Calendar No. 586

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 391

[Report No. 104–321]

A BILL

To authorize and direct the Secretaries of the InteFederal lands, and for other purposes. halt and reverse the decline in forest health on rior and Agriculture to undertake activities to

SEPTEMBER 11, 1996

February 10, 1995, and placed on the calendar

Committees discharged pursuant to the order of
II

Calendar No. 586

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 391

[Report No. 104–321]

To authorize and direct the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to

undertake activities to halt and reverse the decline in forest health

on Federal lands, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 10 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. HEFLIN, Mr. BURNS, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. GORTON, Mr. KEMPTHORNE, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. PACKWOOD, Mr. PRESSLER, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. BROWN, Mr.

COCHRAN, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. KYL, Mr. LOTT, and Mr. THOMAS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with instructions that when reported the bill be referred jointly to the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Environment and Public Works for a period not

to exceed 20 days of session to report or be discharged

JULY 16, 1996

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

Referred jointly to the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

and Environment and Public Works pursuant to the order of February

10, 1995

SEPTEMBER 11, 1996

Committees discharged pursuant to the order of February 10, 1995, and

placed on the calendar
2

S 391 PCS

A BILL

To authorize and direct the Secretaries of the Interior and

Agriculture to undertake activities to halt and reverse

the decline in forest health on Federal lands, and for

other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands Forest

5 Health Protection and Restoration Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act, the term—

8 (1) ‘‘Federal lands’’ means—

9 (A) public lands as defined in section

10 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage11 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e));

12 (B) lands reserved or withdrawn from the

13 public domain and designated to the National

14 Wildlife Refuge System as defined in 16 U.S.C.

15 668dd(a); and

16 (C) lands within the National Forest Sys17 tem as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest

18 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning

19 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a));

20 (2) ‘‘forest health management activity’’ means

21 any thinning, salvage, timber stand improvement, re-
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1 forestation, controlled burning or other fuels man2 agement, insect or disease control, riparian or other

3 habitat improvement, soil stabilization or other

4 water quality improvement, or other activity, the

5 purpose of which is to meet one or more of the ob6 jectives set forth in section 3(c)(1);

7 (3) ‘‘land management plan’’ means—

8 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu9 reau of Land Management pursuant to section

10 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage11 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), or other

12 multiple use plan currently in effect, for a unit

13 of the Federal lands described in paragraph

14 (1)(A); or

15 (B) a land and resource management plan

16 (or, if no final plan is currently in effect, a

17 draft land and resource management plan) pre18 pared by the Forest Service pursuant to section

19 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re20 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604)

21 for one or more units of the Federal lands de22 scribed in paragraph (1)(C); and

23 (4) ‘‘Secretary’’ means—
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1 (A) with respect to Federal lands described

2 in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of the Inte3 rior, or, except for section 6, a designee;

4 (B) with respect to Federal lands described

5 in paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of the Inte6 rior, or except for section 6, a designee; and

7 (C) with respect to Federal lands described

8 in paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary of Agri9 culture, or, except for section 6, a designee.

10 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF AREAS AND SELECTION AND AU11 THORIZATION OF ACTIVITIES.

12 (a) GENERAL DIRECTION.—The Secretary of the In13 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each directed—

14 (1) as frequently as necessary but no less than

15 annually, to review the forest health conditions on

16 the federal lands; and

17 (2) from time to time, or pursuant to a petition

18 submitted in accordance with subsection (d), when

19 warranted by conditions set forth in subsection (b),

20 to designate a specific area of the Federal lands as

21 a forest health emergency or high risk area and se22 lect and authorize the forest health management ac23 tivity or activities to be undertaken in such area.

24 (b) FOREST HEALTH EMERGENCY AND HIGH RISK

25 AREAS.—(1) An area of the Federal lands shall be des-
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1 ignated as a forest health emergency area pursuant to

2 subsection (a)(2) if the Secretary concerned finds that—

3 (A) forests on such lands have experienced dis4 turbances, from wildfires, insect infestations, dis5 ease, or other natural causes that have caused more

6 than 50 percent of the trees to be dead or dying,

7 and will suffer further environmental degradation,

8 such as soil erosion, stream damage, or habitat loss;

9 and

10 (B) implementation of one or more forest

11 health management activities on such lands can re12 duce or eliminate such degradation.

13 (2) An area of the Federal lands shall be designated

14 as a forest health high risk area pursuant to subsection

15 (a)(2) if the Secretary concerned finds that—

16 (A) the forest structure, function, or composi17 tion on such lands has been so altered by human or

18 natural causes as to increase substantially the risk

19 of insect infestation, disease, or wildfire and the con20 sequent risks of significant ecosystem, watershed, or

21 habitat damage or loss of life or property; and

22 (B) implementation of one or more forest

23 health management activities on such lands can re24 duce or eliminate such risks.
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1 (3) Each Secretary shall accord priority in the des2 ignation of forest health emergency and high risk areas

3 to—

4 (A) areas where the Secretary determines the

5 need to reduce or eliminate the degradation or risk

6 specified in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) is the

7 greatest; and

8 (B) wildland/urban interface areas where the

9 Secretary determines human life and property are

10 threatened by wildfire from the affected Federal

11 lands.

12 (c) FOREST HEALTH MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—

13 (1) The forest health management activity or activities se14 lected and authorized for each forest health emergency or

15 high risk area pursuant to subsection (a)(2) shall be those

16 activities which the Secretary determines are designated

17 to address the specific site conditions of the areas with

18 the combination of management practices, treatment, and

19 protection needed to arrest the decline in forest health and

20 restore forest health to a condition capable of supporting

21 and sustaining the uses within the historic range of varia22 bility of the area as determined in the applicable land

23 management plan or plans, and to meet the following addi24 tional objectives:
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1 (A) safeguard human life, property, and com2 munities;

3 (B) protect the various forest resources placed

4 at risk, including air and water quality, wildlife, and

5 recreation and visual values;

6 (C) restore, maintain, or enhance the integrity

7 of ecosystems, watersheds and habitats damaged or

8 placed at risk; and

9 (D) protect previous Federal investments in the

10 Federal land resources and environmental values,

11 and future Federal, State, and local revenues that

12 otherwise will be foregone.

13 (2) No forest health management activity shall be

14 precluded because the costs thereof are likely to exceed

15 the revenues therefrom.

16 (3) The Secretary concerned shall publish a schedule

17 for initiating, completing, and monitoring the forest health

18 management activity or activities in each forest health

19 emergency or high risk area in the document containing

20 the Secretary’s final decision designating the area and se21 lecting and authorizing the activity or activities pursuant

22 to subsection (a)(2).

23 (4) Whenever the harvest of live trees is expected to

24 occur in a forest health management activity, the Sec25 retary concerned shall provide in the document containing
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1 the Secretary’s final decision selecting and authorizing

2 such activity pursuant to subsection (a)(2) a statement of

3 whether the removal of live trees is necessary to meet one

4 or more of the objectives set forth in paragraph (1) of

5 this subsection.

6 (5) Each Secretary may undertake forest health man7 agement activities not selected and authorized pursuant

8 to subsection (a)(2) in accordance with applicable provi9 sions of law other than this Act.

10 (d) PETITION PROCESS.—Any interested person may

11 petition either Secretary to designate a specific area of

12 lands of at least 100 acres in size within the Secretary’s

13 jurisdiction as a forest health emergency or high risk area

14 pursuant to subsection (a)(2). The petition shall contain

15 a reasonably precise description of the boundaries of the

16 area and the reasons why the petitioner believes the condi17 tions set forth in subsection (b)(1)(A) or subsection

18 (b)(2)(A) exist in such area. The Secretary to which the

19 petition is submitted shall make a decision within 45 days

20 of the date of submission of the petition whether the des21 ignation sought by the petition may be warranted. If the

22 Secretary determines that the designation may be war23 ranted, the Secretary shall accept the petition and render

24 a final decision whether to make such designation pursu25 ant to subsection (a)(2) within 90 days of the date of sub-
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1 mission in the case of a petition to designate a forest

2 health emergency area or 150 days of the date of submis3 sion in the case of a petition to designate a forest health

4 high risk area. If the Secretary decides not to accept the

5 petition, the Secretary shall provide promptly to the peti6 tioner a written statement of the decision and the reasons

7 therefor.

8 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR THE DECISION TO

9 DESIGNATE AN AREA AND SELECT AND AU10 THORIZE ACTIVITIES.

11 (a) NOTICE.—(1) Each Secretary shall publish in the

12 Federal Register notice of the prospective decision to des13 ignate a forest health emergency or high risk area and

14 select and authorize a forest health management activity

15 or activities therefor pursuant to section 3(a)(2).

16 (2) The notice shall—

17 (A) set forth the location of the affected area;

18 (B) describe the forest health conditions in such

19 area;

20 (C) provide the reasons for proposing to des21 ignate such area; and

22 (D) contain a detailed description of the forest

23 health management activity or activities which the

24 Secretary proposes to select for such area (and

25 which shall constitute the preferred alternative in
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1 any documentation prepared pursuant to section

2 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act

3 and subsection (b)(1) of this section).

4 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN LAWS.—(1) Except

5 as provided in paragraph (2), if the decision of a Secretary

6 designating a forest health emergency or high risk area

7 and selecting and authorizing a forest health management

8 activity or activities therefor pursuant to section 3(a)(2)

9 requires documentation pursuant to section 102(2) of the

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

11 4332(2))—

12 (A) in the case of a forest health emergency

13 area, the document required shall be an environ14 mental assessment prepared pursuant to subpara15 graph (E) of such section 102(2); or

16 (B) in the case of a forest health high risk area,

17 the Secretary, in his or her discretion, may prepare

18 such an environmental assessment.

19 (2) Each Secretary shall provide by regulation a pol20 icy establishing categorical exclusions from the docu21 mentation requirements of section 102(2) of the National

22 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for decisions pursuant

23 to section 3(a)(2) for forest health management activities

24 which remove 250,000 board feet or less of merchantable

25 wood products or salvage 1,000,000 board feet or less of
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1 merchantable wood products, which require one mile or

2 less of standard road construction, and which assure re3 generation of harvested or salvaged areas, where required.

4 (3) If the decision of a Secretary designating a forest

5 health emergency or high risk area and selecting and au6 thorizing a forest health management activity or activities

7 therefor pursuant to section 3(a)(2) requires formal con8 sultation pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species

9 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536), such consultation shall be

10 concluded within 45 days of the publication of the Federal

11 Register notice of the prospective decision pursuant to

12 subsection (a).

13 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary concerned

14 shall provide a period of 30 days from the date of publica15 tion of a Federal Register notice pursuant to subsection

16 (a) for submission of public comment on the prospective

17 decision pursuant to section 3(a)(2). The Secretary may

18 hold a hearing on such decision during such period. The

19 Secretary shall respond in writing to the public comment

20 received during such period in the document containing

21 the Secretary’s final decision.

22 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—(1) Any decision of

23 a Secretary pursuant to section 3(a)(2) which includes

24 designation of a forest health emergency area shall be a
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1 final agency action and shall not be subject to administra2 tive review.

3 (2) Administrative review of any decision by a Sec4 retary pursuant to section 3(a)(2) which includes designa5 tion of a forest health risk area shall be governed by appli6 cable existing statutory or regulatory administrative ap7 peal requirements, including, for Federal lands described

8 in section 2(1)(C), the administrative appeal provisions

9 section 322 of the Fiscal Year 1993 Interior and Related

10 Agencies Appropriation Act (106 Stat. 1419): Provided,

11 That no extension of the 30-day period for disposition of

12 the appeal authorized by subsection (d)(3) of such section

13 322 may be granted, and subsection (d)(4) of such section

14 322 shall apply at the conclusion of the 30-day period.

15 (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(1) Any decision by a Sec16 retary pursuant to section 3(a)(2) to designate a forest

17 health emergency or high risk area and to select and au18 thorize a forest health management activity or activities

19 therefor, or any decision by a Secretary pursuant to sec20 tion 3(d) not to accept a petition to designate such an

21 area shall be subject to judicial review only by the United

22 States District Court for the District in which the affected

23 Federal lands are located.

24 (2) Any action brought pursuant to this subsection

25 shall be filed not later than 45 days after the date of publi-
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1 cation of the final decision of the Secretary or, for those

2 decisions for which administrative review is available and

3 undertaken, 30 days after the publication of the decision

4 on review.

5 (3) Any appeal from the final decision of a District

6 Court in an action brought pursuant to this subsection

7 shall be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the

8 decision.

9 (4) In an action brought pursuant to this subsection,

10 the District Court shall render a final decision and dis11 solve any temporary restraining order or preliminary in12 junction not later than 90 days after the date of the filing

13 of the action when the action concerns a forest health

14 emergency area, or 120 days after the date of filing of

15 the action when the action concerns a forest health high

16 risk area.

17 (5) In any appeal brought pursuant to this sub18 section, the Court of Appeals shall render a final decision

19 on the appeal and dissolve any injunction pending appeal

20 not later than 90 days after the date of the filing of the

21 appeal when the appeal concerns a forest health emer22 gency area, or 120 days after the date of filing of the ap23 peal when the appeal concerns a forest health high risk

24 area.
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1 SEC. 5. EXCLUDED LANDS.

2 Neither Secretary may select, authorize, or undertake

3 any forest health management activity pursuant to section

4 3(a)(2) on any Federal lands located within—

5 (1) any unit of the National Wilderness Preser6 vation System;

7 (2) any roadless area designated by the Con8 gress for wilderness study;

9 (3) any roadless area recommended by the Bu10 reau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Serv11 ice, or Forest Service for wilderness designation; or

12 (4) any other area in which implementation of

13 the specific forest health management activity for

14 any purpose is expressly prohibited by law or by any

15 applicable land management plan, unless the plan is

16 amended to permit the activity to occur in accord17 ance with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy

18 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) or

19 section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

20 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

21 SEC. 6. ANNUAL FOREST HEALTH REPORT.

22 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Inte23 rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare jointly

24 an annual Forest Health Report to evaluate forest health

25 on the Federal lands.
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1 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—Each report required to

2 subsection (a) shall contain—

3 (1) qualitative and quantitative data on forest

4 health on the Federal lands;

5 (2) assessment of the factors generally respon6 sible for forest problems;

7 (3) judgment of each Secretary on the status of

8 and trend in forest health of the Federal lands

9 under such Secretary’s jurisdiction;

10 (4) maps disclosing the status of forest health

11 on all Federal lands at a scale sufficient to display

12 discrete areas, including areas designated as forest

13 health emergency or high risk areas, in each unit of

14 the Federal lands;

15 (5) identification of the forest health emergency

16 areas and high risk areas designated pursuant to

17 section 3(a)(2) during the previous fiscal year and

18 the reasons for such designations;

19 (6) identification of areas in which adverse for20 est health conditions are equal to or more severe

21 than the areas identified in paragraph (5) and a de22 tailed discussion of the reasons of the Secretary con23 cerned for not designating such areas as forest

24 health emergency or high risk areas pursuant to sec25 tion 3(a)(2);
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1 (7) discussion of any expenditures or actions,

2 other than any forest health management activities,

3 made or taken by the Bureau of Land Management,

4 Fish and Wildlife Service, or Forest Service in the

5 areas identified in paragraph (6) and a statement of

6 the reasons therefor;

7 (8) a description of the forest health manage8 ment activities selected and authorized pursuant to

9 section 3(a)(2) during the previous fiscal year;

10 (9) a description of all forest health activities

11 undertaken in designated forest health emergency or

12 high risk areas in the previous fiscal year;

13 (10) a summary of the estimated impacts, in

14 terms of changed conditions or risks, resulting from

15 each forest health management activity described in

16 paragraph (8);

17 (11) a report on the timeliness, effectiveness

18 and cost of each forest health management activity

19 described in paragraph (8);

20 (12) the total of the acres treated under this

21 Act at the end of the previous fiscal years and a

22 comparison thereof to the total acres planned for,

23 and total acres requiring, forest health management

24 activities both within and outside of designated for25 est health emergency or high risk areas;
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1 (13) a discussion of any delays encountered in

2 the previous fiscal years and likely in the present fis3 cal year in meeting the schedules established pursu4 ant to section 3(c)(3), for initiating, accomplishing,

5 and monitoring forest health management activities

6 in designated forest health emergency or high risk

7 areas, the reasons for such delays, and the specific

8 steps which the Secretary concerned has directed to

9 be taken to ensure timely adherence to the estab10 lished schedules or any changes in such schedules

11 which the Secretary concerned has made;

12 (14) identification of forest health emergency

13 areas and high risk areas which no longer require

14 forest health management activities pursuant to this

15 Act and from which the Secretaries will remove the

16 emergency area or high risk area designations 60

17 days after submission of the report;

18 (15) an estimate of the funding needs in future

19 years to address fully the forest health conditions

20 disclosed in paragraphs (1) and (3) to ensure that

21 all Federal lands are capable of supporting and sus22 taining the uses within the historic range of varia23 bility as determined in the applicable land manage24 ment plans; and
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1 (16) a description of additional authorities, if

2 any, needed to carry out the purposes of this Act.

3 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The report required

4 by subsection (a) shall be completed not later than April

5 1 of each year beginning in the first year after the first

6 full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this Act

7 and shall cover conditions and activities during the pre8 vious fiscal years. The Secretary of the Interior and the

9 Secretary of Agriculture shall submit the report to Chairs

10 and ranking members of the Senate Energy and Natural

11 Resources and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and

12 House Resources and Agriculture Committees.

13 SEC. 7. BUDGET DISCLOSURES.

14 Beginning with the fiscal budget for the first full fis15 cal year following the date of enactment of this Act, re16 quests presented by the President to the Congress govern17 ing activities of the Bureau of Land Management, Fish

18 and Wildlife Service, or Forest Service shall summarize

19 the current forest health situation as described in the re20 port prepared pursuant to section 6, report on costs in21 curred and revenues generated through forest health ac22 tivities conducted pursuant to this Act, and express in

23 qualitative and quantitative terms the extent to which the

24 projected activities under the budget fully achieve the pur25 poses, and implement the provisions, of this Act. The reve-
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1 nues generated by forest health activities conducted pursu2 ant to this Act shall be displayed as offsetting Federal

3 costs in current and future fiscal years.

4 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated in fiscal

6 years 1996 through 2006 such sums as may be necessary

7 to carry out the provisions of this Act.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands Forest

10 Health Protection and Restoration Act.’’

11 SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND DEFINITIONS.

12 (a) PURPOSES.—(1) The purposes of this Act are to

13 arrest the dramatic decline in forest health on the Federal

14 lands and restore forest health to a condition capable of sup15 porting and sustaining the uses of those lands within the

16 lands’ historic ranges of variability; safeguard human life,

17 property, and communities on and near the Federal lands,

18 particularly in wildland/urban interface areas; protect air

19 and water quality, wildlife, recreation and visual values,

20 and other forest resources of the Federal lands placed at

21 risk by declining forest health; restore, maintain or enhance

22 the integrity of ecosystems, watersheds, and habitats on the

23 Federal lands damaged or placed at risk by declining forest

24 health; protect existing Federal investments in the forest re25 sources of the Federal lands, and future Federal, State, and
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1 local revenues from those lands that otherwise will be fore2 gone if forest health trends continue; and provide opportu3 nities to accomplish similar purposes on adjacent non-Fed4 eral lands with similar forest health conditions.

5 (2) Congress recognizes that the management of the

6 Federal lands has been characterized by large cyclical vari7 ations in fire suppression policies, timber harvesting levels,

8 and the attention paid to commodity and non-commodity

9 values. The inconsistent management of the Federal lands

10 is not in the long-term interest of the nation. Management

11 of the Federal lands should be conducted through the enact12 ment of authorizing legislation, and through the faithful

13 implementation of that legislation by the executive branch.

14 (3) It is the purpose of this authorizing legislation to

15 manage the Federal lands in a more consistent manner by

16 establishing a rational system for selecting and implement17 ing forest health activities to provide a long-term approach

18 to addressing forest health concerns.

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act, the term—

20 (1) ‘‘Federal lands’’ means—

21 (A) public lands as defined in section

22 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage23 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e));

24 (B) lands within the National Forest Sys25 tem as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and
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1 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

2 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)); and

3 (C) lands within the Kenai National Wild4 life Refuge, as redesignated by section 303(4) of

5 the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation

6 Act (94 Stat. 2391, 16 U.S.C. 668dd noted);

7 (2) ‘‘forest health management activity’’ means

8 any thinning, salvage, timber stand improvement, re9 forestation, prescribed burning (including natural ig10 nition) or other fuels management, insect or disease

11 control, riparian or other habitat improvement, soil

12 stabilization or other water quality improvement, or

13 other activity, the purpose of which is to meet one or

14 more of the objectives set forth in section 3(a)(1)(C);

15 (3) ‘‘land management plan’’ means—

16 (A) with respect to Federal lands adminis17 tered by the Secretary of the Interior, a land use

18 plan prepared by the Bureau of Land Manage19 ment pursuant to section 202 of the Federal

20 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

21 U.S.C. 1712), or other multiple-use plan cur22 rently in effect;

23 (B) with respect to Federal lands adminis24 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture, a land and

25 resource management plan (or, if no final plan
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1 is currently in effect, a draft land and resource

2 management plan) prepared by the Forest Serv3 ice pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and

4 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

5 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); or

6 (C) a comprehensive conservation plan for

7 the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge pursuant to

8 section 304(g) of the Alaska National Interest

9 Lands Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2394), and a

10 determination of compatibility with the purpose

11 for which the Refuge was established pursuant to

12 the National Wildlife Refuge System Adminis13 tration Act and

14 (4) ‘‘Secretary’’ means—

15 (A) with respect to Federal lands described

16 in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph (1),

17 the Secretary of the Interior, or, except for sec18 tion 6, the Secretary’s designee; and

19 (B) with respect to Federal lands described

20 in paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of Agri21 culture, or, except for section 6, the Secretary’s

22 designee.
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1 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF AREAS AND SELECTION AND AU2 THORIZATION OF ACTIVITIES.

3 (a) GENERAL DIRECTION.—(1) The Secretary of the

4 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each directed

5 to review the forest health conditions on the Federal lands

6 and—

7 (A) identify on or before March 1 of each year,

8 those areas on the Federal lands on which the forest

9 health conditions described in subsection (b) exist;

10 and

11 (B) subsequent to the identification of areas

12 under paragraph (A), and in accordance with the

13 priorities prescribed in subsection (b)(3), designate in

14 a timely fashion as forest health emergency areas or

15 forest health high risk areas those areas on the Fed16 eral lands on which the forest health conditions de17 scribed in subsection (b) exist; and

18 (C) select and authorize the proposed forest

19 health management activities to be undertaken in

20 such areas in order to—

21 (i) arrest the decline of forest health and re22 store forest health to a condition capable of sup23 porting and sustaining the uses of such areas

24 within the historic ranges of variability of such

25 areas or as determined in the applicable land

26 management plan or plans;
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1 (ii) safeguard human life, property, and

2 communities on and near the Federal lands, par3 ticularly in wildland/urban interface areas;

4 (iii) protect the various forest resources of

5 the Federal lands placed at risk by the forest

6 health conditions, including air and water qual7 ity, wildlife, and recreation and visual values;

8 (iv) restore, maintain, or enhance the integ9 rity of ecosystems, watersheds, and habitats dam10 aged or placed at risk by the forest health condi11 tions; or

12 (v) protect existing Federal investments in

13 the forest resources of the Federal lands, and fu14 ture Federal, State, and local revenues that oth15 erwise will be foregone.

16 (2) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (1),

17 each Secretary shall designate a forest health emergency

18 area or a forest health high risk area and select and author19 ize a forest health management activity or activities where

20 the forest health conditions described in subsection (b) of

21 this section exist for any area of Federal lands of more than

22 500 acres on which a wildlife or catastrophic event occurs,

23 within 120 days of the termination of the wildfire or cata24 strophic event.
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1 (3) Prior to designating a forest health emergency area

2 or a forest health high risk area pursuant to this subsection,

3 the Secretary concerned shall consult with the head of the

4 forestry agency in the State in which such area is located.

5 (b) FOREST HEALTH EMERGENCY AND HIGH RISK

6 AREAS.—(1) An area of the Federal lands shall be des7 ignated as a forest health emergency area pursuant to sub8 section (a) if the Secretary concerned finds that—

9 (i) forests on such lands have experienced dis10 turbances from wildfires, insect infestations, disease,

11 or other natural causes that have caused more than

12 50 percent of the trees to be dead or to exhibit phys13 ical evidence of imminent mortality, and will suffer

14 further environmental degradation, such as soil ero15 sion, stream damage, or habitat loss; and

16 (ii) implementation of one or more forest health

17 management activities on such lands is likely to re18 duce or eliminate such degradation.

19 (2) An area of the Federal lands shall be designated

20 as a forest health high risk area pursuant to subsection (a)

21 if the Secretary concerned finds that—

22 (A) the forest structure, function, or composition

23 on such lands has been so altered by human or natu24 ral causes as to increase substantially the risk of in25 sect infestation, disease, or wildfire and the con-
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1 sequent risks of significant ecosystem, watershed, or

2 habitat damage or loss of life or property; and

3 (B) implementation of one or more forest health

4 management activities on such lands is likely to re5 duce or eliminate such risks.

6 (3) Each Secretary shall accord priority in the des7 ignation of forest health emergency areas and forest high

8 risk areas to—

9 (A) wildland/urban interface areas where the

10 Secretary determines human life and property are

11 threatened by wildfire from the affected Federal lands;

12 or

13 (B) areas where the Secretary determines the

14 need to reduce or eliminate the degradation or risk

15 specified in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) is the

16 greatest.

17 (c) FOREST HEALTH MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—(1)

18 The forest health management activity or activities selected

19 and authorized for each forest health emergency area or for20 est health high risk area pursuant to subsection (a) shall

21 be those activities which the Secretary determines are des22 ignated to address the specific site conditions of the areas

23 with the combination of management practices, treatment,

24 and protection needed to meet the objectives set forth in sub25 section (a)(1)(C).
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1 (2) The generation of revenues should not be the pri2 mary consideration of any forest health management activ3 ity selected and authorized pursuant to subsection (a).

4 (3) The Secretary concerned shall publish a schedule

5 for initiating, completing, and monitoring the forest health

6 management activity or activities in each forest health

7 emergency area or forest health high risk area in the docu8 ment containing the Secretary’s final decision designating

9 the area and selecting and authorizing the activity or ac10 tivities pursuant to subsection (a).

11 (4) Whenever the harvest of live trees is expected to

12 occur in a forest health management activity, the Secretary

13 concerned shall provide in the document containing the Sec14 retary’s final decision selecting and authorizing such activ15 ity pursuant to subsection (a) a statement of whether jus16 tification as to why the removal of live trees is necessary

17 to meet one or more of the objectives set forth in subsection

18 (a)(1)(C).

19 (d) EFFECT ON EXISTING SALVAGE AUTHORITIES.—

20 Except as provided in section 11 of this Act, nothing in

21 this Act shall affect or limit any existing authority of the

22 Secretary to undertake forest health management or timber

23 salvage activities on Federal lands.

24 (e) PETITION PROCESS.—In addition to the require25 ments of subsection (a)(1), after March 1 of the first full
28

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1 year following the date of enactment of this Act, any inter2 ested person may petition either Secretary to designate a

3 specific area of lands comprising not less than 500 acres

4 in size within the Secretary’s jurisdiction as a forest health

5 emergency area or high risk area pursuant to this sub6 section. The petition shall contain a detailed description of

7 the boundaries of the area and the reasons why the peti8 tioner believes the conditions set forth in subsection

9 (b)(1)(A)(i) or subsection (b)(2)(A) exist in such area. The

10 Secretary to which the petition is submitted shall, within

11 45 days of the date of submission of the petition, make a

12 decision whether the designation sought by the petitioner

13 is warranted and provide to the petitioner a written state14 ment of the decision and the reasons therefor. If the Sec15 retary determines that the designation is warranted, the

16 Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register pur17 suant to section 4(a). A decision that a designation is not

18 warranted shall not be subject to administrative appeal or

19 judicial review.

20 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR THE DECISION TO

21 DESIGNATE AN AREA AND SELECT AND AU22 THORIZE ACTIVITIES.

23 (a) NOTICE.—(1) Each Secretary shall publish in the

24 Federal Register notice of the prospective decision to des25 ignate a forest health emergency area or forest health high
29

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1 risk area and select and authorize a forest health manage2 ment activity or activities therefor pursuant to section 3.

3 (2) The notice shall—

4 (A) set forth the location of the affected area;

5 (B) describe the forest health conditions in such

6 area;

7 (C) provide the reasons for proposing to des8 ignate such area; and

9 (D) contain a brief description of the forest

10 health management activity or activities which the

11 Secretary proposes to select for such area.

12 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary concerned shall

13 provide a period of 30 days from the date of publication

14 of draft environmental documents required by subsection

15 (d)(1) of this section for submission of public comment on

16 the prospective decision pursuant to section 3. The Sec17 retary may hold a hearing on such decision during the com18 ment period.

19 (c) AGENCY RESPONSE.—The Secretary concerned

20 shall respond in writing to any public comment received

21 pursuant to subsection (b) in the document containing the

22 Secretary’s final decision.

23 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN LAWS.—(1) Prior to

24 the identification of the first list of areas pursuant to sec25 tion 3(a)(1)(A) of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall,
30

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1 with the assistance of the Council on Environmental Qual2 ity, provide expedited procedures to prepare the documenta3 tion pursuant to section 102(2) required for a decision des4 ignating a forest health emergency or high risk area and

5 selecting and authorizing a forest health management activ6 ity or activities therefore pursuant to section 3(a): Provided

7 further, That in no instance involving the designating of

8 a forest health emergency area shall the time necessary for

9 the preparation of such final documents exceed 120 days

10 from the date of notice of proposed designation or initiation

11 of such preparation, whichever is earlier. Existing regula12 tions and Council on Environmental Quality guidelines

13 shall be modified as necessary to conform to this time pe14 riod.

15 (2) No documentation pursuant to section 102(2) of

16 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 shall be re17 quired for the identification of areas pursuant to section

18 3(a)(1)(A) or for decisions pursuant to section 3 for forest

19 health management activities which—

20 (A) remove 250,000 board feet of less of mer21 chantable wood products or salvage 1,000,000 board

22 feet or less of merchantable wood products; and

23 (B) require one mile or less of standard road

24 construction; and
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1 (C) assure regeneration of harvested or salvaged

2 areas, where required.

3 (3) The Secretary, as defined in section 2(b)(4) of this

4 Act, shall consult or confer with the appropriate agency

5 pursuant to section 7(a)(2) or section 7(a)(4) of the Endan6 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2) or (4)) on

7 a decision designating a forest health emergency area or

8 forest health high risk area and selecting and authorizing

9 a forest health management activity or activities therefor

10 pursuant to section 3(a) only if such Secretary determines

11 that such decision is likely to significantly and adversely

12 affect a species determined or proposed to be an endangered

13 species or a threatened species pursuant to section 4(a) of

14 such Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)). Such consultation or con15 ferencing shall be concluded within 90 days of the publica16 tion of the Federal Register notice of the prospective deci17 sion pursuant to subsection (a). The Secretary, as defined

18 in section 3(15) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1532(15)), shall ac19 cord priority to consultation or conferencing on a decision

20 pursuant to section 3(a) over any other agency actions sub21 mitted to such Secretary for consultation or conferencing.

22 The Secretary as defined in section 2(b)(4) of this Act shall

23 not consult in fulfilling the requirements of section

24 3(a)(1)(A) of this Act.
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1 (4) The documents prepared pursuant to section

2 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

3 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) and under the provisions of this sub4 section must be reviewed by the Secretary concerned at least

5 every three years. If the Secretary concerned determines that

6 conditions in the area designated have significantly

7 changed and are not reflected in the existing documents,

8 appropriate supplements or new documents shall be pre9 pared pursuant to the requirements of this subsection: Pro10 vided, That any forest health management activities al11 ready underway pursuant to a decision of the Secretary

12 under section 3(a) of this Act shall not be suspended, halted,

13 or otherwise enjoined, except at the sole discretion of the

14 Secretary concerned, during the development of supplements

15 or new documents pursuant to the subsection.

16 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—(1) Any decision of a

17 Secretary pursuant to section 3 which includes designation

18 of a forest health emergency area, or the selection of forest

19 health management activities pursuant to paragraph (d)(2)

20 of this section, shall be a final agency action and shall not

21 be subject to administrative review.

22 (2) Administrative review of any decision by a Sec23 retary pursuant to section 3 which includes designation of

24 a forest health high risk area shall be governed by applicable

25 existing statutory or regulatory administrative appeal re-
33

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1 quirements, including, for Federal lands described in sec2 tion 2(b)(1)(B), the administrative appeal provisions of sec3 tion 322 of the Fiscal Year 1993 Interior and Related Agen4 cies Appropriation Act (106 Stat. 1419): Provided, That

5 no extension of the 30-day period for disposition of the ap6 peal authorized by subsection (d)(3) of such section 322 may

7 be granted, and subsection (d)(4) of such section 322 shall

8 apply at the conclusion of the 30-day period.

9 (f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(1) Any decision by a Sec10 retary pursuant to section 3 to designate a forest health

11 emergency area or forest health high risk area and to select

12 and authorize a forest health management activity or ac13 tivities therefor shall be subject to judicial review only by

14 the United States District Court for the District in which

15 the affected Federal lands are located.

16 (2)(A) Any action brought pursuant to this subsection

17 shall be filed not later than 45 days after the date of publi18 cation of the final decision of the Secretary or, for those

19 decisions for which administrative review is available and

20 undertaken, 30 days after the publication of the decision

21 on review.

22 (B) Any appeal from the final decision of a district

23 court in an action brought pursuant to this subsection shall

24 be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the decision.
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1 (3) Administrative stays may be imposed during, and

2 shall not be extended beyond, the periods provided in para3 graph (2) for filing and appealing actions brought pursu4 ant to this subsection.

5 (4)(A) In an action brought pursuant to this sub6 section, the District Court is encouraged to render a final

7 decision not later than 90 days after the date of the filing

8 of the action when the action concerns a forest health emer9 gency area, or 120 days after the date of filing of the action

10 when the action concerns a forest health high risk area.

11 (B) In any appeal of an action brought pursuant to

12 this subsection, the court of appeals is encouraged to render

13 a final decision on the appeal not later than 90 days after

14 the date of the filing of the appeal when the action concerns

15 a forest health emergency area, or 120 days after the date

16 of filing of the appeal when the action concerns a forest

17 health high risk area.

18 SEC. 5. EXCLUDED LANDS AND ACTIVITIES.

19 (a) Neither Secretary may select, authorize, or under20 take pursuant to this Act any forest health management ac21 tivity on any Federal lands located within—

22 (1) any unit of the National Wilderness Preser23 vation System;

24 (2) any roadless area designated by the Congress

25 for wilderness study;
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1 (3) any roadless area recommended by the Bu2 reau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service,

3 or Forest Service for wilderness designation; or

4 (4) any other area in which implementation of

5 the specific forest health management activity for any

6 purpose is prohibited by law or a court order, or by

7 an applicable land management plan, unless the plan

8 is amended to permit the activity to occur in accord9 ance with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and

10 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) or section

11 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

12 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

13 (b) Any forest health management activity which (i)

14 is a salvage timber sale as defined under subsection (a)(4),

15 or a timber sale described in subsection (d), and has a deci16 sion notice or record of decision completed prior to the date

17 set forth in subsection (j), of section 2001 of Public Law

18 104–19 (109 Stat. 194, 240), or (ii) is a timber sale con19 tract identified in subsection (k) of such section, shall be

20 conducted under the authority, and in accordance with the

21 applicable provisions, of such section and not be subject to

22 this Act.

23 SEC. 6. FOREST HEALTH REPORTS.

24 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) The Secretary of the Inte25 rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each prepare an
36

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1 Annual Forest Health Report which shall provide, for the

2 Federal lands within the Secretary’s jurisdiction—

3 (A) identification of the total area of forest

4 health emergency areas and forest health high risk

5 areas designated pursuant to section 3 in each unit

6 of the Federal lands during the previous fiscal year

7 and the forest health conditions thereof;

8 (B) identification of areas which are not des9 ignated as forest health emergency areas or forest

10 heath high risk areas and which have adverse forest

11 health conditions equal to or more severe than the des12 ignated areas, and a discussion of the reasons of the

13 Secretary for not designating such areas as forest

14 health emergency areas or forest health high risk areas

15 pursuant to section 3;

16 (C) a summary of all forest health management

17 activities undertaken in designated forest health emer18 gency areas or forest health high risk areas in the pre19 vious fiscal year;

20 (D) a discussion of any significant delays en21 countered in the previous fiscal year and likely to

22 occur in the present fiscal year in meeting the sched23 ules established pursuant to section 3(c)(3) for initiat24 ing, accomplishing, and monitoring forest health

25 management activities in designated forest health
37

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1 emergency areas or forest health high risk areas, the

2 reasons for such delays, and any specific steps which

3 the Secretary has directed to be taken to ensure timely

4 adherence to the established schedules or any changes

5 in such schedules which the Secretary has made;

6 (E) identification of any forest health emergency

7 areas and forest health high risk areas which no

8 longer require forest health management activities

9 pursuant to this Act and from which the Secretary

10 shall remove the emergency area or high risk area des11 ignations by publication of notice in the Federal Reg12 ister no later than 60 days after submission of the re13 port pursuant to paragraph (2).

14 (2) For the Forest Service the report required by para15 graph (1) shall be completed and accompany the Annual

16 Report of the Forest Service in the first fiscal year after

17 the full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this

18 Act and shall cover conditions and activities during the pre19 vious fiscal year. For the Bureau of Land Management, the

20 report required by paragraph (1) shall be completed not

21 later than April 1 of each year beginning in the first fiscal

22 year after the full fiscal year following the date of enactment

23 of this Act and shall cover conditions and activities during

24 the previous fiscal year.
38

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1 (B) FOUR YEAR REPORT.—(1) The Secretary of the

2 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each prepare

3 at the end of each period of four full fiscal years after the

4 date of enactment of this Act a Comprehensive Forest

5 Health Report to evaluate forest health conditions on the

6 Federal lands within the Secretary’s jurisdiction.

7 (2) Each report required by paragraph (1) shall pro8 vide, for the Federal lands within the Secretary’s jurisdic9 tion,—

10 (A) qualitative and quantitative data on forest

11 health;

12 (B) an assessment of the factors generally re13 sponsible for forest health problems;

14 (C) the judgment of the Secretary on the status

15 of and trend in forest health;

16 (D) maps generally disclosing the status of forest

17 health;

18 (E) a summary of the estimated impacts, in

19 terms of changed conditions or risk, resulting from

20 forest health management activities undertaken pur21 suant to this Act;

22 (F) a report on the timeliness, effectiveness and

23 cost of such forest health management activities; and

24 (G) a description of additional authorities, if

25 any, needed to carry out the purposes of this Act.
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1 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The

2 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

3 shall submit the reports required by this section to the

4 Chairs and ranking members of the Energy and Natural

5 Resources Committee and Agriculture, Nutrition, and For6 estry Committee of the Senate and the Resources Committee

7 and Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives.

8 SEC. 7. BUDGET DISCLOSURES.

9 Beginning with the fiscal budget for the first full fiscal

10 year following the date of enactment of this Act, requests

11 presented by the President to the Congress governing activi12 ties of the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife

13 Service, or Forest Service shall summarize the information

14 and the current forest health situation on Federal lands,

15 and report on costs incurred and revenues generated

16 through forest health management activities conducted pur17 suant to this Act, and express in qualitative and quan18 titative terms the extent to which the projected activities

19 under the budget fully achieve the purposes, and implement

20 the provisions, of this Act. The revenues generated by forest

21 health management activities conducted pursuant to this

22 Act and not distributed to State or local governments pur23 suant to other law shall be displayed as offsetting Federal

24 costs in current and future fiscal years.
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1 SEC. 8. SPECIAL FUNDS.

2 (a) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary

3 of the Interior shall maintain a special fund established

4 pursuant to Public Law 102–381, which shall be derived

5 from the Federal share of moneys received from the disposal

6 of salvage timber from all lands administered by the Bu7 reau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, and

8 which shall be available, without further appropriation, for

9 the purposes of planning and preparing of salvage timber

10 for disposal, the administration of salvage timber sales, and

11 subsequent site preparation and reforestation, and forest

12 health enhancement activities, including, but not limited to,

13 prescribed burning (including natural ignition) or other

14 fuel, site preparation, tree planting, protection of seedlings

15 from animals and other environmental elements, release

16 from competing vegetation, and stand thinning.

17 (b) FOREST SERVICE.—All funds received from the

18 disposal of salvage timber from lands within the National

19 Forest System may be credited to the Forest Service Perma20 nent Appropriations to be expended for timber salvage sales

21 from any national forest, and for timber sales preparation

22 to replace sales lost to fire or other causes, and sales prepa23 ration to replace sales inventory on the shelf for any na24 tional forest to a level sufficient to maintain new sales

25 availability equal to a rolling five-year average of the total

26 sales offerings, and for design, engineering, and supervision
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1 of construction of roads lost to fire or other causes associated

2 with the timber sales programs described above, for water3 shed assessment activities, and for forest health enhance4 ment activities, including, but not limited to, prescribed

5 burning (including natural ignition) or other fuel manage6 ment, site preparation, tree planting, protection of seedlings

7 from animals and other environmental elements, release

8 from competing vegetation, and stand thinning.

9 (c) PAYMENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Moneys re10 ceived from the disposal of salvage timber pursuant to this

11 section shall be considered as money received for purposes

12 of computing and distributing payments to State or local

13 governments under other law concerning the distribution of

14 revenues derived from timber resources from the affected

15 lands.

16 SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE TO OWNERS OF ADJACENT NONINDUS17 TRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LANDS.

18 SEC. 10. FOREST HEALTH CREDITS IN TIMBER SALE.

19 (a) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE FOREST HEALTH CRED20 ITS.—

21 (1) The Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec22 retary of the Interior are each authorized to require,

23 as a condition of the sale of timber or other forest

24 products from the Federal lands under the Secretary’s
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1 jurisdiction, that the purchaser undertake a forest

2 health management activity or activities which—

3 (A) are selected and authorized pursuant to

4 section 3; and

5 (B) address effects of the operation of the

6 sale or past sales of timber or other forest prod7 ucts or involve vegetation management within

8 the area of the sale or the area in which such ef9 forts are located.

10 (2) A condition described in paragraph (1) may

11 be included in a contract for the sale of timber or

12 other forest products only when the Secretary deter13 mines that—

14 (A) the land management objectives of the

15 forest health management activity or activities

16 can be accomplished most efficiently when per17 formed as part of the sale contract; and

18 (B) it is unlikely that the forest health man19 agement activity or activities would be per20 formed except under the authority of this section.

21 (3) The term of any sale contract with a condi22 tion described in paragraph (4) shall not exceed 3

23 years.

24 (b) FINANCING AND SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.—
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1 (1) Financing of the forest health management

2 activity or activities in a sale contract authorized by

3 subsection (a) shall be accomplished by including pro4 visions in the contract for amortization of the cost of

5 such activity or activities through issuance of forest

6 health credits to the purchaser which offset such cost

7 against the purchaser’s payment for the timber or

8 other forest products.

9 (2) Appropriated funds may be used to assist the

10 forest health management activity or activities in a

11 sale contract authorized by subsection (a) if such

12 funds are provided by the resource function or func13 tions that directly benefit from the performance of the

14 activity or activities. Such funds must be available

15 from the annual appropriation of the benefited func16 tion or functions during the fiscal year in which the

17 sale is offered. The amount to be paid for each for

18 health management activity shall be included in the

19 prospectus and published in the advertisement, for the

20 sale contract.

21 (c) DETERMINING FOREST HEALTH CREDITS.—Prior

22 to the advertisement of a sale authorized by subsection (a),

23 the Secretary concerned shall determine the amount of forest

24 health credits to be allocated to each forest health manage25 ment activity to be performed by the purchaser under the
44

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1 contract. A description of the forest health management ac2 tivity to be performed by the purchaser under the contract.

3 A description of the forest health management activity or

4 activities to be performed by the purchaser, and amount

5 of the forest health credits allocated to each activity, shall

6 be included in the prospectus, and published in the adver7 tisement, for the sale.

8 (d) TRANSFER OF FOREST HEALTH CREDITS.—Each

9 Secretary may permit the transfer of unused forest health

10 credits from one sale authorized by subsection (a) to another

11 such sale held by the same purchaser if such other applies

12 to Federal lands that are under the jurisdiction of such Sec13 retary and located in the same state as the original sale.

14 (e) EXISTING PROCEDURES.—To the extent feasible, in

15 preparing, awarding, and administering sales authorized

16 by subsection (a), each Secretary shall adhere to the proce17 dures and requirements developed by the Forest Service for

18 timber sales requiring road construction by timber pur19 chasers pursuant to section 4(2) of the National Forest

20 Roads and Trails Act (16 U.S.C. 535(2)). Nothing in this

21 section shall be deemed to require or authorize any alter22 ation in the procedures or requirements for timber sales

23 under such section 4(2) including the applicable provisions

24 of the small business set-aside program and procedure for
45

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1 calculating payments to counties of a portion of timber sale

2 receipts.

3 (f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to

4 offer sales of timber and other forest products pursuant to

5 this section shall terminate five years after the date of en6 actment of this Act. Any sale contract issued under the au7 thority of subsection (a) and in effect at the end of such

8 five year period shall remain in effect under its terms there9 after.

10 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

11 The provisions of this Act shall take effect on the date

12 of enactment of this Act. No decision or action required or

13 authorized by this Act shall be delayed pending promulga14 tion of any regulation to implement this Act. Effective, Jan15 uary 1, 1997, the provisions of section 2001 of the Emer16 gency Supplemental Appropriations Act are repealed and,

17 except as provided under section 5(b) of this Act, any subse18 quent timber salvage sales on federal lands shall be carried

19 out in accordance with the provisions of this Act and other

20 applicable law.

21 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated in fiscal years

23 1997 through 2007 such sums as may be necessary to carry

24 out the provisions of this Act.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize

and direct the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture
46

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to undertake certain activities to halt and reverse the decline in forest health on Federal lands, and for other purposes.’’.