II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2079 

To improve the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of the Interior to promptly implement recovery treatments in response 

to catastrophic events affecting the natural resources of Forest Service 

land and Bureau of Land Management Land, respectively, to support 

the recovery of non-Federal land damaged by catastrophic events, to 

assist impacted communities, to revitalize Forest Service experimental 

forests, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2005 

Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. THUNE, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BURNS, and Mr. 

THOMAS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To improve the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture and 

the Secretary of the Interior to promptly implement recovery treatments in response to catastrophic events affecting the natural resources of Forest Service land and 

Bureau of Land Management Land, respectively, to support the recovery of non-Federal land damaged by catastrophic events, to assist impacted communities, to revitalize Forest Service experimental forests, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Forests for Future Generations Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—RESPONSE TO CATASTROPHIC EVENTS ON FEDERAL 

LAND 

Sec. 101. Development of research protocols and use in catastrophic event research projects. 

Sec. 102. Catastrophic event recovery evaluations. 

Sec. 103. Compliance with National Environmental Policy Act. 

Sec. 104. Availability and use of pre-approved management practices. 

Sec. 105. Availability and use of alternative arrangements. 

Sec. 106. Administrative and judicial review. 

Sec. 107. Guidance regarding reforestation in response to catastrophic events. 

Sec. 108. Obligations from Trust Fund. 

Sec. 109. Revision of land and resource management plans. 

Sec. 110. Effect of title. 

TITLE II—RESTORING LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES 

IMPACTED BY CATASTROPHIC EVENTS 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Community protection and recovery funds. 

TITLE III—EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS 

Sec. 301. Findings. 

Sec. 302. Availability and use of pre-approved management practices on National Forest experimental forests. 

Sec. 303. Availability and use of alternative arrangements for projects on National Forest experimental forests. 

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Regulations. 

Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The number and severity of catastrophic 

9 events causing resource damage to Federal land has 
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1 significantly increased over the last 20 years, and 

2 such catastrophic events also create serious adverse 

3 environmental, social, and economic consequences 

4 for Federal land and adjacent non-Federal land and 

5 communities. 

6 (2) Catastrophic events often devastate forest 

7 or rangeland ecosystems and eliminate sources of 

8 seed for desired tree and plant species, which— 

9 (A) delays or even precludes the reestab10 lishment of appropriate forest or plant cover on 

11 millions of acres of Federal land; 

12 (B) increases the susceptibility of the dam13 aged land to wildfire and noxious or harmful 

14 species and reduces the economic value of the 

15 damaged land’s resources; 

16 (C) increases the susceptibility of adjacent 

17 undamaged land to insect infestations, disease, 

18 and noxious weeds; 

19 (D) pollutes municipal water supplies and 

20 damages water delivery infrastructure; 

21 (E) exacerbates sediment production that 

22 adversely impacts native fish habitat and soil 

23 productivity; 

24 (F) results in unsafe campgrounds, trails, 

25 roads, and other infrastructure; and 
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1 (G) adversely impacts the sustainability of 

2 ecosystems and the well-being of adjacent com3 munities. 

4 (3) Program authorities and funding mecha5 nisms currently available to the Secretary of Agri6 culture and the Secretary of the Interior to respond 

7 to catastrophic events on forested Federal land do 

8 not provide for consistent and timely response activi9 ties. 

10 (4) Alternative arrangements approved by the 

11 Council on Environmental Quality have been used on 

12 an inconsistent basis to respond to catastrophic 

13 events on forested Federal land, but, when used in 

14 the past, such alternative arrangements have encour15 aged expedited and successful recovery outcomes. 

16 (5) A prompt and standardized management re17 sponse to a catastrophic event, which is also adapt18 ive to the unique characteristics of each catastrophic 

19 event, is needed— 

20 (A) to effectively recover the area damaged 

21 by the catastrophic event; 

22 (B) to minimize the impact on the re23 sources of the area and adjacent communities 

24 adversely affected by the catastrophic event; 

25 and 
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1 (C) to recover damaged, but still mer2 chantable, material before it losses economic 

3 value. 

4 (6) Reforestation treatments on forested Fed5 eral land after a catastrophic event helps to restore 

6 appropriate forest cover, which provides multiple re7 newable resource benefits, including— 

8 (A) protecting soil and water resources; 

9 (B) providing habitat for wildlife and fish; 

10 (C) contributing to aesthetics and enhanc11 ing the recreational experience for visitors; 

12 (D) providing a future source of timber for 

13 domestic use; 

14 (E) ensuring the health and resiliency of 

15 affected ecosystems for present and future gen16 erations; and 

17 (F) sequestering carbon. 

18 (7) According to the Comptroller General, the 

19 reforestation backlog for Federal land has increased 

20 since 2000 as a result of natural disturbances, such 

21 as wildland fires, insect infestations, and diseases. 

22 (8) Additional scientific and monitoring infor23 mation is needed regarding the effectiveness of re24 covery treatments to improve subsequent recovery 

25 proposals in response to future catastrophic events. 
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1 (9) State, tribal, and local governments, local 

2 communities, and other entities play a critical role in 

3 restoring landscapes damaged by a catastrophic 

4 event and in reducing the risks associated with the 

5 catastrophic event. 

6 (10) Greater resources and adaptive arrange7 ments must be made available to land managers to 

8 facilitate the prompt implementation of recovery 

9 treatments, including reforestation, following cata10 strophic events. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—The term 

14 ‘‘alternative arrangements’’ means the authority 

15 granted to the Council on Environmental Quality 

16 under section 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations, to grant alternative arrangements for 

18 compliance with the National Environmental Policy 

19 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including the 

20 authority to— 

21 (A) reduce processing times for an environ22 mental impact statement; or 

23 (B) if warranted by the emergency, con24 dense the preparation and processing of an en25 vironmental impact statement. 
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1 (2) BURNED AREA EMERGENCY RESPONSE.— 

2 The term ‘‘burned area emergency response’’ means 

3 the process used by the Secretary concerned to plan 

4 and implement emergency stabilization actions on 

5 Federal land in response to a catastrophic event in 

6 order to minimize threats to life or property or to 

7 stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to 

8 natural and cultural resources resulting from the ef9 fects of the catastrophic event. 

10 (3) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘cata11 strophic event’’ means any natural disaster or any 

12 fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause, that the 

13 Secretary determines has caused or will cause dam14 age of significant severity and magnitude to Federal 

15 land, or for purposes of title II, non-Federal land. 

16 (4) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RECOVERY.—The 

17 term ‘‘catastrophic event recovery’’, with respect to 

18 an area of Federal land damaged by a catastrophic 

19 event, means— 

20 (A) if the catastrophic event involved fire, 

21 the rehabilitation and restoration activities 

22 (other than any emergency stabilization treat23 ments undertaken as part of the burned area 

24 emergency response) that are undertaken on 

25 the damaged Federal land, including any infra-
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1 structure or facilities thereon, in response to 

2 the catastrophic event; 

3 (B) if the catastrophic event did not in4 volve fire, the emergency stabilization and reha5 bilitation and restoration activities that are un6 dertaken on the damaged Federal land, includ7 ing infrastructure or facilities thereon, in re8 sponse to the catastrophic event; or 

9 (C) the reforestation or revegetation of the 

10 damaged Federal land in response to the cata11 strophic event using, to the extent practicable 

12 and preferable, native or beneficial plants to 

13 avoid creation of plantation forests and the re14 covery of trees on the damaged Federal land 

15 through the use of timber harvesting in a man16 ner consistent with the applicable land and re17 source management plan. 

18 (5) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RECOVERY EVALUA19 TION.—The term ‘‘catastrophic event recovery eval20 uation’’, with respect to an area of Federal land 

21 damaged by a catastrophic event, means an evalua22 tion of the damaged Federal land that is conducted 

23 in accordance with section 102 for the purpose of 

24 developing the catastrophic event recovery proposal 

25 for the area. 
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1 (6) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RECOVERY PRO2 POSAL.—The term ‘‘catastrophic event recovery pro3 posal’’ means the list and brief description of cata4 strophic event recovery projects, catastrophic event 

5 research projects, and pre-approved management 

6 practices that are— 

7 (A) prepared or identified as part of the 

8 catastrophic event recovery evaluation of an 

9 area of Federal land damaged by a catastrophic 

10 event; and 

11 (B) proposed to be undertaken to facilitate 

12 the catastrophic event recovery of the area or 

13 evaluate the effects and effectiveness of such re14 covery efforts. 

15 (7) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RECOVERY

16 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘catastrophic event recovery 

17 project’’ means an individual activity or a series of 

18 activities identified in a catastrophic event recovery 

19 proposal for an area of Federal land damaged by a 

20 catastrophic event and proposed to be undertaken in 

21 response to the catastrophic event to promote cata22 strophic event recovery. 

23 (8) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RESEARCH

24 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘catastrophic event research 
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1 project’’ means a scientifically designed study of the 

2 effects and effectiveness of— 

3 (A) any catastrophic event recovery 

4 projects undertaken in an area of land damaged 

5 by a catastrophic event; and 

6 (B) any emergency stabilization treatments 

7 undertaken as part of a burned area emergency 

8 response in the area of land damaged by a cata9 strophic event. 

10 (9) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

11 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 

12 plan’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

13 101(3) of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 

14 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(3)). 

15 (10) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 land’’ means land in the National Forest System 

17 and land managed by the Bureau of Land Manage18 ment. The term does not include any land contained 

19 in a component of the National Wilderness Preserva20 tion System or designated as a national monument. 

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

22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

24 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
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1 (12) LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2 PLAN.—The term ‘‘land and resource management 

3 plan’’ means— 

4 (A) a land and resource management plan 

5 developed for a unit of the National Forest Sys6 tem under section 6 of the Forest and Range7 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

8 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); or 

9 (B) a land use plan developed for an area 

10 of the public land under section 202 of the Fed11 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1712). 

13 (13) LAND-GRANT COLLEGES AND UNIVER14 SITIES.—The term ‘‘land-grant colleges and univer15 sities’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

16 1404(11) of the National Agricultural Research, Ex17 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

18 3103(11)). 

19 (14) LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT.—The term 

20 ‘‘landscape assessment’’ means an assessment de21 scribing catastrophic event conditions and recovery 

22 needs and opportunities on non-Federal land af23 fected by a catastrophic event and including a list of 

24 proposed special recovery projects to address those 

25 needs and opportunities. 
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1 (15) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

2 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

3 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range4 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

6 (16) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural 

7 disaster’’ includes a hurricane, tornado, windstorm, 

8 snow or ice storm, rain storm, high water, wind-driv9 en water, tidal wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, 

10 landslide, mudslide, drought, or insect or disease 

11 outbreak. 

12 (17) PRE-APPROVED MANAGEMENT PRAC13 TICE.—The term ‘‘pre-approved management prac14 tice’’ means a management practice identified by the 

15 Secretary concerned under section 104(a) that may 

16 be immediately implemented as part of a cata17 strophic event recovery project or catastrophic event 

18 research project to facilitate the catastrophic event 

19 recovery of an area of Federal land damaged by a 

20 catastrophic event. 

21 (18) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

22 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

23 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re24 spect to National Forest System land; and 
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1 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re2 spect to land managed by the Bureau of Land 

3 Management, including land held for the benefit 

4 of an Indian tribe. 

5 (19) SPECIAL RECOVERY PROJECT.—The term 

6 ‘‘special recovery project’’ means an individual activ7 ity or a series of activities proposed to be under8 taken to rehabilitate, repair, and restore non-Federal 

9 land damaged by a catastrophic event, community 

10 infrastructure and facilities on the land, and eco11 nomic, social, and cultural conditions affected by the 

12 catastrophic event. 

13 TITLE I—RESPONSE TO CATA14 STROPHIC EVENTS ON FED15 ERAL LAND 

16 SEC. 101. DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH PROTOCOLS AND 

17 USE IN CATASTROPHIC EVENT RESEARCH 

18 PROJECTS. 

19 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOCOLS; PURPOSE.—For 

20 the purpose of collecting and analyzing scientific informa21 tion about the effectiveness and ecological impacts of cata22 strophic event recovery projects and emergency stabiliza23 tion treatments undertaken as part of a burned area emer24 gency response to increase the long-term benefits of man25 agement activities and to decrease short-term impacts, the 
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1 Secretary concerned shall develop research protocols con2 sisting of a research approach that is specifically designed 

3 to improve knowledge, understanding, and predictive capa4 bilities, including an appropriate and scientifically sound 

5 experimental design or set of sampling procedures, and ac6 companying methods of data analysis and interpretation. 

7 (b) PEER REVIEW REQUIRED.—The research proto8 cols developed under subsection (a), and any subsequent 

9 modification thereof, shall be subject to independent peer 

10 review by scientific and land management experts. 

11 (c) TIME FOR COMPLETION; MODIFICATION.—The 

12 research protocols required by this section shall be sub13 mitted to Congress not later than 180 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. The Secretary concerned may 

15 modify the research protocols, as the Secretary determines 

16 necessary, after their submission to Congress. The Sec17 retary concerned shall notify Congress regarding any such 

18 modification. 

19 (d) CATASTROPHIC EVENT RESEARCH PROJECTS.— 

20 In accordance with the research protocols developed under 

21 this section, the Secretary concerned may conduct one or 

22 more catastrophic event research projects in an area of 

23 land damaged by a catastrophic event. The Secretary may 

24 develop a proposed catastrophic event research project as 

25 part of a catastrophic event recovery proposal or develop 
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1 a catastrophic event research project independently of the 

2 catastrophic event recovery proposal during the cata3 strophic event recovery in response to changing conditions 

4 in the area damaged by the catastrophic event. 

5 (e) PUBLIC ACCESS.— 

6 (1) PROTOCOLS.—The Secretary concerned 

7 shall make the research protocols developed under 

8 subsection (a), including any modification thereof, 

9 publicly available, in a form determined to be appro10 priate by the Secretary. 

11 (2) RESEARCH RESULTS.—After completion of 

12 the independent peer review required by subsection 

13 (b), the Secretary concerned shall make the results 

14 of catastrophic event research projects publicly avail15 able, in a form determined to be appropriate by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (f) FOREST HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and using the 

19 research protocols required by this section, the Sec20 retary concerned shall enter into at least 1 coopera21 tive agreement with 1 or land-grant colleges or uni22 versities in each Forest Service Region to form for23 est health partnerships, including regional institutes, 

24 to utilize the education, research, and outreach ca25 pacity of land-grant colleges and universities to ad-
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1 dress the recovery of forested land after a cata2 strophic event. 

3 (2) ALIGNMENT WITH COOPERATIVE ECO4 SYSTEM STUDIES UNITS.—A forest health partner5 ship may be aligned with the current network of Co6 operative Ecosystem Studies Units. 

7 SEC. 102. CATASTROPHIC EVENT RECOVERY EVALUATIONS. 

8 (a) COMMENCEMENT.— 

9 (1) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—In response to a 

10 catastrophic event affecting 1,000 or more acres of 

11 Federal land, the Secretary concerned shall conduct 

12 a catastrophic event recovery evaluation of the dam13 aged Federal land. 

14 (2) EVALUATION AUTHORIZED.—If a cata15 strophic event affects more than 250 acres of Fed16 eral land, but less than 1,000 acres, the Secretary 

17 concerned is authorized, but not required, to conduct 

18 a catastrophic event recovery evaluation of the dam19 aged Federal land. 

20 (b) COMPLETION.—When a catastrophic event recov21 ery evaluation is required to be conducted under sub22 section (a), the Secretary concerned shall commence and 

23 complete the catastrophic event recovery evaluation not 

24 later than 30 days after the conclusion of the catastrophic 

25 event in order to facilitate prompt— 
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1 (1) decision-making with regard to the cata2 strophic event recovery of the Federal land damaged 

3 by the catastrophic event; and 

4 (2) implementation of catastrophic event recov5 ery projects on the damaged Federal land. 

6 (c) ELEMENTS OF CATASTROPHIC EVENT EVALUA7 TION.—In conducting the catastrophic event recovery eval8 uation for an area of Federal land damaged by a cata9 strophic event, the Secretary concerned shall prepare the 

10 following: 

11 (1) A description of catastrophic event condi12 tions on the damaged Federal land, recovery needs 

13 and opportunities, and the areas where management 

14 intervention would be helpful— 

15 (A) to repair, maintain, or improve re16 source values; 

17 (B) to maintain infrastructure; 

18 (C) to foster reforestation or other recov19 ery of the damaged Federal land; and 

20 (D) to achieve the goals and objectives of 

21 the applicable land and resource management 

22 plan. 

23 (2) A preliminary determination of any cata24 strophic event research projects that best fit the cir25 cumstances of the particular catastrophic event envi-
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1 ronment or would enhance scientific understanding 

2 relevant to the damaged area. 

3 (3) A catastrophic event recovery proposal con4 taining possible catastrophic event recovery projects 

5 and catastrophic event research projects for the 

6 damaged area and describing the anticipated size 

7 and scope of these projects. 

8 (4) One or more maps detailing the area of 

9 damaged Federal land and the location of cata10 strophic event recovery proposals. 

11 (5) A preliminary estimate of the funding that 

12 would be needed to complete the catastrophic event 

13 recovery projects and catastrophic event research 

14 projects contained in the catastrophic event recovery 

15 proposal. 

16 (6) A preliminary estimate of the receipts to be 

17 derived from the catastrophic event recovery projects 

18 and catastrophic event research projects contained in 

19 the catastrophic event recovery proposal. 

20 (7) A preliminary schedule showing the timing 

21 of possible catastrophic event recovery projects and 

22 catastrophic event research projects by fiscal year, 

23 assuming funding is available to undertake the 

24 projects. 
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1 (d) USE OF PRE-APPROVED MANAGEMENT PRAC2 TICES OR ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.— 

3 (1) DETERMINATION.—In addition to com4 plying with the requirements specified in subsection 

5 (c) for each catastrophic event recovery evaluation, 

6 the Secretary concerned shall make a determination 

7 of— 

8 (A) whether or not any pre-approved man9 agement practices can be immediately imple10 mented under section 104 to facilitate the cata11 strophic event recovery of the area covered by 

12 the catastrophic event recovery evaluation; and 

13 (B) whether or not any catastrophic event 

14 recovery project or catastrophic event research 

15 project, or portion of such a project, contained 

16 in the catastrophic event recovery proposal 

17 should be developed and carried out using the 

18 alternative arrangements authorized by section 

19 105. 

20 (2) FACTORS.—In making any determination 

21 under paragraph (1)(B) to develop and carry out a 

22 catastrophic event recovery project or catastrophic 

23 event research project, or portion of such a project, 

24 using alternative arrangements under section 105, 
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1 the Secretary concerned shall consider at a min2 imum the following: 

3 (A) The necessity of promptly responding 

4 to the catastrophic event on the damaged Fed5 eral land. 

6 (B) The recovery needs and opportunities 

7 identified under subsection (c)(1) with respect 

8 to the damaged Federal land. 

9 (C) The lack of pre-approved management 

10 practices applicable to the damaged Federal 

11 land. 

12 (D) The threat to public health and safety. 

13 (E) The likelihood of substantial loss of 

14 adjacent private and public property or other 

15 substantial economic losses. 

16 (3) NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION.—The 

17 Secretary concerned shall make the determinations 

18 under paragraph (1) after notification of and in con19 sultation with the Council on Environmental Qual20 ity, but the determination remains in the sole discre21 tion of the Secretary. 

22 (e) INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH.—To conduct the 

23 catastrophic event recovery evaluation of an area of Fed24 eral land damaged by a catastrophic event, the Secretary 

25 concerned shall use a systematic, interdisciplinary ap-
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1 proach that insures the integrated use of appropriate nat2 ural and social sciences. 

3 (f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The 

4 Secretary concerned may combine the preparation of a 

5 catastrophic event recovery evaluation of Federal land 

6 with the preparation of a landscape assessment for non7 Federal land in the vicinity of the damaged Federal land 

8 prepared under section 203(c)(1)(A). 

9 (g) PUBLIC COLLABORATION.—To encourage mean10 ingful participation during the preparation of catastrophic 

11 event recovery projects, the Secretary concerned shall fa12 cilitate collaboration among State and local governments, 

13 Indian tribes, land-grant colleges and universities, and in14 terested persons during the preparation of catastrophic 

15 event recovery evaluations and catastrophic event recovery 

16 proposals. 

17 (h) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 

18 (1) NOTICE OF EVALUATION.—The Secretary 

19 concerned shall provide public notice of each cata20 strophic event recovery evaluation, including the cat21 astrophic event recovery proposal prepared as part 

22 of the evaluation. The notice shall be provided in a 

23 form determined to be appropriate by the Secretary 

24 concerned, such as publication in the Federal Reg25 ister. 
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1 (2) NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The Sec2 retary concerned shall provide notice of public meet3 ings conducted in connection with a catastrophic 

4 event recovery evaluation and the availability of pre5 liminary analyses or documents prepared as part of 

6 the evaluation. The notice shall be provided at such 

7 times and in such a manner as the Secretary con8 cerned considers appropriate. 

9 SEC. 103. COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

10 POLICY ACT. 

11 (a) COMPLIANCE REQUIRED.—Except as provided in 

12 subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall comply with 

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

14 4331 et seq.), its implementing regulations, and other ap15 plicable laws in designing and conducting catastrophic 

16 event recovery projects and catastrophic event research 

17 projects. 

18 (b) SATISFACTION OF NEPA REQUIREMENTS.—The 

19 list of pre-approved management practices prepared under 

20 subsection (a) of section 104, the use of pre-approved 

21 management practices in the manner provided in such sec22 tion as part of the catastrophic event recovery of an area 

23 of Federal land damaged by a catastrophic event, and the 

24 use of alternative arrangements in the manner provided 

25 in section 105 to design or conduct a catastrophic event 
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1 recovery project or catastrophic event research project, or 

2 portion of such a project, are deemed to satisfy the re3 quirements of section 102 of the National Environmental 

4 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) and its implementing 

5 regulations. 

6 SEC. 104. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF PRE-APPROVED MAN7 AGEMENT PRACTICES. 

8 (a) LIST OF AVAILABLE PRE-APPROVED MANAGE9 MENT PRACTICES.— 

10 (1) PREPARATION OF LIST.—The Secretary 

11 concerned shall prepare a list of management prac12 tices that may be immediately implemented as part 

13 of a catastrophic event recovery project or cata14 strophic event research project to facilitate the cata15 strophic event recovery of an area of Federal land 

16 damaged by a catastrophic event. 

17 (2) RULE MAKING.—The list of pre-approved 

18 management practices shall be prepared using notice 

19 and comment rule making under section 553 of title 

20 5, United States Code. 

21 (3) PEER REVIEW REQUIRED.—Before a man22 agement practice may be included on the list of pre23 approved management practices, the management 

24 practice shall be subject to independent peer review 

25 by scientific and land management experts. The re-
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1 sults of the review shall be available to the public 

2 during the comment period. 

3 (4) REVISION OR AMENDMENT.—The Secretary 

4 concerned may amend or revise the list of pre-ap5 proved management practices as necessary whenever 

6 new scientific and managerial information becomes 

7 available. Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply to the 

8 amendment or revision process. 

9 (b) USE OF PRE-APPROVED MANAGEMENT PRAC10 TICES.—Until the end of the 2-year period beginning on 

11 the date on which the catastrophic event recovery evalua12 tion is completed for an area of Federal land damaged 

13 by a catastrophic event, the Secretary concerned may im14 plement and carry out pre-approved management prac15 tices to facilitate the catastrophic event recovery of the 

16 area. 

17 (c) EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF PERIOD.—After 

18 the expiration of the applicable time period under sub19 section (b), a pre-approved management practice may not 

20 be initiated under the authority of such subsection for an 

21 area of Federal land damaged by a catastrophic event. 

22 Any pre-approved management practice initiated before 

23 the date of the expiration of the applicable time period 

24 may not be continued after that date. 

25 (d) USE FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED.— 
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1 (1) ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—A pre-approved 

2 management practice may not authorize any perma3 nent road building. Any temporary road constructed 

4 as part of a pre-approved management practice shall 

5 be obliterated upon conclusion of the practice and 

6 the road area restored to the extent practicable. 

7 (2) TIMBER HARVESTING.—Timber harvesting 

8 carried out as part of a pre-approved management 

9 practice shall be limited to trees— 

10 (A) that are already down, dead, broken, 

11 or severely root sprung; 

12 (B) regarding which mortality is highly 

13 probable within five years after the end of the 

14 catastrophic event; 

15 (C) that are required to be removed for 

16 worker or public safety; or 

17 (D) that are not specified for snag reten18 tion by the applicable land and resource man19 agement plan. 

20 (e) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.— 

21 (1) ESA CONSULTATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the pro23 posed use of a pre-approved management prac24 tice under subsection (b), the Secretary con25 cerned may use the emergency procedures de-
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1 scribed in section 402.05 of title 50, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations, to comply with section 7 

3 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

4 U.S.C. 1536). 

5 (B) INCIDENTAL TAKINGS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—At the conclusion 

7 of the consultation, the statement required 

8 by section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Spe9 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)) 

10 shall be issued for any incidental taking 

11 that may occur while using the pre-ap12 proved management practice. 

13 (ii) APPLICATION.—The statement 

14 issued under clause (i) shall— 

15 (I) be effective beginning on the 

16 date the Secretary concerned initiates 

17 the practice; and 

18 (II) apply to all persons assisting 

19 or cooperating with the Secretary in 

20 using the practice. 

21 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—If the 

22 consultation required under this subsection is 

23 not completed by the date on which the decision 

24 document is issued under subsection (f), the ap25 plicable biological assessment from the land 
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1 management agency shall be considered to be 

2 sufficient for the purposes of section 7 of the 

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

4 1536). 

5 (2) OTHER REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—Any 

6 consultation required under other laws, such as the 

7 National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 

8 et seq.) or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

9 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), may proceed simulta10 neously with the implementation of a pre-approved 

11 management practice. Results of consultation shall 

12 be immediately incorporated into the practice, to the 

13 extent feasible, practical, and consistent with the re14 sponse, recovery, and rehabilitation objectives of the 

15 project. 

16 (f) ISSUANCE OF DECISION DOCUMENT.—Not later 

17 than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary con18 cerned makes the determination under section 102(d) to 

19 use a pre-approved management practice to facilitate the 

20 catastrophic event recovery of an area of Federal land 

21 damaged by a catastrophic event, the Secretary concerned 

22 shall issue a concise decision document that contains— 

23 (1) a description of the pre-approved manage24 ment practice to be implemented; 

25 (2) the rationale for the agency decision; 
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1 (3) an economic analysis and justification; and 

2 (4) an analysis of the environmental effects of 

3 the pre-approved management practice and how 

4 such effects will be minimized or mitigated con5 sistent with the applicable land and resource man6 agement plan. 

7 (g) IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary 

8 concerned shall implement a pre-approved management 

9 practice immediately after the issuance of the decision 

10 document under subsection (f), subject only to the avail11 ability of funds for the practice. 

12 (h) MONITORING.—To monitor the implementation of 

13 a pre-approved management practice, the Secretary con14 cerned may establish a third-party monitoring group, as 

15 determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. 

16 SEC. 105. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF ALTERNATIVE AR17 RANGEMENTS. 

18 (a) LIMITED CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.— 

19 If the Secretary concerned determines under section 

20 102(d) to utilize alternative arrangements to conduct a 

21 catastrophic event recovery project or catastrophic event 

22 research project, or portion of such a project, the Sec23 retary concerned is not required to study, develop, or de24 scribe more than the proposed agency action and the alter25 native of no action in designing that project or the portion 
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1 of the project for which the alternative arrangements are 

2 utilized. 

3 (b) USE FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED.— 

4 (1) ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—Alternative ar5 rangements under this section may not be used to 

6 design or conduct a catastrophic event recovery 

7 project or catastrophic event research project, or 

8 portion of such a project, that provides for any per9 manent road building. Any temporary road con10 structed as part of the project shall be obliterated 

11 upon completion of the project and the road area re12 stored to the extent practicable. 

13 (2) TIMBER HARVESTING.—Timber harvesting 

14 carried out as part of a catastrophic event recovery 

15 project or catastrophic event research project, or 

16 portion of such a project, for which alternative ar17 rangements under this section were used shall be 

18 limited to trees— 

19 (A) that are already down, dead, broken, 

20 or severely root sprung; 

21 (B) regarding which mortality is highly 

22 probable; 

23 (C) that are required to be removed for 

24 worker or public safety; or 
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1 (D) that are not specified for snag reten2 tion by the applicable land and resource man3 agement plan. 

4 (c) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.— 

5 (1) ESA CONSULTATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a cata7 strophic event recovery project or catastrophic 

8 event research project, or portion of such a 

9 project, for which alternative arrangements 

10 under this section are used, the Secretary con11 cerned may use the emergency procedures de12 scribed in section 402.05 of title 50, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations, to comply with section 7 

14 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

15 U.S.C. 1536). 

16 (B) INCIDENTAL TAKINGS.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—At the conclusion 

18 of the consultation, the statement required 

19 by section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Spe20 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)) 

21 shall be issued for any incidental taking 

22 that may occur under the project. 

23 (ii) APPLICATION.—The statement 

24 issued under clause (i) shall— 
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1 (I) be effective beginning on the 

2 date the Secretary concerned initiates 

3 action under the project; and 

4 (II) apply to all persons assisting 

5 or cooperating with the Secretary 

6 under the project. 

7 (C) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—If the 

8 consultation required under this subsection is 

9 not completed by the date on which the decision 

10 document is issued under subsection (d), the 

11 applicable biological assessment from the land 

12 management agency shall be considered to be 

13 sufficient for the purposes of section 7 of the 

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

15 1536). 

16 (2) OTHER REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—Any 

17 consultation required under other laws, such as the 

18 National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 

19 et seq.) or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

20 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), may proceed simulta21 neously with the design of a catastrophic event re22 covery project or catastrophic event research project, 

23 or portion of such a project, for which alternative ar24 rangements under this section are used. Results of 

25 consultation shall be immediately incorporated into 
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1 the project, to the extent feasible, practical, and con2 sistent with the response, recovery, and rehabilita3 tion objectives of the project. 

4 (d) COMPLETION OF ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

5 AND ISSUANCE OF DECISION DOCUMENT.—Not later than 

6 90 days after the date on which the Secretary concerned 

7 makes the determination under section 102(d) to develop 

8 and carry out a catastrophic event recovery project or cat9 astrophic event research project, or portion of such a 

10 project, using alternative arrangements, the Secretary 

11 concerned shall— 

12 (1) complete the alternative arrangements for 

13 that catastrophic event recovery project or cata14 strophic event research project, or portion thereof, 

15 under this section; and 

16 (2) issue a concise decision document that con17 tains— 

18 (A) the rationale for the agency decision; 

19 (B) an economic analysis and justification; 

20 and 

21 (C) an analysis of the environmental ef22 fects of the project and how such effects will be 

23 minimized or mitigated consistent with the ap24 plicable land and resource management plan. 
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1 (e) IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION.—In the case of a 

2 catastrophic event recovery project or catastrophic event 

3 research project, or portion of such a project, for which 

4 the alternative arrangements authorized by this section 

5 are used, the Secretary concerned shall implement the 

6 project, or portion of the project, immediately after the 

7 issuance of the decision document under subsection (d), 

8 subject only to the availability of funds for the project. 

9 (f) MONITORING.—To monitor a catastrophic event 

10 recovery project or catastrophic event research project, or 

11 portion of such a project, for which the alternative ar12 rangements authorized by this section were used, the Sec13 retary concerned may establish a third-party monitoring 

14 group, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. 

15 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

16 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW GENERALLY.—Except 

17 as provided in subsection (b), nothing in this title af18 fects— 

19 (1) the notice, comment, and appeal require20 ments of section 322 of the Department of the Inte21 rior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 

22 (Public 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) and section 

23 215 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations; or 

24 (2) the consideration or disposition of any legal 

25 action brought with respect to such requirements. 
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1 (b) PREDECISIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

2 The predecisional administrative review process estab3 lished by the Secretary of Agriculture by regulation under 

4 section 105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

5 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515), and the Department of the Inte6 rior administrative hearings and appeals procedures re7 ferred to in subsection (c)(1)(B) of such section, shall 

8 serve as the sole means by which a person can seek admin9 istrative review regarding— 

10 (1) the proposed use of a pre-approved manage11 ment practice under section 104; or 

12 (2) a catastrophic event recovery project or cat13 astrophic event research project, or portion of such 

14 a project, for which the alternative arrangements 

15 under section 105 are used. 

16 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 106 of the Healthy 

18 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6516) 

19 shall apply with respect to the implementation of a 

20 pre-approved management practice under section 

21 104 or a catastrophic event recovery project or cata22 strophic event research project regarding which the 

23 applicable administrative review process has been ex24 hausted. 
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1 (2) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any proceeding for 

2 judicial review of agency action under this sub3 section, attorney fees awarded to a prevailing party 

4 may not exceed the hourly rates established in sec5 tion 3006A of title 18, United States Code. 

6 (d) MEDIATION AND BINDING ARBITRATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of the administrative 

8 and judicial processes provided for in subsections (b) 

9 and (c), the Secretary concerned is encouraged to es10 tablish procedures for voluntary mediation and bind11 ing arbitration that would accelerate the implemen12 tation of catastrophic event recovery projects. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any procedures estab14 lished under paragraph (1) shall provide that— 

15 (A) the Federal Government shall bear all 

16 costs of any mediation or binding arbitration 

17 proceedings; 

18 (B) the limitation on attorney fees under 

19 subsection (c)(2) shall not apply to the pro20 ceedings; 

21 (C) the applicable local government, any 

22 persons economically impacted by the cata23 strophic event recovery project, and any poten24 tial litigants shall be allowed to equally partici25 pate in the proceedings; 
36 

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1 (D) the proceedings shall be completed 

2 within 30 days of the date on which the pro3 ceedings were initiated; and 

4 (E) the mediator shall be mutually accept5 able to all parties to the proceedings. 

6 SEC. 107. GUIDANCE REGARDING REFORESTATION IN RE7 SPONSE TO CATASTROPHIC EVENTS. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall— 

10 (1) standardize the collection, reporting, and re11 view procedures for data regarding more aggressive, 

12 expedited, and comprehensive reforestation in re13 sponse to catastrophic events by clarifying agency14 wide guidance and developing standard protocols for 

15 determining when and how reforestation can be best 

16 achieved as part of the response to catastrophic 

17 events; and 

18 (2) clarify agency-wide guidance regarding re19 forestation in response to catastrophic events to en20 sure that such guidance is consistent with agency 

21 goals and budget constraints. 

22 SEC. 108. OBLIGATIONS FROM TRUST FUND. 

23 Section 303(d) of Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 

24 1606a(d)) is amended— 
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent3 ing appropriately; 

4 (2) by striking the ‘‘(d) The Secretary of Agri5 culture’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) OBLIGATIONS FROM TRUST FUND.— 

7 ‘‘(2) REFORESTATION AND TIMBER STAND IM8 PROVEMENTS.—The Secretary of Agriculture’’; 

9 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as des10 ignated by paragraph (2)) the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE FOREST COVER.—The 

13 term ‘appropriate forest cover’ means the spe14 cies of trees, the degree of stocking, the rate of 

15 growth, and the conditions of a stand designed 

16 to secure the maximum benefits of multiple use 

17 sustained yield management. 

18 ‘‘(B) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term 

19 ‘catastrophic event’ means any natural disaster 

20 or any fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of 

21 cause, that the Secretary of Agriculture deter22 mines has caused or will cause damage of sig23 nificant severity and magnitude to National 

24 Forest System land. 
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1 ‘‘(C) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘nat2 ural disaster’ includes a hurricane, tornado, 

3 windstorm, snow or ice storm, rain storm, high 

4 water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earth5 quake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, 

6 drought, or insect or disease outbreak.’’; and 

7 (4) in paragraph (2) (as designated by para8 graph (2))— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A) (as redesignated 

10 by paragraph (1))— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘, subject to subpara12 graph (B),’’ after ‘‘reforestation’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) (as 

15 redesignated by paragraph (1)) as subpara16 graph (C); and 

17 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

18 (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(B) reforestation treatment to restore ap21 propriate forest cover on National Forest Sys22 tem land that is capable of growing, and avail23 able for, commercial timber harvest and that 

24 has been affected by a catastrophic event if— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the need for the reforestation 

2 treatment is identified in the report sub3 mitted to Congress under section 3(d)(1) 

4 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

5 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1601(d)(1)); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the reforestation treatment oc8 curs within 5 years of— 

9 ‘‘(I) if there is no harvest activity 

10 following the wildfire or the nonfire 

11 natural disturbance event, the wildfire 

12 or a nonfire natural disturbance 

13 event; 

14 ‘‘(II) if a regeneration harvest is 

15 the final cut in a stand in a disturbed 

16 area, the regeneration harvest; or 

17 ‘‘(III) if a salvage harvest is the 

18 final cut in a stand in a disturbed 

19 area, the salvage harvest; and’’. 

20 SEC. 109. REVISION OF LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGE21 MENT PLANS. 

22 During the 3-year period beginning on the date of 

23 enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall en24 sure that any revision to a land and resource management 
40 

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1 plan address forest management and recovery goals after 

2 a catastrophic event. 

3 SEC. 110. EFFECT OF TITLE. 

4 (a) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this 

5 title affects the use by the Secretary concerned of other 

6 statutory or administrative authority, including categor7 ical exclusions adopted to implement the National Envi8 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

9 to conduct a catastrophic event recovery project or cata10 strophic event research project, or portion of such a 

11 project, that is not conducted using the alternative ar12 rangements authorized by section 105. 

13 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Federal Advisory 

14 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and title XVIII of the 

15 Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2281 et seq.) 

16 shall not apply to— 

17 (1) the independent peer review provided by sci18 entific and land management experts under section 

19 101(b); 

20 (2) the monitoring process under section 104(h) 

21 or 105(f); and 

22 (3) the preparation of a catastrophic event re23 covery evaluation or catastrophic event recovery pro24 posal. 
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1 TITLE II—RESTORING LAND2 SCAPES AND COMMUNITIES 

3 IMPACTED BY CATASTROPHIC 

4 EVENTS 

5 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) there is a relationship between poverty and 

8 Federal land ownership, with households below the 

9 poverty level being located in close proximity to Fed10 eral land; 

11 (2) households below the poverty level are more 

12 likely to be located in areas with low or no wildfire 

13 or other catastrophic event response capabilities; and 

14 (3) catastrophic events disproportionately affect 

15 low-income communities in the short term and long 

16 term by negatively impacting economic activities 

17 such as recreation, timber and nontraditional forest 

18 product utilization, fisheries, and tourism. 

19 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this title: 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means a State Forester or equivalent State offi23 cial, an Indian tribe, local government, community24 based organization, or other person. 
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1 (2) EXCESS RECEIPTS.—The term ‘‘excess re2 ceipts’’ means any National Forest Fund receipts 

3 derived from the sale of timber under section 

4 105(b)(2), that are identified by the Secretary for 

5 the fiscal year as amounts in excess of the amounts 

6 retained onsite for activities included in an applica7 ble catastrophic event recovery project. 

8 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘fund’’ means a commu9 nity protection and recovery fund established under 

10 section 203(a). 

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

13 SEC. 203. COMMUNITY PROTECTION AND RECOVERY 

14 FUNDS. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

16 within the Treasury a community protection and recovery 

17 fund for each catastrophic event recovery project, con18 sisting of such amounts as are transferred to the fund 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There are appropriated 

21 to each fund amounts equivalent to 5 percent of excess 

22 receipts. 

23 (c) USE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

25 and (3), amounts in the fund shall be available, 
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1 without further appropriation, to the Secretary, in 

2 cooperation with any eligible entities, for— 

3 (A) the preparation of a landscape assess4 ment for non-Federal land affected by a cata5 strophic event; 

6 (B) assistance in the preparation of a com7 munity wildfire protection plan or related plan; 

8 and 

9 (C) implementation of special recovery 

10 projects identified in the landscape assessment 

11 or community wildfire protection plan, commu12 nity assessment, or community action plan, in13 cluding— 

14 (i) revegetation, tree planting, and 

15 other management practices that the Sec16 retary determines to be appropriate; 

17 (ii) developing products from and 

18 markets for fire timber harvest and re19 maining forest resources; 

20 (iii) training for the local workforce; 

21 (iv) repair of public facilities, such as 

22 water systems, roads, bridges and trails, 

23 affected by a catastrophic event; and 
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1 (v) any other activities that the Sec2 retary determines to be necessary to un3 dertake the special recovery project. 

4 (2) PREFERENCE.—In making expenditures 

5 from a fund, the Secretary shall give priority to low6 income communities. 

7 (3) LIMITATION.—Amounts in a fund shall only 

8 be available for expenditure for a specific cata9 strophic event during the 3-year period beginning on 

10 the date on which the catastrophic event occurs. 

11 (d) REPROGRAMMING.—Amounts deposited in a fund 

12 or eligible for deposit in a fund shall not be subject to 

13 transfer or reprogramming for wildland fire management 

14 or any other emergency purposes. 

15 TITLE III—EXPERIMENTAL 

16 FORESTS 

17 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress finds the following: 

19 (1) The experimental forests established pursu20 ant to section 4 of the Forest and Rangeland Re21 newable Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

22 1643) or the organic administrative authorities of 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture (16 U.S.C. 551) serve 

24 as a natural laboratory for the Forest Service to 

25 evaluate management practices generally and spe-
45 

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1 cific responses to catastrophic events that can be 

2 eventually used throughout the National Forest Sys3 tem. 

4 (2) To build upon the knowledge base to be de5 veloped using catastrophic events research projects 

6 conducted under title I, the Secretary of Agriculture 

7 should be authorized to use the same authorities 

8 provided under sections 104 and 105 to design and 

9 carry out projects in the experimental forests. 

10 SEC. 302. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF PRE-APPROVED MAN11 AGEMENT PRACTICES ON NATIONAL FOREST 

12 EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS. 

13 Management practices included on the list of pre-ap14 proved management practices prepared under subsection 

15 (a) of section 104 may be implemented, in the manner 

16 provided by such section, in an experimental forest estab17 lished pursuant to section 4 of the Forest and Rangeland 

18 Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

19 1643) or the organic administrative authorities of the Sec20 retary of Agriculture (16 U.S.C. 551). 

21 SEC. 303. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF ALTERNATIVE AR22 RANGEMENTS FOR PROJECTS ON NATIONAL 

23 FOREST EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS. 

24 Section 105 shall apply with respect to any individual 

25 activity or a series of activities proposed to be undertaken 
46 

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1 in an experimental forest established pursuant to section 

2 4 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Re3 search Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1643) or the organic ad4 ministrative authorities of the Secretary of Agriculture 

5 (16 U.S.C. 551). 

6 TITLE IV—GENERAL 

7 PROVISIONS 

8 SEC. 401. REGULATIONS. 

9 The Secretary concerned is not required to promul10 gate regulations to implement this Act. 

11 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

13 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ