plans to achieve the goals and objectives as set forth

8 by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of

9 the Interior under this section. There shall be a hir10 ing preference for dislocated workers who have been

11 terminated or laid off, or have received a notice of

12 termination or lay off, as a consequence of the en13 actment of this Act.

14 (4) TRAINING.—Personnel of the Natural Her15 itage Restoration Corps shall be properly trained so

16 that they are able to carry out the activities specified

17 in paragraph (1) consistent with this section.

18 (d) NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION PLAN19 NING.—

20 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.—For

21 lands in the National Forest System, the Secretary

22 of Agriculture shall develop Natural Heritage Res23 toration Plans at the regional level to carry out an

24 ecological restoration program in each region con25 sistent with this section and incorporating the stand-
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1 ards, guidelines, and procedures developed in sub2 section (e). Such Plans shall be completed no later

3 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this

4 Act and shall be revised at least every 10 years.

5 (2) BLM, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, AND

6 NATIONAL PARK LANDS.—For lands under the juris7 diction of the Bureau of Land Management, and, as

8 necessary for National Wildlife Refuges and units of

9 the National Park System, the Secretary of the Inte10 rior shall develop Natural Heritage Restoration

11 Plans at the regional level to carry out an ecological

12 restoration program in each region consistent with

13 this section and incorporating the standards, guide14 lines, and procedures developed in subsection (e).

15 Such Plans shall be completed no later than 18

16 months after the date of enactment of this Act and

17 shall be revised at least every 10 years.

18 (3) MONITORING.—The Secretary of the Inte19 rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in

20 the Natural Heritage Restoration Plans—

21 (A) monitoring provisions to ensure the ef22 fectiveness of each ecological restoration

23 project; and

24 (B) provisions to gauge each Plan’s

25 progress in achieving any restoration goals and
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1 objectives that are developed in accordance with

2 subsection (g).

3 (4) FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS AND CORREC4 TIONS.—The Secretary of Interior and the Secretary

5 of Agriculture shall provide for appropriate follow-up

6 evaluations and actions to ensure the long-term suc7 cess of ecological restoration projects. The failure of

8 any restoration project shall be evaluated and re9 ported to the appropriate Secretary, who shall take

10 prompt action to provide new solutions to correct the

11 failed restoration projects.

12 (e) DEVELOPING STANDARDS, GUIDELINES, AND

13 PROCEDURES FOR RESTORATION.—

14 (1) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARIES.—

15 (A) The Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of

16 the Interior shall develop regional standards, guide17 lines, and procedures for restoration, consistent with

18 this section, as soon as practicable after the date

19 of the enactment of this Act, and shall incorporate

20 these regional standards, guidelines, and procedures,

21 as well as regional Natural Heritage Restoration

22 Plans, into land management plans for each unit of

23 Federal public lands in accordance with existing

24 land management planning regulations, by no later
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1 than two years after the date of enactment of this

2 Act.

3 (B) The Secretaries shall report to the Con4 gress on the progress of implementing this section in

5 the annual report required by section 8(c) of the

6 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan7 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1606(c)) and section

8 311 of the Federal Land Policy and Management

9 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1741).

10 (2) COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS.—(A) In car11 rying out the purposes of this subsection, the Sec12 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec13 retary of Agriculture, shall appoint a committee of

14 scientists, for each of the various administrative re15 gions in the United States who are not officers or

16 employees of the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land

17 Management, or the timber industry, and who are

18 not contractors for the timber industry.

19 (B) The committee shall provide scientific and

20 technical advice and counsel on the proposed stand21 ards, guidelines, and procedures of this subsection to

22 assure that an effective interdisciplinary approach is

23 proposed and adopted for the development of Nat24 ural Heritage Restoration Plans in each region.
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1 (C) The committee shall terminate upon pro2 mulgation of the standards, guidelines, and proce3 dures, but the Secretary shall appoint similar com4 mittees, at least every 10 years, to consider revisions

5 of regional standards, guidelines, and procedures

6 based on new scientific information and the knowl7 edge gained from implementing ecological restora8 tion projects. Standards, guidelines, and procedures

9 for developing Natural Heritage Restoration Plans

10 or their revisions for each region shall be completed

11 no later than one year after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act or the initiation of the revision

13 process. The views of the committees shall be in14 cluded in the public information supplied when the

15 standards and guidelines are proposed for adoption.

16 (3) CLERICAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

17 Clerical and technical assistance, as may be nec18 essary to discharge the duties of the committee of

19 scientists established under paragraph (2), shall be

20 provided from the personnel of the Department of

21 Agriculture or the Department of Interior, as appro22 priate.

23 (4) COMPENSATION.—While attending meetings

24 of the committee, the members shall be entitled to

25 receive compensation at a rate of $200 per diem, in-
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1 cluding travel time, and while away from their

2 homes or regular places of business they may be al3 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

4 subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,

5 United States Code, for persons in the Government

6 service employed intermittently.

7 (5) REGIONAL BOUNDARIES.—The Secretary of

8 the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of

9 Agriculture, shall determine each region’s bound10 aries for which the standards, guidelines, and proce11 dures are to be developed under this subsection.

12 (f) INTERIM NEEDS FOR RESTORATION.—During the

13 interim period while regional standards, guidelines, and

14 procedures, as well as regional Natural Heritage Restora15 tion Plans, are being developed and incorporated into land

16 management plans, the Secretary of Agriculture and Sec17 retary of the Interior shall identify interim needs for eco18 logical restoration and shall take prompt action to begin

19 this restoration work with available personnel. Interim

20 needs for restoration under this section shall be limited

21 to the following:

22 (1) Prescribed or managed fire or manual pre23 treatments to reduce severe fire incidence and haz24 ardous fuels pursuant to subsection (j).
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1 (2) Stabilization of slopes and soils so as to

2 prevent or reduce further erosion and land sliding.

3 (3) Decommissioning and obliteration of roads.

4 (4) Removal of nonnative invasive species.

5 (5) Removal of manmade developments that

6 interfere with natural ecological processes.

7 (g) RESTORATION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.—Within

8 two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

9 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior

10 shall develop specific restoration goals and objectives for

11 each unit of Federal public lands, and shall, within the

12 same time period, develop a specific schedule to accom13 plish those goals and objectives with any funds made avail14 able to the Secretaries, including those funds authorized

15 to be appropriated in section 6.

16 (h) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Any program or

17 project provided in this section shall be carried out in com18 pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of

19 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regu20 lations, and any other public involvement processes pro21 vided by law, regulation, or agency policy.

22 (i) PROHIBITIONS.—Road construction or re-con23 struction shall be prohibited when conducting projects or

24 programs provided by this section. This prohibition in-
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1 cludes any projects to reduce the incidence of severe fire

2 and hazardous fuels pursuant to subsection (j).

3 (j) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR REDUCING THE INCI4 DENCE OF SEVERE FIRE AND HAZARDOUS FUELS.—

5 (1) PRESCRIBED OR MANAGED FIRES.—The use

6 of prescribed or managed fires—

7 (A) shall be the primary tool for reducing

8 severe fire incidence and hazardous fuels;

9 (B) shall only be prescribed in areas that

10 have been scientifically identified as fire-adapt11 ed ecosystems;

12 (C) shall be carried out in a manner de13 signed to maintain habitat quality for any pro14 posed, threatened, endangered, or sensitive spe15 cies, or their prey; and

16 (D) shall be carried out during a time of

17 year and with a frequency that is most eco18 logically appropriate, while also minimizing ad19 verse effects on air quality.

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING MANUAL PRE21 TREATMENTS.—Manual pre-treatments to reduce se22 vere fire incidence and hazardous fuels—

23 (A) shall include use of prescribed or man24 aged fire, where appropriate, as the primary
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1 treatment of the project in accordance with

2 paragraph (1);

3 (B) may only be implemented in areas

4 which have a moderate to high risk of severe

5 fire incidence;

6 (C) shall be prioritized for urban-wildland

7 interface areas;

8 (D) shall not reduce the overstory canopy

9 component of the pre-treatment area;

10 (E) shall maintain habitat quality for any

11 proposed, threatened, endangered, or sensitive

12 species, or their prey;

13 (F) may remove hazardous fuels to mini14 mize occurrences of prescribed fires reaching

15 the forest canopy; and

16 (G) shall only be prescribed in areas that

17 have been scientifically identified as fire-adapt18 ed ecosystems.

19 (3) APPLICATION TO OTHER PROJECTS.—Not20 withstanding any other provision of law, any treat21 ments or manual pre-treatments to reduce severe

22 fire incidence and hazardous fuels as part of any

23 agency projects or programs to reduce the incidence

24 of severe fire and hazardous fuels on Federal public
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1 lands shall be performed in a manner consistent

2 with this subsection, this section, and section 4.

3 (k) USES OF FOREST MATERIALS THAT RESULT

4 FROM ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OR PRE-TREATMENTS

5 TO REDUCE SEVERE FIRE INCIDENCE AND HAZARDOUS

6 FUELS.—A hierarchy of use of forest materials that result

7 from manual pre-treatments in fire-adapted ecosystems or

8 ecological restoration (such as saplings, bushes, fine sur9 face fuels, and materials from plantations that are being

10 restored back to native forests) is established in the fol11 lowing order:

12 (1) Forest materials shall be—

13 (A) left as biomass on the forest floor,

14 lopped, scattered, masticated, or piled and

15 burned (or a combination of such treatments),

16 as appropriate; or

17 (B) left as species habitat in the form of

18 downed woody debris in the project area.

19 (2) If removal of forest material is necessary

20 for ecological restoration or because the area is pre21 treated in accordance with subsection (j), that mate22 rial shall be used for recreation or maintenance

23 projects in the same unit of Federal public land,

24 such as trails, bridges or facilities, or for restoration

25 projects such as woody debris in streams, woody de-
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1 bris to provide species habitat, or for biomass to

2 build soil in other areas of the same unit of Federal

3 public land.

4 (3) Any excess material not used as described

5 in paragraph (2) may only be used for public pur6 poses, and not for private or public commercial gain.

7 This material may be provided for personal non8 commercial uses, such as firewood or other subsist9 ence uses, or for other public noncommercial pur10 poses. Other public purposes may include, but are

11 not limited to, the processing of these forest mate12 rials for uses such as fuel for low-income households,

13 or, in limited circumstances, timber for low-income

14 housing provided by a not for profit venture reg15 istered by the Department of Housing and Urban

16 Development.

17 (l) RELATION TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Any ac18 tivities undertaken pursuant to subsection (k) or the rest

19 of this section must be undertaken in strict compliance

20 with section 4.

21 SEC. 8. WORKER RETRAINING.

22 (a) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—For the pur23 poses of this section, the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means

24 an individual who—
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1 (1) is a dislocated worker, as that term is de2 fined in section 101 of the Workforce Investment

3 Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–220; 112 Stat. 939;

4 29 U.S.C. 2801); and

5 (2) has been terminated or laid off, or has re6 ceived a notice of termination or lay off, as a con7 sequence of the enactment of this Act, or as a con8 sequence of management decisions on Federal public

9 lands prior to the enactment of this Act.

10 (b) DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.—The deter11 mination of whether an individual is an eligible individual

12 shall be made by the Secretary of Labor, pursuant to cri13 teria established by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation

14 with the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior.

15 (c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Labor

16 may make grants to States, employers, employer associa17 tions, and representatives of employees—

18 (1) to provide training, adjustment assistance,

19 and employment services to eligible individuals; and

20 (2) to make needs-related payments to eligible

21 individuals in accordance with subsection (h).

22 (d) PRIORITY AND APPROVAL.—

23 (1) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications for

24 grants under subsection (c), the Secretary of Labor

25 shall give priority to applications proposing to pro-
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1 vide training, adjustment assistance, and services in

2 areas which have the greatest number or percentage

3 of eligible individuals.

4 (2) NEEDS-RELATED PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—

5 The Secretary of Labor shall not approve an appli6 cation for a grant under subsection (c) unless the

7 application contains assurances that the applicant

8 will use grant funds to provide needs-related pay9 ments in accordance with subsection (h).

10 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to the requirements of

11 subsections (f), (g), and (h), grants under subsection (c)

12 may be used for any purpose for which funds may be used

13 under section 134 of the Workforce Investment Act of

14 1998 (Public Law 105–220; 112 Stat. 990; 29 U.S.C.

15 2864).

16 (f) JOB SEARCH ALLOWANCE.—

17 (1) ALLOWANCE AUTHORIZED.—Grants under

18 subsection (c) for adjustment assistance may be

19 used to provide job search allowances to eligible indi20 viduals. Such allowance, if granted, shall provide re21 imbursement to the individual of not more than 90

22 percent of the cost of necessary job search expenses,

23 as prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of

24 Labor, but may not exceed $1,200 unless the need
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1 for a greater amount is justified in the application

2 and approved by the Secretary of Labor.

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR GRANTING JOB SEARCH AL4 LOWANCES.—A job search allowance may be granted

5 only—

6 (A) to assist an eligible individual who has

7 been totally separated in securing a job within

8 the United States; and

9 (B) where the Secretary of Labor deter10 mines that such employee cannot reasonably be

11 expected to secure suitable employment in the

12 commuting area in which the worker resides.

13 (g) RELOCATION ALLOWANCE.—

14 (1) ALLOWANCE AUTHORIZED.—Grants under

15 subsection (c) for adjustment assistance may be

16 used to provide relocation allowances to eligible indi17 viduals. Such an allowance may only be granted to

18 assist an eligible individual in relocating within the

19 United States and only if the Secretary of Labor de20 termines that such employee—

21 (A) cannot reasonably be expected to se22 cure suitable employment in the commuting

23 area in which the employee resides;

24 (B) has obtained suitable employment af25 fording a reasonable expectation of long-term
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1 duration in the area in which the employee

2 wishes to relocate, or has obtained a bona fide

3 offer of such employment; and

4 (C) is totally separated from employment

5 at the time relocation commences.

6 (2) AMOUNT OF RELOCATION ALLOWANCE.—

7 The amount of any relocation allowance for any eli8 gible individual may not exceed the amount which is

9 equal to the sum of—

10 (A) 90 percent of the reasonable and nec11 essary expenses, specified in regulations pre12 scribed by the Secretary, incurred in trans13 porting an individual and the individual’s fam14 ily, if any, and household effects; and

15 (B) a lump sum equivalent to 3 times the

16 employee’s average weekly wage, up to a max17 imum payment of $1,200, unless the need for

18 a greater amount is justified in the application

19 and approved by the Secretary of Labor.

20 (h) NEEDS-RELATED PAYMENTS.—The Secretary of

21 Labor shall prescribe regulations with respect to the use

22 of funds from grants under subsection (c) for needs-re23 lated payments in order to enable eligible individuals to

24 complete training or education programs under this sec25 tion. Such regulations shall—
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1 (1) require that such payments shall be pro2 vided to an eligible individual only if such

3 individual—

4 (A) does not qualify or has ceased to qual5 ify for unemployment compensation;

6 (B) has been enrolled in training by the

7 end of the 13th week of the individual’s initial

8 unemployment compensation benefit period, or,

9 if later, the end of the 8th week after an indi10 vidual is informed that a short-term layoff will

11 in fact exceed six months; and

12 (C) is participating in training or edu13 cation programs under this section, except that

14 such regulations shall protect an individual

15 from being disqualified pursuant to this clause

16 for a failure to participate that is not the fault

17 of the individual;

18 (2) provide that to qualify for such payments

19 the individual currently receives, or is a member of

20 a family which currently receives, a total family in21 come (exclusive of unemployment compensation,

22 child support payments, and welfare payments)

23 which, in relation to family size, is not in excess of

24 the lower living standard income level;
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1 (3) provide that the levels of such payments

2 shall be equal to the higher of—

3 (A) the applicable level of unemployment

4 compensation; or

5 (B) the poverty level determined in accord6 ance with criteria established by the Director of

7 the Office of Management and Budget;

8 (4) provide for the adjustment of payments to

9 reflect changes in total family income; and

10 (5) provide that the grantee shall obtain infor11 mation with respect to such income, and changes

12 therein, from the eligible individual.

13 (i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall

14 prescribe regulations to carry out this section not later

15 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 9. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

17 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN ACCOUNTS.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of law, from the date of

19 the enactment of this Act through the duration of the two20 year phase-out period provided in section 5 plus two years

21 thereafter, all funds in each of the following Forest Service

22 and Bureau of Land Management accounts, including any

23 funds deposited into these accounts during the two-year

24 phase-out period, shall be used only to carry out this Act:
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1 (1) Timber salvage funds (including the Salvage

2 Sale Fund established under section 14(h) of the

3 National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16

4 U.S.C. 472a(h))).

5 (2) The fund established under section 3 of the

6 Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the

7 Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b).

8 (3) The fund containing moneys associated with

9 the Purchaser-Elect Roads Program under section 6

10 of Public Law 88–657 (commonly known as the For11 est Roads And Trails Act; 16 U.S.C. 537).

12 (b) ALLOCATION OF TIMBER SALES REVENUES DUR13 ING PHASE-OUT PERIOD.—Notwithstanding any other

14 provision of law, from the date of the enactment of this

15 Act through the duration of the two-year phase-out period,

16 all timber sale revenues from Federal public lands shall

17 be deposited in the fund established under section 3 of

18 the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the

19 Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b).

20 (c) ABOLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—Notwithstanding

21 any other provision of law, the funds referred to in sub22 section (a) shall be used to carry out this section until

23 no funds remain in such accounts, after which these ac24 counts shall be abolished.
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1 (d) WORKER RETRAINING.—Monies shall be distrib2 uted from the funds referred to in subsection (a) to carry

3 out section 8. Such distributions shall be made in amounts

4 up to $80,000,000 in the first year of the phase-out pe5 riod, and $80,000,000 and $120,000,000, respectively, in

6 the subsequent two years.

7 (e) NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION PLAN8 NING.—From the funds referred to in subsection (a), up

9 to a sum of $100,000,000 shall be made available to the

10 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

11 to carry out subsections (d) and (e) of section 7 until such

12 time as the Natural Heritage Restoration Plans required

13 by subsection (d) of such section have been incorporated

14 into the management plans for each unit of Federal public

15 lands.

16 (f) ALTERNATIVES TO WOOD.—From the funds re17 ferred to in subsection (a), at least $1,000,000 and up

18 to $3,000,000 shall be distributed to the Environmental

19 Protection Agency to fund an investigation into wood-free

20 alternative products for paper and construction. Within

21 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

22 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

23 shall make recommendations for grants to entities involved

24 in the development and production of the most environ25 mentally sound nonwood alternatives for paper and con-
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1 struction products, including entities involved in using ag2 ricultural residues to produce paper. Up to $100,000,000

3 from the funds referred to in subsection (a) shall be made

4 available to the Environmental Protection Agency for such

5 grants, which shall be made within three years after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act.

7 (g) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE TO RE8 DUCE STRUCTURE FLAMMABILITY IN URBAN-WILDLAND

9 INTERFACE AREAS.—From the funds referred to in sub10 section (a), up to $15,000,000 shall be used annually to

11 educate owners of structures on non-Federal land adjacent

12 to Federal public lands about ways in which these struc13 tures can be protected from forest fires by reducing the

14 flammability of a structure and the area within 40 meters

15 of a structure. Both technical support and financial assist16 ance, in coordination or collaboration with existing State

17 and local programs, to the extent possible, shall be pro18 vided where, and to the extent, appropriate.

19 (h) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.—Any funds

20 remaining in the accounts referred to in subsection (a) in

21 the fourth year after the date of the enactment of this

22 Act shall be deposited into the general fund of the United

23 States Treasury.
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1 SEC. 10. CONTINUATION OF PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND

2 COUNTIES CONTAINING FEDERAL PUBLIC

3 LANDS UNDER PUBLIC LAW 106–393.

4 (a) CONTINUATION OF PAYMENTS AFTER FISCAL

5 YEAR 2006.—The Secure Rural Schools and Community

6 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–393; 16

7 U.S.C. 500 note) is amended—

8 (1) in section 101(a), by striking ‘‘years 2001

9 through 2006,’’ both places it appears and inserting

10 ‘‘year 2001 and thereafter,’’;

11 (2) in section 102(b)(2), by striking ‘‘through

12 fiscal year 2006’’; and

13 (3) in section 103(b)(1), by striking ‘‘through

14 fiscal year 2006’’.

15 (b) TERMINATION OF REQUIREMENT TO RESERVE

16 FUNDS FOR FOREST PROJECTS.—(1) Section 102(d) of

17 such Act is amended by adding at the end the following

18 new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF ALLOCATION AND ELEC20 TION REQUIREMENTS.—This subsection shall not

21 apply in the case of payments made under sub22 section (a) for fiscal year 2007 and thereafter.’’.

23 (2) Section 103(c) of such Act is amended by adding

24 at the end the following new paragraph:

25 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF ALLOCATION AND ELEC26 TION REQUIREMENTS.—This subsection shall not
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1 apply in the case of payments made under sub2 section (a) for fiscal year 2007 and thereafter. The

3 entire payment amount shall be expended as re4 quired by the laws referred to in subsection (a)(1).’’.

5 SEC. 11. ENFORCEMENT BY CITIZENS.

6 (a) PURPOSE AND FINDING.—The purpose of this

7 section is to foster the widest possible enforcement of this

8 Act. Congress finds that all people of the United States

9 are injured by any action that violates the provisions of

10 this Act on all lands to which this Act applies.

11 (b) CITIZEN SUITS AUTHORIZED.—Any person may

12 commence a civil action against any person, including the

13 United States, who is alleged to be in violation of this Act.

14 The action shall be brought in the district court for the

15 district in which the alleged violation occurred or the

16 United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

17 When the United States is a defendant, venue may also

18 be in the district court for the district in which the office

19 of any officer or employee of the United States who is

20 alleged to be involved in the violation is located. The dis21 trict court shall have jurisdiction without regard to the

22 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties.

23 (c) RELIEF.—If the court determines that a violation

24 of this Act has occurred, the court may issue an injunction

25 and provide other appropriate equitable relief as the court
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1 considers necessary. If the plaintiff is the prevailing or

2 substantially prevailing party, the court may award to the

3 plaintiff reasonable costs of the litigation, including attor4 ney fees, witness fees, and other necessary expenses. When

5 the United States is a defendant, any award of costs of

6 litigation against the United States shall be paid by the

7 United States within 40 days after judgment.

8 (d) STANDARD OF PROOF.—The standard of proof

9 in all actions brought under this section shall be the pre10 ponderance of the evidence and the trial shall be de novo.

11 (e) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—The United

12 States, including its agencies, agents, and employees,

13 waives its sovereign immunity in all respects in all actions

14 under this section. No notice is required to enforce this

15 section.

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