I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4068

To improve the health and productivity of National Forest System lands

in the State of California and to demonstrate the use of ecosystem

management as a practical management program on such lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 17, 1994

Mr. LEHMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture

A BILL

To improve the health and productivity of National Forest

System lands in the State of California and to demonstrate the use of ecosystem management as a practical

management program on such lands.

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘California Forest Ecosystems Health Act’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.
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Sec. 4. Ecosystem management plans for National Forest System lands in California.

Sec. 5. Process for full implementation of ecosystem management plans.

Sec. 6. Research and monitoring program.

Sec. 7. Miscellaneous requirements.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Although people have had an active part in

4 the development and maintenance of forest structure

5 and the condition of the National Forest System

6 lands in the State of California for many years, re7 cent forest management policies have often resulted

8 in a degeneration of the forest structure and a loss

9 of forest health and vigor.

10 (2) The Forest Service, through the judicious

11 use of ecosystem management, has an opportunity to

12 reverse these forest management policies and restore

13 the health and vigor of National Forest System

14 lands in California.

15 (3) Ecosystems are dynamic and in a state of

16 constant change, and it is not possible to preserve

17 a given ecosystem condition in a static state over a

18 period of time.

19 (4) The many and varied resources and uses of

20 National Forest System lands provide both tangible

21 and intangible benefits to the people of the United

22 States.
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1 (5) Although management of National Forest

2 System lands in California has traditionally placed

3 first priority on the need to produce maximum vol4 umes of timber, the other multiple forest resources

5 and services are equally important to the people of

6 California and the United States.

7 (6) Ecosystem management must balance the

8 needs of outdoor recreation, range, timber, water9 shed, fish, and wildlife, as required by the Multiple10 Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et

11 seq.), as well as protect soil and air quality and pro12 vide for forest research.

13 (7) National Forest System lands in California

14 include some of the most unique forest ecosystems in

15 the world, including giant sequoias, coastal red16 woods, and bristlecone pines.

17 (8) Destructive forest fires classified by the

18 Forest Service as ‘‘intense’’ have occurred in unprec19 edented numbers and size on the National Forest

20 System lands in California in recent years, and these

21 fires pose a threat to the very health of the forests

22 and present a danger to human life and property.

23 (9) The Forest Service, through the judicious

24 use of ecosystem management, has an opportunity to

25 reduce the likelihood that fires classified as ‘‘in-
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1 tense’’ will occur with such frequency and, at the

2 same time, to improve forest vigor and visitor safety.

3 (10) Ecosystem management that considers the

4 needs of all species and their ability to interact with

5 the presence of humans can integrate both the con6 servation needs of the many species of the

7 ecosystems and the multiple use activities of hu8 mans.

9 (11) Identification of sound management op10 tions is both a biological issue and a social issue,

11 and the resulting management policies must be so12 cially acceptable, ecologically sustainable, scientif13 ically sound, legally responsible, and economically

14 viable.

15 (12) The results of management practices in

16 local ecosystems can have a profound effect on the

17 levels of demand for commodity outputs from other

18 ecosystems around the world.

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

20 For purposes of this Act:

21 (1) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—The term

22 ‘‘adaptive management’’ means the experimental and

23 monitored application of scientifically derived man24 agement decisions to gain knowledge that is then

25 used to improve subsequent management decisions.
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1 (2) ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘‘ecosystem’’

2 means a community of organisms and its environ3 ment that functions as a unit.

4 (3) ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT.—The term

5 ‘‘ecosystem management’’ means the integration of

6 ecological, economic, and social factors to meet the

7 biological needs of all associated organisms and

8 human needs through diverse, healthy, and produc9 tive ecosystems, addressing resource supply, con10 servation, and demand as opposed to a strategy for

11 managing individual species.

12 (4) ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLANS.—The

13 terms ‘‘ecosystem management plans’’ and ‘‘plans’’

14 mean the ecosystem management plans for National

15 Forest System lands in the State of California re16 quired to be developed by section 4(a).

17 (5) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term

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

19 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range20 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16

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

22 (6) SERAL STAGES.—The term ‘‘seral stages’’

23 means the various age or life stages of a vegetative

24 community as it progresses from initial establish25 ment toward a climax stage or equilibrium.
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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Agriculture.

3 (8) STAND.—The term ‘‘stand’’ means an area

4 within a forest where the trees have similar charac5 teristics with respect to species composition, size,

6 condition, and age.

7 (9) VIGOR.—The term ‘‘vigor’’, with respect to

8 forest ecosystems, means the relative health of

9 stands of trees and related vegetation, including

10 their actual growth rates as compared with potential

11 growth rates and their ability to protect themselves

12 naturally from forest pests, diseases, and the effects

13 of natural disaster.

14 SEC. 4. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL

15 FOREST SYSTEM LANDS IN CALIFORNIA.

16 (a) PLANS REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding the plan17 ning provisions of section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland

18 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.

19 1604), the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and im20 plement ecosystem management plans pursuant to this

21 Act to develop and demonstrate ecosystem management,

22 including adaptive management techniques, for National

23 Forest System lands described in subsection (b).

24 (b) FEDERAL LANDS COVERED BY PLANS.—The eco25 system management plans required by subsection (a) shall
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1 apply to all management units of the National Forest Sys2 tem located in the State of California. In the case of Na3 tional Forest System lands in California that have been

4 designated by law for special management before the date

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall incor6 porate into the ecosystem management plans applicable to

7 those lands any statutory provisions that are in effect on

8 such date and applicable to those lands.

9 (c) PRINCIPLES OF PLANS.—Ecosystem management

10 plans shall embody the following principles:

11 (1) Application of management techniques that

12 will enhance the health and vigor of the renewable

13 natural resources on the National Forest System

14 lands covered by the plans and provide for the con15 tinued protection of the soil, air, and water re16 sources of these lands.

17 (2) Improvement of the forest ecosystems on

18 these lands toward desired forest conditions that—

19 (A) provide a mosaic of forest seral

20 stages—

21 (i) representing a range of wildlife

22 habitats necessary to meet the needs of the

23 species indigenous to the ecosystem being

24 managed; and
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1 (ii) designed in such a way as to obvi2 ate the need for corridors or special man3 agement areas to meet the needs of given

4 species or situations;

5 (B) minimize the danger of stand-destroy6 ing uncontrolled wildfire;

7 (C) increase or maintain the health and

8 vigor of stands at a level that will permit the

9 stands to resist naturally, to the greatest degree

10 practicable, insect and disease attacks and the

11 effects of other natural disasters while incor12 porating the concern that some level of dead13 wood, both standing and down, is desirable in

14 healthy ecosystems;

15 (D) maintain the sustainable economic

16 well-being and stability of communities in areas

17 dependent upon national forest resources; and

18 (E) are developed, to the extent possible,

19 with consideration of the conditions that are

20 known to have existed on these lands or on

21 similar lands before the impacts of European

22 settlement.

23 (3) Concentration of management activities on

24 the condition of the renewable resources of an eco25 system rather than on producing targeted outputs,
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1 with projected outputs based upon attainment of

2 specific stand conditions.

3 (4) Emphasis on tangible management results

4 rather than on procedural standards and guidelines,

5 but with development of scientifically credible mon6 itoring standards and guidelines to assess both

7 short- and long-term management results.

8 (5) Except for any statutory provisions incor9 porated under subsection (b) with respect to specific

10 lands, prohibition on requiring the allocation or cat11 egorization of tracts of land for specific preselected

12 ecosystem management emphases.

13 (6) Consideration of the habitat needs of all

14 species across a broad landscape using management

15 indicator species whose presence will reflect a suit16 able amount and distribution of particular habitat

17 elements, rather than concentrating on the needs of

18 single species in a limited area.

19 (7) Application across the entire unreserved

20 land base in such a manner as to harmonize the var21 ious multiple uses.

22 (8) Incorporation of maximum flexibility in re23 source decisionmaking through the use of adaptive

24 management.
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1 (d) MANAGEMENT TO PROMOTE DESIRED FOREST

2 CONDITIONS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Ecosystem management

4 under the ecosystem management plans shall be

5 planned and practiced in a manner that—

6 (A) considers the entire landscape in a

7 management unit of the National Forest Sys8 tem covered by a plan; and

9 (B) benefits, to the extent practicable, all

10 renewable resources and the human resource in

11 or dependent upon the management unit.

12 (2) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Individual man13 agement projects in a management unit of the Na14 tional Forest System covered by the ecosystem man15 agement plans shall be designed to provide

16 multiresource benefits, promote the desired forest

17 conditions described in subsection (c)(2), and

18 achieve maximum project operating efficiency.

19 (e) SELECTION OF ACRES FOR ECOSYSTEM MANAGE20 MENT ACTIVITIES.—

21 (1) MINIMUM ACRES.—Ecosystem management

22 plans shall specify the minimum number of acres on

23 which ecosystem management activities will be ap24 plied annually in any management unit of the Na25 tional Forest System covered by the plans. Such
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1 acreage shall be determined on the basis of the total

2 number of acres in the management unit, the work

3 to be performed across the unit as a whole during

4 the plan period, and the pro rata annual acreage on

5 which ecosystem management activities must be ap6 plied in order to establish and maintain the desired

7 forest condition during the specified plan period.

8 (2) EFFECT OF NATURAL DISASTERS.—In case

9 of natural disasters, such as wildfire, flood,

10 windthrow, insect or disease attack, a revision of the

11 schedule of acres to be treated may be granted by

12 the Secretary in order to conduct restoration and re13 habilitation activities on the acres affected by the

14 natural disaster.

15 (f) PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT.—To ensure

16 that the ecosystem management plans are economically,

17 scientifically, and socially acceptable, the Secretary shall

18 develop the plans through the use of public involvement

19 programs that emphasize input from residents of local

20 communities to be affected by the plans. The Secretary

21 shall continue to consult with all interested persons in

22 evaluating or modifying the plans.
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1 SEC. 5. PROCESS FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF ECO2 SYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLANS.

3 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.—Beginning not later than

4 January 1, 1995, the Secretary shall begin to implement

5 the ecosystem management plans. The Secretary shall de6 velop and implement the plans progressively over a five7 year period to ensure full application of all plans not later

8 than January 1, 2000, to all National Forest System

9 lands described in section 4(b). Upon implementation of

10 an ecosystem management plan for any portion of the

11 lands described in such section, the plan shall replace and

12 supersede any land and resource management plan (or

13 portion of such a plan) then in effect for such lands.

14 (b) YEARLY EXPANSION.—During each year of the

15 period specified in subsection (a), the Secretary shall ex16 pand application of the ecosystem management plans to

17 contiguous areas required to be covered by such plans, as

18 described in section 4(b). To the extent the Secretary con19 siders it to be necessary, the Secretary may modify the

20 ecosystem management plans for each new addition in

21 order to incorporate the lessons gained from experience.

22 Adaptive management shall be used to evaluate manage23 ment decisions and to develop new information to be used

24 to keep the plans and subsequent management decisions

25 up-to-date.
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1 (c) MODIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

2 PLANS.—The Secretary shall modify the ecosystem man3 agement plans to incorporate findings from research,

4 adaptive management projects, or monitoring to the extent

5 such findings indicate changes in the plans are necessary

6 or appropriate to achieve the principles described in sec7 tion 4(c). Before the end of the first two years of the pe8 riod specified in subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue

9 regulations that set forth the process to be used for any

10 modification of the ecosystem management plans.

11 (d) CONSISTENCY.—Resource plans and permits and

12 other instruments for the use and occupancy of National

13 Forest System lands covered by an ecosystem manage14 ment plan that are executed subsequent to the implemen15 tation date of the plan with respect to such lands shall

16 be consistent with the plan. If the ecosystem management

17 plan is modified, resource plans and permits and other in18 struments that are executed subsequent to the date of the

19 modification shall be consistent with the modified plan.

20 Appropriate supplemental documents under the National

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

22 seq.) shall be prepared for those resource plans and per23 mits, contracts, and other instruments in existence upon

24 adoption of the ecosystem management plan or any modi25 fication of the plan. Any revisions in existing resource
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1 plans and permits, contracts, and other instruments shall

2 be consistent with the supplemental document findings

3 and subject to the agreement of all contractual parties.

4 Any revision in present or future permits, contracts, and

5 other instruments made pursuant to this subsection shall

6 be subject to valid existing rights.

7 SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND MONITORING PROGRAM.

8 The Secretary shall describe in detail in the eco9 system management plans and implement as part of the

10 plans a targeted program of research and monitoring

11 aimed at measuring the effects of the management re12 gimes adopted under the plans. The Secretary shall ensure

13 that monitoring is sufficient to measure the responses of

14 the various resources to management practices and to pro15 vide a basis for adjustments of subsequent management

16 decisions.

17 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS REQUIREMENTS.

18 (a) INCREASED USE OF CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL

19 PRACTITIONERS.—With respect to National Forest Sys20 tem lands covered by the ecosystem management plans,

21 the Secretary shall endeavor to increase the amount of

22 field work to be done by professional practitioners certified

23 by the Forest Service.

24 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY PROCEDURES.—The Secretary

25 shall develop accountability procedures to annually meas-
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1 ure and inform the Congress concerning the work (as de2 scribed in section 4(e)) achieved through the use of funds

3 appropriated each year for National Forest System lands

4 covered by the ecosystem management plans. The selection

5 of acres upon which such work will be performed shall be

6 controlled through the planning process. The accountabil7 ity procedures required by this subsection shall be estab8 lished and in operation before the end of the first two

9 years of the period specified in section 5(a) and shall be

10 designed to ensure the accomplishment of the work in ac11 cordance with plan direction.

12 (c) BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary

13 shall develop budgets for each management unit of the

14 National Forest System covered by ecosystem manage15 ment plans on the basis of estimated benefits to the var16 ious resources affected by the ecosystem management ac17 tivities, and such budgets will be justified on such basis.

18 The Secretary shall provide the managers of these units

19 the flexibility to accomplish over-all objectives within over20 all budgets in lieu of requiring and preparing detailed line21 item budgets for each unit of work, except that account22 ability procedures developed under subsection (b) shall in23 clude requirements for detailed explanations of expendi24 tures and estimates of benefits for each resource.

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