II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1906 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program as the program 

applies to units of the National Forest System derived from the public 

domain by implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure 

for determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2011 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. ENZI, Mr. GRASSLEY, and Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program 

as the program applies to units of the National Forest 

System derived from the public domain by implementing 

a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user fees, 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 ‘‘Cabin Fee Act of 2011’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Cabin user fees. 

Sec. 4. Cabin transfer fees. 

Sec. 5. Right of appeal and judicial review. 

Sec. 6. Consistency with other law and rights. 

Sec. 7. Regulations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AUTHORIZATION; AUTHORIZE.—The terms 

4 ‘‘authorization’’ and ‘‘authorize’’ mean the issuance 

5 of a special use permit for the use and occupancy of 

6 National Forest System land by a cabin owner under 

7 the Recreation Residence Program. 

8 (2) CABIN.—The term ‘‘cabin’’ means a pri9 vately built and owned recreation residence and re10 lated improvements on National Forest System land 

11 that— 

12 (A) is authorized for private use and occu13 pancy; and 

14 (B) may be sold or transferred between 

15 private parties. 

16 (3) CABIN OWNER.—The term ‘‘cabin owner’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) a person authorized by the Secretary 

19 to use and to occupy a cabin; and 

20 (B) a trust, heir, or assign of a person de21 scribed in subparagraph (A). 


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1 (4) CABIN TRANSFER FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin 

2 transfer fee’’ means a fee that is paid to the United 

3 States on the transfer of a cabin between private 

4 parties for money or other consideration that results 

5 in the issuance of a new permit. 

6 (5) CABIN USER FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin user 

7 fee’’ means an annual fee paid to the United States 

8 by a cabin owner in accordance with an authoriza9 tion for the use and occupancy of a cabin. 

10 (6) CURRENT APPRAISAL CYCLE.—The term 

11 ‘‘current appraisal cycle’’ means the completion of 

12 Forest Service review and acceptance of— 

13 (A) initial typical lot appraisals; or 

14 (B) second appraisals, if ordered by cabin 

15 owners and approved by the Forest Service. 

16 (7) CURRENT CABIN USER FEE.—The term 

17 ‘‘current cabin user fee’’ means the most recent 

18 cabin user fee, as adjusted under section 3(c). 

19 (8) LOT.—The term ‘‘lot’’ means a parcel of 

20 National Forest System land on which a person is 

21 authorized to build, use, occupy, and maintain a 

22 cabin. 

23 (9) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The 

24 term ‘‘National Forest System land’’ means NaVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:42 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1906.IS S1906

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1 tional Forest System land derived from the public 

2 domain. 

3 (10) RECREATION RESIDENCE PROGRAM.—The 

4 term ‘‘Recreation Residence Program’’ means the 

5 Recreation Residence Program established under the 

6 last paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST SERV7 ICE’’ in the Act of March 4, 1915 (16 U.S.C. 497). 

8 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

10 the Chief of the Forest Service. 

11 (12) TYPICAL LOT.—The term ‘‘typical lot’’ 

12 means a cabin lot, or group of cabin lots, in a tract 

13 that is selected for use in an appraisal as being rep14 resentative of, and that has similar value character15 istics as, other lots or groups of lots within the tract. 

16 SEC. 3. CABIN USER FEES. 

17 (a) PAYMENT OF CABIN USER FEES.—Cabin owners 

18 shall pay an annual cabin user fee established by the Sec19 retary in accordance with this section. 

20 (b) INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es22 tablish initial cabin user fees in accordance with this 

23 subsection. 

24 (2) ASSIGNMENT TO VALUE TIERS.—On com25 pletion of the current appraisal cycle, as required by 


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1 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall assign each per2 mitted lot on National Forest System land to 1 of 

3 9 tiers based on the following considerations: 

4 (A) Before assigning the lots to tiers, all 

5 appraised lot values shall be adjusted, or nor6 malized, for price changes occurring after the 

7 appraisal, in accordance with the National As8 sociation of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing 

9 Opportunity Index. 

10 (B) Second appraisal values that are not 

11 rejected by the Forest Service shall supersede 

12 initial lot appraisal values for the normalization 

13 and ranking process under subparagraph (A). 

14 (C) The tiers shall be established, on a na15 tional basis, according to relative lot value, with 

16 lots having the lowest adjusted appraised value 

17 assigned to tier 1 and lots having the highest 

18 adjusted appraised value assigned to tier 9. 

19 (D) The number of lots (by percentage) as20 signed to each tier is contained in the table set 

21 forth in paragraph (3). 

22 (E) Data from incomplete appraisals may 

23 not be used to establish the fee tiers under this 

24 subsection. 


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1 (F) Until assigned to a tier under this sub2 section, the Secretary shall assess an interim 

3 fee for permitted cabin lots (including lots with 

4 incomplete appraisals), which shall be an 

5 amount equal to the lesser of— 

6 (i) $4,500; or 

7 (ii) the amount of the current cabin 

8 user fee, increased by 25 percent. 

9 (3) AMOUNT OF INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.— 

10 The initial cabin user fees, based on the assignments 

11 under paragraph (2), are as follows: 

Fee Tier Approximate Percent of 

Permits Nationally Fee Amount 

Tier 1 8 percent $500

Tier 2 12 percent $1,000

Tier 3 12 percent $1,500

Tier 4 14 percent $2,000

Tier 5 14 percent $2,500

Tier 6 14 percent $3,000

Tier 7 11 percent $3,500

Tier 8 8 percent $4,000

Tier 9 7 percent $4,500. 

12 (4) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF CURRENT

13 APPRAISAL CYCLE.—Not later than 3 years after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

15 complete the current appraisal cycle. 


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1 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The initial cabin user 

2 fees required by this subsection shall take effect be3 ginning with the first calendar year beginning after 

4 the completion of the current appraisal cycle. 

5 (c) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS OF CABIN USER FEE.— 

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

7 the Secretary shall use changes in the Implicit Price 

8 Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product published 

9 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Depart10 ment of Commerce, applied on a 5-year rolling aver11 age, to assess an annual adjustment to cabin user 

12 fees. 

13 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

14 (1), cabin user fees established under this section 

15 shall be increased by not more than 25 percent in 

16 an annual adjustment under paragraph (a). 

17 (d) EFFECT OF DESTRUCTION, SUBSTANTIAL DAM18 AGE, OR LOSS OF ACCESS.— 

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

20 the cabin user fee to $100 per year for a cabin if— 

21 (A) the cabin is destroyed or suffers sub22 stantial damage in an amount that is greater 

23 than 50 percent of replacement cost of the 

24 cabin; or 


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1 (B) access to the cabin is significantly im2 paired, whether by catastrophic events, natural 

3 causes, or governmental actions, which results 

4 in the cabin being rendered unsafe or unable to 

5 be occupied. 

6 (2) TERM OF REDUCED FEE.—The reduced fee 

7 under paragraph (1) shall be in effect until the later 

8 of— 

9 (A) the last day of the year in which the 

10 destruction or impairment occurs; or 

11 (B) the date on which the cabin may be 

12 lawfully reoccupied and normal access has been 

13 restored. 

14 SEC. 4. CABIN TRANSFER FEES. 

15 (a) PAYMENT OF CABIN TRANSFER FEES.—In con16 junction with the transfer of ownership of any cabin and 

17 the issuance of a new permit, the cabin owner transferring 

18 the cabin shall file with the Secretary a sworn statement 

19 declaring the amount of money or other value received, 

20 if any, for the transfer of the cabin. 

21 (b) AMOUNT.—As a condition of the issuance by the 

22 Secretary of a new authorization for the use and occu23 pancy of the cabin, the cabin owner transferring the cabin 

24 shall pay to the Secretary a cabin transfer fee in an 

25 amount determined as follows: 


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Consideration Received by Transfer Transfer Fee Amount 

$0 to $250,000 $1,000 

$250,000.01 to $500,000.00 $1,000 plus 5 percent of consideration in excess of $250,000 up to 

$500,000 

$500,000.01 and above $1,000 plus 5 percent of consideration in excess of $250,000 up to 

$500,000 plus 10 percent of consideration in excess of $500,000. 

1 (c) INDEX.—The Secretary shall use changes in the 

2 Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product 

3 published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the De4 partment of Commerce, applied on a 5-year rolling aver5 age, to determine and apply an annual adjustment to the 

6 cabin transfer fee threshold amounts set forth in the table 

7 contained in subsection (b). 

8 SEC. 5. RIGHT OF APPEAL AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

9 (a) RIGHT OF APPEAL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any action 

11 of a cabin owner to exercise rights in accordance 

12 with section 6, the Secretary shall by regulation 

13 grant to the cabin owner the right to an administra14 tive appeal of the determination of a new cabin user 

15 fee, fee tier, cabin transfer fee, or whether or not to 

16 reduce a cabin user fee under section 3(d). 

17 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—An appeal under para18 graph (1) shall be pursuant to the appeal process 

19 provided under subpart C of part 251 of title 36, 


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1 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula2 tion). 

3 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A cabin owner that contests 

5 a final decision of the Secretary under this Act may 

6 bring a civil action in United States district court. 

7 (2) VENUE.—The venue for an action brought 

8 before the United States district court under this 

9 subsection shall be in the Federal judicial district in 

10 which the cabin is located or the permit holder re11 sides. 

12 (3) EFFECT ON MEDIATION.—Nothing in this 

13 Act precludes a person from seeking mediation for 

14 an action under this Act. 

15 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act limits or re17 stricts any right, title, or interest of the United States in 

18 or to any land or resource. 

19 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALASKA.—In determining a 

20 cabin user fee in the State of Alaska, the Secretary shall 

21 not establish or impose a cabin user fee or a condition 

22 affecting a cabin user fee that is inconsistent with 1303(d) 

23 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 

24 (16 U.S.C. 3193(d)). 


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1 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than December 31, 2012, the Secretary 

3 shall issue regulations to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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