II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 879 

To expedite and prioritize forest management activities to achieve ecosystem 

restoration objectives, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. ENZI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To expedite and prioritize forest management activities to 

achieve ecosystem restoration objectives, 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 ‘‘National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2017’’. 

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. 

TITLE I—FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 


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Sec. 101. Purposes. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Ecosystem restoration projects. 

Sec. 104. National restoration treatment acreage. 

Sec. 105. Environmental review for ecosystem restoration projects. 

Sec. 106. Alternative dispute resolution. 

Sec. 107. Bonding requirements for judicial review. 

Sec. 108. Performance measures; annual reports. 

TITLE II—CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Categorical exclusion to expedite certain critical response actions. 

Sec. 203. Categorical exclusion to expedite salvage operations in response to 

catastrophic events. 

Sec. 204. Categorical exclusion to meet forest plan goals for early successional 

forests. 

Sec. 205. Alternative agency consultation procedures. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

4 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 

5 plan’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 

6 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

7 U.S.C. 6511). 

8 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National 

10 Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

11 in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 

12 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

14 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National 

15 Forest System’’ does not include— 

16 (i) any forest reserve not created from 

17 the public domain; or 


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1 (ii) any national grassland or land uti2 lization project administered under title III 

3 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act 

4 (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 

5 TITLE I—FOREST MANAGEMENT 

6 ACTIVITIES 

7 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this title are— 

9 (1) to establish a reliable and predicable timber 

10 supply from the National Forest System that can be 

11 harvested, processed, and sold as wood products to 

12 help fund ecosystem restoration; and 

13 (2) to expedite and prioritize forest manage14 ment activities to achieve ecosystem restoration ob15 jectives. 

16 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this title: 

18 (1) RESTORATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘restora20 tion’’, with respect to an ecosystem, means to 

21 carry out any activity that helps to recover, es22 tablish, or maintain the resilience or adaptive 

23 capacity of an ecosystem. 


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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

2 includes any activity described in subparagraph 

3 (A) relating to— 

4 (i) timber harvesting; 

5 (ii) thinning; 

6 (iii) prescribed fire; or 

7 (iv) other vegetation manipulation in 

8 the National Forest System. 

9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

11 Chief of the Forest Service. 

12 SEC. 103. ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec14 retary shall identify, prioritize, and carry out ecosystem 

15 restoration projects on National Forest System land in ac16 cordance with applicable land and resource management 

17 plans prepared by the Secretary for units of the National 

18 Forest System under section 6 of the Forest and Range19 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

20 U.S.C. 1604), if any, to accomplish 1 or more of the fol21 lowing objectives: 

22 (1) To restore terrestrial habitat. 

23 (2) To sustain water quality, water flows, or 

24 watershed health and function. 


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1 (3) To create, improve, or increase early seral 

2 habitat. 

3 (4) To carry out a needed timber stand im4 provement. 

5 (5) To reduce the risk or extent of insect or dis6 ease infestation. 

7 (6) To reduce wildland fire severity potential. 

8 (7) To implement a community wildfire protec9 tion plan. 

10 (8) To establish, recover, or maintain ecosystem 

11 resiliency. 

12 (b) EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary may not carry out 

13 an ecosystem restoration project under this section on any 

14 area of National Forest System land— 

15 (1) that is a component of the National Wilder16 ness Preservation System; or 

17 (2) on which removal of vegetation is prohibited 

18 by law. 

19 SEC. 104. NATIONAL RESTORATION TREATMENT ACREAGE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2018 and each fis21 cal year thereafter, the Secretary shall accomplish restora22 tion treatments, at a minimum, on the following acreage 

23 throughout the National Forest System: 


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1 (1) 1,000,000 acres of restoration treatment 

2 using mechanical treatment methods, of which the 

3 treatment of— 

4 (A) not less than 400,000 acres shall be 

5 conducted using commercial thinning; and 

6 (B) not less than 60,000 acres shall be 

7 conducted using even-aged management tech8 niques. 

9 (2) 1,000,000 acres of restoration treatment 

10 using prescribed fire. 

11 (b) ASSIGNMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

13 the Secretary shall assign the annual acreage for restora14 tion treatments, by National Forest System region, de15 scribed in subsection (a). 

16 (c) PUBLICATION.—As soon as practicable after the 

17 date of each assignment of acreage for restoration treat18 ments under subsection (b), the Secretary shall publish 

19 the acreage that will apply, by National Forest System 

20 region, on the Internet website of the Forest Service. 

21 SEC. 105. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR ECOSYSTEM RES22 TORATION PROJECTS. 

23 (a) APPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

24 POLICY ACT OF 1969.—The Secretary shall prepare an 

25 environmental assessment in accordance with the National 


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

2 seq.) for each ecosystem restoration project that accom3 plishes 1 or more of the objectives identified in section 

4 103(a). 

5 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—In preparing 

6 an environmental assessment for an ecosystem restoration 

7 project under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide 

8 public notice of, and an opportunity to comment regard9 ing, the applicable project. 

10 (c) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—The Sec11 retary shall study, develop, and describe in each environ12 mental assessment under subsection (a)— 

13 (1) the ecosystem restoration project as the 

14 proposed action; and 

15 (2) a no-action alternative, the analysis of 

16 which shall include a description of the resulting en17 vironmental effects of taking no action on— 

18 (A) forest health; 

19 (B) habitat diversity; 

20 (C) wildfire potential; 

21 (D) insect and disease potential; 

22 (E) municipal water supplies; and 

23 (F) other economic and social factors. 


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1 (d) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall limit each en2 vironmental assessment under this section to a length of 

3 not more than 100 pages. 

4 (e) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date on which the Secretary publishes a no7 tice regarding an ecosystem restoration project in 

8 accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

9 complete the environmental assessment for the eco10 system restoration project. 

11 (2) NO SUPPLEMENTAL ANALYSIS REQUIRED.— 

12 No supplemental analysis of an ecosystem restora13 tion project that is the subject of an environmental 

14 assessment under paragraph (1) shall be required 

15 after the date on which that environmental assess16 ment is complete. 

17 SEC. 106. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. 

18 (a) ARBITRATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

20 within the Forest Service an arbitration program as 

21 an alternative dispute resolution process in lieu of 

22 judicial review for the projects described in sub23 section (b). 

24 (2) NOTIFICATION TO OBJECTORS.—On 

25 issuance of an appeal response to an objection filed 


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1 with respect to an ecosystem restoration project sub2 ject to an objection at the project level under part 

3 218 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

4 effect on the date of enactment of this Act), the Sec5 retary shall notify each applicable individual or enti6 ty that submitted the objection (referred to in this 

7 section as the ‘‘objector’’) that any further appeal 

8 may be subject to arbitration in accordance with this 

9 section. 

10 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary, at 

11 the sole discretion of the Secretary, may designate the fol12 lowing types of ecosystem restoration projects for arbitra13 tion: 

14 (1) Projects developed through a collaborative 

15 process (within the meaning of section 603(b)(1)(C) 

16 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

17 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C))). 

18 (2) Projects identified in a community wildfire 

19 protection plan. 

20 (3) For each applicable calendar year, not more 

21 than 2 other types of ecosystem restoration projects 

22 for each region of the Forest Service. 

23 (c) ARBITRATORS.— 

24 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall de25 velop and publish a list of not fewer than 20 individVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 uals eligible to serve as arbitrators for the program 

2 under this section. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to 

4 serve as an arbitrator under this subsection, an indi5 vidual shall be currently certified by the American 

6 Arbitration Association. 

7 (d) INITIATION OF ARBITRATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after 

9 the date of receipt of a notice of intent to file suit 

10 challenging an ecosystem restoration project, the 

11 Secretary shall notify each applicable objector and 

12 the court of jurisdiction that the project has been 

13 designated for arbitration in accordance with this 

14 section. 

15 (2) DEMAND FOR ARBITRATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—An objector that sought 

17 judicial review of an ecosystem restoration 

18 project that has been designated by the Sec19 retary for arbitration under this section may 

20 file a demand for arbitration in accordance 

21 with— 

22 (i) sections 571 through 584 of title 

23 5, United States Code; and 

24 (ii) this paragraph. 


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1 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A demand for arbi2 tration under subparagraph (A) shall— 

3 (i) be filed not later than the date 

4 that is 30 days after the date of the notifi5 cation by the Secretary under paragraph 

6 (1); and 

7 (ii) include an alternative proposal to 

8 the applicable ecosystem restoration 

9 project that describes each modification 

10 sought by the objector with respect to the 

11 ecosystem restoration project. 

12 (e) SELECTION OF ARBITRATOR.—For each arbitra13 tion commenced under this section, the Secretary and each 

14 applicable objector shall agree on a mutually acceptable 

15 arbitrator from the list published under subsection (c)(1). 

16 (f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARBITRATOR.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator selected under 

18 subsection (e)— 

19 (A) shall address each demand filed for ar20 bitration with respect to an ecosystem restora21 tion project under this section; but 

22 (B) may consolidate into a single arbitra23 tion all demands for arbitration by all objectors 

24 with respect to an ecosystem restoration 

25 project. 


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1 (2) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.—An arbitrator 

2 shall make a decision regarding each applicable de3 mand for arbitration under this section by select4 ing— 

5 (A) the ecosystem restoration project, as 

6 approved by the Secretary; or 

7 (B) an alternative proposal submitted by 

8 the applicable objector. 

9 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

10 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—A decision 

11 of an arbitrator under this subsection shall be 

12 based solely on the administrative record for 

13 the ecosystem restoration project. 

14 (B) NO MODIFICATIONS TO PROPOSALS.— 

15 An arbitrator may not modify any proposal con16 tained in a demand for arbitration of an objec17 tor under this section. 

18 (g) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF ARBITRA19 TION.—Not later than 90 days after the date on which 

20 a demand for arbitration is filed under subsection (d)(2), 

21 the arbitration process shall be completed. 

22 (h) EFFECT OF ARBITRATION DECISION.—A decision 

23 of an arbitrator under this section— 

24 (1) shall not be considered to be a major Fed25 eral action; 


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1 (2) shall be binding; and 

2 (3) shall not be subject to judicial review, ex3 cept as provided in section 10(a) of title 9, United 

4 States Code. 

5 SEC. 107. BONDING REQUIREMENTS FOR JUDICIAL RE6 VIEW. 

7 (a) BOND REQUIREMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The judicial review of an ac9 tion challenging an ecosystem restoration project 

10 under this title (referred to in this section as an ‘‘ac11 tion’’) shall be subject to the bonding requirements 

12 of this section. 

13 (2) BOND OR SECURITY.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

15 after the date on which a complaint or appeal 

16 is filed to initiate an action, each plaintiff shall 

17 post a bond or other security acceptable to the 

18 court in an amount equal to the anticipated 

19 costs, expenses, and attorney fees of the Sec20 retary as a defendant in the action, in accord21 ance with a reasonable estimate of the Sec22 retary. 

23 (B) REQUIREMENT.—All proceedings in an 

24 action shall be stayed until the bond or security 

25 required under subparagraph (A) is posted. 


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1 (b) RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS, EXPENSES, 

2 AND ATTORNEY FEES.— 

3 (1) MOTION FOR PAYMENT.—If the Secretary 

4 prevails in an action, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 the court a motion for payment from the bond or 

6 other security posted under subsection (a), of the 

7 reasonable costs, expenses, and attorney fees in8 curred by the Secretary as a defendant in the action. 

9 (2) MAXIMUM RECOVERY.—The total amount of 

10 costs, expenses, and attorney fees recovered by the 

11 Secretary under paragraph (1) may not exceed the 

12 amount of the bond or other security posted in the 

13 action. 

14 (3) RETURN REMAINDER.—Any funds remain15 ing from the bond or other security posed under 

16 subsection (a) after the payment of costs, expenses, 

17 and attorney fees under paragraph (1) shall be re18 turned to the plaintiff that posted the bond or secu19 rity in the action. 

20 (c) RETURN OF BOND TO PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.— 

21 If the applicable court rules, in a final enforcement judg22 ment, in favor of a plaintiff on all causes of each action 

23 of the plaintiff, the court shall return to the plaintiff any 

24 bond or security posted by the plaintiff under subsection 


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1 (a), plus any interest accruing during the period beginning 

2 on the date on which the bond or security was posted. 

3 (d) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an action in which a bond 

5 or security was posted is resolved by settlement be6 tween the Secretary and the plaintiff, the settlement 

7 agreement may provide for sharing of the costs, ex8 penses, and attorney fees incurred by the parties to 

9 the action. 

10 (2) DEFERRAL.—A settlement agreement under 

11 paragraph (1) may defer the resolution of costs, ex12 penses, and attorney fees to— 

13 (A) further negotiation; or 

14 (B) decision by the court. 

15 SEC. 108. PERFORMANCE MEASURES; ANNUAL REPORTS. 

16 (a) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Secretary shall 

17 annually evaluate the degree to which the Secretary is 

18 achieving— 

19 (1) the purposes of this title, including— 

20 (A) the number of acres covered by eco21 system restoration projects; 

22 (B) the number of acres treated by me23 chanical methods under ecosystem restoration 

24 projects; 


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1 (C) the number of acres treated using 

2 stewardship contracts and stewardship agree3 ments under ecosystem restoration projects; 

4 (D) the number of acres treated using tim5 ber sales under ecosystem restoration projects; 

6 (E) the number of acres treated by pre7 scribed fire, mowing, and other noncommercial 

8 product producing activities under ecosystem 

9 restoration projects; and 

10 (F) to the extent practicable, a summary 

11 of acres receiving more than 1 type of treat12 ment; and 

13 (2) the acreage requirements established under 

14 section 104(a). 

15 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

17 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

18 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

19 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives— 

20 (1) a report that describes, with respect to the 

21 preceding year, the results of evaluations using the 

22 performance measures described in subsection (a); 

23 and 

24 (2) a report that describes, with respect to the 

25 preceding year— 


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1 (A) the number and substance of eco2 system restoration projects that are subject to 

3 arbitration under section 106; and 

4 (B) the outcomes of the arbitrations under 

5 that section. 

6 TITLE II—CATEGORICAL 

7 EXCLUSIONS 

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘cata11 strophic event’’ means any natural disaster (such as 

12 hurricane, tornado, windstorm, snow or ice storm, 

13 rain storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal 

14 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

15 mudslide, drought, or insect or disease outbreak), or 

16 any fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause. 

17 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘cat18 egorical exclusion’’ means an exception to the re19 quirements of the National Environmental Policy 

20 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for a project 

21 or activity relating to the management of National 

22 Forest System land. 

23 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col24 laborative process’’ means a process relating to the 

25 management of National Forest System land by 


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1 which a project or activity is developed and imple2 mented by the Secretary through collaboration with 

3 interested persons, as described in section 

4 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

5 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

6 (4) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

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

8 or activity carried out by the Secretary on National 

9 Forest System land, consistent with the forest plan 

10 covering that land. 

11 (5) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

12 means a land and resource management plan pre13 pared by the Forest Service for a unit of the Na14 tional Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the 

15 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan16 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

17 (6) SALVAGE OPERATION.—The term ‘‘salvage 

18 operation’’ means a forest management activity car19 ried out in response to a catastrophic event, the pri20 mary purpose of which is— 

21 (A) to prevent wildfire as a result of the 

22 catastrophic event, or, if the catastrophic event 

23 was wildfire, to prevent a reburn of the fire-im24 pacted area; 


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1 (B) to provide an opportunity for use of 

2 forest materials damaged as a result of the cat3 astrophic event; or 

4 (C) to provide a funding source for refor5 estation and other restoration activities for the 

6 National Forest System land impacted by the 

7 catastrophic event. 

8 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the 

10 Chief of the Forest Service). 

11 SEC. 202. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE CER12 TAIN CRITICAL RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

13 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

14 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary to de15 velop and carry out a forest management activity on Na16 tional Forest System land in any case in which the pri17 mary purpose of the forest management activity is— 

18 (1) to address an insect or disease infestation; 

19 (2) to treat land at risk of insect or disease in20 festation; 

21 (3) to reduce hazardous fuel loads; 

22 (4) to protect a municipal water source; 

23 (5) to maintain, enhance, or modify critical 

24 habitat to protect the habitat from catastrophic dis25 turbances; 


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1 (6) to increase water yield; or 

2 (7) any combination of the purposes specified in 

3 paragraphs (1) through (6). 

4 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the case of a for6 est management activity described in paragraph (2), 

7 a forest management activity covered by the categor8 ical exclusion granted by subsection (a) may not 

9 contain harvest units exceeding a total of 5,000 

10 acres. 

11 (2) LARGER AREAS AUTHORIZED.—A forest 

12 management activity covered by the categorical ex13 clusion granted by subsection (a) may not contain 

14 harvest units exceeding a total of 15,000 acres if the 

15 forest management activity is— 

16 (A) developed through a collaborative proc17 ess; 

18 (B) proposed by a resource advisory com19 mittee (as defined in section 201 of the Secure 

20 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determina21 tion Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121)); or 

22 (C) covered by a community wildfire pro23 tection plan. 


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1 SEC. 203. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE SAL2 VAGE OPERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CATA3 STROPHIC EVENTS. 

4 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

5 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary to de6 velop and carry out a salvage operation as part of the res7 toration of National Forest System land following a cata8 strophic event. 

9 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A salvage operation 

10 covered by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection 

11 (a) may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 

12 5,000 acres. 

13 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—A salvage operation 

15 covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub16 section (a) may not include any permanent road con17 struction. 

18 (2) STREAM BUFFERS.—A salvage operation 

19 covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub20 section (a) shall comply with the standards and 

21 guidelines for stream buffers contained in the appli22 cable forest plan, unless the standards and guide23 lines are modified for a specific salvage operation as 

24 part of a categorical exclusion by the Regional For25 ester. 


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1 (3) REFORESTATION PLAN.—A reforestation 

2 plan shall be developed under section 3 of the Act 

3 of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the ‘‘Knutson4 Vandenberg Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 576b), as part of a 

5 salvage operation covered by the categorical exclu6 sion granted by subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO MEET FOREST 

8 PLAN GOALS FOR EARLY SUCCESSIONAL 

9 FORESTS. 

10 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

11 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary to de12 velop and carry out a forest management activity on Na13 tional Forest System land in any case in which the pri14 mary purpose of the forest management activity is to mod15 ify, improve, enhance, or create early successional forests 

16 for wildlife habitat improvement and other purposes, in 

17 accordance with the applicable forest plan. 

18 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest management 

19 activity covered by the categorical exclusion granted by 

20 subsection (a) may not contain harvest units exceeding a 

21 total of 5,000 acres. 

22 SEC. 205. ALTERNATIVE AGENCY CONSULTATION PROCE23 DURES. 

24 (a) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 for each forest management activity covered by a 

3 categorical exclusion granted by this title, the Sec4 retary shall satisfy the applicable interagency con5 sultation obligations under section 7 of the Endan6 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) by 

7 achieving compliance with the alternative consulta8 tion procedures established in subpart D of part 402 

9 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc10 cessor regulations). 

11 (2) REFERENCES.—For purposes of this sub12 section, all references contained in subpart D of part 

13 402 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc14 cessor regulations)— 

15 (A) to the term ‘‘U.S. Environmental Pro16 tection Agency’’ or ‘‘EPA’’ shall be considered 

17 to be a reference to the Secretary; and 

18 (B) to the term ‘‘FIFRA action’’ shall be 

19 considered to be a reference to a forest manage20 ment activity covered by a categorical exclusion 

21 granted by this title. 

22 (b) INTERIM TIMELINES.—Until the date on which 

23 an alternative consultation agreement under subpart D of 

24 part 402 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or sucVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S879.IS S879

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1 cessor regulations), is entered into with respect to a forest 

2 management activity under subsection (a)— 

3 (1) any formal or informal interagency con4 sultation regarding the forest management activity 

5 shall be completed by not later than the date that 

6 is 30 days after the date on which the Secretary 

7 submits a written request for consultation; and 

8 (2) a biological opinion or letter of concurrence, 

9 as appropriate, shall be issued by not later than the 

10 date that is 10 days after the date of completion of 

11 that consultation. 

Æ 


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