I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2644 

To expedite certain forest management activities on National Forest System 

lands derived from the public domain when the activities are developed 

through a collaborative process of interested parties, to require the posting of a bond in initiating a legal challenge to certain forest management 

activities, to modify the Secure Rural Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act of 2000, to authorize additional funding sources for 

forest management activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 3, 2015 

Mr. ZINKE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To expedite certain forest management activities on National 

Forest System lands derived from the public domain 

when the activities are developed through a collaborative 

process of interested parties, to require the posting of 

a bond in initiating a legal challenge to certain forest 

management activities, to modify the Secure Rural 

Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, 

to authorize additional funding sources for forest management activities, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF 

COLLABORATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Analysis of only two alternatives (action versus no action) in proposed 

collaborative forest management activities. 

TITLE II—COLLABORATIVE PROJECT LITIGATION REQUIREMENT 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Bond requirement as part of legal challenge of certain forest management activities. 

TITLE III—SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELFDETERMINATION ACT AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 301. Use of reserved funds for title II projects on Federal land and certain 

non-Federal land. 

Sec. 302. Resource advisory committees. 

Sec. 303. Program for title II self-sustaining resource advisory committee 

projects. 

Sec. 304. Additional authorized use of reserved funds for title III county 

projects. 

TITLE IV—ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR FOREST 

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 401. Definitions. 

Sec. 402. Availability of stewardship project revenues and Collaborative Forest 

Landscape Restoration Fund to cover forest management activity planning costs. 

Sec. 403. State-supported planning of forest management activities. 


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1 TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRON2 MENTAL ANALYSIS OF COL3 LABORATIVE FOREST MAN4 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

5 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col8 laborative process’’ refers to a process relating to the 

9 management of National Forest System lands by 

10 which a project or activity is developed and imple11 mented by the Secretary through collaboration with 

12 interested persons, as described in section 

13 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

14 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

15 (2) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

16 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 

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

18 101(3) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

19 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(3)). 

20 (3) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

21 term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project 

22 or activity carried out by the Secretary on National 

23 Forest System lands in concert with the forest plan 

24 covering the lands. 


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1 (4) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

2 means a land and resource management plan pre3 pared by the Secretary for a unit of the National 

4 Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest 

5 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

6 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

7 (5) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

9 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range10 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1609(a)), except that the term— 

12 (A) includes only National Forest System 

13 lands derived from the public domain; and 

14 (B) does not include the National Grass15 lands and land utilization projects designated as 

16 National Grasslands administered pursuant to 

17 the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010– 

18 1012). 

19 (6) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

20 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the mean21 ing given that term in section 201(3) of the Secure 

22 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

23 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121(3)). 


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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

3 Chief of the Forest Service. 

4 SEC. 102. ANALYSIS OF ONLY TWO ALTERNATIVES (ACTION 

5 VERSUS NO ACTION) IN PROPOSED COLLABO6 RATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL AS8 SESSMENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE9 MENTS.—This section shall apply whenever the Secretary 

10 prepares an environmental assessment or an environ11 mental impact statement pursuant to section 102(2) of the 

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

13 4332(2)) for a forest management activity that— 

14 (1) is developed through a collaborative process; 

15 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory com16 mittee; or 

17 (3) is covered by a community wildfire protec18 tion plan. 

19 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In an envi20 ronmental assessment or environmental impact statement 

21 described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall study, de22 velop, and describe— 

23 (1) the forest management activity, as proposed 

24 pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection 

25 (a); and 


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1 (2) the alternative of no action. 

2 (c) ELEMENTS OF NON-ACTION ALTERNATIVE.—In 

3 the case of the alternative of no action, the Secretary shall 

4 evaluate— 

5 (1) the effect of no action on wildfire potential 

6 and insect and disease potential; and 

7 (2) the implications of a resulting wildfire or in8 sect or disease infestation, given fire and insect and 

9 disease historic cycles, on domestic water costs, wild10 life habitat loss, and other economic and social fac11 tors. 

12 TITLE II—COLLABORATIVE 

13 PROJECT LITIGATION RE14 QUIREMENT 

15 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

17 (1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col18 laborative process’’ refers to a process relating to the 

19 management of National Forest System lands by 

20 which a project or activity is developed and imple21 mented by the Secretary through collaboration with 

22 interested persons, as described in section 

23 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

24 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 


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1 (2) COSTS.—The term ‘‘costs’’ refers to the 

2 fees and costs described in section 1920 of title 28, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (3) EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘expenses’’ includes 

5 the expenditures incurred by the staff of the Sec6 retary in preparing for a legal challenge to a collabo7 rative forest management activity and in partici8 pating in litigation that challenges the forest man9 agement activity, including such staff time as may 

10 be used to prepare the administrative record, exhib11 its, declarations, and affidavits in connection with 

12 the litigation. 

13 (4) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

14 term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project 

15 or activity carried out by the Secretary on National 

16 Forest System lands in concert with the forest plan 

17 covering the lands. 

18 (5) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

19 means a land and resource management plan pre20 pared by the Secretary for a unit of the National 

21 Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest 

22 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

23 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

24 (6) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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


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1 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range2 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1609(a)), except that the term— 

4 (A) includes only National Forest System 

5 lands derived from the public domain; and 

6 (B) does not include the National Grass7 lands and land utilization projects designated as 

8 National Grasslands administered pursuant to 

9 the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010– 

10 1012). 

11 (7) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

12 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the mean13 ing given that term in section 201(3) of the Secure 

14 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

15 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121(3)). 

16 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

18 Chief of the Forest Service. 

19 SEC. 202. BOND REQUIREMENT AS PART OF LEGAL CHAL20 LENGE OF CERTAIN FOREST MANAGEMENT 

21 ACTIVITIES. 

22 (a) BOND REQUIRED.—In the case of a forest man23 agement activity developed through a collaborative process 

24 or proposed by a resource advisory committee, any plain25 tiff or plaintiffs challenging the forest management activVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 04, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2644.IH H2644

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1 ity shall be required to post a bond or other security ac2 ceptable to the court equal to the anticipated costs, ex3 penses, and attorneys fees of the Secretary as defendant, 

4 as reasonably estimated by the Secretary. All proceedings 

5 in the action shall be stayed until the required bond or 

6 security is provided. 

7 (b) RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS, EXPENSES, 

8 AND ATTORNEYS FEES.— 

9 (1) MOTION FOR PAYMENT.—If the Secretary 

10 prevails in an action challenging a forest manage11 ment activity described in subsection (a), the Sec12 retary shall submit to the court a motion for pay13 ment, from the bond or other security posted under 

14 subsection (a) in such action, of the reasonable 

15 costs, expenses, and attorneys fees incurred by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERED.—The 

18 amount of costs, expenses, and attorneys fees recov19 ered by the Secretary under paragraph (1) as a re20 sult of prevailing in an action challenging the forest 

21 management activity may not exceed the amount of 

22 the bond or other security posted under subsection 

23 (a) in such action. 

24 (3) RETURN OF REMAINDER.—Any funds re25 maining from the bond or other security posted 


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1 under subsection (a) after the payment of costs, ex2 penses, and attorneys fees under paragraph (1) shall 

3 be returned to the plaintiff or plaintiffs that posted 

4 the bond or security in the action. 

5 (c) RETURN OF BOND TO PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the plaintiff ultimately 

7 prevails on the merits in all actions brought by the 

8 plaintiff challenging a forest management activity 

9 described in subsection (a), the court shall return to 

10 the plaintiff any bond or security provided by the 

11 plaintiff under subsection (a), plus interest from the 

12 date the bond or security was provided. 

13 (2) ULTIMATELY PREVAILS ON THE MERITS.— 

14 In this subsection, the phrase ‘‘ultimately prevails on 

15 the merits’’ means, in a final enforceable judgment 

16 on the merits, a court rules in favor of the plaintiff 

17 on all causes of action in all actions brought by the 

18 plaintiff challenging the forest management activity. 

19 (d) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.—If a challenge to a 

20 forest management activity described in subsection (a) for 

21 which a bond or other security was provided by the plain22 tiff under such subsection is resolved by settlement be23 tween the Secretary and the plaintiff, the settlement 

24 agreement shall provide for sharing the costs, expenses, 

25 and attorneys fees incurred by the parties. 


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1 (e) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith2 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

3 award may be made under section 2412 of title 28, United 

4 States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or ex5 pended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the 

6 United States Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses 

7 under such sections to any plaintiff related to an action 

8 challenging a forest management activity described in sub9 section (a). 

10 TITLE III—SECURE RURAL 

11 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY 

12 SELF-DETERMINATION ACT 

13 AMENDMENTS 

14 SEC. 301. USE OF RESERVED FUNDS FOR TITLE II 

15 PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND AND CERTAIN 

16 NON-FEDERAL LAND. 

17 (a) REPEAL OF MERCHANTABLE TIMBER CON18 TRACTING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 204(e) of the Se19 cure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

20 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7124(e)) is amended by striking 

21 paragraph (3). 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT FUNDS.—Section 

23 204 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-De24 termination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7124) is amended by 


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1 striking subsection (f) and inserting the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 the Secretary concerned shall ensure that at least 50 

6 percent of the project funds reserved by a partici7 pating county under section 102(d) shall be available 

8 only for projects that— 

9 ‘‘(A) include the sale of timber or other 

10 forest products; and 

11 ‘‘(B) implement stewardship objectives 

12 that enhance forest ecosystems or restore and 

13 improve land health and water quality. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—The requirement in 

15 paragraph (1) shall apply only to project funds re16 served by a participating county whose boundaries 

17 include Federal land that the Secretary concerned 

18 determines has been subject to a timber or other for19 est products program within 5 fiscal years before the 

20 fiscal year in which the funds are reserved.’’. 

21 SEC. 302. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

22 (a) RECOGNITION OF RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMIT23 TEES.—Section 205(a)(4) of the Secure Rural Schools 

24 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 7125(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2020’’. 

3 (b) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN COMPOSITION OF

4 COMMITTEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure Rural 

5 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

6 (16 U.S.C. 7125(d)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Each’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘Except during the period specified in 

9 paragraph (6), each’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(6) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN MINIMUM

13 NUMBER OF MEMBERS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) TEMPORARY 6-MEMBER MINIMUM.— 

15 During the period beginning on the date of the 

16 enactment of this paragraph and ending on 

17 September 30, 2020, a resource advisory com18 mittee established under this section may be 

19 comprised of 6 or more members— 

20 ‘‘(i) 2 or more of whom shall be rep21 resentative of interests described in sub22 paragraph (A) of paragraph (2); 

23 ‘‘(ii) 2 or more of whom shall be rep24 resentative of interests described in sub25 paragraph (B) of paragraph (2); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 2 or more of whom shall be rep2 resentative of interests described in sub3 paragraph (C) of paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In ap5 pointing members of a resource advisory com6 mittee from the 3 categories described in para7 graph (2), as provided in subparagraph (A), the 

8 Secretary concerned shall ensure balanced and 

9 broad representation in each category. 

10 ‘‘(C) CHARTER.—A charter for a resource 

11 advisory committee with 15 members that was 

12 filed on or before the date of the enactment of 

13 this paragraph shall be considered to be filed 

14 for a resource advisory committee described in 

15 this paragraph.’’. 

16 (c) CONFORMING CHANGE TO PROJECT APPROVAL

17 REQUIREMENTS.—Section 205(e)(3) of the Secure Rural 

18 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

19 (16 U.S.C. 7125(e)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of a resource ad21 visory committee consisting of fewer than 15 members, as 

22 authorized by subsection (d)(6), a project may be proposed 

23 to the Secretary concerned upon approval by a majority 

24 of the members of the committee.’’. 


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1 (d) EXPANDING LOCAL PARTICIPATION ON COMMIT2 TEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure Rural Schools and 

3 Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

4 7125(d)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the pe6 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, consistent with the 

7 requirements of paragraph (4)’’; and 

8 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The mem11 bers of a resource advisory committee shall reside 

12 within the county or counties in which the committee 

13 has jurisdiction, or an adjacent county.’’. 

14 SEC. 303. PROGRAM FOR TITLE II SELF-SUSTAINING RE15 SOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

16 (a) SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE ADVISORY COM17 MITTEE PROJECTS.—Title II of the Secure Rural Schools 

18 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 

19 U.S.C. 7121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 209. PROGRAM FOR SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE AD22 VISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) RAC PROGRAM.—The Chief of the Forest Serv24 ice shall conduct a program (to be known as the ‘self-sus25 taining resource advisory committee program’ or ‘RAC 


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1 program’) under which 10 resource advisory committees 

2 will propose projects authorized by subsection (c) to be 

3 carried out using project funds reserved by a participating 

4 county under section 102(d). 

5 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING RESOURCE AD6 VISORY COMMITTEES.—The selection of resource advisory 

7 committees to participate in the RAC program is in the 

8 sole discretion of the Chief of the Forest Service, except 

9 that, consistent with section 205(d)(6), a selected resource 

10 advisory committee must have a minimum of 6 members. 

11 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—Notwithstanding the 

12 project purposes specified in sections 202(b), 203(c), and 

13 204(a)(5), projects under the RAC program are intended 

14 to— 

15 ‘‘(1) accomplish forest management objectives 

16 or support community development; and 

17 ‘‘(2) generate receipts. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEPOSIT OF REVENUES.—Any revenue gen19 erated by a project conducted under the RAC program, 

20 including any interest accrued from the revenues, shall be 

21 deposited in the special account in the Treasury estab22 lished under section 102(d)(2)(A) and shall be available 

23 for additional projects under the RAC program. 

24 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The authority to initiate a 

2 project under the RAC program shall terminate on 

3 September 30, 2020. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN TREASURY.—Any funds 

5 available for projects under the RAC program and 

6 not obligated by September 30, 2021, shall be depos7 ited in the Treasury of the United States.’’. 

8 (b) EXCEPTION TO GENERAL RULE REGARDING

9 TREATMENT OF RECEIPTS.—Section 403(b) of the Secure 

10 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

11 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7153(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘All rev12 enues’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 209, 

13 all revenues’’. 

14 SEC. 304. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF RESERVED 

15 FUNDS FOR TITLE III COUNTY PROJECTS. 

16 Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools and Com17 munity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

18 7142(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘and law enforcement pa21 trols’’ after ‘‘including firefighting’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para23 graph (2); 

24 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para25 graph (4); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing new paragraph (3): 

3 ‘‘(3) to cover training costs and equipment pur4 chases directly related to the emergency services de5 scribed in paragraph (2); and’’. 

6 TITLE IV—ADDITIONAL FUND7 ING SOURCES FOR FOREST 

8 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

9 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

11 (1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col12 laborative process’’ refers to a process relating to the 

13 management of National Forest System lands by 

14 which a project or activity is developed and imple15 mented by the Secretary through collaboration with 

16 interested persons, as described in section 

17 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

18 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

19 (2) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

20 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 

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

22 101(3) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

23 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(3)). 

24 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti25 ty’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State or political subdivision of a 

2 State containing National Forest System lands; 

3 (B) a publicly chartered utility serving one 

4 or more States or a political subdivision thereof; 

5 (C) a rural electric company; and 

6 (D) any other entity determined by the 

7 Secretary to be appropriate for participation in 

8 the Fund. 

9 (4) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

10 term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project 

11 or activity carried out by the Secretary on National 

12 Forest System lands in concert with the forest plan 

13 covering the lands. 

14 (5) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

15 means a land and resource management plan pre16 pared by the Secretary for a unit of the National 

17 Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest 

18 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

19 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

20 (6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

21 State-Supported Forest Management Fund estab22 lished by section 403. 

23 (7) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

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1 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

2 U.S.C. 1609(a)), except that the term— 

3 (A) includes only National Forest System 

4 lands derived from the public domain; and 

5 (B) does not include the National Grass6 lands and land utilization projects designated as 

7 National Grasslands administered pursuant to 

8 the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010– 

9 1012). 

10 (8) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

11 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the mean12 ing given that term in section 201(3) of the Secure 

13 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

14 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121(3)). 

15 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

17 Chief of the Forest Service. 

18 SEC. 402. AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE19 NUES AND COLLABORATIVE FOREST LAND20 SCAPE RESTORATION FUND TO COVER FOR21 EST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY PLANNING 

22 COSTS. 

23 (a) AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE24 NUES.—Section 604(e)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forest Res25 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(e)(2)(B)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘appropriation at the project site 

2 from which the monies are collected or at another project 

3 site.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘appropriation— 

4 ‘‘(i) at the project site from which the 

5 monies are collected or at another project 

6 site; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) to cover not more than 25 per8 cent of the cost of planning additional 

9 stewardship contracting projects.’’. 

10 (b) AVAILABILITY OF COLLABORATIVE FOREST

11 LANDSCAPE RESTORATION FUND.—Section 4003(f)(1) of 

12 the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 

13 U.S.C. 7303(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘carrying out 

14 and’’ and inserting ‘‘planning, carrying out, and’’. 

15 SEC. 403. STATE-SUPPORTED PLANNING OF FOREST MAN16 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

17 (a) STATE-SUPPORTED FOREST MANAGEMENT

18 FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of the 

19 United States a fund, to be known as the ‘‘State-Sup20 ported Forest Management Fund’’, to cover the cost of 

21 planning, carrying out, and monitoring certain forest man22 agement activities on National Forest System lands. 

23 (b) CONTENTS.—The State-Supported Forest Man24 agement Fund shall consist of such amounts as may be— 


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1 (1) contributed by an eligible entity for deposit 

2 in the Fund; 

3 (2) appropriated to the Fund; or 

4 (3) generated by forest management activities 

5 carried out using amounts in the Fund. 

6 (c) GEOGRAPHICAL AND USE LIMITATIONS.—In 

7 making a contribution under subsection (b)(1), an eligible 

8 entity may— 

9 (1) specify the National Forest System lands 

10 for which the contribution may be expended; or 

11 (2) subject to subsection (d), limit the types of 

12 forest management activities for which the contribu13 tion may be expended. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZED FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVI15 TIES.—A forest management activity may be planned, car16 ried out, or monitored using amounts in the Fund only 

17 if the activity— 

18 (1) is developed through a collaborative process; 

19 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory com20 mittee; or 

21 (3) is covered by a community wildfire protec22 tion plan. 

23 (e) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.—A forest manage24 ment activity carried out using amounts in the Fund may 

25 be carried out using a contract or agreement under section 


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1 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

2 U.S.C. 6591c), the good neighbor authority provided by 

3 section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

4 2113a), a contract under section 14 of the National Forest 

5 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), or other au6 thority available to the Secretary, but revenues generated 

7 by the forest management activity shall be used reimburse 

8 the Fund for planning costs covered using amounts in the 

9 Fund. 

10 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

11 (1) REVENUE SHARING.—Subject to subsection 

12 (e), revenues generated by a forest management ac13 tivity carried out using amounts from the Fund shall 

14 be considered monies received from the National 

15 Forest System. 

16 (2) KNUTSON-VANDERBERG ACT.—The Act of 

17 June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson18 Vanderberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.), shall apply 

19 to any forest management activity carried out using 

20 amounts in the Fund. 

21 (g) TERMINATION OF FUND.— 

22 (1) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate 

23 on September 30, 2025. 

24 (2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Upon the ter25 mination of the Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) or 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 2644 IH

1 pursuant to any other provision of law, unobligated 

2 contributions remaining in the Fund shall be re3 turned to the eligible entity that made the contribu4 tion. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS