II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1467

To address the declining health of forests on Federal lands in the United

States through a program of recovery and protection consistent with

the requirements of existing public land management and environmental

laws, to establish a program to inventory, monitor, and analyze public

and private forests and their resources, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 8, 1997

Mr. SMITH of Oregon introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To address the declining health of forests on Federal lands

in the United States through a program of recovery

and protection consistent with the requirements of existing public land management and environmental laws,

to establish a program to inventory, monitor, and analyze

public and private forests and their resources, and for

other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Forest Recovery and Protection Act of 1997’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. National Program of Forest Recovery and Protection.

Sec. 5. Scientific Advisory Panel.

Sec. 6. Advance recovery projects.

Sec. 7. Forest Recovery and Protection Fund for National Forest System

lands.

Sec. 8. Expansion of purpose of Forest Ecosystems Health and Recovery Fund

for BLM lands.

Sec. 9. Effect of failure to comply with time limitations.

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 11. Audit requirements.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds the following:

5 (1) There are tradeoffs in values associated

6 with proactive, passive, or delayed forest manage7 ment, but the values gained by proactive manage8 ment outweigh the values gained by delayed or pas9 sive management of certain Federal forest lands.

10 (2) Increases in both the number and severity

11 of wildfire, insect infestation, and disease outbreaks

12 on Federal forest lands are occurring as a result of

13 high tree densities, species composition, and struc14 ture that are outside the historic range of variability.

15 These disturbances cause or contribute to significant

16 soil erosion, degradation of air and water quality,

17 loss of watershed values, habitat loss, and damage to

18 other forest resources.
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1 (3) Serious forest health problems occur in all

2 regions of the United States. Management activities

3 to restore and protect forest health are needed in

4 each region and should be designed to address re5 gion-specific needs.

6 (4) Between 35,000,000 and 40,000,000 of the

7 191,000,000 acres of Federal forest lands managed

8 by the Forest Service are at an unacceptable risk of

9 destruction by catastrophic wildfire. Additional tens

10 of millions of Bureau of Land Management lands

11 are in the same situation. The condition of these for12 ests can pose a significant threat of destruction to

13 human life as well as fish and wildlife habitats, pub14 lic recreation areas, timber, and other important for15 est resources.

16 (5) Restoration of forest health requires active

17 forest management involving a range of management

18 activities, including thinning, salvage, prescribed fire

19 (after appropriate thinning), insect and disease con20 trol, riparian and other habitat improvement, soil

21 stabilization and other water quality improvement,

22 and seedling planting and protection.

23 (6) A comprehensive, nationwide effort is need24 ed to address forest health decline in an organized,

25 timely, and scientific manner. There should be im-
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1 mediate action to improve the areas of Federal for2 est lands where forest health decline has been thor3 oughly inventoried and assessed or where serious re4 source destruction or degradation by natural dis5 turbance is imminent.

6 (7) Frequent forest inventory and analysis of

7 the status and trends in the conditions of forests

8 and their resources are needed to identify and re9 verse declining forest health in a timely and effective

10 manner. The present average 12- to 15-year cycle of

11 forest inventory and analysis to comply with existing

12 statutory requirements is too prolonged to provide

13 forest managers with the data necessary to make

14 timely and effective management decisions, particu15 larly decisions responsive to changing forest health

16 conditions.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 For purposes of this Act:

19 (1) FEDERAL FOREST LANDS.—The term

20 ‘‘Federal forest lands’’ means—

21 (A) forested lands created from the public

22 domain that are under the jurisdiction of the

23 Bureau of Land Management; and
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1 (B) forested lands created from the public

2 domain that are within the National Forest

3 System.

4 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec5 retary concerned’’ means—

6 (A) with respect to Federal forest lands

7 described in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of

8 the Interior or the Secretary’s designee; and

9 (B) with respect to Federal forest lands

10 described in paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of

11 Agriculture or the Secretary’s designee.

12 (3) LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term

13 ‘‘land management plan’’ means—

14 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu15 reau of Land Management pursuant to section

16 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage17 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), or other

18 multiple use plan in effect, for a unit of the

19 Federal forest lands described in paragraph

20 (1)(A); or

21 (B) a land and resource management plan

22 (or, if no final plan is in effect, a draft land

23 and resource management plan) prepared by

24 the Forest Service pursuant to section 6 of the

25 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources
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1 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) for

2 Federal forest lands described in paragraph

3 (1)(B).

4 (4) NATIONAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘national

5 program’’ means the National Program of Forest

6 Recovery and Protection required by section 4.

7 (5) SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL.—The term

8 ‘‘Scientific Advisory Panel’’ means the advisory com9 mittee appointed under section 5.

10 (6) RECOVERY AREA.—The term ‘‘recovery

11 area’’ means an area of Federal forest lands, des12 ignated by the Secretary concerned under section

13 4(c)—

14 (A) that has experienced disturbances from

15 wildfires, insect infestations, wind, flood, or

16 other causes, which have caused or contributed

17 to significant soil erosion, degradation of water

18 quality, loss of watershed values, habitat loss,

19 or damage to other forest resources of the area;

20 or

21 (B) in which the forest structure, function,

22 or composition has been altered so as to in23 crease substantially the likelihood of wildfire,

24 insect infestation, or disease in the area and the

25 consequent risks of damage to soils, water qual-
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1 ity, watershed values, habitat, and other forest

2 resources from wildfire, insect infestation, or

3 disease.

4 (7) RECOVERY PROJECT.—The terms ‘‘recovery

5 project’’ and ‘‘forest health recovery project’’ mean

6 a project designed by the Secretary concerned to im7 prove, preserve, or protect the soils, water quality,

8 watershed values, habitat, and other forest resources

9 within a designated recovery area, including stand

10 thinning, salvage, and other harvesting activities, as

11 well as activities in which the cutting of trees is not

12 primarily featured, such as prescribed burning (after

13 appropriate thinning), insect and disease control, ri14 parian and other habitat improvement, soil stabiliza15 tion and other water quality improvement, and seed16 ling planting and protection.

17 (8) IMPLEMENTATION DATE.—The term ‘‘im18 plementation date’’ means the first day of the first

19 month beginning after the end of the 18-month pe20 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.

21 However, if the implementation date would occur

22 within 6 months before August 31 of the same fiscal

23 year in which the implementation date would occur,

24 the Secretary concerned may deem that August 31

25 to be the implementation date.
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1 (9) FUND.—The terms ‘‘Fund’’ and ‘‘affected

2 Fund’’ mean—

3 (A) with respect to implementation of the

4 national program on Federal forest lands de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), the revolving fund

6 established under the heading ‘‘(REVOLVING

7 FUND, SPECIAL ACCOUNT)’’ under the heading

8 ‘‘FOREST ECOSYSTEMS HEALTH AND RECOV9 ERY’’ under the heading ‘‘BUREAU OF LAND

10 MANAGEMENT’’ in title I of the Department of

11 the Interior and Related Agencies Appropria12 tions Act, 1993 (Public Law 102–381; 106

13 Stat. 1376; 43 U.S.C. 1736a); and

14 (B) with respect to implementation of the

15 national program on Federal forest lands de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(B), the Forest Recov17 ery and Protection Fund established under sec18 tion 7.

19 SEC. 4. NATIONAL PROGRAM OF FOREST RECOVERY AND

20 PROTECTION.

21 (a) NATIONAL PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later than

22 the implementation date, the Secretary concerned shall

23 commence a national program to restore and protect the

24 health of forests located on Federal forest lands in the
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1 United States through the performance of recovery

2 projects in designated recovery areas.

3 (b) STANDARDS AND CRITERIA.—

4 (1) INITIAL PUBLICATION.—Not later than the

5 implementation date, the Secretary concerned shall

6 publish in the Federal Register the standards and

7 criteria to be used for the designation of, and the as8 signment of management priority rankings to, recov9 ery areas. In establishing the standards and criteria,

10 the Secretary concerned shall consider the standards

11 and criteria recommended by the Scientific Advisory

12 Panel under section 5. The Secretary concerned

13 shall include in the Federal Register entry required

14 by this paragraph an explanation of any significant

15 differences between the recommendations of the Sci16 entific Advisory Panel and the standards and cri17 teria actually established by the Secretary con18 cerned.

19 (2) MODIFICATION.—The Secretary concerned

20 may modify the standards and criteria established

21 pursuant to paragraph (1). Any such modification

22 shall also be published in the Federal Register.

23 (c) ANNUAL NATIONAL PROGRAM DECISION.—

24 (1) DECISION REQUIRED.—To carry out the na25 tional program, the Secretary concerned shall render
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1 a decision for each fiscal year during the period of

2 the national program regarding the designation and

3 ranking of recovery areas and the selection of recov4 ery projects for inclusion in the national program. In

5 rendering the decision, the Secretary concerned shall

6 comply with the requirements of subsections (d) and

7 (e).

8 (2) PROPOSED DECISION.—For each fiscal year

9 during the period of the national program, the Sec10 retary concerned shall publish in the Federal Reg11 ister a proposed decision regarding the designation

12 and ranking of recovery areas and the selection of

13 recovery projects. The proposed decision shall be

14 published not later than the following:

15 (A) In the case of the initial proposal, the

16 implementation date.

17 (B) In the case of each subsequent pro18 posed decision, August 31 of each fiscal year

19 after the fiscal year in which the implementa20 tion date occurs.

21 (3) FINAL DECISION.—Not later than 120 days

22 after the date on which the proposed decision of the

23 Secretary concerned is published for a fiscal year

24 under paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall

25 publish in the Federal Register the final decision of
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1 the Secretary concerned for that fiscal year regard2 ing the designation and ranking of recovery areas

3 and the selection of recovery projects (including the

4 determinations required under subsection (e)(3)).

5 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR AREA DESIGNATION AND

6 RANKING.—In making the annual decision required by

7 subsection (c), the Secretary concerned shall, in accord8 ance with the standards and criteria established and in

9 effect under subsection (b)—

10 (1) determine the total acreage requiring treat11 ment under the national program during the fiscal

12 year;

13 (2) identify recovery areas within which recov14 ery projects would be appropriate; and

15 (3) rank the recovery areas for the purpose of

16 determining the order in which the recovery areas

17 will receive recovery projects.

18 (e) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOVERY PROJECT SE19 LECTION.—

20 (1) COMPLIANCE WITH LAND MANAGEMENT

21 PLANS.—In making the annual decision required by

22 subsection (c), the Secretary concerned shall ensure

23 that each recovery project selected is consistent with

24 the land management plan applicable to the recovery

25 area within which the project will occur.
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1 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ECONOMIC BENE2 FITS.—In the selection of forest health recovery

3 projects, the Secretary concerned shall consider the

4 economic benefits to be provided to local commu5 nities as a result of the forest health recovery

6 projects, but only to the extent that such consider7 ations are consistent with the standards and criteria

8 for recovery areas established and in effect under

9 subsection (b) and the priorities for ranking recovery

10 areas under subsection (d)(3).

11 (3) TREATMENT ACREAGE AND COSTS.—As

12 part of the selection of each forest project, the Sec13 retary concerned shall determine the total acreage

14 requiring treatment and the estimated costs for

15 preparation and implementation of the project.

16 (4) TOTAL ACREAGE.—The total acreage in17 cluded in recovery projects selected for a fiscal year

18 under the national program shall not be less than

19 the total acreage determined by the Secretary con20 cerned under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection

21 (c).

22 (5) PROHIBITED PROJECT LOCATIONS.—The

23 Secretary concerned may not select or implement a

24 recovery project under the authority of this Act in

25 any unit of the National Wilderness Preservation
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1 System, any roadless area on Federal forest lands

2 designated by Congress for study for possible inclu3 sion in such System, or any other area in which the

4 implementation of recovery projects is prohibited by

5 law, a court order, or the applicable land manage6 ment plan.

7 (f) PETITION PROCESS.—

8 (1) REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION.—Not later

9 than May 31 of each fiscal year after the fiscal year

10 in which the implementation date occurs, any inter11 ested person may petition the Secretary concerned to

12 designate a specific area of the Federal forest lands

13 of at least 1,000 acres in size as a recovery area.

14 (2) CONTENT.—The petition shall contain a

15 reasonably precise description of the boundaries of

16 the area included in the petition and the reasons

17 why the petitioner believes the area meets the stand18 ards and criteria, established pursuant to subsection

19 (b), required for designation as a recovery area.

20 (3) DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary con21 cerned determines that an area described in a peti22 tion under this subsection warrants designation as a

23 recovery area, the Secretary concerned shall include

24 the area in the proposed and final decisions issued

25 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c). If
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1 the Secretary concerned determines that the area

2 does not warrant designation as a recovery area, the

3 Secretary concerned shall provide the reasons there4 for in the same Federal Register entry containing

5 the proposed or final decision under such subsection.

6 (g) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

7 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than the

8 implementation date, and each August 31 thereafter,

9 the Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a

10 report on the proposed decision regarding the des11 ignation and ranking of recovery areas and the selec12 tion of recovery projects to be published pursuant to

13 subsection (c)(2).

14 (2) REPORT CONTENTS.—Each report required

15 by paragraph (1) shall include the following:

16 (A) The reasons for each proposed des17 ignation of a recovery area and each proposed

18 selection of a recovery project.

19 (B) The total acreage requiring treatment

20 nationally during the fiscal year and the acre21 age proposed to be treated during that fiscal

22 year by each proposed recovery project.

23 (C) The estimated preparation and imple24 mentation costs of each proposed recovery

25 project.
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1 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—After the

2 initial report required by paragraph (1), each subse3 quent report shall also include the following:

4 (A) A description of the improvements to

5 forest health achieved by each completed recov6 ery project.

7 (B) An explanation of why any proposed

8 recovery projects covered by the previous report

9 were not begun, undertaken, or completed as

10 scheduled.

11 (C) A comparison of projected and actual

12 preparation and implementation costs for each

13 completed recovery project.

14 (D) A description of the economic benefits

15 to local communities achieved by each com16 pleted recovery project.

17 (4) NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY.—The Federal

18 Register entry required for each fiscal year under

19 subsection (c)(2) shall contain a notice of availability

20 of the most recent report to Congress required by

21 this subsection.

22 (h) EXCEPTIONS TO AGENCY ACTION.—The follow23 ing do not constitute agency action for purposes of imple24 menting or carrying out the provisions of this Act:
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1 (1) The establishment and publication in the

2 Federal Register of standards and criteria to be

3 used for the designation and ranking of recovery

4 areas under subsection (b).

5 (2) The proposed decision of the Secretary to

6 designate and rank recovery areas and to select re7 covery projects under subsection (c) and the publica8 tion of such proposed decision in the Federal Reg9 ister.

10 (3) The preparation and submission of the an11 nual report to Congress under subsection (g).

12 (i) RULEMAKING.—To ensure commencement of the

13 national program by the implementation date, the Sec14 retary concerned shall promulgate rules governing oper15 ation of the national program by that date. The rules shall

16 address the development of procedures that, within the

17 discretion provided by other laws, would permit the Sec18 retary concerned to make the final decision on the des19 ignation and ranking of recovery areas and the selection

20 of recovery projects within the 120-day period required by

21 subsection (c)(3).

22 SEC. 5. SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a panel

24 of scientific advisers to the Secretary of Agriculture and
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1 the Secretary of the Interior to be known as the ‘‘Scientific

2 Advisory Panel’’.

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Scientific Advisory Panel

4 shall consist of the following members:

5 (1) 2 members, consisting of 1 scientist special6 izing in natural resources and 1 State forester (or

7 an individual with similar management or super8 visory experience), appointed jointly by the Chair9 man of the Committee on Agriculture and the Chair10 man of the Committee on Resources of the House of

11 Representatives, in consultation with their respective

12 ranking Minority Members.

13 (2) 2 members, consisting of 1 scientist special14 izing in natural resources and 1 State forester (or

15 an individual with similar management or super16 visory experience), appointed jointly by the Chair17 man of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

18 and Forestry and the Chairman of the Committee

19 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, in

20 consultation with their respective ranking Minority

21 Members.

22 (3) 2 members, consisting of 1 scientist special23 izing in natural resources and 1 State forester (or

24 an individual with similar management or super-
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1 visory experience), appointed by the Secretary of Ag2 riculture.

3 (4) 2 members, consisting of 1 scientist special4 izing in natural resources and 1 State forester (or

5 individual with similar management or supervisory

6 experience), appointed by the Secretary of the Inte7 rior.

8 (5) 1 member, consisting of a scientist specializ9 ing in natural resources, appointed by the National

10 Academy of Sciences.

11 (c) APPOINTMENT.—

12 (1) TIME FOR APPOINTMENT.—Appointments

13 shall be made within 90 days after the date of the

14 enactment of this Act. Appointments shall be pub15 lished in the Federal Register.

16 (2) TERM.—A member of the Scientific Advi17 sory Panel shall be appointed for a term beginning

18 on the date of the appointment and ending on the

19 implementation date. A vacancy on the Scientific

20 Advisory Panel shall be filled within 90 days in the

21 manner in which the original appointment was

22 made.

23 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—

24 (1) NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENTISTS.—Sci25 entists who are appointed as members of the Sci-
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1 entific Advisory Panel shall be required to have ex2 pertise in, and experience with, matters related to

3 forest health, taking into account their breadth of

4 knowledge in the natural sciences as such sciences

5 relate to Federal forest lands and their familiarity

6 with specific issues regarding Federal forest lands

7 likely to be designated as recovery areas.

8 (2) OTHER MEMBERS.—State foresters (or indi9 viduals with similar management or supervisory ex10 perience) who are appointed as members of the Sci11 entific Advisory Panel shall be required to have ex12 pertise with, and experience in, matters relating to

13 forest management, taking into account their

14 breadth of knowledge in management science and

15 their familiarity with specific issues regarding Fed16 eral forest lands likely to be designated as recovery

17 areas.

18 (e) CHAIRPERSON; INITIAL MEETING.—The Sci19 entific Advisory Panel shall conduct its initial meeting as

20 soon as possible after the first 4 members of the Panel

21 are appointed. At the initial meeting, the members of the

22 Scientific Advisory Panel shall select 1 member to serve

23 as chairperson.

24 (f) DUTIES IN CONNECTION WITH IMPLEMENTA25 TION.—During the period beginning on the initial meeting
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1 of the Scientific Advisory Panel and ending on the imple2 mentation date, the Scientific Advisory Panel shall be re3 sponsible for the following:

4 (1) The preparation and submission to the Sec5 retary concerned and the Congress of recommenda6 tions regarding the standards and criteria that

7 should be used to designate recovery areas.

8 (2) The preparation and submission to the Sec9 retary concerned and the Congress of recommenda10 tions regarding the ranking of recovery areas in the

11 order in which the areas should host recovery

12 projects.

13 (3) The preparation of and submission to the

14 Secretary concerned and the Congress of a monitor15 ing plan for the national program of sufficient dura16 tion to determine the long-term impacts of the na17 tional program.

18 (g) CONSIDERATIONS.—In the development of its rec19 ommendations under subsection (f), the Scientific Advi20 sory Panel shall consider—

21 (1) the most current scientific literature regard22 ing the duties undertaken by the Panel; and

23 (2) information gathered during the implemen24 tation of the advance recovery projects required

25 under section 6.
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1 (h) ALLOCATION OF FOREST SERVICE AND BUREAU

2 OF LAND MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL.—The Forest Serv3 ice and the Bureau of Land Management shall allocate

4 administrative support staff to the Scientific Advisory

5 Panel to assist the Panel in the performance of its duties

6 as outlined in this section.

7 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT COMPLI8 ANCE.—The Scientific Advisory Panel shall be subject to

9 sections 10 through 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee

10 Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

11 SEC. 6. ADVANCE RECOVERY PROJECTS.

12 (a) SELECTION OF ADVANCE PROJECTS.—During

13 the 18-month period beginning on the date of enactment

14 of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall conduct a lim15 ited number (as determined by the Secretary concerned)

16 of advance recovery projects on Federal forest lands. Sub17 ject to the approval of the Secretary concerned, advance

18 recovery projects shall be selected by—

19 (1) regional foresters of the Forest Service, in

20 consultation with State foresters of the States in

21 which the projects will be conducted, with respect to

22 recovery projects on Federal forest lands described

23 in section 3(1)(B); and

24 (2) State directors of the Bureau of Land Man25 agement, in consultation with State foresters of the
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1 States in which the projects will be conducted, with

2 respect to recovery projects on Federal forest lands

3 described in section 3(1)(A).

4 (b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To be eligible for selec5 tion as an advance recovery project, a proposed project

6 shall be required to satisfy the requirements of section

7 4(e) for recovery projects conducted under the national

8 program. Priority shall be given to those Federal forest

9 lands—

10 (1) that pose a significant risk of loss to human

11 life and property or serious resource degradation or

12 destruction due to wildfire, disease epidemic, or se13 vere insect infestation; or

14 (2) for which thorough forest health assess15 ments and inventories have been completed, includ16 ing Federal forest lands in the Pacific Northwest,

17 the Interior Columbia Basin, the Sierra Nevada, the

18 Southern Appalachian Region, and the Northern

19 Forests of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and

20 New York.

21 (c) TIME PERIODS FOR SELECTION, IMPLEMENTA22 TION, AND COMPLETION.—Final selection of advance re23 covery projects shall be completed within the 90-day pe24 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, and

25 the Secretary concerned shall publish the list of selected
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1 advance recovery projects in the Federal Register by the

2 end of that period. An advance recovery project shall be

3 initiated (if the project is to be conducted by Federal em4 ployees) or awarded (if the project is to be conducted by

5 an outside party) within 180 days after the date of enact6 ment of this Act.

7 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than the

8 implementation date, and annually thereafter until com9 pletion of all advance recovery projects, the Secretary con10 cerned shall submit to Congress a report on the implemen11 tation of advance recovery projects. The report shall con12 sist of a description of the accomplishments of each ad13 vance recovery project and incorporate the requirements

14 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 4(g).

15 (e) RULEMAKING.—No new rulemaking is required in

16 order for the Secretary concerned to carry out this section.

17 SEC. 7. FOREST RECOVERY AND PROTECTION FUND FOR

18 NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established on the

20 books of the Treasury a revolving fund to be known as

21 the ‘‘Forest Recovery and Protection Fund’’. The Chief

22 of the Forest Service shall be responsible for administering

23 the Fund.

24 (b) CREDITS TO FUND.—There shall be credited to

25 the Fund the following:
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1 (1) Amounts authorized for and appropriated to

2 the Fund.

3 (2) Unobligated amounts in the roads and trails

4 fund provided for in the fourteenth paragraph under

5 the heading ‘‘FOREST SERVICE.’’ of the Act of

6 March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843, chapter 145; 16

7 U.S.C. 501) as of the date of enactment of this Act,

8 and all amounts that would otherwise be deposited

9 in such fund after such date.

10 (3) A 1-time transfer of $50,000,000 from

11 amounts appropriated for fire operations under the

12 heading ‘‘WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT’’ under the

13 heading ‘‘BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’’ in title

14 I of the Department of the Interior and Related

15 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998.

16 (4) Subject to subsection (e), revenues gen17 erated by recovery projects undertaken pursuant to

18 sections 4 and 6.

19 (5) Amounts required to be deposited in the

20 Fund under section 9.

21 (c) USE OF FUND.—During the time period specified

22 in section 10(a), amounts in the Fund shall be available

23 to the Chief of the Forest Service, without further appro24 priation, to carry out the national program, to plan, carry
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1 out, and administer recovery projects under sections 4 and

2 6, and to administer the Scientific Advisory Panel.

3 (d) LIMITATION ON OVERHEAD EXPENSES.—Over4 head expenses for a fiscal year for administration of the

5 national program, including the cost of preparation of re6 ports required by this Act and administration of the Fund,

7 shall not exceed 12 percent of the amounts made available

8 from the Fund for that fiscal year. In addition, not more

9 than $1,000,000 may be expended from the Fund to fi10 nance the operation of the Scientific Advisory Panel.

11 (e) TREATMENT OF REVENUES AS MONEYS RE12 CEIVED.—Revenues generated by recovery projects under13 taken pursuant to sections 4 and 6 shall be considered

14 to be money received for purposes of the sixth paragraph

15 under the heading ‘‘FOREST SERVICE.’’ in the Act of

16 May 23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260, chapter 192; 16 U.S.C. 500),

17 and section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly

18 known as the ‘‘Weeks Act’’) (36 Stat. 963, chapter 186;

19 16 U.S.C. 500).

20 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The fourteenth

21 paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST SERVICE.’’ of

22 the Act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843, chapter 145; 16

23 U.S.C. 501), is amended by adding at the end the follow24 ing: ‘‘During the term of the Forest Recovery and Protec25 tion Fund, as established by section 7 of the Forest Recov-
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1 ery and Protection Act of 1997, amounts reserved under

2 the authority of this paragraph shall be deposited into that

3 Fund.’’.

4 SEC. 8. EXPANSION OF PURPOSE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

5 HEALTH AND RECOVERY FUND FOR BLM

6 LANDS.

7 The first paragraph under the heading ‘‘(REVOLVING

8 FUND, SPECIAL ACCOUNTS)’’ under the heading ‘‘FOREST

9 ECOSYSTEMS HEALTH AND RECOVERY’’ under the heading

10 ‘‘BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’’ in title I of the De11 partment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropria12 tions Act, 1993 (Public Law 102–381; 106 Stat. 1376;

13 43 U.S.C. 1736a), is amended by adding at the end the

14 following: ‘‘During the term of the National Program of

15 Forest Recovery and Protection established by the Forest

16 Recovery and Protection Act of 1997, unobligated

17 amounts in the fund shall be available to carry out the

18 national program and to plan, carry out, and administer

19 recovery projects under sections 4 and 6 of that Act.’’.

20 SEC. 9. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH TIME LIMI21 TATIONS.

22 (a) NATIONAL PROGRAM.—If the final selection of a

23 recovery project under the national program is not made

24 within the time period specified in section 4(c)(3), the Sec25 retary concerned may not use amounts in the affected
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1 Fund to carry out the project and shall promptly reim2 burse the affected Fund for any expenditures previously

3 made from that Fund in connection with the project.

4 (b) ADVANCE RECOVERY PROJECTS.—In the case of

5 an advance recovery project under section 6, if the project

6 is not selected, implemented, and completed within the

7 time periods specified in subsection (c) of that section, the

8 Secretary concerned may not use amounts in the affected

9 Fund to carry out the project and shall promptly reim10 burse the affected Fund for any expenditures previously

11 made from that Fund in connection with the project.

12 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

14 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

15 necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act for fiscal

16 year 1998 and each fiscal year thereafter through the fifth

17 full fiscal year following the implementation date.

18 (b) DEPOSIT IN FUND.—All sums appropriated pur19 suant to this section for implementation of the national

20 program on Federal forest lands described in section

21 3(1)(B) shall be deposited in the Forest Recovery and

22 Protection Fund established under section 7. All sums ap23 propriated pursuant to this section for implementation of

24 the national program on Federal forest lands described in

25 section 3(1)(A) shall be deposited in the revolving fund
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1 established under the heading ‘‘(REVOLVING FUND, SPE2 CIAL ACCOUNTS)’’ under the heading ‘‘FOREST

3 ECOSYSTEMS HEALTH AND RECOVERY’’ under the heading

4 ‘‘BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’’ in title I of the De5 partment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropria6 tions Act, 1993 (Public Law 102–381; 106 Stat. 1376;

7 43 U.S.C. 1736a).

8 (c) EFFECT ON EXISTING PROJECTS.—Any contract

9 regarding a recovery project entered into before the end

10 of the final fiscal year specified in subsection (a), and still

11 in effect at the end of such fiscal year, shall remain in

12 effect until completed pursuant to the terms of the con13 tract.

14 SEC. 11. AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.

15 (a) AUDIT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General

16 shall conduct an audit of the national program at the end

17 of the fourth-full fiscal year of the national program and

18 submit such audit to the Congress by June 1 of the next

19 fiscal year.

20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The audit shall include an analysis

21 of—

22 (1) whether the program was carried out in a

23 manner consistent with the provisions of this Act;
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1 (2) the impact on the development and imple2 mentation of the national program of the advance

3 recovery projects conducted under section 6;

4 (3) the extent to which the recommendations of

5 the Scientific Advisory Panel were used to develop

6 and implement the national program;

7 (4) the current and projected future financial

8 status of each Fund; and

9 (5) the cost savings and efficiencies achieved

10 under the national program.

Æ