I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2696

To establish Institutes to demonstrate and promote the use of adaptive 

ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the 

health of fire-adapted forest and woodland ecosystems of the interior 

West. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2003

Mr. RENZI (for himself, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. 

PEARCE, and Mr. TANCREDO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee 

on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To establish Institutes to demonstrate and promote the use 

of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk 

of wildfires, and restore the health of fire-adapted forest 

and woodland ecosystems of the interior West.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘The Southwest Forest 

5 Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) there is an increasing threat of wildfire to 

4 millions of acres of forest land and rangeland 

5 throughout the United States; 

6 (2) forest land and rangeland are degraded as 

7 a direct consequence of land management practices 

8 (including practices to control and prevent wildfires 

9 and the failure to harvest subdominant trees from 

10 overstocked stands) that disrupt the occurrence of 

11 frequent low-intensity fires that have periodically re12 moved flammable undergrowth; 

13 (3) at least 39,000,000 acres of land of the Na14 tional Forest System in the interior West are at 

15 high risk of wildfire; 

16 (4) an average of 95 percent of the expendi17 tures by the Forest Service for wildfire suppression 

18 during fiscal years 1990 through 1994 were made to 

19 suppress wildfires in the interior West; 

20 (5) the number, size, and severity of wildfires in 

21 the interior West are increasing; 

22 (6) of the timberland in National Forests in the 

23 States of Arizona and New Mexico, 59 percent of 

24 such land in Arizona, and 56 percent of such land 

25 in New Mexico, has an average diameter of 9 to 12 

26 inches diameter at breast height; 
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1 (7) the population of the interior West grew 

2 twice as fast as the national average during the 

3 1990s; 

4 (8) efforts to prioritize forests and communities 

5 for wildfire risk reduction have been inconsistent 

6 and insufficient and have resulted in funding to 

7 areas that are not prone to severe wildfires; 

8 (9) catastrophic wildfires—

9 (A) endanger homes and communities; 

10 (B) damage and destroy watersheds and 

11 soils; and 

12 (C) pose a serious threat to the habitat of 

13 threatened and endangered species; 

14 (10) a 1994 assessment of forest health in the 

15 interior West estimated that only a 15- to 30-year 

16 window of opportunity exists for effective manage17 ment intervention before damage from uncontrollable 

18 wildfire becomes widespread, with 8 years having al19 ready elapsed since the assessment; 

20 (11) following a catastrophic wildfire, certain 

21 forests in the interior West do not return to their 

22 former grandeur; 

23 (12) healthy forest and woodland ecosystems—

24 (A) reduce the risk of wildfire to forests 

25 and communities; 
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1 (B) improve wildlife habitat and biodiver2 sity; 

3 (C) increase tree, grass, forb, and shrub 

4 productivity; 

5 (D) enhance watershed values; 

6 (E) improve the environment; and 

7 (F) provide a basis in some areas for eco8 nomically and environmentally sustainable uses; 

9 (13) sustaining the long-term ecological and 

10 economic health of interior West forests and wood11 land, and their dependent human communities, re12 quires preventing severe wildfires before the wildfires 

13 occur and permitting natural, low-intensity ground 

14 fires; 

15 (14) more natural fire regimes cannot be ac16 complished without the reduction of excess fuels and 

17 thinning of subdominant trees (which fuels and trees 

18 may be of commercial value); 

19 (15) ecologically-based forest and woodland eco20 system restoration on a landscape scale will—

21 (A) improve long-term community protec22 tion; 

23 (B) minimize the need for wildfire suppres24 sion; 

25 (C) improve resource values; 
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1 (D) reduce rehabilitation costs; 

2 (E) reduce loss of critical habitat; and 

3 (F) protect forests for future generations; 

4 (16) although the National Fire Plan, and the 

5 report entitled ‘‘Protecting People and Sustaining 

6 Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems—A Cohesive 

7 Strategy’’ (65 Fed. Reg. 67480), advocate a shift in 

8 wildfire policy from suppression to prevention (in9 cluding restoration and hazardous fuels reduction), 

10 Federal land managers are not dedicating sufficient 

11 attention and financial resources to restoration ac12 tivities that simultaneously restore forest health and 

13 reduce the risk of severe wildfire; 

14 (17) although landscape scale restoration is 

15 needed to effectively reverse degradation, scientific 

16 understanding of landscape scale treatments is lim17 ited; 

18 (18) the Federal wildfire research program is 

funded at approximately 1 19 ⁄3 of the amount that is re20 quired to address emerging wildfire problems, result21 ing in the lack of a cohesive strategy to address the 

22 threat of catastrophic wildfires; and 

23 (19) rigorous, understandable, and applied sci24 entific information is needed for—
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1 (A) the design, implementation, and adap2 tation of landscape scale restoration treatments 

3 and improvement of wildfire management tech4 nology; 

5 (B) the environmental review process; and 

6 (C) affected entities that collaborate in the 

7 development and implementation of wildfire 

8 treatment. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are—

11 (1) to enhance the capacity to develop, transfer, 

12 apply, and monitor practical science-based forest res13 toration treatments that will reduce the risk of se14 vere wildfires, and improve the health of dry forest 

15 and woodland ecosystems in the interior West; 

16 (2) to synthesize and adapt scientific findings 

17 from conventional research programs to implement 

18 forest and woodland restoration on a landscape 

19 scale; 

20 (3) to facilitate the transfer of interdisciplinary 

21 knowledge required to understand the socioeconomic 

22 and environmental impacts of wildfire on ecosystems 

23 and landscapes; 

24 (4) to require the institutes established under 

25 this Act to collaborate with Federal agencies—
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1 (A) to use ecological restoration treatments 

2 to reverse declining forest health and reduce the 

3 risk of severe wildfires across the forest land4 scape; 

5 (B) to ensure that sufficient funds are 

6 dedicated to wildfire prevention activities, in7 cluding restoration treatments; and 

8 (C) to monitor wildfire treatments based 

9 on the use of adaptive ecosystem management; 

10 (5) to assist land managers in—

11 (A) treating acres with restoration-based 

12 applications; and 

13 (B) using new management technologies 

14 (including the transfer of understandable infor15 mation, assistance with environmental review, 

16 and field and classroom training and collabora17 tion) to accomplish the goals identified in—

18 (i) the National Fire Plan; 

19 (ii) the report entitled ‘‘Protecting 

20 People and Sustaining Resources in Fire21 Adapted Ecosystems—A Cohesive Strat22 egy’’ (65 Fed. Reg. 67480); and 

23 (iii) the report entitled ‘‘10–Year 

24 Comprehensive Strategy: A Collaborative 

25 Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire 
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1 Risks to Communities and the Environ2 ment’’ of the Western Governors’ Associa3 tion; 

4 (6) to provide technical assistance to collabo5 rative efforts by affected entities to develop, imple6 ment, and monitor adaptive ecosystem management 

7 restoration treatments that are ecologically sound, 

8 economically viable, and socially responsible; and 

9 (7) to assist Federal and non-Federal land 

10 managers in providing information to the public on 

11 the role of fire and fire management in dry forest 

12 and woodland ecosystems in the interior West. 

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADAPTIVE ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘adaptive ecosystem management’’ means a 

17 natural resource management process under which 

18 planning, implementation, monitoring, research, 

19 evaluation, and incorporation of new knowledge are 

20 combined into a management approach that is—

21 (A) based on scientific findings and the 

22 needs of society; and 

23 (B) used to modify future management 

24 methods and policy. 
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1 (2) AFFECTED ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘affected 

2 entities’’ includes—

3 (A) land managers; 

4 (B) stakeholders; 

5 (C) concerned citizens; and 

6 (D) the States of the interior West, includ7 ing political subdivisions of the States. 

8 (3) DRY FOREST AND WOODLAND ECO9 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘dry forest and woodland eco10 system’’ means an ecosystem that is dominated by 

11 ponderosa pines and associated dry forest and wood12 land types. 

13 (4) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

14 an Institute established under section 5(a). 

15 (5) INTERIOR WEST.—The term ‘‘interior 

16 West’’ means the States of Arizona, Colorado, 

17 Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. 

18 (6) LAND MANAGER.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘land man20 ager’’ means a person or entity that practices 

21 or guides natural resource management. 

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘land man23 ager’’ includes a Federal, State, local, or tribal 

24 land management agency. 
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1 (7) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

2 means a process undertaken to return an ecosystem 

3 or habitat toward—

4 (A) the original structure of the ecosystem 

5 or habitat; or 

6 (B) a condition that supports a natural 

7 complement of species, natural function, or eco8 logical process (such as a low intensity fire). 

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

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

11 Chief of the Forest Service. 

12 (9) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

13 means—

14 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

15 through the Chief of the Forest Service; and 

16 (B) the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (10) STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘stakeholder’’ 

18 means any person interested in or affected by man19 agement of forest or woodland ecosystems. 

20 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of the Interior, shall—

23 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act, establish 3 Institutes to pro25 mote the use of adaptive ecosystem management to 
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1 reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the health 

2 of forest and woodland ecosystems, in the interior 

3 West; and 

4 (2) provide assistance to the Institutes to pro5 mote the use of adaptive ecosystem management in 

6 accordance with paragraph (1). 

7 (b) LOCATION.—

8 (1) EXISTING INSTITUTES.—The Secretary may 

9 designate an institute in existence on the date of en10 actment of this Act to serve as an Institute estab11 lished under this Act. 

12 (2) STATES.—Of the Institutes established 

13 under this Act, the Secretary shall establish 1 Insti14 tute in each of—

15 (A) the State of Arizona, to be located at 

16 Northern Arizona University; 

17 (B) the State of New Mexico; and 

18 (C) the State of Colorado. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—Each Institute shall—

20 (1) develop, conduct research on, transfer, pro21 mote, and monitor restoration-based hazardous fuel 

22 reduction treatments to reduce the risk of severe 

23 wildfires and improve the health of dry forest and 

24 woodland ecosystems in the interior West; 
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1 (2) synthesize and adapt scientific findings 

2 from conventional research to implement restoration3 based hazardous fuel reduction treatments on a 

4 landscape scale using an adaptive management 

5 framework; 

6 (3) translate for and transfer to affected enti7 ties any scientific and interdisciplinary knowledge 

8 about restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction 

9 treatments; and 

10 (4) assist affected entities with the design of 

11 adaptive management approaches (including moni12 toring) for the implementation of restoration-based 

13 hazardous fuel reduction treatments. 

14 (d) COOPERATION.—Each Institute may cooperate 

15 with—

16 (1) researchers and cooperative extension pro17 grams at colleges, community colleges, and univer18 sities in the States of Arizona, New Mexico, and Col19 orado that have a demonstrated capability to con20 duct research described in subsection (c); and 

21 (2) other organizations and entities in the inte22 rior West (such as the Western Governors’ Associa23 tion). 

24 (e) ANNUAL WORK PLANS.—As a condition of the 

25 receipt of funds made available under this Act, for each 
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1 fiscal year, each Institute shall submit to the Secretary, 

2 for review by the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec3 retary of the Interior, an annual work plan that includes 

4 assurances, satisfactory to the Secretaries, that the pro5 posed work of the Institute will serve the informational 

6 needs of affected entities. 

7 SEC. 6. COOPERATION BETWEEN INSTITUTES AND FED8 ERAL AGENCIES. 

9 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the Secretary of the Interior—

11 (1) to the extent that funds are appropriated 

12 for the purpose, shall provide financial and technical 

13 assistance to the Institutes to carry out the duties 

14 of the Institutes under section 5; 

15 (2) shall encourage Federal agencies to use, on 

16 a cooperative basis, information and expertise pro17 vided by the Institutes; 

18 (3) shall encourage cooperation and coordina19 tion between Federal programs relating to—

20 (A) ecological restoration; 

21 (B) wildfire risk reduction; and 

22 (C) wildfire management technologies; 

23 (4) notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, 

24 United States Code, may—
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1 (A) enter into contracts, cooperative agree2 ments, interagency personal agreements to 

3 carry out this Act; and 

4 (B) carry out other transactions under this 

5 Act; 

6 (5) may accept funds from other Federal agen7 cies to supplement or fully fund grants made, and 

8 contracts entered into, by the Secretaries; 

9 (6) may support a program of internships for 

10 qualified individuals at the undergraduate and grad11 uate levels to carry out the educational and training 

12 objectives of this Act; 

13 (7) shall encourage professional education and 

14 public information activities relating to the purposes 

15 of this Act; and 

16 (8) may promulgate such regulations as the 

17 Secretaries determine are necessary to carry out this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years there22 after, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

23 Interior, shall complete and submit to the appropriate 

24 committees of Congress a detailed evaluation of the pro25 grams and activities of each Institute—
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1 (1) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, that the research, communication tools, and 

3 information transfer activities of each Institute are 

4 sufficient to achieve the purposes of this Act, includ5 ing—

6 (A) implementing active management prac7 tices at the landscape level; 

8 (B) reducing unnecessary planning costs; 

9 (C) avoiding duplicative and conflicting ef10 forts; 

11 (D) increasing public acceptance of active 

12 management practices; and 

13 (E) achieving general satisfaction on the 

14 part of affected entities; and 

15 (2) to determine whether continued provision of 

16 Federal assistance to each Institute is warranted. 

17 (b) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—If, as a result 

18 of an evaluation under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 

19 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, determines 

20 that an Institute does not qualify for further Federal as21 sistance under this Act, the Institute shall receive no fur22 ther Federal assistance under this Act until such time as 

23 the qualifications of the Institute are reestablished to the 

24 satisfaction of the Secretaries. 
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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for each fiscal 

4 year. 

5 (b) LIMITATION.—No funds made available under 

6 subsection (a) shall be used to pay the costs of con7 structing any facilities.

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