103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2866

AN ACT

To provide for the sound management and protection of

Redwood forest areas in Humboldt County, California,

by adding certain lands and waters to the Six Rivers

National Forest and by including a portion of such lands

in the national wilderness preservation system.

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 ‘‘Headwaters Forest

5 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:

3 (1) Redwoods are a significant national symbol

4 and a defining symbol of the State of California.

5 (2) Old growth redwood trees are a unique and

6 irreplaceable natural resource.

7 (3) Most of the Nation’s old growth forests

8 have been cut. Less than 5 percent of the original

9 2,000,000 acre Coast redwoods remain standing.

10 The groves that are left are crucial to maintain habi11 tat needed for survival of old-growth dependent spe12 cies. The Headwaters Forest, for example, is home

13 to one of California’s three largest population of

14 marbled murrelets, rare sea birds that nest only in

15 coastal old growth trees; the Northern Spotted Owl;

16 and native salmon stocks that spawn in the Forest’s

17 creeks.

18 (4) The remaining unprotected stands of old

19 growth forests and old growth redwoods are under

20 immediate threat of being harvested without regard

21 to their ecological importance and without following

22 Federal timber harvest guidelines.

23 (5) Significant amounts of old growth redwoods

24 in the proposed National Forest additions are being

25 cut at a pace that is based on paying high interest
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1 rates on poor quality bonds and not at a pace that

2 is based on sound forest management practices.

3 (6) The continued fragmentation and loss of ir4 replaceable ecosystems creates an urgent need to de5 velop creative solutions to achieve the long-term ben6 efits of permanent protection and preservation.

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide

8 for the sound management and protection of old growth

9 Redwood forest areas in Humboldt County, California,

10 and to preserve and enhance habitat for the marbled

11 murrelet, Northern Spotted owl, native salmon stocks, and

12 other old growth forest dependent species, by adding cer13 tain lands and waters to the Six Rivers National Forest

14 and by including a portion of such lands in the national

15 wilderness preservation system.

16 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:

17 (1) The terms ‘‘Six Rivers National Forest Ad18 dition’’ and ‘‘Headwaters Forest’’ mean the area au19 thorized for land acquisition activities under section

20 3, as depicted on the map described in section

21 3(b)(1).

22 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

23 of Agriculture.
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1 SEC. 3. ADDITION TO SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST.

2 (a) MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES.—Effective upon

3 the consummation of a land acquisition conducted as pro4 vided in subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall

5 modify the exterior boundaries of the Six Rivers National

6 Forest in the State of California to include the acquired

7 lands.

8 (b) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—

9 (1) AREA FOR ACQUISITION ACTIVITIES.—The

10 Secretary may acquire lands and interests in land

11 within the boundaries of an area comprising approxi12 mately 44,000 acres, as generally depicted on the

13 map entitled ‘‘Six Rivers National Forest Addition

14 proposed’’ and dated June 1993, for inclusion in the

15 Six Rivers National Forest under subsection (a).

16 The map shall be on file and available for public in17 spection in the offices of the Forest Supervisor, Six

18 Rivers National Forest, and in the offices of the

19 Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agri20 culture.

21 (2) MANNER OF CONDUCTING ACQUISITION.—

22 Lands and interests in lands within the Six Rivers

23 National Forest Addition may be acquired by the

24 Secretary only by donation, by purchase with do25 nated or appropriated funds, or by exchange.
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1 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR FEDERAL TRANS2 FERS.—For purposes of making an exchange under

3 paragraph (2), excess or surplus lands under the ju4 risdiction of any other department, agency, or in5 strumentality of the United States may be trans6 ferred, subject to the advance approval of the trans7 fer by law, to the administrative jurisdiction of the

8 Secretary if the Secretary identifies the lands as

9 suitable for use in making an exchange. To facilitate

10 the approval of a transfer of lands under this para11 graph, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee

12 on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives and to the

14 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

15 of the Senate proposed legislation in connection with

16 the proposed transfer. The transfer of lands under

17 this paragraph shall be made without compensation

18 to the transferring department, agency, or instru19 mentality.

20 (4) ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN LANDS OUTSIDE

21 ADDITION.—When a tract of land proposed to be ac22 quired is only partly within the Six Rivers National

23 Forest Addition, the Secretary may acquire all or

24 any portion of the land outside of the Six Rivers Na25 tional Forest Addition to minimize the payment of
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1 severance costs. Land acquired outside of the bound2 aries may be exchanged by the Secretary for non3 Federal lands within the boundaries. Land acquired

4 outside of the boundaries of the Six Rivers National

5 Forest Addition under this paragraph and not used

6 for exchange shall be reported to the Administrator

7 of the General Services Administration for disposal

8 under the Federal Property and Administrative

9 Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.).

10 (5) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATE OR LOCAL GOV11 ERNMENT LANDS.—Lands and interests in lands

12 within the boundaries of the Six Rivers National

13 Forest Addition that are owned by the State of Cali14 fornia or any political subdivision thereof, may be

15 acquired only by donation or exchange.

16 (6) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF FUNDS.—The

17 Secretary may accept from the State of California

18 funds to cover the cost of acquiring lands within the

19 Six Rivers National Forest Addition. Notwithstand20 ing any other provision of law, the Secretary may re21 tain and expend such funds for purposes of such ac22 quisition. Such funds shall be available for such pur23 pose without further appropriation and without fis24 cal year limitation.
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1 (c) LAND ACQUISITION PLAN.—The Secretary shall

2 develop and implement, within 6 months after the date

3 of the enactment of this Act, a land acquisition plan that

4 contains specific provisions addressing how and when

5 lands will be acquired under subsection (b). The plan shall

6 give priority first to the acquisition of lands within the

7 Six Rivers National Forest Addition proposed for inclusion

8 in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The plan

9 shall include an analysis of the possibilities for acquisition

10 through means other than the expenditure of funds, in11 cluding the use of excess and surplus Federal properties.

12 The Secretary shall identify and list these properties. The

13 Secretary shall submit copies of the plan to the Committee

14 on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep16 resentatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural

17 Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

18 Forestry, and the Committee on Appropriations of the

19 Senate.

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; LIMITA21 TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated such

22 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act; except

23 that the total amount obligated or expended to acquire

24 lands or interests in lands in the Six Rivers Forest Addi25 tion shall not exceed $200,000,000.
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1 (e) TERMINATION OF ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the

3 Secretary may not acquire lands under the authority of

4 this section after the end of the 10-year period beginning

5 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 (f) CONSENT OF OWNER REQUIRED FOR ACQUISI7 TION.—Lands and interests in lands within the Six Rivers

8 National Forest Addition may not be acquired by the Sec9 retary for purposes of this Act without the consent of the

10 owner of the lands. The Secretary may not acquire lands

11 or interests in lands within the Six Rivers National Forest

12 Addition by condemnation.

13 SEC. 4. WILDERNESS AREAS.

14 (a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of

15 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131–1136), lands in the

16 State of California acquired under section 3 of this Act

17 which are within the areas generally depicted on the map

18 referred to in section 3 as the ‘‘Headwaters Forest Wilder19 ness (Proposed)’’ shall be designated as wilderness and

20 therefore as a component of the National Wilderness Pres21 ervation System, effective upon acquisition under section

22 3. Such lands shall be known as the Headwaters Forest

23 Wilderness.

24 (b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.—As soon as practicable

25 after the inclusion of any lands in the Headwaters Forest
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1 Wilderness, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal de2 scription of the area so included with the Committee on

3 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and

4 with the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

5 the Senate. The Secretary may correct clerical and typo6 graphical errors in such legal description and such map.

7 Each such map and legal description shall be on file and

8 available for public inspection in the offices of the Forest

9 Supervisor, Six Rivers National Forest, and in the offices

10 of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agri11 culture.

12 (c) BUFFER ZONES NOT INTENDED.—The Congress

13 does not intend that designation of any area as wilderness

14 under this section lead to the creation of protective perim15 eters or buffer zones around the wilderness area. The fact

16 that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard

17 from areas within a wilderness shall not, of itself, preclude

18 such activities or uses up to the boundary of the wilder19 ness area.

20 (d) STATE AUTHORITY OVER FISH AND WILD21 LIFE.—As provided in section 4(d)(8) of the Wilderness

22 Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting

23 the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Califor24 nia with respect to wildlife and fish in any areas des25 ignated by this Act as wilderness.
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1 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

2 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within 1 year after ac3 quiring all or part of the lands identified to be acquired

4 in section 3, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive

5 management plan for the acquired lands detailing meas6 ures for the preservation of the existing old growth red7 wood ecosystems. The management plan shall include each

8 of the following with respect to the lands so acquired:

9 (1) Prohibition of the sale of timber from lands

10 within the old growth redwood groves as depicted

11 generally on the map referred to in section 3(b)(1).

12 Timber sales in other areas within the Six Rivers

13 National Forest Addition shall be allowed consistent

14 with the purposes of this Act and other applicable

15 Federal laws and regulations.

16 (2) Measures to restore lands affected by pre17 vious timber harvests to mitigate watershed degrada18 tion and impairment of habitat for the marbled

19 murrelet, northern spotted owl, native salmon

20 stocks, and other old-growth forest dependent spe21 cies.

22 The management plan shall be reviewed and revised each

23 time the land and resource management plan for the Six

24 Rivers National Forest is revised or more frequently as

25 necessary to meet the purposes of this Act.
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1 (b) APPLICABLE LAWS AND POLICIES.—(1) The Sec2 retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service,

3 shall administer the lands acquired under section 3(b) in

4 accordance with the Management Plan, this Act, and with

5 the other laws, rules, and regulations applicable to such

6 national forest. In addition, subject to valid existing

7 rights, any lands acquired and designated as wilderness

8 under section 4(a) shall also be administered in accord9 ance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act governing

10 areas designated by that Act as wilderness, except that

11 any reference in such provisions to the effective date of

12 the Wilderness Act (or any similar reference) shall be

13 deemed to be a reference to the date of acquisition of such

14 lands under section 3 of this Act.

15 (2) To the maximum extent practicable, all work to

16 implement the management plan’s Restoration Measures

17 shall be performed by unemployed forest and timber work18 ers, unemployed commercial fishermen, or other unem19 ployed persons whose livelihood depends on fishery and

20 timber resources.

21 (3) In order to facilitate management, the Secretary,

22 acting through the Chief of the Forest Service may enter

23 into agreements with the State of California for the man24 agement of lands owned by the State or purchased with

25 State assistance.
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1 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

2 (a) PILT.—Solely for purposes of payments made

3 pursuant to chapter 69 of title 31 of the United States

4 Code, all lands added to the Six Rivers National Forest

5 by this Act shall be deemed to have been acquired for the

6 purposes specified in section 6904(a) of such title 31.

7 (b) 10-YEAR PAYMENT.—(1) Subject to annual ap8 propriations and the provisions of subsection (c), for a pe9 riod of 10 years after acquisition by the United States of

10 lands added to the Six Rivers National Forest by this Act,

11 the Secretary, with respect to such acquired lands, shall

12 make annual payments to Humboldt County in the State

13 of California in an amount equal to the State of California

14 Timber Yield Tax revenues payable under the California

15 Revenue and Taxation Code (sec. 38101 et seq.) in effect

16 as of the date of enactment of this Act that would have

17 been paid with respect to such lands if the lands had not

18 been acquired by the United States, as determined by the

19 Secretary pursuant to this subsection.

20 (2) The Secretary shall determine the amounts to be

21 paid pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection based

22 on an assessment of a variety of factors including, but not

23 limited to—

24 (A) timber actually sold in the subject year

25 from comparable commercial forest lands of similar
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1 soil type, slope and such determination of appro2 priate timber harvest levels,

3 (B) comparable timber size class, age, and qual4 ity,

5 (C) market conditions,

6 (D) all applicable Federal, State, and local laws

7 and regulations, and

8 (E) the goal of sustainable, even-flow harvest or

9 renewable timber resources.

10 (c) CALIFORNIA TIMBER YIELD TAX.—The amount

11 of State of California Timber Yield Tax payments paid

12 to Humboldt County in any year pursuant to the laws of

13 California for timber sold from lands acquired under this

14 Act shall be deducted from the sums to be paid to Hum15 boldt County in that year under subsection (b).

16 (d) 25-PERCENT FUND.—Amounts paid under sub17 section (b) with respect to any land in any year shall be

18 reduced by any amounts paid under the Act of May 23,

19 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500) which are attributable to sales from

20 the same lands in that year.

21 SEC. 7. FOREST STUDY.

22 The Secretary shall study the lands within the area

23 comprising approximately 13,620 acres and generally de24 picted as ‘‘Study Area’’ on the map referred to in section

25 3(a). The study shall analyze the area’s potential to be
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1 added to the Headwaters Forest and shall identify the nat2 ural resources of the area including the location of old

3 growth forests, old growth redwood stands, threatened and

4 endangered species habitat and populations including the

5 northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, commercial

6 timber volume, recreational opportunities, wildlife and

7 fish, watershed management, and the cost of acquiring the

8 land. Within one year of the date of enactment of this

9 Act, the Secretary shall submit a report with the findings

10 of the study to the Committees on Natural Resources, and

11 Agriculture of the United States House of Representatives

12 and the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources,

13 and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the United

14 States Senate.

15 SEC. 8. NO ADVERSE EFFECT ON LANDS UNTIL ACQUIRED.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Until the lands in the Six River

17 National Forest Addition are acquired under section 3, the

18 owners of the lands and their designees shall be entitled

19 to the full and lawful use and enjoyment of the lands.

20 Nothing in this Act may be—

21 (1) construed to impose any limitations upon

22 any otherwise lawful use of the lands by the owners

23 of the lands or their designees;

24 (2) construed as authority to defer the submis25 sion, review, approval, or implementation of any tim-
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1 ber harvest or similar plan with respect to any por2 tion of the lands; or

3 (3) construed to grant a cause of action against

4 the owner of the lands or their designees.

5 (b) VOLUNTARY DEFERMENT OF USE.—The owners

6 of lands described in section 3 or their designees may

7 agree of their own accord to defer some or all lawful enjoy8 ment and use of the land for a certain period of time.

9 SEC. 9. SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS IN SIX RIVERS

10 NATIONAL FOREST.

11 As provided in section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act (16

12 U.S.C. 1133(c)), mechanical transport (including motor

13 vehicles, motorized equipment, and the landing of fixed14 wing and rotary aircraft) shall be permitted anywhere

15 within the boundaries of the Six Rivers National Forest

16 with respect to any emergency involving the health or safe17 ty of an individual within the national forests.

18 SEC. 10. PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

19 PRODUCTS.

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con21 gress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equip22 ment and products purchased with funds made available

23 under this Act should be American-made.

24 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing payments

25 under section 6 or other financial assistance to, or enter-
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1 ing into any contract with, any entity using funds made

2 available under this Act, the Secretary, to the greatest ex3 tent practicable, shall provide to such entity a notice de4 scribing the statement made in subsection (a) by the Con5 gress.

Passed the House of Representatives September 21,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2866

AN ACT

To provide for the sound management and protecderness preservation system. ing a portion of such lands in the national wil- to the Six Rivers National Forest and by includ- ty, California, by adding certain lands and waters tion of Redwood forest areas in Humboldt Coun-