II 

Calendar No. 634 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2647 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

Reported by Mr. ROBERTS, with an amendment 

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

AN ACT 

To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 and improve forest management activities on 

National Forest System lands, on public lands under 

the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, 

and on tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 

fire-prone forested 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPEDITE FOREST 

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 101. Analysis of only two alternatives (action versus no action) in proposed 

collaborative forest management activities. 

Sec. 102. Categorical exclusion to expedite certain critical response actions. 

Sec. 103. Categorical exclusion to expedite salvage operations in response to 

catastrophic events. 

Sec. 104. Categorical exclusion to meet forest plan goals for early successional 

forests. 

Sec. 105. Clarification of existing categorical exclusion authority related to insect and disease infestation. 

Sec. 106. Categorical exclusion to improve, restore, and reduce the risk of wildfire. 

Sec. 107. Compliance with forest plan. 

TITLE II—SALVAGE AND REFORESTATION IN RESPONSE TO 

CATASTROPHIC EVENTS 

Sec. 201. Expedited salvage operations and reforestation activities following 

large-scale catastrophic events. 

Sec. 202. Compliance with forest plan. 

Sec. 203. Prohibition on restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and injunctions pending appeal. 

Sec. 204. Exclusion of certain lands. 

TITLE III—COLLABORATIVE PROJECT LITIGATION REQUIREMENT 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Bond requirement as part of legal challenge of certain forest management activities. 

TITLE IV—SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELFDETERMINATION ACT AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 401. Use of reserved funds for title II projects on Federal land and certain 

non-Federal land. 

Sec. 402. Resource advisory committees. 

Sec. 403. Program for title II self-sustaining resource advisory committee 

projects. 

Sec. 404. Additional authorized use of reserved funds for title III county 

projects. 


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Sec. 405. Treatment as supplemental funding. 

TITLE V—STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING 

Sec. 501. Cancellation ceilings for stewardship end result contracting projects. 

Sec. 502. Excess offset value. 

Sec. 503. Payment of portion of stewardship project revenues to county in 

which stewardship project occurs. 

Sec. 504. Submission of existing annual report. 

Sec. 505. Fire liability provision. 

TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR FOREST 

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 601. Definitions. 

Sec. 602. Availability of stewardship project revenues and Collaborative Forest 

Landscape Restoration Fund to cover forest management activity planning costs. 

Sec. 603. State-supported planning of forest management activities. 

TITLE VII—TRIBAL FORESTRY PARTICIPATION AND PROTECTION 

Sec. 701. Protection of tribal forest assets through use of stewardship end result contracting and other authorities. 

Sec. 702. Management of Indian forest land authorized to include related National Forest System lands and public lands. 

Sec. 703. Tribal forest management demonstration project. 

TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS FOREST MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS 

Sec. 801. Balancing short- and long-term effects of forest management activities in considering injunctive relief. 

Sec. 802. Conditions on Forest Service road decommissioning. 

Sec. 803. Prohibition on application of Eastside Screens requirements on National Forest System lands. 

Sec. 804. Use of site-specific forest plan amendments for certain projects and 

activities. 

Sec. 805. Knutson-Vandenberg Act modifications. 

Sec. 806. Exclusion of certain National Forest System lands and public lands. 

Sec. 807. Application of Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation 

Measure Standard and Guidelines. 

Sec. 808. Management of Bureau of Land Management lands in western Oregon. 

Sec. 809. Bureau of Land Management resource management plans. 

Sec. 810. Landscape-scale forest restoration project. 

TITLE IX—MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND 

Sec. 901. Wildfire on Federal lands. 

Sec. 902. Declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands. 

Sec. 903. Prohibition on transfers. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In titles I through VIII: 


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1 (1) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘cata2 strophic event’’ means any natural disaster (such as 

3 hurricane, tornado, windstorm, snow or ice storm, 

4 rain storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal 

5 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

6 mudslide, drought, or insect or disease outbreak) or 

7 any fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause. 

8 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘cat9 egorical exclusion’’ refers to an exception to the re10 quirements of the National Environmental Policy 

11 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) for a project 

12 or activity relating to the management of National 

13 Forest System lands or public lands. 

14 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col15 laborative process’’ refers to a process relating to the 

16 management of National Forest System lands or 

17 public lands by which a project or activity is devel18 oped and implemented by the Secretary concerned 

19 through collaboration with interested persons, as de20 scribed in section 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy For21 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

22 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

23 (4) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

24 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 

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


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1 101(3) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

2 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(3)). 

3 (5) COOS BAY WAGON ROAD GRANT LANDS.— 

4 The term ‘‘Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands’’ 

5 means the lands reconveyed to the United States 

6 pursuant to the first section of the Act of February 

7 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179). 

8 (6) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 

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

10 or activity carried out by the Secretary concerned on 

11 National Forest System lands or public lands in con12 cert with the forest plan covering the lands. 

13 (7) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

14 means— 

15 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu16 reau of Land Management for public lands pur17 suant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

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

19 1712); or 

20 (B) a land and resource management plan 

21 prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the 

22 National Forest System pursuant to section 6 

23 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re24 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

25 1604). 


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1 (8) LARGE-SCALE CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The 

2 term ‘‘large-scale catastrophic event’’ means a cata3 strophic event that adversely impacts at least 5,000 

4 acres of reasonably contiguous National Forest Sys5 tem lands or public lands. 

6 (9) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

8 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range9 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

11 (10) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA RAILROAD

12 GRANT LANDS.—The term ‘‘Oregon and California 

13 Railroad Grant lands’’ means the following lands: 

14 (A) All lands in the State of Oregon re15 vested in the United States under the Act of 

16 June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), that are adminis17 tered by the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

18 through the Bureau of Land Management, pur19 suant to the first section of the Act of August 

20 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a). 

21 (B) All lands in that State obtained by the 

22 Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the land 

23 exchanges authorized and directed by section 2 

24 of the Act of June 24, 1954 (43 U.S.C. 1181h). 


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1 (C) All lands in that State acquired by the 

2 United States at any time and made subject to 

3 the provisions of title II of the Act of August 

4 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181f). 

5 (11) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

6 has the meaning given that term in section 103(e) 

7 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

8 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)), except that the term in9 cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or10 egon and California Railroad Grant lands. 

11 (12) REFORESTATION ACTIVITY.—The term 

12 ‘‘reforestation activity’’ means a project or activity 

13 carried out by the Secretary concerned whose pri14 mary purpose is the reforestation of impacted lands 

15 following a large-scale catastrophic event. The term 

16 includes planting, evaluating and enhancing natural 

17 regeneration, clearing competing vegetation, and 

18 other activities related to reestablishment of forest 

19 species on the fire-impacted lands. 

20 (13) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

21 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the mean22 ing given that term in section 201(3) of the Secure 

23 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

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


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1 (14) SALVAGE OPERATION.—The term ‘‘salvage 

2 operation’’ means a forest management activity un3 dertaken in response to a catastrophic event whose 

4 primary purpose— 

5 (A) is to prevent wildfire as a result of the 

6 catastrophic event, or, if the catastrophic event 

7 was wildfire, to prevent a re-burn of the fire-im8 pacted area; 

9 (B) is to provide an opportunity for utiliza10 tion of forest materials damaged as a result of 

11 the catastrophic event; or 

12 (C) is to provide a funding source for re13 forestation and other restoration activities for 

14 the National Forest System lands or public 

15 lands impacted by the catastrophic event. 

16 (15) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

17 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

18 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re19 spect to National Forest System lands; and 

20 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re21 spect to public lands. 


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1 TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRON2 MENTAL ANALYSIS AND 

3 AVAILABILITY OF CATEGOR4 ICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPE5 DITE FOREST MANAGEMENT 

6 ACTIVITIES 

7 SEC. 101. ANALYSIS OF ONLY TWO ALTERNATIVES (ACTION 

8 VERSUS NO ACTION) IN PROPOSED COLLABO9 RATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL AS11 SESSMENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE12 MENTS.—This section shall apply whenever the Secretary 

13 concerned prepares an environmental assessment or an en14 vironmental impact statement pursuant to section 102(2) 

15 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

16 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a forest management activity that— 

17 (1) is developed through a collaborative process; 

18 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory com19 mittee; or 

20 (3) is covered by a community wildfire protec21 tion plan. 

22 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In an envi23 ronmental assessment or environmental impact statement 

24 described in subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall 


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1 study, develop, and describe only the following two alter2 natives: 

3 (1) The forest management activity, as pro4 posed pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of sub5 section (a). 

6 (2) The alternative of no action. 

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

8 the case of the alternative of no action, the Secretary con9 cerned shall evaluate— 

10 (1) the effect of no action on— 

11 (A) forest health; 

12 (B) habitat diversity; 

13 (C) wildfire potential; and 

14 (D) insect and disease potential; and 

15 (2) the implications of a resulting decline in 

16 forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or in17 sect or disease infestation, given fire and insect and 

18 disease historic cycles, on— 

19 (A) domestic water costs; 

20 (B) wildlife habitat loss; and 

21 (C) other economic and social factors. 

22 SEC. 102. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE CER23 TAIN CRITICAL RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

24 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

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1 cerned to develop and carry out a forest management ac2 tivity on National Forest System lands or public lands 

3 when the primary purpose of the forest management activ4 ity is— 

5 (1) to address an insect or disease infestation; 

6 (2) to reduce hazardous fuel loads; 

7 (3) to protect a municipal water source; 

8 (4) to maintain, enhance, or modify critical 

9 habitat to protect it from catastrophic disturbances; 

10 (5) to increase water yield; or 

11 (6) any combination of the purposes specified in 

12 paragraphs (1) through (5). 

13 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the case of a for15 est management activity described in paragraph (2), 

16 a forest management activity covered by the categor17 ical exclusion granted by subsection (a) may not 

18 contain harvest units exceeding a total of 5,000 

19 acres. 

20 (2) LARGER AREAS AUTHORIZED.—A forest 

21 management activity covered by the categorical ex22 clusion granted by subsection (a) may not contain 

23 harvest units exceeding a total of 15,000 acres if the 

24 forest management activity— 


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1 (A) is developed through a collaborative 

2 process; 

3 (B) is proposed by a resource advisory 

4 committee; or 

5 (C) is covered by a community wildfire 

6 protection plan. 

7 SEC. 103. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE SAL8 VAGE OPERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CATA9 STROPHIC EVENTS. 

10 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

11 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary con12 cerned to develop and carry out a salvage operation as 

13 part of the restoration of National Forest System lands 

14 or public lands following a catastrophic event. 

15 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A salvage operation covered 

17 by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection 

18 (a) may not contain harvest units exceeding a total 

19 of 5,000 acres. 

20 (2) HARVEST AREA.—In addition to the limita21 tion imposed by paragraph (1), the harvest units 

22 covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub23 section (a) may not exceed one-third of the area im24 pacted by the catastrophic event. 

25 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) ROAD BUILDING.—A salvage operation cov2 ered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub3 section (a) may not include any new permanent 

4 roads. Temporary roads constructed as part of the 

5 salvage operation shall be retired before the end of 

6 the fifth fiscal year beginning after the completion 

7 of the salvage operation. 

8 (2) STREAM BUFFERS.—A salvage operation 

9 covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub10 section (a) shall comply with the standards and 

11 guidelines for stream buffers contained in the appli12 cable forest plan unless waived by the Regional For13 ester, in the case of National Forest System lands, 

14 or the State Director of the Bureau of Land Man15 agement, in the case of public lands. 

16 (3) REFORESTATION PLAN.—A reforestation 

17 plan shall be developed under section 3 of the Act 

18 of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson19 Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), as part of a sal20 vage operation covered by the categorical exclusion 

21 granted by subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 104. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO MEET FOREST 

2 PLAN GOALS FOR EARLY SUCCESSIONAL 

3 FORESTS. 

4 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

5 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary con6 cerned to develop and carry out a forest management ac7 tivity on National Forest System lands or public lands 

8 when the primary purpose of the forest management activ9 ity is to modify, improve, enhance, or create early succes10 sional forests for wildlife habitat improvement and other 

11 purposes, consistent with the applicable forest plan. 

12 (b) PROJECT GOALS.—To the maximum extent prac13 ticable, the Secretary concerned shall design a forest man14 agement activity under this section to meet early succes15 sional forest goals in such a manner so as to maximize 

16 production and regeneration of priority species, as identi17 fied in the forest plan and consistent with the capability 

18 of the activity site. 

19 (c) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest management 

20 activity covered by the categorical exclusion granted by 

21 subsection (a) may not contain harvest units exceeding a 

22 total of 5,000 acres. 


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1 SEC. 105. CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING CATEGORICAL EX2 CLUSION AUTHORITY RELATED TO INSECT 

3 AND DISEASE INFESTATION. 

4 Section 603(c)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forests Restora5 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(2)(B)) is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘Fire Regime Groups I, II, or III’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Fire Regime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime III, or 

8 Fire Regime IV’’. 

9 SEC. 106. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO IMPROVE, RE10 STORE, AND REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE. 

11 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

12 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary con13 cerned to carry out a forest management activity described 

14 in subsection (c) on National Forest System Lands or 

15 public lands when the primary purpose of the activity is 

16 to improve, restore, or reduce the risk of wildfire on those 

17 lands. 

18 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest management 

19 activity covered by the categorical exclusion granted by 

20 subsection (a) may not exceed 5,000 acres. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The following activi22 ties may be carried out using a categorical exclusion 

23 granted by subsection (a): 

24 (1) Removal of juniper trees, medusahead rye, 

25 conifer trees, pin ̃on pine trees, cheatgrass, and other 

26 noxious or invasive weeds specified on Federal or 


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1 State noxious weeds lists through late-season live2 stock grazing, targeted livestock grazing, prescribed 

3 burns, and mechanical treatments. 

4 (2) Performance of hazardous fuels manage5 ment. 

6 (3) Creation of fuel and fire breaks. 

7 (4) Modification of existing fences in order to 

8 distribute livestock and help improve wildlife habitat. 

9 (5) Installation of erosion control devices. 

10 (6) Construction of new and maintenance of 

11 permanent infrastructure, including stock ponds, 

12 water catchments, and water spring boxes used to 

13 benefit livestock and improve wildlife habitat. 

14 (7) Performance of soil treatments, native and 

15 non-native seeding, and planting of and trans16 planting sagebrush, grass, forb, shrub, and other 

17 species. 

18 (8) Use of herbicides, so long as the Secretary 

19 concerned determines that the activity is otherwise 

20 conducted consistently with agency procedures, in21 cluding any forest plan applicable to the area cov22 ered by the activity. 

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS MANAGEMENT.—The 

25 term ‘‘hazardous fuels management’’ means any 


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1 vegetation management activities that reduce the 

2 risk of wildfire. 

3 (2) LATE-SEASON GRAZING.—The term ‘‘late4 season grazing’’ means grazing activities that occur 

5 after both the invasive species and native perennial 

6 species have completed their current-year annual 

7 growth cycle until new plant growth begins to ap8 pear in the following year. 

9 (3) TARGETED LIVESTOCK GRAZING.—The 

10 term ‘‘targeted livestock grazing’’ means grazing 

11 used for purposes of hazardous fuel reduction. 

12 SEC. 107. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

13 A forest management activity covered by a categorical 

14 exclusion granted by this title shall be conducted in a man15 ner consistent with the forest plan applicable to the Na16 tional Forest System land or public lands covered by the 

17 forest management activity. 

18 TITLE II—SALVAGE AND REFOR19 ESTATION IN RESPONSE TO 

20 CATASTROPHIC EVENTS 

21 SEC. 201. EXPEDITED SALVAGE OPERATIONS AND REFOR22 ESTATION ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING LARGE23 SCALE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS. 

24 (a) EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.— 

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1 mental assessment prepared by the Secretary concerned 

2 pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental 

3 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a salvage oper4 ation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted 

5 on National Forest System lands or public lands adversely 

6 impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be com7 pleted within 3 months after the conclusion of the cata8 strophic event. 

9 (b) EXPEDITED IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLE10 TION.—In the case of reforestation activities conducted on 

11 National Forest System lands or public lands adversely 

12 impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event, the Secretary 

13 concerned shall achieve reforestation of at least 75 percent 

14 of the impacted lands during the 5-year period following 

15 the conclusion of the catastrophic event. 

16 (c) AVAILABILITY OF KNUTSON-VANDENBERG

17 FUNDS.—Amounts in the special fund established pursu18 ant to section 3 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly 

19 known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b) 

20 shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for refor21 estation activities authorized by this title. 

22 (d) TIMELINE FOR PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS.—Not23 withstanding any other provision of law, in the case of a 

24 salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be 

25 conducted on National Forest System lands or public 


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1 lands adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic 

2 event, the Secretary concerned shall allow 30 days for pub3 lic scoping and comment, 15 days for filing an objection, 

4 and 15 days for the agency response to the filing of an 

5 objection. Upon completion of this process and expiration 

6 of the period specified in subsection (a), the Secretary con7 cerned shall implement the project immediately. 

8 SEC. 202. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

9 A salvage operation or reforestation activity author10 ized by this title shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

11 with the forest plan applicable to the National Forest Sys12 tem lands or public lands covered by the salvage operation 

13 or reforestation activity. 

14 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION ON RESTRAINING ORDERS, PRE15 LIMINARY INJUNCTIONS, AND INJUNCTIONS 

16 PENDING APPEAL. 

17 No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or in18 junction pending appeal shall be issued by any court of 

19 the United States with respect to any decision to prepare 

20 or conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in 

21 response to a large-scale catastrophic event. Section 705 

22 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to any chal23 lenge to the salvage operation or reforestation activity. 


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1 SEC. 204. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LANDS. 

2 In applying this title, the Secretary concerned may 

3 not carry out salvage operations or reforestation activities 

4 on National Forest System lands or public lands— 

5 (1) that are included in the National Wilderness 

6 Preservation System; 

7 (2) that are located within an inventoried 

8 roadless area unless the reforestation activity is con9 sistent with the forest plan; or 

10 (3) on which timber harvesting for any purpose 

11 is prohibited by statute. 

12 TITLE III—COLLABORATIVE 

13 PROJECT LITIGATION RE14 QUIREMENT 

15 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

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

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

19 United States Code. 

20 (2) EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘expenses’’ includes 

21 the expenditures incurred by the staff of the Sec22 retary concerned in preparing for and responding to 

23 a legal challenge to a collaborative forest manage24 ment activity and in participating in litigation that 

25 challenges the forest management activity, including 

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1 ministrative record, exhibits, declarations, and affi2 davits in connection with the litigation. 

3 SEC. 302. BOND REQUIREMENT AS PART OF LEGAL CHAL4 LENGE OF CERTAIN FOREST MANAGEMENT 

5 ACTIVITIES. 

6 (a) BOND REQUIRED.—In the case of a forest man7 agement activity developed through a collaborative process 

8 or proposed by a resource advisory committee, any plain9 tiff or plaintiffs challenging the forest management activ10 ity shall be required to post a bond or other security equal 

11 to the anticipated costs, expenses, and attorneys fees of 

12 the Secretary concerned as defendant, as reasonably esti13 mated by the Secretary concerned. All proceedings in the 

14 action shall be stayed until the required bond or security 

15 is provided. 

16 (b) RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS, EXPENSES, 

17 AND ATTORNEYS FEES.— 

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

19 concerned prevails in an action challenging a forest 

20 management activity described in subsection (a), the 

21 Secretary concerned shall submit to the court a mo22 tion for payment, from the bond or other security 

23 posted under subsection (a) in such action, of the 

24 reasonable costs, expenses, and attorneys fees in25 curred by the Secretary concerned. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERED.—The 

2 amount of costs, expenses, and attorneys fees recov3 ered by the Secretary concerned under paragraph 

4 (1) as a result of prevailing in an action challenging 

5 the forest management activity may not exceed the 

6 amount of the bond or other security posted under 

7 subsection (a) in such action. 

8 (3) RETURN OF REMAINDER.—Any funds re9 maining from the bond or other security posted 

10 under subsection (a) after the payment of costs, ex11 penses, and attorneys fees under paragraph (1) shall 

12 be returned to the plaintiff or plaintiffs that posted 

13 the bond or security in the action. 

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

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

16 prevails on the merits in every action brought by the 

17 plaintiff challenging a forest management activity 

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

19 the plaintiff any bond or security provided by the 

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

21 date the bond or security was provided. 

22 (2) ULTIMATELY PREVAILS ON THE MERITS.— 

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

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

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


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1 on every cause of action in every action brought by 

2 the plaintiff challenging the forest management ac3 tivity. 

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

5 forest management activity described in subsection (a) for 

6 which a bond or other security was provided by the plain7 tiff under such subsection is resolved by settlement be8 tween the Secretary concerned and the plaintiff, the settle9 ment agreement shall provide for sharing the costs, ex10 penses, and attorneys fees incurred by the parties. 

11 (e) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith12 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

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

14 States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or ex15 pended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the 

16 United States Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses 

17 under such sections to any plaintiff related to an action 

18 challenging a forest management activity described in sub19 section (a). 


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1 TITLE IV—SECURE RURAL 

2 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY 

3 SELF-DETERMINATION ACT 

4 AMENDMENTS 

5 SEC. 401. USE OF RESERVED FUNDS FOR TITLE II 

6 PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND AND CERTAIN 

7 NON-FEDERAL LAND. 

8 (a) REPEAL OF MERCHANTABLE TIMBER CON9 TRACTING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 204(e) of the Se10 cure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

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

12 paragraph (3). 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT FUNDS.—Section 

14 204 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-De15 termination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7124) is amended by 

16 striking subsection (f) and inserting the following new 

17 subsection: 

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

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

20 the Secretary concerned shall ensure that at least 50 

21 percent of the project funds reserved by a partici22 pating county under section 102(d) shall be available 

23 only for projects that— 


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

2 forest products, reduce fire risks, or improve 

3 water supplies; and 

4 ‘‘(B) implement stewardship objectives 

5 that enhance forest ecosystems or restore and 

6 improve land health and water quality. 

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

8 paragraph (1) shall apply only to project funds re9 served by a participating county whose boundaries 

10 include Federal land that the Secretary concerned 

11 determines has been subject to a timber or other for12 est products program within 5 fiscal years before the 

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

14 SEC. 402. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

15 (a) RECOGNITION OF RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMIT16 TEES.—Section 205(a)(4) of the Secure Rural Schools 

17 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 

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

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

20 (b) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN COMPOSITION OF

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

22 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

23 (16 U.S.C. 7125(d)) is amended— 


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

2 inserting ‘‘Except during the period specified in 

3 paragraph (6), each’’; and 

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

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN MINIMUM

7 NUMBER OF MEMBERS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TEMPORARY REDUCTION.—During 

9 the period beginning on the date of the enact10 ment of this paragraph and ending on Sep11 tember 30, 2020, a resource advisory committee 

12 established under this section may be comprised 

13 of nine or more members, of which— 

14 ‘‘(i) at least three shall be representa15 tive of interests described in subparagraph 

16 (A) of paragraph (2); 

17 ‘‘(ii) at least three shall be representa18 tive of interests described in subparagraph 

19 (B) of paragraph (2); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) at least three shall be represent21 ative of interests described in subpara22 graph (C) of paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In 

24 appointing members of a resource advisory com25 mittee from the three categories described in 


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1 paragraph (2), as provided in subparagraph 

2 (A), the Secretary concerned shall ensure bal3 anced and broad representation in each cat4 egory. In the case of a vacancy on a resource 

5 advisory committee, the vacancy shall be filled 

6 within 90 days after the date on which the va7 cancy occurred. Appointments to a new re8 source advisory committee shall be made within 

9 90 days after the date on which the decision to 

10 form the new resource advisory committee was 

11 made. 

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

13 advisory committee with 15 members that was 

14 filed on or before the date of the enactment of 

15 this paragraph shall be considered to be filed 

16 for a resource advisory committee described in 

17 this paragraph. The charter of a resource advi18 sory committee shall be reapproved before the 

19 expiration of the existing charter of the re20 source advisory committee. In the case of a new 

21 resource advisory committee, the charter of the 

22 resource advisory committee shall be approved 

23 within 90 days after the date on which the deci24 sion to form the new resource advisory com25 mittee was made.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING CHANGE TO PROJECT APPROVAL

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

3 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

4 (16 U.S.C. 7125(e)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of a resource ad6 visory committee consisting of fewer than 15 members, as 

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

8 to the Secretary concerned upon approval by a majority 

9 of the members of the committee, including at least one 

10 member from each of the three categories described in 

11 subsection (d)(2).’’. 

12 (d) EXPANDING LOCAL PARTICIPATION ON COMMIT13 TEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure Rural Schools and 

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

15 7125(d)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the pe17 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, consistent with the 

18 requirements of paragraph (4)’’; and 

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

20 following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The mem22 bers of a resource advisory committee shall reside 

23 within the county or counties in which the committee 

24 has jurisdiction or an adjacent county.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. PROGRAM FOR TITLE II SELF-SUSTAINING RE2 SOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

3 (a) SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE ADVISORY COM4 MITTEE PROJECTS.—Title II of the Secure Rural Schools 

5 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 

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

7 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 209. PROGRAM FOR SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE AD9 VISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) RAC PROGRAM.—The Chief of the Forest Serv11 ice shall conduct a program (to be known as the ‘self-sus12 taining resource advisory committee program’ or ‘RAC 

13 program’) under which 10 resource advisory committees 

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

15 carried out using project funds reserved by a participating 

16 county under section 102(d). 

17 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING RESOURCE AD18 VISORY COMMITTEES.—The selection of resource advisory 

19 committees to participate in the RAC program is in the 

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

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

22 advisory committee must have a minimum of six members. 

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

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

25 204(a)(5), projects under the RAC program are intended 

26 to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) accomplish forest management objectives 

2 or support community development; and 

3 ‘‘(2) generate receipts. 

4 ‘‘(d) DEPOSIT AND AVAILABILITY OF REVENUES.— 

5 Any revenue generated by a project conducted under the 

6 RAC program, including any interest accrued from the 

7 revenues, shall be— 

8 ‘‘(1) deposited in the special account in the 

9 Treasury established under section 102(d)(2)(A); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) available, in such amounts as may be pro12 vided in advance in appropriation Acts, for addi13 tional projects under the RAC program. 

14 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

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

16 project under the RAC program shall terminate on 

17 September 30, 2020. 

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

19 available for projects under the RAC program and 

20 not obligated by September 30, 2021, shall be depos21 ited in the Treasury of the United States.’’. 

22 (b) EXCEPTION TO GENERAL RULE REGARDING

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

24 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

25 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7153(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘All revVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 enues’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 209, 

2 all revenues’’. 

3 SEC. 404. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF RESERVED 

4 FUNDS FOR TITLE III COUNTY PROJECTS. 

5 Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools and Com6 munity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

7 7142(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘and law enforcement pa10 trols’’ after ‘‘including firefighting’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para13 graph (4); and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol15 lowing new paragraph (3): 

16 ‘‘(3) to cover training costs and equipment pur17 chases directly related to the emergency services de18 scribed in paragraph (2); and’’. 

19 SEC. 405. TREATMENT AS SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING. 

20 Section 102 of the Secure Rural Schools and Commu21 nity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7112) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT AS SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.— 

25 None of the funds made available to a beneficiary county 


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1 or other political subdivision of a State under this Act 

2 shall be used in lieu of or to otherwise offset State funding 

3 sources for local schools, facilities, or educational pur4 poses.’’. 

5 TITLE V—STEWARDSHIP END 

6 RESULT CONTRACTING 

7 SEC. 501. CANCELLATION CEILINGS FOR STEWARDSHIP 

8 END RESULT CONTRACTING PROJECTS. 

9 (a) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.—Section 604 of the 

10 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

11 6591c) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 

13 subsections (i) and (j), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol15 lowing new subsection (h): 

16 ‘‘(h) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief and the Director 

18 may obligate funds to cover any potential cancella19 tion or termination costs for an agreement or con20 tract under subsection (b) in stages that are eco21 nomically or programmatically viable. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF CAN23 CELLATION CEILING IN EXCESS OF $25 MILLION.— 

24 Not later than 30 days before entering into a 

25 multiyear agreement or contract under subsection 


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1 (b) that includes a cancellation ceiling in excess of 

2 $25 million, but does not include proposed funding 

3 for the costs of cancelling the agreement or contract 

4 up to such cancellation ceiling, the Chief or the Di5 rector, as the case may be, shall submit to the Com6 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources and the 

7 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

8 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re9 sources and the Committee on Agriculture of the 

10 House of Representatives a written notice that in11 cludes— 

12 ‘‘(A) the cancellation ceiling amounts pro13 posed for each program year in the agreement 

14 or contract; 

15 ‘‘(B) the reasons why such cancellation 

16 ceiling amounts were selected; 

17 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the costs of con18 tract cancellation are not included in the budget 

19 for the agreement or contract; and 

20 ‘‘(D) an assessment of the financial risk of 

21 not including budgeting for the costs of agree22 ment or contract cancellation. 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL OF NOTICE TO OMB.—Not 

24 later than 14 days after the date on which written 

25 notice is provided under paragraph (2) with respect 


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1 to an agreement or contract under subsection (b), 

2 the Chief or the Director, as the case may be, shall 

3 transmit a copy of the notice to the Director of the 

4 Office of Management and Budget.’’. 

5 (b) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Section 604(d)(5) 

6 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

7 U.S.C. 6591c(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘, the Chief 

8 may’’ and inserting ‘‘and section 2(a)(1) of the Act of July 

9 31, 1947 (commonly known as the Materials Act of 1947; 

10 30 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)), the Chief and the Director may’’. 

11 SEC. 502. EXCESS OFFSET VALUE. 

12 Section 604(g)(2) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

13 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(g)(2)) is amended by strik14 ing subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following 

15 new subparagraphs: 

16 ‘‘(A) use the excess to satisfy any out17 standing liabilities for cancelled agreements or 

18 contracts; or 

19 ‘‘(B) if there are no outstanding liabilities 

20 under subparagraph (A), apply the excess to 

21 other authorized stewardship projects.’’. 


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1 SEC. 503. PAYMENT OF PORTION OF STEWARDSHIP 

2 PROJECT REVENUES TO COUNTY IN WHICH 

3 STEWARDSHIP PROJECT OCCURS. 

4 Section 604(e) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

5 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(e)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘subject 

7 to paragraph (3)(A),’’ before ‘‘shall’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘services 

9 received by the Chief or the Director’’ and all that 

10 follows through the period at the end and inserting 

11 the following: ‘‘services and in-kind resources re12 ceived by the Chief or the Director under a steward13 ship contract project conducted under this section 

14 shall not be considered monies received from the Na15 tional Forest System or the public lands, but any 

16 payments made by the contractor to the Chief or Di17 rector under the project shall be considered monies 

18 received from the National Forest System or the 

19 public lands.’’. 

20 SEC. 504. SUBMISSION OF EXISTING ANNUAL REPORT. 

21 Subsection (j) of section 604 of the Healthy Forests 

22 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c), as redesig23 nated by section 501(a)(1), is amended by striking ‘‘report 

24 to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

25 of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the 

26 House of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘submit to the 


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1 congressional committees specified in subsection (h)(2) a 

2 report’’. 

3 SEC. 505. FIRE LIABILITY PROVISION. 

4 Section 604(d) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

5 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(d)) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(8) MODIFICATION.—Upon the request of the 

8 contractor, a contract or agreement under this sec9 tion awarded before February 7, 2014, shall be 

10 modified by the Chief or Director to include the fire 

11 liability provisions described in paragraph (7).’’. 

12 TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL FUND13 ING SOURCES FOR FOREST 

14 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

15 SEC. 601. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

17 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti18 ty’’ means— 

19 (A) a State or political subdivision of a 

20 State containing National Forest System lands 

21 or public lands; 

22 (B) a publicly chartered utility serving one 

23 or more States or a political subdivision thereof; 

24 (C) a rural electric company; and 


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1 (D) any other entity determined by the 

2 Secretary concerned to be appropriate for par3 ticipation in the Fund. 

4 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

5 State-Supported Forest Management Fund estab6 lished by section 603. 

7 SEC. 602. AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE8 NUES AND COLLABORATIVE FOREST LAND9 SCAPE RESTORATION FUND TO COVER FOR10 EST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY PLANNING 

11 COSTS. 

12 (a) AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE13 NUES.—Section 604(e)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forests Res14 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(e)(2)(B)), as 

15 amended by section 503, is further amended by striking 

16 ‘‘appropriation at the project site from which the monies 

17 are collected or at another project site.’’ and inserting the 

18 following: ‘‘appropriation— 

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

20 monies are collected or at another project 

21 site; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) to cover not more than 25 per23 cent of the cost of planning additional 

24 stewardship contracting projects.’’. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF COLLABORATIVE FOREST

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

3 the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 

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

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

6 SEC. 603. STATE-SUPPORTED PLANNING OF FOREST MAN7 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

8 (a) STATE-SUPPORTED FOREST MANAGEMENT

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

10 United States a fund, to be known as the ‘‘State-Sup11 ported Forest Management Fund’’, to cover the cost of 

12 planning (especially related to compliance with section 

13 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

14 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2))), carrying out, and monitoring cer15 tain forest management activities on National Forest Sys16 tem lands or public lands. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The State-Supported Forest Man18 agement Fund shall consist of such amounts as may be— 

19 (1) contributed by an eligible entity for deposit 

20 in the Fund; 

21 (2) appropriated to the Fund; or 

22 (3) generated by forest management activities 

23 carried out using amounts in the Fund. 


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1 (c) GEOGRAPHICAL AND USE LIMITATIONS.—In 

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

3 entity may— 

4 (1) specify the National Forest System lands or 

5 public lands for which the contribution may be ex6 pended; and 

7 (2) limit the types of forest management activi8 ties for which the contribution may be expended. 

9 (d) AUTHORIZED FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVI10 TIES.—In such amounts as may be provided in advance 

11 in appropriation Acts, the Secretary concerned may use 

12 the Fund to plan, carry out, and monitor a forest manage13 ment 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 (e) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.—A forest manage20 ment activity carried out using amounts in the Fund may 

21 be carried out using a contract or agreement under section 

22 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

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

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

25 2113a), a contract under section 14 of the National Forest 


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1 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), or other au2 thority available to the Secretary concerned, but revenues 

3 generated by the forest management activity shall be used 

4 to reimburse the Fund for planning costs covered using 

5 amounts in the Fund. 

6 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

7 (1) REVENUE SHARING.—Subject to subsection 

8 (e), revenues generated by a forest management ac9 tivity carried out using amounts from the Fund shall 

10 be considered monies received from the National 

11 Forest System. 

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

13 June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson14 Vanderberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.), shall apply 

15 to any forest management activity carried out using 

16 amounts in the Fund. 

17 (g) TERMINATION OF FUND.— 

18 (1) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate 

19 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Upon the ter21 mination of the Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) or 

22 pursuant to any other provision of law, unobligated 

23 contributions remaining in the Fund shall be re24 turned to the eligible entity that made the contribu25 tion. 


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1 TITLE VII—TRIBAL FORESTRY 

2 PARTICIPATION AND PRO3 TECTION 

4 SEC. 701. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL FOREST ASSETS 

5 THROUGH USE OF STEWARDSHIP END RE6 SULT CONTRACTING AND OTHER AUTHORI7 TIES. 

8 (a) PROMPT CONSIDERATION OF TRIBAL RE9 QUESTS.—Section 2(b) of the Tribal Forest Protection 

10 Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later 

12 than 120 days after the date on which an Indian 

13 tribe submits to the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘In re14 sponse to the submission by an Indian tribe of’’; and 

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

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(4) TIME PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) INITIAL RESPONSE.—Not later than 

19 120 days after the date on which the Secretary 

20 receives a tribal request under paragraph (1), 

21 the Secretary shall provide an initial response 

22 to the Indian tribe regarding— 

23 ‘‘(i) whether the request may meet the 

24 selection criteria described in subsection 

25 (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood of the Secretary 

2 entering into an agreement or contract 

3 with the Indian tribe under paragraph (2) 

4 for activities described in paragraph (3). 

5 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—Notice under 

6 subsection (d) of the denial of a tribal request 

7 under paragraph (1) shall be provided not later 

8 than 1 year after the date on which the Sec9 retary received the request. 

10 ‘‘(C) COMPLETION.—Not later than 2 

11 years after the date on which the Secretary re12 ceives a tribal request under paragraph (1), 

13 other than a tribal request denied under sub14 section (d), the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) complete all environmental re16 views necessary in connection with the 

17 agreement or contract and proposed activi18 ties under the agreement or contract; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) enter into the agreement or con20 tract with the Indian tribe under para21 graph (2).’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

23 Section 2 of the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 

24 U.S.C. 3115a) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsections (b)(1) and (f)(1), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 347 of the Department of the Interior and 

3 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 

4 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law 105–277) (as amend5 ed by section 323 of the Department of the Interior 

6 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (117 

7 Stat. 275))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 604 of the 

8 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

9 6591c)’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection 

11 (b)(1), the Secretary may’’ and inserting ‘‘para12 graphs (1) and (4)(B) of subsection (b), the Sec13 retary shall’’. 

14 SEC. 702. MANAGEMENT OF INDIAN FOREST LAND AUTHOR15 IZED TO INCLUDE RELATED NATIONAL FOR16 EST SYSTEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

17 Section 305 of the National Indian Forest Resources 

18 Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3104) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST

21 SYSTEM LAND AND PUBLIC LAND.— 

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—At the request of an Indian 

23 tribe, the Secretary concerned may treat Federal 

24 forest land as Indian forest land for purposes of 

25 planning and conducting forest land management 


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1 activities under this section if the Federal forest 

2 land is located within, or mostly within, a geographic 

3 area that presents a feature or involves cir4 cumstances principally relevant to that Indian tribe, 

5 such as Federal forest land ceded to the United 

6 States by treaty, Federal forest land within the 

7 boundaries of a current or former reservation, or 

8 Federal forest land adjudicated to be tribal home9 lands. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—As part of the agree11 ment to treat Federal forest land as Indian forest 

12 land under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned 

13 and the Indian tribe making the request shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) provide for continued public access 

15 applicable to the Federal forest land prior to 

16 the agreement, except that the Secretary con17 cerned may limit or prohibit such access as 

18 needed; 

19 ‘‘(B) continue sharing revenue generated 

20 by the Federal forest land with State and local 

21 governments either— 

22 ‘‘(i) on the terms applicable to the 

23 Federal forest land prior to the agreement, 

24 including, where applicable, 25-percent 

25 payments or 50-percent payments; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the Indian tribe, 

2 on terms agreed upon by the Indian tribe, 

3 the Secretary concerned, and State and 

4 county governments participating in a rev5 enue sharing agreement for the Federal 

6 forest land; 

7 ‘‘(C) comply with applicable prohibitions 

8 on the export of unprocessed logs harvested 

9 from the Federal forest land; 

10 ‘‘(D) recognize all right-of-way agreements 

11 in place on Federal forest land prior to com12 mencement of tribal management activities; and 

13 ‘‘(E) ensure that all commercial timber re14 moved from the Federal forest land is sold on 

15 a competitive bid basis. 

16 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Treating Federal forest 

17 land as Indian forest land for purposes of planning 

18 and conducting management activities pursuant to 

19 paragraph (1) shall not be construed to designate 

20 the Federal forest land as Indian forest lands for 

21 any other purpose. 

22 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

23 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL FOREST LAND.—The term 

24 ‘Federal forest land’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) National Forest System lands; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) public lands (as defined in sec4 tion 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 

5 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

6 1702(e))), including Coos Bay Wagon 

7 Road Grant lands reconveyed to the 

8 United States pursuant to the first section 

9 of the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 

10 1179), and Oregon and California Railroad 

11 Grant lands. 

12 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

13 ‘Secretary concerned’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

15 respect to the Federal forest land referred 

16 to in subparagraph (A)(i); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Interior, 

18 with respect to the Federal forest land re19 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii).’’. 

20 SEC. 703. TRIBAL FOREST MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

21 PROJECT. 

22 The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

23 Agriculture may carry out demonstration projects by 

24 which federally recognized Indian tribes or tribal organiza25 tions may contract to perform administrative, manageVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 ment, and other functions of programs of the Tribal For2 est Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.) 

3 through contracts entered into under the Indian Self-De4 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 

5 et seq.). 

6 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

7 FOREST MANAGEMENT PRO8 VISIONS 

9 SEC. 801. BALANCING SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS 

10 OF FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN 

11 CONSIDERING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. 

12 As part of its weighing the equities while considering 

13 any request for an injunction that applies to any agency 

14 action as part of a forest management activity under titles 

15 I through VIII, the court reviewing the agency action shall 

16 balance the impact to the ecosystem likely affected by the 

17 forest management activity of— 

18 (1) the short- and long-term effects of under19 taking the agency action; against 

20 (2) the short- and long-term effects of not un21 dertaking the action. 

22 SEC. 802. CONDITIONS ON FOREST SERVICE ROAD DECOM23 MISSIONING. 

24 (a) CONSULTATION WITH AFFECTED COUNTY.— 

25 Whenever any Forest Service defined maintenance level 


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1 one- or two-system road within a designated high fire 

2 prone area of a unit of the National Forest System is con3 sidered for decommissioning, the Forest Supervisor of that 

4 unit of the National Forest System shall— 

5 (1) consult with the government of the county 

6 containing the road regarding the merits and pos7 sible consequences of decommissioning the road; and 

8 (2) solicit possible alternatives to decommis9 sioning the road. 

10 (b) REGIONAL FORESTER APPROVAL.—A Forest 

11 Service road described in subsection (a) may not be de12 commissioned without the advance approval of the Re13 gional Forester. 

14 SEC. 803. PROHIBITION ON APPLICATION OF EASTSIDE 

15 SCREENS REQUIREMENTS ON NATIONAL 

16 FOREST SYSTEM LANDS. 

17 On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture may not apply to National 

19 Forest System lands any of the amendments to forest 

20 plans adopted in the Decision Notice for the Revised Con21 tinuation of Interim Management Direction Establishing 

22 Riparian, Ecosystem and Wildlife Standards for Timber 

23 Sales (commonly known as the Eastside Screens require24 ments), including all preceding or associated versions of 

25 these amendments. 


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1 SEC. 804. USE OF SITE-SPECIFIC FOREST PLAN AMEND2 MENTS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS AND ACTIVI3 TIES. 

4 If the Secretary concerned determines that, in order 

5 to conduct a project or carry out an activity implementing 

6 a forest plan, an amendment to the forest plan is required, 

7 the Secretary concerned shall execute such amendment as 

8 a nonsignificant plan amendment through the record of 

9 decision or decision notice for the project or activity. 

10 SEC. 805. KNUTSON-VANDENBERG ACT MODIFICATIONS. 

11 (a) DEPOSITS OF FUNDS FROM NATIONAL FOREST

12 TIMBER PURCHASERS REQUIRED.—Section 3(a) of the 

13 Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson14 Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b(a)), is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘The Secretary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘any 

16 purchaser’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary of 

17 Agriculture shall require each purchaser’’. 

18 (b) CONDITIONS ON USE OF DEPOSITS.—Section 3 

19 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the 

20 Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘Such deposits’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) Amounts deposited under subsection (a)’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (d); and 


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1 (3) by inserting before subsection (d), as so re2 designated, the following new subsection (c): 

3 ‘‘(c)(1) Amounts in the special fund established pur4 suant to this section— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall be used exclusively to implement ac6 tivities authorized by subsection (a); and 

7 ‘‘(B) may be used anywhere within the Forest 

8 Service Region from which the original deposits were 

9 collected. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Agriculture may not deduct 

11 overhead costs from the funds collected under subsection 

12 (a), except as needed to fund personnel of the responsible 

13 Ranger District for the planning and implementation of 

14 the activities authorized by subsection (a).’’. 

15 SEC. 806. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS16 TEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

17 Unless specifically provided by a provision of titles 

18 I through VIII, the authorities provided by such titles do 

19 not apply with respect to any National Forest System 

20 lands or public lands— 

21 (1) that are included in the National Wilderness 

22 Preservation System; 

23 (2) that are located within an inventoried 

24 roadless area unless the forest management activity 


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1 to be carried out under such authority is consistent 

2 with the forest plan applicable to the area; or 

3 (3) on which timber harvesting for any purpose 

4 is prohibited by statute. 

5 SEC. 807. APPLICATION OF NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN SUR6 VEY AND MANAGE MITIGATION MEASURE 

7 STANDARD AND GUIDELINES. 

8 The Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Miti9 gation Measure Standard and Guidelines shall not apply 

10 to any National Forest System lands or public lands. 

11 SEC. 808. MANAGEMENT OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE12 MENT LANDS IN WESTERN OREGON. 

13 (a) GENERAL RULE.—All of the public land managed 

14 by the Bureau of Land Management in the Salem District, 

15 Eugene District, Roseburg District, Coos Bay District, 

16 Medford District, and the Klamath Resource Area of the 

17 Lakeview District in the State of Oregon shall hereafter 

18 be managed pursuant to title I of the of the Act of August 

19 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a through 1181e). Except as 

20 provided in subsection (b), all of the revenue produced 

21 from such land shall be deposited in the Treasury of the 

22 United States in the Oregon and California land-grant 

23 fund and be subject to the provisions of title II of the 

24 Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181f). 


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1 (b) CERTAIN LANDS EXCLUDED.—Subsection (a) 

2 does not apply to any revenue that is required to be depos3 ited in the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant fund pursuant 

4 to sections 1 through 4 of the Act of May 24, 1939 (43 

5 U.S.C. 1181f–1 through f–4). 

6 SEC. 809. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT RESOURCE 

7 MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

8 (a) ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS AND ALTERNATIVES.—To 

9 develop a full range of reasonable alternatives as required 

10 by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the 

11 Secretary of the Interior shall develop and consider in de12 tail a reference analysis and two additional alternatives 

13 as part of the revisions of the resource management plans 

14 for the Bureau of Land Management’s Salem, Eugene, 

15 Coos Bay, Roseburg, and Medford Districts and the Klam16 ath Resource Area of the Lakeview District. 

17 (b) REFERENCE ANALYSIS.—The reference analysis 

18 required by subsection (a) shall measure and assume the 

19 harvest of the annual growth net of natural mortality for 

20 all forested land in the planning area in order to determine 

21 the maximum sustained yield capacity of the forested land 

22 base and to establish a baseline by which the Secretary 

23 of the Interior shall measure incremental effects on the 

24 sustained yield capacity and environmental impacts from 

25 management prescriptions in all other alternatives. 


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1 (c) ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVES.— 

2 (1) CARBON SEQUESTRATION ALTERNATIVE.— 

3 The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and con4 sider an additional alternative with the goal of maxi5 mizing the total carbon benefits from forest storage 

6 and wood product storage. To the extent practicable, 

7 the analysis shall consider— 

8 (A) the future risks to forest carbon from 

9 wildfires, insects, and disease; 

10 (B) the amount of carbon stored in prod11 ucts or in landfills; 

12 (C) the life cycle benefits of harvested 

13 wood products compared to non-renewable 

14 products; and 

15 (D) the energy produced from wood resi16 dues. 

17 (2) SUSTAINED YIELD ALTERNATIVE.—The 

18 Secretary of the Interior shall develop and consider 

19 an additional alternative that produces the greater 

20 of 500 million board feet or the annual net growth 

21 on the acres classified as timberland, excluding any 

22 congressionally reserved areas. The projected harvest 

23 levels, as nearly as practicable, shall be distributed 

24 among the Districts referred to in subsection (a) in 

25 the same proportion as the maximum yield capacity 


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1 of each such District bears to maximum yield capac2 ity of the planning area as a whole. 

3 (d) ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC PARTICIPA4 TION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall publish the ref5 erence analysis and additional alternatives and analyze 

6 their environmental and economic consequences in a sup7 plemental draft environmental impact statement. The 

8 draft environmental impact statement and supplemental 

9 draft environmental impact statement shall be made avail10 able for public comment for a period of not less than 180 

11 days. The Secretary shall respond to any comments re12 ceived before making a final decision between all alter13 natives. 

14 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec15 tion shall affect the obligation of the Secretary of the Inte16 rior to manage the timberlands as required by the Act of 

17 August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181j). 

18 SEC. 810. LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION 

19 PROJECT. 

20 The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and imple21 ment at least one landscape-scale forest restoration project 

22 that includes, as a defined purpose of the project, the gen23 eration of material that will be used to promote advanced 

24 wood products. The project shall be developed through a 

25 collaborative process. 


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1 TITLE IX—MAJOR DISASTER FOR 

2 WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND 

3 SEC. 901. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

4 Section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

5 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and all that follows 

8 through ‘‘means’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) MAJOR DISASTER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘major 

11 disaster’ means’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON

14 FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘major disaster 

15 for wildfire on Federal lands’ means any wild16 fire or wildfires, which in the determination of 

17 the President under section 802 warrants as18 sistance under section 803 to supplement the 

19 efforts and resources of the Department of the 

20 Interior or the Department of Agriculture— 

21 ‘‘(i) on Federal lands; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) on non-Federal lands pursuant 

23 to a fire protection agreement or coopera24 tive agreement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 902. DECLARATION OF A MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILD2 FIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

3 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘TITLE VIII—MAJOR DISASTER 

7 FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL 

8 LAND 

9 ‘‘SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘As used in this title— 

11 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘Federal land’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) any land under the jurisdiction of the 

14 Department of the Interior; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any land under the jurisdiction of the 

16 United States Forest Service. 

17 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGEN18 CIES.—The term ‘Federal land management agen19 cies’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Bureau of Land Management; 

21 ‘‘(B) the National Park Service; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

23 ‘‘(D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

24 Service; and 

25 ‘‘(E) the United States Forest Service. 


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1 ‘‘(3) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS.— 

2 The term ‘wildfire suppression operations’ means the 

3 emergency and unpredictable aspects of wildland 

4 firefighting, including support, response, emergency 

5 stabilization activities, and other emergency manage6 ment activities of wildland firefighting on Federal 

7 lands (or on non-Federal lands pursuant to a fire 

8 protection agreement or cooperative agreement) by 

9 the Federal land management agencies covered by 

10 the wildfire suppression subactivity of the Wildland 

11 Fire Management account or the FLAME Wildfire 

12 Suppression Reserve Fund account of the Federal 

13 land management agencies. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 802. PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION OF A MAJOR 

15 DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL 

16 LANDS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior or 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture may submit a request to the 

19 President consistent with the requirements of this title for 

20 a declaration by the President that a major disaster for 

21 wildfire on Federal lands exists. 

22 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A request for a declaration 

23 by the President that a major disaster for wildfire on Fed24 eral lands exists shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) be made in writing by the respective Sec2 retary; 

3 ‘‘(2) certify that the amount appropriated in 

4 the current fiscal year for wildfire suppression oper5 ations of the Federal land management agencies 

6 under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary, 

7 net of any concurrently enacted rescissions of wild8 fire suppression funds, increases the total unobli9 gated balance of amounts available for wildfire sup10 pression by an amount equal to or greater than the 

11 average total costs incurred by the Federal land 

12 management agencies per year for wildfire suppres13 sion operations, including the suppression costs in 

14 excess of appropriated amounts, over the previous 

15 ten fiscal years; 

16 ‘‘(3) certify that the amount available for wild17 fire suppression operations of the Federal land man18 agement agencies under the jurisdiction of the re19 spective Secretary will be obligated not later than 30 

20 days after such Secretary notifies the President that 

21 wildfire suppression funds will be exhausted to fund 

22 ongoing and anticipated wildfire suppression oper23 ations related to the wildfire on which the request 

24 for the declaration of a major disaster for wildfire 

25 on Federal lands pursuant to this title is based; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) specify the amount required in the current 

2 fiscal year to fund wildfire suppression operations 

3 related to the wildfire on which the request for the 

4 declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on Fed5 eral lands pursuant to this title is based. 

6 ‘‘(c) DECLARATION.—Based on the request of the re7 spective Secretary under this title, the President may de8 clare that a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands 

9 exists. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 803. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS ASSISTANCE. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In a major disaster for wildfire 

12 on Federal lands, the President may transfer funds, only 

13 from the account established pursuant to subsection (b), 

14 to the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri15 culture to conduct wildfire suppression operations on Fed16 eral lands (and non-Federal lands pursuant to a fire pro17 tection agreement or cooperative agreement). 

18 ‘‘(b) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS AC19 COUNT.—The President shall establish a specific account 

20 for the assistance available pursuant to a declaration 

21 under section 802. Such account may only be used to fund 

22 assistance pursuant to this title. 

23 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION OF TRANSFER.—The assist25 ance available pursuant to a declaration under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 tion 802 is limited to the transfer of the amount re2 quested pursuant to section 802(b)(4). The assist3 ance available for transfer shall not exceed the 

4 amount contained in the wildfire suppression oper5 ations account established pursuant to subsection 

6 (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Funds under this 

8 section shall be transferred from the wildfire sup9 pression operations account to the wildfire suppres10 sion subactivity of the Wildland Fire Management 

11 Account. 

12 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION OF OTHER TRANSFERS.—Except 

13 as provided in this section, no funds may be transferred 

14 to or from the account established pursuant to subsection 

15 (b) to or from any other fund or account. 

16 ‘‘(e) REIMBURSEMENT FOR WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION

17 OPERATIONS ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.—If amounts 

18 transferred under subsection (c) are used to conduct wild19 fire suppression operations on non-Federal land, the re20 spective Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) secure reimbursement for the cost of such 

22 wildfire suppression operations conducted on the 

23 non-Federal land; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) transfer the amounts received as reim2 bursement to the wildfire suppression operations ac3 count established pursuant to subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING RE5 QUIREMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after the end of 

6 each fiscal year for which assistance is received pursuant 

7 to this section, the respective Secretary shall submit to 

8 the Committees on Agriculture, Appropriations, the Budg9 et, Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastruc10 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committees 

11 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Appropriations, 

12 the Budget, Energy and Natural Resources, Homeland 

13 Security and Governmental Affairs, and Indian Affairs of 

14 the Senate, and make available to the public, a report that 

15 includes the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) The risk-based factors that influenced 

17 management decisions regarding wildfire suppression 

18 operations of the Federal land management agencies 

19 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned. 

20 ‘‘(2) Specific discussion of a statistically signifi21 cant sample of large fires, in which each fire is ana22 lyzed for cost drivers, effectiveness of risk manage23 ment techniques, resulting positive or negative im24 pacts of fire on the landscape, impact of investments 

25 in preparedness, suggested corrective actions, and 


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1 such other factors as the respective Secretary con2 siders appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) Total expenditures for wildfire suppression 

4 operations of the Federal land management agencies 

5 under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary, 

6 broken out by fire sizes, cost, regional location, and 

7 such other factors as the such Secretary considers 

8 appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(4) Lessons learned. 

10 ‘‘(5) Such other matters as the respective Sec11 retary considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this title shall 

13 limit the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agri14 culture, Indian tribe, or a State from receiving assistance 

15 through a declaration made by the President under this 

16 Act when the criteria for such declaration have been 

17 met.’’. 

18 SEC. 903. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFERS. 

19 No funds may be transferred to or from the Federal 

20 land management agencies’ wildfire suppression oper21 ations accounts referred to in section 801(3) of the Robert 

22 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

23 to or from any account or subactivity of the Federal land 

24 management agencies, as defined in section 801(2) of such 


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1 Act, that is not used to cover the cost of wildfire suppres2 sion operations. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 2016’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND 

Sec. 101. Wildfire on Federal land. 

Sec. 102. Declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on Federal land. 

Sec. 103. Prohibition on transfers. 

TITLE II—EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPEDITE FOREST 

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 201. Analysis of only 2 alternatives in proposed collaborative forest management activities. 

Sec. 202. Categorical exclusion to expedite certain critical response actions. 

Sec. 203. Categorical exclusion to expedite salvage operations in response to catastrophic events. 

Sec. 204. Categorical exclusion to meet forest plan goals for early successional forests. 

Sec. 205. Categorical exclusion to improve, restore, and reduce the risk of wildfire. 

Sec. 206. Consideration of resource conditions for extraordinary circumstances. 

Sec. 207. Compliance with forest plan. 

Sec. 208. Roads. 

Sec. 209. Exclusions. 

TITLE III—TRIBAL FORESTRY PARTICIPATION AND PROTECTION 

Sec. 301. Protection of tribal forest assets. 

Sec. 302. Management of Indian forest land authorized to include related National Forest System land and public land. 

Sec. 303. Tribal forest management demonstration project. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 401. Definition of Secretary. 

Sec. 402. State-supported planning of forest management activities. 

Sec. 403. Balancing of impacts in considering injunctive relief. 

Sec. 404. State and private forest landscape-scale restoration program. 

Sec. 405. Pilot arbitration program. 

Sec. 406. National Forest System accelerated landscape restoration pilot program. 

Sec. 407. Tennessee Wilderness. 


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Sec. 408. Additional authority for sale or exchange of small parcels of National 

Forest System land. 

Sec. 409. Extension of authorization for conveyance of Forest Service administrative sites. 

Sec. 410. Prescribed burn approval. 

Sec. 411. North Carolina wilderness study areas. 

TITLE V—KISATCHIE NATIONAL FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Finding. 

Sec. 503. Definitions. 

Sec. 504. Authorization of conveyances. 

Sec. 505. Proceeds from the sale of land. 

Sec. 506. Administration. 

TITLE VI—CHATTAHOOCHEE-OCONEE NATIONAL FOREST LAND 

ADJUSTMENT 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Findings. 

Sec. 603. Definition of Secretary. 

Sec. 604. Land conveyance authority. 

Sec. 605. Treatment of proceeds. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘cata4 strophic event’’ means any natural disaster (such as 

5 a hurricane, tornado, windstorm, snow or ice storm, 

6 rain storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal 

7 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

8 mudslide, drought, or insect or disease outbreak) or 

9 any fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause. 

10 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘cat11 egorical exclusion’’ means an exclusion from further 

12 analysis and documentation in an environmental as13 sessment or an environmental impact statement 

14 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for a project or activity relat2 ing to the management of National Forest System 

3 land or public land. 

4 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col5 laborative process’’ means a process relating to the 

6 management of National Forest System land or pub7 lic land under which a project or activity is developed 

8 and implemented— 

9 (A) by the Secretary concerned through col10 laboration with interested persons, as described 

11 in section 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests 

12 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

13 6591b(b)(1)(C)); or 

14 (B) through a collaborative process under 

15 the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 

16 Program, as described in section 4003(b)(2) of 

17 the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 

18 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303(b)(2)). 

19 (4) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.— 

20 The term ‘‘community wildfire protection plan’’ has 

21 the meaning given that term in section 101 of the 

22 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

23 6511). 

24 (5) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The term 

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1 tivity carried out by the Secretary concerned on Na2 tional Forest System land or public land that is con3 sistent with an applicable forest plan. 

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

5 means, as applicable— 

6 (A) a resource management plan prepared 

7 by the Bureau of Land Management for public 

8 land pursuant to section 202 of the Federal 

9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

10 U.S.C. 1712); or 

11 (B) a land management plan prepared by 

12 the Forest Service for a unit of the National For13 est System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest 

14 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 

15 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

16 (7) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Na17 tional Forest System’’ has the meaning given that 

18 term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 

19 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

21 (8) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ has 

22 the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in section 

23 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

24 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 


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1 (9) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

2 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ means— 

3 (A) a resource advisory committee estab4 lished under section 205 of the Secure Rural 

5 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 

6 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125); or 

7 (B) an advisory committee determined by 

8 the Secretary concerned to satisfy the require9 ments of section 205 of the Secure Rural Schools 

10 and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

11 (16 U.S.C. 7125). 

12 (10) SALVAGE OPERATION.—The term ‘‘salvage 

13 operation’’ means a forest management activity car14 ried out in response to a catastrophic event, the pri15 mary purpose of which is— 

16 (A)(i) to prevent wildfire as a result of the 

17 catastrophic event; or 

18 (ii) if the catastrophic event is a wildfire, 

19 to prevent a reburn of the fire-impacted area; 

20 (B) to provide an opportunity for use of 

21 any forest material damaged as a result of the 

22 catastrophic event; or 

23 (C) to provide a funding source for reforest24 ation or other restoration activities for National 


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1 Forest System land or public land impacted by 

2 the catastrophic event. 

3 (11) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

4 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

5 of Agriculture. 

6 (12) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec7 retary concerned’’ means— 

8 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re9 spect to National Forest System land; and 

10 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re11 spect to public land. 

12 TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER FOR 

13 WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND 

14 SEC. 101. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Robert T. Staf16 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 5122) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (12) 

19 as paragraphs (4) through (13), respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(3) MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FED23 ERAL LAND.—The term ‘major disaster for wildfire on 

24 Federal land’ means any wildfire or wildfires that in 

25 the determination of the President in accordance with 


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1 section 802 warrants assistance under section 803 to 

2 supplement the efforts and resources of the Secretary 

3 of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture— 

4 ‘‘(A) on Federal land; or 

5 ‘‘(B) on non-Federal land in accordance 

6 with a fire protection agreement or cooperative 

7 agreement.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 251(b)(2)(D)(iii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

10 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(D)(iii)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘section 102(2) of the Robert T. Staf12 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 5122(2))’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2) or (3) of 

14 section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

15 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)’’. 

16 SEC. 102. DECLARATION OF A MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILD17 FIRE ON FEDERAL LAND. 

18 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

19 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘TITLE VIII—MAJOR DISASTER 

22 FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL 

23 LAND 

24 ‘‘SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS. 

25 ‘‘In this title: 


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1 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘Federal land’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) any land under the jurisdiction of the 

4 Secretary of the Interior; and 

5 ‘‘(B) any land under the jurisdiction of the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

7 Chief of the Forest Service. 

8 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.— 

9 The term ‘Federal land management agencies’ 

10 means— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Bureau of Land Management; 

12 ‘‘(B) the National Park Service; 

13 ‘‘(C) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

14 ‘‘(D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

15 Service; and 

16 ‘‘(E) the Forest Service. 

17 ‘‘(3) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS.—The 

18 term ‘wildfire suppression operations’ means the 

19 emergency and unpredictable aspects of wildland fire20 fighting, including support, response, emergency sta21 bilization activities, and other emergency manage22 ment activities of wildland firefighting on Federal 

23 land, or on non-Federal land in accordance with a 

24 fire protection agreement or cooperative agreement, by 

25 the Federal land management agencies covered by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the wildfire suppression subactivity of 

2 the Wildland Fire Management account of the 

3 Federal land management agencies; or 

4 ‘‘(B) the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Re5 serve Fund account of the Federal land manage6 ment agencies. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 802. PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION OF A MAJOR 

8 DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior or 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture may submit a request to the 

11 President in accordance with the requirements of this title 

12 for a declaration by the President that a major disaster for 

13 wildfire on Federal land exists. 

14 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A request for a declaration by 

15 the President that a major disaster for wildfire on Federal 

16 land exists shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) be made in writing by the appropriate Sec18 retary; 

19 ‘‘(2) certify that the amount made available for 

20 the current fiscal year for wildfire suppression oper21 ations of the Federal land management agencies 

22 under the jurisdiction of the appropriate Secretary, 

23 net of any concurrently enacted rescissions of wildfire 

24 suppression funds, increases the total unobligated bal25 ance of the amount available for wildfire suppression 


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1 by an amount not less than the average total cost in2 curred by the Federal land management agencies per 

3 year for wildfire suppression operations, including 

4 the suppression costs in excess of amounts made 

5 available, during the previous 10 fiscal years; 

6 ‘‘(3) certify that the amount available for wild7 fire suppression operations of the Federal land man8 agement agencies under the jurisdiction of the appro9 priate Secretary will be obligated not later than 30 

10 days after the date on which the Secretary notifies the 

11 President that amounts for wildfire suppression will 

12 be exhausted to fund ongoing and anticipated wildfire 

13 suppression operations relating to the wildfire on 

14 which the request is based; and 

15 ‘‘(4) specify the amount required for the fiscal 

16 year during which the request is made to fund wild17 fire suppression operations relating to the wildfire on 

18 which the request is based. 

19 ‘‘(c) DECLARATION.—Based on the request of the ap20 propriate Secretary in accordance with this title, the Presi21 dent may declare that a major disaster for wildfire on Fed22 eral land exists. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 803. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND ASSISTANCE. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During a period for which the 

25 President has declared that a major disaster for wildfire 


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1 on Federal land exists in accordance with this title, the 

2 President may transfer funds only from the account estab3 lished in accordance with subsection (b) to the Secretary 

4 of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct 

5 wildfire suppression operations on— 

6 ‘‘(1) Federal land; and 

7 ‘‘(2) non-Federal land in accordance with a fire 

8 protection agreement or cooperative agreement. 

9 ‘‘(b) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS AC10 COUNT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

12 a specific account, to be known as the ‘wildfire sup13 pression operations account’, for amounts that may be 

14 provided to the appropriate Secretary to conduct 

15 wildfire suppression operations in accordance with 

16 this title. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The account established in 

18 accordance with paragraph (1) may only be used to 

19 provide amounts to the appropriate Secretary to con20 duct wildfire suppression operations in accordance 

21 with this title. 

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION OF TRANSFER.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts available 

25 to the appropriate Secretary to conduct wildfire 


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1 suppression operations in accordance with this 

2 title are limited to the amount requested in ac3 cordance with section 802(b)(4). 

4 ‘‘(B) WILDFIRES SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS

5 ACCOUNT.—Amounts available for transfer to the 

6 appropriate Secretary to conduct wildfire sup7 pression operations in accordance with this title 

8 shall not exceed the amount contained in the 

9 wildfire suppression operations account. 

10 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—A transfer under 

11 subsection (a) shall be made by the transfer of 

12 amounts from the wildfire suppression operations ac13 count to the wildfire suppression subactivity of the 

14 Wildland Fire Management Account. 

15 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION OF OTHER TRANSFERS.—Except as 

16 provided in this section, no amounts may be transferred 

17 to or from the wildfire suppression operations account to 

18 or from any other fund or account. 

19 ‘‘(e) REIMBURSEMENT FOR WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION

20 OPERATIONS ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.—If amounts trans21 ferred to the appropriate Secretary to conduct wildfire sup22 pression operations in accordance with this title are used 

23 to conduct wildfire suppression operations on non-Federal 

24 land, the appropriate Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) secure reimbursement for the cost of the 

2 wildfire suppression operations conducted on the non3 Federal land; and 

4 ‘‘(2) transfer the amounts received under para5 graph (1) to the wildfire suppression operations ac6 count. 

7 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING REQUIRE8 MENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the last day of each fiscal year for which the Sec11 retary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture 

12 receives amounts to conduct wildfire suppression op13 erations in accordance with this title, the appropriate 

14 Secretary shall submit to the committees described in 

15 paragraph (2), and make available to the public, a 

16 report that describes the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The risk-based factors that influenced 

18 management decisions regarding wildfire sup19 pression operations of the Federal land manage20 ment agencies under the jurisdiction of the Sec21 retary. 

22 ‘‘(B) Specific discussion of a statistically 

23 significant sample of large fires, in which each 

24 fire is analyzed for— 

25 ‘‘(i) cost drivers; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the effectiveness of risk manage2 ment techniques; 

3 ‘‘(iii) resulting positive or negative im4 pacts of fire on the landscape; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the impact of any investments in 

6 preparedness; 

7 ‘‘(v) suggested corrective actions; and 

8 ‘‘(vi) such other factors as the Sec9 retary considers appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(C) Total expenditures for wildfire sup11 pression operations of the Federal land manage12 ment agencies under the jurisdiction of the Sec13 retary, including a description of expenditures 

14 by— 

15 ‘‘(i) fire size; 

16 ‘‘(ii) cost; 

17 ‘‘(iii) regional location; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) such other factors as the Sec19 retary considers appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(D) Lessons learned. 

21 ‘‘(E) Such other matters as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEES DESCRIBED.—The committees 

24 referred to in paragraph (1) are— 

25 ‘‘(A) of the Senate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture, Nu2 trition, and Forestry; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on the Budget; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Energy and 

6 Natural Resources; 

7 ‘‘(v) the Committee on Homeland Secu8 rity and Governmental Affairs; and 

9 ‘‘(vi) the Committee on Indian Affairs; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) of the House of Representatives— 

12 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Agriculture; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on the Budget; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Natural Re16 sources; and 

17 ‘‘(v) the Committee on Transportation 

18 and Infrastructure. 

19 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this title limits 

20 the ability of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 

21 of Agriculture, an Indian tribe, or a State to receive assist22 ance through a declaration made by the President under 

23 this Act if the criteria for that declaration have been satis24 fied.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFERS. 

2 No amounts may be transferred to or from the wildfire 

3 suppression subactivity of the Wildland Fire Management 

4 account or the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund 

5 account of the Federal land management agencies (as de6 fined in section 801 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (as added by section 102)) 

8 to or from any other account or subactivity of those Federal 

9 land management agencies that is not used to cover the cost 

10 of wildfire suppression operations. 

11 TITLE II—EXPEDITED ENVIRON12 MENTAL ANALYSIS AND 

13 AVAILABILITY OF CATEGOR14 ICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPE15 DITE FOREST MANAGEMENT 

16 ACTIVITIES 

17 SEC. 201. ANALYSIS OF ONLY 2 ALTERNATIVES IN PRO18 POSED COLLABORATIVE FOREST MANAGE19 MENT ACTIVITIES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply whenever 

21 the Secretary concerned prepares an environmental assess22 ment or an environmental impact statement pursuant to 

23 section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

24 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a forest management activ25 ity— 

26 (1) that is— 


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1 (A) developed through a collaborative proc2 ess; or 

3 (B) covered by a community wildfire pro4 tection plan; and 

5 (2) the primary purpose of which is— 

6 (A) the reduction of hazardous fuels; 

7 (B) the reduction of fuel connectivity 

8 through the installation of fuel and fire breaks; 

9 (C) the restoration of forest health and resil10 ience; 

11 (D) the protection of a municipal water 

12 supply system (as defined in section 101 of the 

13 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

14 U.S.C. 6511)); or 

15 (E) a combination of 2 or more purposes 

16 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

17 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In an envi18 ronmental assessment or environmental impact statement 

19 described in subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall 

20 study, develop, and describe only the following 2 alter21 natives: 

22 (1) The forest management activity, as proposed 

23 pursuant to subsection (a). 

24 (2) The alternative of no action. 


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1 (c) ELEMENTS OF NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE.—In the 

2 case of the alternative of no action, the Secretary concerned 

3 shall evaluate— 

4 (1) the effect of no action on— 

5 (A) forest health; 

6 (B) habitat diversity; 

7 (C) wildfire potential; 

8 (D) insect and disease potential; and 

9 (E) other economic and social factors; and 

10 (2) the implications of a resulting decline, if 

11 any, in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wild12 fire, or insect or disease infestation, given fire and in13 sect and disease historic cycles, on— 

14 (A) domestic water costs; 

15 (B) wildlife habitat loss; and 

16 (C) other economic and social factors. 

17 SEC. 202. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE CERTAIN 

18 CRITICAL RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—A categorical exclusion is available 

20 to the Secretary concerned to propose a forest management 

21 activity on National Forest System land or public land in 

22 any case in which— 

23 (1) the forest management activity is developed 

24 and implemented through a collaborative process; and 


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1 (2) the primary purpose of the forest manage2 ment activity is— 

3 (A) to address an insect or disease infesta4 tion; 

5 (B) to reduce hazardous fuels; 

6 (C) to protect a municipal water supply 

7 system (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy 

8 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

9 6511)); 

10 (D) to maintain, enhance, or modify crit11 ical habitat to protect the critical habitat from 

12 catastrophic events; 

13 (E) to increase water yield; or 

14 (F) any combination of the purposes speci15 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (E). 

16 (b) LIMITATION.—A forest management activity cov17 ered by the categorical exclusion described in subsection (a) 

18 may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 3,000 

19 acres. 

20 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—A forest management activity 

21 covered by the categorical exclusion described in subsection 

22 (a) shall be— 

23 (1) based on the best available scientific informa24 tion; and 

25 (2) subject to section 206. 


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1 SEC. 203. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE SALVAGE 

2 OPERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CATA3 STROPHIC EVENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A categorical exclusion is available 

5 to the Secretary concerned to develop and carry out a sal6 vage operation as part of the restoration of National Forest 

7 System land or public land following a catastrophic event. 

8 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

10 salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion 

11 described in subsection (a) may not contain harvest 

12 units exceeding a total of 3,000 acres. 

13 (2) HARVEST AREA.—The harvest units covered 

14 by the categorical exclusion described in subsection 

(a) may not exceed 1 15 ⁄3 of the area impacted by the 

16 catastrophic event. 

17 (c) REQUIREMENT.—A salvage operation covered by 

18 the categorical exclusion described in subsection (a) shall 

19 be subject to section 206. 

20 SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO MEET FOREST 

21 PLAN GOALS FOR EARLY SUCCESSIONAL FOR22 ESTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—A categorical exclusion is available 

24 to the Secretary concerned to develop and carry out a forest 

25 management activity on National Forest System land or 

26 public land— 


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1 (1) in any case in which the forest management 

2 activity is developed and implemented through a col3 laborative process; and 

4 (2) when the primary purpose of the forest man5 agement activity is to modify, improve, enhance, or 

6 create early successional forests for wildlife habitat 

7 improvement and other purposes, consistent with the 

8 applicable forest plan. 

9 (b) PROJECT GOALS.—To the maximum extent prac10 ticable, the Secretary concerned shall design a forest man11 agement activity under this section to meet early succes12 sional forest goals in such a manner so as to maximize pro13 duction and regeneration of priority species, as identified 

14 in the forest plan and consistent with the capability of the 

15 activity site. 

16 (c) LIMITATION.—A forest management activity cov17 ered by the categorical exclusion described in subsection (a) 

18 may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 3,000 

19 acres. 

20 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—A forest management activity 

21 covered by the categorical exclusion described in subsection 

22 (a) shall be— 

23 (1) based on the best available scientific informa24 tion; and 

25 (2) subject to section 206. 


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1 SEC. 205. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO IMPROVE, RE2 STORE, AND REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS MANAGEMENT.—The 

5 term ‘‘hazardous fuels management’’ means any vege6 tation management activities that reduce the risk of 

7 wildfire. 

8 (2) LATE-SEASON GRAZING.—The term ‘‘late-sea9 son grazing’’ means grazing activities that occur dur10 ing the period— 

11 (A) beginning when both the invasive spe12 cies and native perennial species have completed 

13 the current-year annual growth cycle of the spe14 cies; and 

15 (B) ending when new plant growth begins 

16 to appear in the following year. 

17 (3) TARGETED LIVESTOCK GRAZING.—The term 

18 ‘‘targeted livestock grazing’’ means grazing used for 

19 purposes of hazardous fuel reduction. 

20 (b) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

21 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary concerned 

22 to carry out a forest management activity described in sub23 section (d) on National Forest System Land or public 

24 land— 


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1 (1) in any case in which the forest management 

2 activity is developed and implemented through a col3 laborative process; and 

4 (2) when the primary purpose of the activity on 

5 that National Forest System land or public land is— 

6 (A) to improve forest health; 

7 (B) to restore forest health; 

8 (C) to reduce the risk of wildfire; or 

9 (D) to achieve State wildlife population 

10 goals. 

11 (c) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS REQUIREMENTS.—A forest 

12 management activity covered by the categorical exclusion 

13 described in subsection (b)— 

14 (1) may not contain harvest units exceeding a 

15 total of 3,000 acres; and 

16 (2) shall be based on the best available scientific 

17 information. 

18 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The following activi19 ties may be carried out using a categorical exclusion de20 scribed in subsection (b): 

21 (1) Removal of juniper trees, medusahead rye, 

22 conifer trees, pinon pine trees, cheatgrass, and other 

23 noxious or invasive weeds specified on Federal or 

24 State noxious weeds lists through late-season livestock 


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1 grazing, targeted livestock grazing, prescribed burns, 

2 and mechanical treatments. 

3 (2) Performance of hazardous fuels management. 

4 (3) Creation of fuel and fire breaks. 

5 (4) Modification of existing fences so as to dis6 tribute livestock and help improve wildlife habitat. 

7 (5) Installation of erosion control devices. 

8 (6) Construction of new and maintenance of per9 manent infrastructure, including stock ponds, water 

10 catchments, and water spring boxes used to benefit 

11 livestock and improve wildlife habitat. 

12 (7) Performance of soil treatments, native and 

13 nonnative seeding, and planting of and transplanting 

14 sagebrush, grass, forb, shrub, and other species. 

15 (8) Use of herbicides, if the Secretary concerned 

16 determines that the activity is otherwise conducted 

17 consistently with agency procedures, including any 

18 forest plan applicable to the area covered by the activ19 ity. 

20 (e) REQUIREMENT.—A forest management activity 

21 covered by the categorical exclusion described in subsection 

22 (b) shall be subject to section 206. 

23 SEC. 206. CONSIDERATION OF RESOURCE CONDITIONS FOR 

24 EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) BENEFICIAL EFFECT.—The term ‘‘beneficial 

2 effect’’ means long-term— 

3 (A) improvement in ecological or 

4 hydrological function and health; 

5 (B) improvement in forest health; 

6 (C) reduction in the risk of catastrophic 

7 fire; or 

8 (D) protection of watersheds. 

9 (2) CATEGORICALLY EXCLUDED.—The term ‘‘cat10 egorically excluded’’ means categorically excluded 

11 from further analysis and documentation in an envi12 ronmental assessment or an environmental impact 

13 statement under the National Environmental Policy 

14 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

15 (b) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—Except as 

16 provided in subsection (c), the extraordinary circumstances 

17 procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations (or a successor regulation), shall apply to a 

19 proposal for— 

20 (1) a forest management activity that is cat21 egorically excluded under this title; or 

22 (2) a project that is categorically excluded under 

23 section 603(a)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

24 Act of 2013 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(a)(1)). 

25 (c) CONSIDERATION OF BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether ex2 traordinary circumstances preclude a proposal for a 

3 forest management activity or project described in 

4 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) from being cat5 egorically excluded, the Secretary shall consider the 

6 beneficial effect of the proposed forest management ac7 tivity or project on sensitive species. 

8 (2) REASONABLE BENEFICIAL EFFECT.—The 

9 Secretary shall not determine that extraordinary cir10 cumstances preclude a proposal for a forest manage11 ment activity or project described in paragraph (1) or 

12 (2) of subsection (b) from being categorically excluded 

13 if, after consideration under paragraph (1), the Sec14 retary determines that there is a reasonable beneficial 

15 effect or reasonably forseeable beneficial effect of the 

16 proposed forest management activity or project on 

17 sensitive species. 

18 (3) EFFECT OF UNCERTAINTY.—Uncertainty 

19 with respect to the degree of a beneficial effect under 

20 paragraph (1) or (2) shall not preclude the use of a 

21 categorical exclusion. 

22 SEC. 207. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

23 A forest management activity covered by a categorical 

24 exclusion described in this title shall be conducted in a man25 ner consistent with the forest plan applicable to the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 tional Forest System land or public land covered by the 

2 forest management activity. 

3 SEC. 208. ROADS. 

4 (a) PERMANENT ROADS.—A forest management activ5 ity carried out under this title shall not include the con6 struction of new permanent roads. 

7 (b) EXISTING ROADS.—The Secretary concerned may 

8 carry out necessary maintenance of, repairs to, or recon9 struction of an existing permanent road for the purposes 

10 of this title. 

11 (c) TEMPORARY ROADS.—The Secretary concerned 

12 shall decommission any temporary road constructed under 

13 this title not later than 3 years after the date on which 

14 the project is completed. 

15 SEC. 209. EXCLUSIONS. 

16 This title does not apply to— 

17 (1) a component of the National Wilderness Pres18 ervation System; 

19 (2) any Federal land on which, by Act of Con20 gress, the removal of vegetation is prohibited; 

21 (3) a congressionally designated wilderness study 

22 area; or 

23 (4) an area in which the activities authorized 

24 under this title would be inconsistent with the appli25 cable resource management plan. 


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1 TITLE III—TRIBAL FORESTRY 

2 PARTICIPATION AND PROTEC3 TION 

4 SEC. 301. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL FOREST ASSETS. 

5 (a) PROMPT CONSIDERATION OF TRIBAL RE6 QUESTS.—Section 2(b) of the Tribal Forest Protection Act 

7 of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later than 

9 120 days after the date on which an Indian tribe sub10 mits to the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘In response to 

11 the submission by an Indian tribe to the Secretary 

12 of’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) TIME PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) INITIAL RESPONSE.—Not later than 

16 120 days after the date on which the Secretary 

17 receives a tribal request under paragraph (1), the 

18 Secretary shall provide an initial response to the 

19 Indian tribe regarding— 

20 ‘‘(i) whether the request may meet the 

21 selection criteria described in subsection (c); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood of the Secretary en24 tering into an agreement or contract with 


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1 the Indian tribe under paragraph (2) for 

2 activities described in paragraph (3). 

3 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—A notice under 

4 subsection (d) of the denial of a tribal request 

5 under paragraph (1) shall be provided to the In6 dian tribe by not later than 1 year after the date 

7 on which the Secretary receives the request. 

8 ‘‘(C) COMPLETION.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date on which the Secretary receives a 

10 tribal request under paragraph (1) (other than a 

11 tribal request denied under subsection (d)) the 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) complete all environmental reviews 

14 necessary in connection with the agreement 

15 or contract and proposed activities under 

16 the agreement or contract; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) enter into the agreement or con18 tract with the Indian tribe under para19 graph (2).’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

21 Section 2 of the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 

22 U.S.C. 3115a) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsections (b)(1) and (f)(1), by striking 

24 ‘‘section 347 of the Department of the Interior and 

25 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law 105–277) (as amended 

2 by section 323 of the Department of the Interior and 

3 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (117 Stat. 

4 275))’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 

5 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

6 (16 U.S.C. 6591c)’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(1), the Sec9 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and 

10 (4)(B) of subsection (b), the Secretary shall’’. 

11 SEC. 302. MANAGEMENT OF INDIAN FOREST LAND AUTHOR12 IZED TO INCLUDE RELATED NATIONAL FOR13 EST SYSTEM LAND AND PUBLIC LAND. 

14 Section 305 of the National Indian Forest Resources 

15 Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3104) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS18 TEM LAND AND PUBLIC LAND.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL FOREST LAND.—The term 

21 ‘Federal forest land’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) National Forest System land; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) public lands (as defined in sec24 tion 103 of the Federal Land Policy and 


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1 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)), 

2 including— 

3 ‘‘(I) Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant 

4 land reconveyed to the United States 

5 pursuant to the first section of the Act 

6 of February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179, 

7 chapter 47); and 

8 ‘‘(II) Oregon and California Rail9 road Grant land. 

10 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

11 ‘Secretary concerned’ means— 

12 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

13 respect to the Federal forest land described 

14 in subparagraph (A)(i); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Interior, with 

16 respect to the Federal forest land described 

17 in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

18 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request of an In20 dian tribe, the Secretary concerned may treat 

21 Federal forest land described in subparagraph 

22 (B) as Indian forest land for purposes of plan23 ning and conducting forest land management ac24 tivities under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL FOREST LAND DESCRIBED.— 

2 Federal forest land referred to in subparagraph 

3 (A) is Federal forest land that is located within, 

4 or mostly within, a geographic area that pre5 sents a feature or involves circumstances prin6 cipally relevant to the Indian tribe making the 

7 request, including Federal forest land— 

8 ‘‘(i) ceded to the United States by trea9 ty; 

10 ‘‘(ii) located within the boundaries of a 

11 current or former Indian reservation; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) adjudicated to be tribal home13 land. 

14 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—As part of an agreement 

15 to treat Federal forest land as Indian forest land 

16 under paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned and the 

17 Indian tribe making the request shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) provide for continued public access ap19 plicable to the Federal forest land prior to the 

20 date of the agreement, except that the Secretary 

21 concerned may limit or prohibit that access as 

22 necessary; 

23 ‘‘(B) continue sharing revenue generated by 

24 the Federal forest land with State and local gov25 ernments either— 


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1 ‘‘(i) on the terms applicable to the Fed2 eral forest land prior to the date of the 

3 agreement, including, as applicable, 25-per4 cent payments or 50-percent payments; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the Indian tribe, 

6 on terms agreed to by the Indian tribe, the 

7 Secretary concerned, and State and local 

8 governments participating in a revenue 

9 sharing agreement applicable to the Federal 

10 forest land; 

11 ‘‘(C) comply with applicable prohibitions 

12 on the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 

13 the Federal forest land; 

14 ‘‘(D) recognize all right-of-way agreements 

15 in effect on the Federal forest land prior to the 

16 commencement of tribal forest land management 

17 activities; and 

18 ‘‘(E) ensure that any commercial timber re19 moved from the Federal forest land is sold on a 

20 competitive bid basis. 

21 ‘‘(4) EFFECT.—The treatment of Federal forest 

22 land as Indian forest land for purposes of planning 

23 and conducting forest land management activities 

24 pursuant to paragraph (2) does not designate the 


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1 Federal forest land as Indian forest land for any 

2 other purpose.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. TRIBAL FOREST MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

4 PROJECT. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri6 culture may carry out a demonstration project pursuant 

7 to which a federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal orga8 nization may enter into a contract to carry out administra9 tive, management, or other functions of programs of the 

10 Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a), 

11 through a contract entered into under the Indian Self-De12 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 

13 et seq.). 

14 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS FOR15 EST MANAGEMENT ACTIVI16 TIES 

17 SEC. 401. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

18 In this title, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Agriculture. 

20 SEC. 402. STATE-SUPPORTED PLANNING OF FOREST MAN21 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State or political subdivision of a 

2 State that contains National Forest System land 

3 or public land; 

4 (B) a publicly chartered utility serving 1 or 

5 more States or political subdivisions of a State; 

6 (C) a rural electric company; and 

7 (D) any other entity determined by the Sec8 retary concerned to be appropriate for participa9 tion in the Fund. 

10 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the State11 Supported Forest Management Fund established by 

12 subsection (b). 

13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

14 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

15 ‘‘State-Supported Forest Management Fund’’, to cover the 

16 cost of planning (especially as relating to compliance with 

17 section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

18 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2))), carrying out, and monitoring 

19 certain forest management activities on National Forest 

20 System land or public land. 

21 (c) CONTENTS.—The Fund shall consist of such 

22 amounts as may be— 

23 (1) contributed by an eligible entity for deposit 

24 in the Fund; 

25 (2) appropriated to the Fund; or 


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1 (3) generated by forest management activities 

2 carried out using amounts in the Fund. 

3 (d) GEOGRAPHICAL AND USE LIMITATIONS.—In mak4 ing a contribution under subsection (c)(1), an eligible entity 

5 may— 

6 (1) specify the National Forest System land or 

7 public land for which the contribution may be ex8 pended; and 

9 (2) limit the types of forest management activi10 ties for which the contribution may be expended. 

11 (e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In such amounts as 

12 may be provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Sec13 retary concerned may use amounts in the Fund to plan, 

14 carry out, and monitor any forest management activity 

15 that is— 

16 (1) developed and implemented through a col17 laborative process; 

18 (2) proposed by a resource advisory committee; 

19 or 

20 (3) covered by a community wildfire protection 

21 plan. 

22 (f) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A forest management activity 

24 carried out using amounts in the Fund may be car25 ried out pursuant to— 


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1 (A) a stewardship end result contracting 

2 project authorized under section 604 of the 

3 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

4 U.S.C. 6591c); 

5 (B) good neighbor authority under section 

6 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

7 2113a) and section 331 of the Department of the 

8 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 

9 Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–291; 114 Stat. 996; 

10 118 Stat. 3102; 123 Stat. 2961; 128 Stat. 341); 

11 (C) a contract under section 14 of the Na12 tional Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 

13 U.S.C. 472a); or 

14 (D) any other authority available to the 

15 Secretary concerned. 

16 (2) USE OF REVENUES.—Any revenue generated 

17 by a forest management activity described in para18 graph (1) shall be used to reimburse the Fund for 

19 planning costs covered using amounts in the Fund. 

20 (g) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

21 (1) REVENUE SHARING.—Subject to subsection 

22 (f), revenues generated by a forest management activ23 ity carried out using amounts from the Fund shall be 

24 considered to be monies received from the National 

25 Forest System. 


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1 (2) KNUTSON-VANDENBERG ACT.—The Act of 

2 June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the ‘‘Knutson3 Vandenberg Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.), shall apply 

4 to a forest management activity carried out using 

5 amounts in the Fund. 

6 (h) TERMINATION OF FUND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall terminate on 

8 September 30, 2018. 

9 (2) EFFECT.—On the termination of the Fund 

10 under paragraph (1), or pursuant to any other law, 

11 any unobligated contribution remaining in the Fund 

12 shall be returned to the eligible entity that made the 

13 contribution. 

14 SEC. 403. BALANCING OF IMPACTS IN CONSIDERING IN15 JUNCTIVE RELIEF. 

16 A court reviewing an agency action relating to a forest 

17 management activity under this Act for a request for an 

18 order to enjoin the agency action shall, as part of the bal19 ancing of interests, balance— 

20 (1) the short- and long-term impacts on each eco21 system likely to be affected by the forest management 

22 activity if the agency action is undertaken; against 

23 (2) the short- and long-term impacts on each eco24 system likely to be affected by the forest management 

25 activity if the agency action is not undertaken. 


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1 SEC. 404. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

2 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13A of the Cooperative For4 estry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109a) is amended 

5 to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 13A. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

7 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en9 courage collaborative, science-based restoration of priority 

10 forest landscapes and help manage forest resources that are 

11 at risk of— 

12 ‘‘(1) catastrophic events (as defined in section 2 

13 of the Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management 

14 Act of 2016); and 

15 ‘‘(2) any other threats that degrade the vitality 

16 of forest ecosystems. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) BEGINNING FOREST OWNER.—The term ‘be19 ginning forest owner’ means a person who is in the 

20 first 10 years of ownership of nonindustrial private 

21 forest land. 

22 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ has 

23 the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian 

24 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

25 U.S.C. 450b). 


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1 ‘‘(3) NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LAND.— 

2 The term ‘nonindustrial private forest land’ means 

3 land that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is rural, as determined by the Sec5 retary; 

6 ‘‘(B) has existing tree cover or is suitable 

7 for growing trees; and 

8 ‘‘(C) is owned by any private individual, 

9 group, association, corporation, Indian tribe, or 

10 other private legal entity. 

11 ‘‘(4) STATE FOREST LAND.—The term ‘State for12 est land’ means land that— 

13 ‘‘(A) is rural, as determined by the Sec14 retary; and 

15 ‘‘(B) is under State or local governmental 

16 ownership and considered to be non-Federal for17 est land. 

18 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consultation 

19 with State Foresters or appropriate State agencies, shall 

20 establish a competitive grant program to provide financial 

21 and technical assistance— 

22 ‘‘(1) to encourage active forest management on 

23 cross-boundary priority forest landscapes, including 

24 land owned by beginning and previously unengaged 


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1 forest owners, for the purpose of maintaining forest 

2 health; 

3 ‘‘(2) to protect forests from natural threats and 

4 wildfire; 

5 ‘‘(3) to enhance public benefits from forests; 

6 ‘‘(4) to conserve and manage working forest 

7 landscapes for multiple values and uses; and 

8 ‘‘(5) to advance priorities in statewide forest as9 sessment and resource strategies. 

10 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

11 under this section, an applicant shall submit to the Sec12 retary, through the State forester or appropriate State agen13 cy, a State and private forest landscape-scale restoration 

14 proposal based on a restoration strategy that is— 

15 ‘‘(1) complete or substantially complete; 

16 ‘‘(2) for a multiyear period; 

17 ‘‘(3) comprised of nonindustrial private forest 

18 land or State forest land; 

19 ‘‘(4) accessible by wood-processing infrastructure; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(5) based on the best available science. 

22 ‘‘(e) PLAN CRITERIA.—A State and private forest 

23 landscape-scale restoration proposal submitted under this 

24 section shall include plans— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic 

2 wildfires, including hazardous fuels management; 

3 ‘‘(2) to improve fish and wildlife habitats, in4 cluding the habitats of threatened and endangered 

5 species; 

6 ‘‘(3) to maintain or improve water quality and 

7 watershed function; 

8 ‘‘(4) to mitigate invasive species, insect infesta9 tion, and disease; 

10 ‘‘(5) to improve important forest ecosystems; 

11 ‘‘(6) to measure ecological and economic benefits, 

12 including air quality and soil quality and produc13 tivity; 

14 ‘‘(7) to prioritize a State forest action plan; 

15 ‘‘(8) to utilize and advance production of renew16 able energy; and 

17 ‘‘(9) to take other relevant actions, as determined 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(f) PRIORITIES.—In making grants under this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to plans that— 

21 ‘‘(1) further a statewide forest assessment and re22 source strategy; 

23 ‘‘(2) promote cross boundary landscape collabo24 ration; and 

25 ‘‘(3) leverage public and private resources. 


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1 ‘‘(g) COLLABORATION AND CONSULTATION.—The Chief 

2 of the Forest Service, the Chief of the Natural Resources 

3 Conservation Service, and relevant stakeholders shall col4 laborate and consult on an ongoing basis regarding admin5 istration of the program established under this section and 

6 identifying other applicable resources towards landscape7 scale restoration. 

8 ‘‘(h) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.—As a condition 

9 of receiving a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 

10 require the recipient of the grant to provide funds or in11 kind support from non-Federal sources in an amount that 

12 is at least equal to the amount provided by the Federal Gov13 ernment. 

14 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION AND PROXIMITY ENCOURAGED.— 

15 In making grants under this section, the Secretary may 

16 consider coordination with and proximity to other land17 scape-scale projects on other land under the jurisdiction of 

18 the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, or a Governor 

19 of a State, including under— 

20 ‘‘(1) the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restora21 tion Program established under section 4003 of the 

22 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 

23 U.S.C. 7303); 


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1 ‘‘(2) landscape areas designated for insect and 

2 disease treatments under section 602 of the Healthy 

3 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591a); 

4 ‘‘(3) good neighbor authority under section 8206 

5 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) 

6 and section 331 of the Department of the Interior and 

7 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public 

8 Law 106–291; 114 Stat. 996; 118 Stat. 3102, 123 

9 Stat. 2961; 128 Stat. 341); 

10 ‘‘(4) stewardship end result contracting projects 

11 authorized under section 604 of the Healthy Forests 

12 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c); 

13 ‘‘(5) appropriate State-level programs; and 

14 ‘‘(6) other relevant programs, as determined by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate 

17 such regulations as the Secretary determines necessary to 

18 carry out this section. 

19 ‘‘(k) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

20 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to 

21 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa22 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

23 Forestry of the Senate a report on the status of development, 

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1 ing of program funding expenditures, and specific accom2 plishments that have resulted from landscape-scale projects. 

3 ‘‘(l) FUND.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

5 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as 

6 the ‘State and Private Forest Landscape-Scale Res7 toration Fund’ (referred to in this subsection as the 

8 ‘Fund’), to be used by the Secretary to make grants 

9 under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The Fund shall consist of such 

11 amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under 

12 paragraph (3). 

13 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

15 $40,000,000 for each fiscal year beginning with the 

16 first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of the 

17 Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 

18 2016 through fiscal year 2018, to remain available 

19 until expended.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) Section 13B of the Cooperative Forestry As22 sistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109b) is repealed. 

23 (2) Section 19(a)(4)(C) of the Cooperative For24 estry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 


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1 2113(a)(4)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 13A 

2 and 13B’’ and inserting ‘‘section 13A’’. 

3 SEC. 405. PILOT ARBITRATION PROGRAM. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) ARBITRATOR.—The term ‘‘arbitrator’’ means 

6 a professional arbitrator or other individual who— 

7 (A) possesses expertise in the subject matter 

8 of a specific demand for arbitration filed under 

9 subsection (f); and 

10 (B) is selected by the Secretary to make a 

11 decision on that specific demand for arbitration 

12 in accordance with subsection (g). 

13 (2) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural 

14 disaster’’ mean a wildfire, hurricane or excessive 

15 winds, drought, ice storm or blizzard, flood, or other 

16 resource-impacting event, as determined by the Sec17 retary. 

18 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 

19 pilot arbitration program established by the Secretary 

20 under subsection (b). 

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 within the Forest Service a pilot arbitration program 

24 to designate any of the projects described in subsection 


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1 (c) for an alternative dispute resolution process to re2 place judicial review of the projects. 

3 (2) DESIGNATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 (A) establish a process for the designation of 

6 projects for the program in accordance with this 

7 section; and 

8 (B) publish in the Federal Register the des9 ignation process described in subparagraph (A). 

10 (c) DESIGNATION OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary may 

11 designate for the program projects that— 

12 (1)(A) are developed through a collaborative 

13 process; 

14 (B) are proposed by a resource advisory com15 mittee; 

16 (C)(i) are necessary to address damage caused by 

17 a natural disaster on National Forest System land 

18 that, if not treated— 

19 (I) would impair or endanger the natural 

20 resources on the National Forest System land; 

21 and 

22 (II) would materially affect future use of 

23 the National Forest System land; and 


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1 (ii) would restore forest health and forest-related 

2 resources on the National Forest System land de3 scribed in clause (i); 

4 (D) respond to damage as a result of natural 

5 disasters; 

6 (E) address insect or disease infestation; 

7 (F) are carried out under the Tribal Forest Pro8 tection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a); or 

9 (G) are carried out under community wildfire 

10 protection plans (as defined in section 101 of the 

11 Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

12 6511)); and 

13 (2) do not constitute final agency action. 

14 (d) LIMITATION OF PROJECTS.—Not more than 10 

15 projects described in subsection (c) may be designated for 

16 the program in any applicable calendar year. 

17 (e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to 

18 designate a project described in subsection (c) for the pro19 gram terminates on October 1, 2018. 

20 (f) DEMAND FOR ARBITRATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

22 individual or entity— 

23 (A) may file a demand for arbitration re24 garding a project described in subsection (c) that 

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1 section (b) in accordance with subchapter IV of 

2 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code; and 

3 (B) if a demand for arbitration is filed 

4 under subparagraph (A), shall include in the de5 mand for arbitration a proposal for an alter6 native to the project that describes each modifica7 tion sought with respect to the project. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A demand for arbitration 

9 may only be filed under paragraph (1) by an indi10 vidual or entity that— 

11 (A) participated in a collaborative process; 

12 or 

13 (B) proposed the project with a resource ad14 visory committee. 

15 (g) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARBITRATOR.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator shall make a 

17 decision on each demand for arbitration under this 

18 section by selecting only— 

19 (A) the project, as approved by the Sec20 retary; or 

21 (B) a proposal submitted by an individual 

22 or entity under subsection (f)(1)(B). 

23 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 

24 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—A decision 

25 of an arbitrator under this subsection shall be 


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1 based solely on the administrative record for the 

2 project. 

3 (B) NO MODIFICATIONS TO PROPOSALS.— 

4 An arbitrator may not modify any proposal con5 tained in a demand for arbitration under this 

6 section. 

7 (C) DECISION REQUIREMENTS.—A decision 

8 of an arbitrator under this subsection shall be— 

9 (i) within the authority of the Sec10 retary; and 

11 (ii) consistent with each applicable for12 est plan. 

13 (D) RULES.—Arbitration under this sub14 section shall be conducted in accordance with the 

15 appropriate rules and procedures of the Amer16 ican Arbitration Association. 

17 (h) EFFECT OF ARBITRATION DECISION.—A decision 

18 of an arbitrator under this section— 

19 (1) shall not be considered to be a major Federal 

20 action; 

21 (2) shall be binding; and 

22 (3) shall not be subject to judicial review, except 

23 as provided in section 10(a) of title 9, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 SEC. 406. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM ACCELERATED LAND2 SCAPE RESTORATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Healthy Forests Res4 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591 et seq.) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 605. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM ACCELERATED LAND7 SCAPE RESTORATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) COLLABORATIVE GROUP.—The term ‘col10 laborative group’ means a group of individuals, oper11 ating in a transparent and inclusive manner, that 

12 represent a balance of the interests of entities includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(A) conservation organizations; 

15 ‘‘(B) timber and forest products organiza16 tions; 

17 ‘‘(C) local and tribal governments; 

18 ‘‘(D) community organizations; and 

19 ‘‘(E) other multiple-use groups with an in20 terest in the National Forest System, as deter21 mined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATED LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘des23 ignated landscape’ means a landscape-scale area des24 ignated for the pilot program under subsection (b)(2). 

25 ‘‘(3) FOREST HEALTH.—The term ‘forest health’ 

26 means the state in which a forest— 


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1 ‘‘(A)(i) is durable, resilient, and less prone 

2 to wildfire, insect, or pathogen outbreaks of a se3 verity, size, or quantity that exceeds the natural 

4 range of variation, taking into account the an5 ticipated future conditions of the forest; 

6 ‘‘(ii) supports— 

7 ‘‘(I) ecosystem services and functions; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) populations of native plant spe10 cies; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) allows for natural disturbances; or 

12 ‘‘(B) can maintain or develop, within ac13 ceptable ranges, regimes of— 

14 ‘‘(i) species composition; 

15 ‘‘(ii) ecosystem function and structure; 

16 ‘‘(iii) hydrologic function; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) sediment. 

18 ‘‘(4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot program’ 

19 means the National Forest System accelerated land20 scape restoration pilot program established by the 

21 Secretary under subsection (b)(1). 

22 ‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

24 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 a National Forest System accelerated landscape res3 toration pilot program to restore or maintain des4 ignated landscapes. 

5 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary, acting 

6 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall, in ac7 cordance with this subsection, designate for the pilot 

8 program not fewer than 10 landscape-scale areas 

9 within the National Forest System (as defined in sec10 tion 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

11 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))). 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—Each designated landscape 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) include not less than 75,000 acres and 

15 not more than 1,000,000 acres; 

16 ‘‘(B) be identified by a collaborative group; 

17 ‘‘(C) not include any inventoried roadless 

18 area; and 

19 ‘‘(D) include forests that— 

20 ‘‘(i) are not in a state of forest health; 

21 ‘‘(ii) are at increased risk of high-se22 verity wildfire; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) are at increased risk of an insect 

24 or disease infestation. 

25 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In designating land2 scape-scale areas for the pilot program under 

3 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) prioritize landscape-scale areas in 

5 which social, ecological, and economic con6 ditions support landscape-scale restoration; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) consider the factors described in 

9 subparagraph (B). 

10 ‘‘(B) FACTORS.—The factors referred to in 

11 subparagraph (A)(ii) are the following factors: 

12 ‘‘(i) The existence of strong collabo13 rative support for landscape-scale restora14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The ecological conditions that are 

16 conducive to landscape-scale decisions, such 

17 as broad categories of land that would ben18 efit from similar restoration treatments. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Economic conditions, such as the 

20 existence of infrastructure in proximity to 

21 the landscape-scale area that can make eco22 nomic use of the forest byproducts of res23 toration. 

24 ‘‘(iv) The extent to which the land25 scape-scale area is important to support, 


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1 maintain, or improve water quality and 

2 watershed function. 

3 ‘‘(v) Other considerations, as deter4 mined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) INITIAL NOTICE.—Not later than 90 

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a 

9 notice of the process for the designation of land10 scape-scale areas for the pilot program under 

11 paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(B) FINAL NOTICE.—Not later than 1 year 

13 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

14 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a 

15 notice describing— 

16 ‘‘(i) each designated landscape; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the rationale for designating, in 

18 accordance with the requirements described 

19 in paragraph (3), each designated land20 scape; 

21 ‘‘(iii) any collaborative group used to 

22 identify a designated landscape; 

23 ‘‘(iv) an overview of any forest health 

24 problem with respect to each designated 

25 landscape; 


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1 ‘‘(v) a discussion of the purpose of, and 

2 need for, restoration of each designated 

3 landscape; 

4 ‘‘(vi) a summary of the management 

5 actions necessary to achieve restoration of 

6 each designated landscape; 

7 ‘‘(vii) findings relating to the short8 term and long-term risks and impacts of no 

9 action compared to restoration of each des10 ignated landscape; and 

11 ‘‘(viii) a notice of intent to prepare an 

12 environmental impact statement for treat13 ment within each designated landscape. 

14 ‘‘(c) LANDSCAPE-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

15 STATEMENT.—The Secretary shall prepare, for each des16 ignated landscape, a landscape-scale environmental impact 

17 statement for purposes of compliance with the National En18 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(1) is commensurate with the geographic scope 

21 of the designated landscape; 

22 ‘‘(2) is sufficient to allow— 

23 ‘‘(A) project-scale implementation; 

24 ‘‘(B) adaptive management, including site25 specific options, to ensure that project implemenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 tation stays within the documented range of im2 pacts; 

3 ‘‘(C) site descriptions or land allocations 

4 that identify locations within the landscape in 

5 which specific restoration or maintenance treat6 ments can be used appropriately; and 

7 ‘‘(D) standards and guidelines, consistent 

8 with the appropriate forest plan and project-level 

9 design criteria, for management or other project 

10 activities; and 

11 ‘‘(3) includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) an identification of any forest health 

13 problem; 

14 ‘‘(B) an identification of the purpose of the 

15 treatment, and need, to restore to more resilient 

16 and healthy conditions, or to maintain, forest 

17 health in the designated landscape; 

18 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the time needed to sat19 isfy the purpose and need described in subpara20 graph (B) and the scale of the restoration or 

21 maintenance treatment needed to satisfy that 

22 purpose and need; 

23 ‘‘(D) a description of potential restoration 

24 or maintenance treatment that would contribute 


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1 to the satisfaction of the purpose and need de2 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

3 ‘‘(E) a description of possible changes in 

4 circumstances or new information that would re5 quire supplemental documentation under the Na6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

7 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $40,000,000 for each fiscal year beginning with the first 

11 full fiscal year after the date of enactment of the Emergency 

12 Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 2016 through fiscal 

13 year 2018.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

16 prec. 6501) is amended by adding at the end of the items 

17 relating to title VI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 602. Designation of treatment areas. 

‘‘Sec. 603. Administrative review. 

‘‘Sec. 604. Stewardship end result contracting projects. 

‘‘Sec. 605. National Forest System accelerated landscape restoration pilot program.’’. 

18 SEC. 407. TENNESSEE WILDERNESS. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map enti21 tled ‘‘Proposed Wilderness Areas and Additions-Cher22 okee National Forest’’ and dated January 20, 2010. 


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1 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

2 of Tennessee. 

3 (b) DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.—In accordance 

4 with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the fol5 lowing parcels of Federal land in the Cherokee National 

6 Forest in the State are designated as wilderness and as ad7 ditions to the National Wilderness Preservation System: 

8 (1) Certain land comprising approximately 

9 9,038 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Upper Bald 

10 River Wilderness’’ on the Map, which shall be known 

11 as the ‘‘Upper Bald River Wilderness’’. 

12 (2) Certain land comprising approximately 348 

13 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Big Frog Addi14 tion’’ on the Map, which shall be incorporated in, and 

15 considered to be a part of, the Big Frog Wilderness. 

16 (3) Certain land comprising approximately 630 

17 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Little Frog Moun18 tain Addition NW’’ on the Map, which shall be incor19 porated in, and considered to be a part of, the Little 

20 Frog Mountain Wilderness. 

21 (4) Certain land comprising approximately 336 

22 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Little Frog Moun23 tain Addition NE’’ on the Map, which shall be incor24 porated in, and considered to be a part of, the Little 

25 Frog Mountain Wilderness. 


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1 (5) Certain land comprising approximately 

2 2,922 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Sampson 

3 Mountain Addition’’ on the Map, which shall be in4 corporated in, and considered to be a part of, the 

5 Sampson Mountain Wilderness. 

6 (6) Certain land comprising approximately 

7 4,446 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Big Laurel 

8 Branch Addition’’ on the Map, which shall be incor9 porated in, and considered to be a part of, the Big 

10 Laurel Branch Wilderness. 

11 (7) Certain land comprising approximately 

12 1,836 acres, as generally depicted as the ‘‘Joyce Kil13 mer-Slickrock Addition’’ on the Map, which shall be 

14 incorporated in, and considered to be a part of, the 

15 Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. 

16 (c) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 file maps and legal descriptions of the wilderness 

20 areas designated by subsection (b) with the appro21 priate committees of Congress. 

22 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The maps and legal 

23 descriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file 

24 and available for public inspection in the office of the 


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1 Chief of the Forest Service and the office of the Super2 visor of the Cherokee National Forest. 

3 (3) FORCE OF LAW.—The maps and legal de4 scriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 

5 same force and effect as if included in this Act, except 

6 that the Secretary may correct typographical errors 

7 in the maps and descriptions. 

8 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

10 rights, the Federal land designated as wilderness by 

11 subsection (b) shall be administered by the Secretary 

12 in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in that Act to 

14 the effective date of that Act shall be deemed to be a 

15 reference to the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (2) FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.—In ac17 cordance with section 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this section affects 

19 the jurisdiction of the State with respect to fish and 

20 wildlife management (including the regulation of 

21 hunting, fishing, and trapping) in the wilderness 

22 areas designated by subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 408. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR SALE OR EX2 CHANGE OF SMALL PARCELS OF NATIONAL 

3 FOREST SYSTEM LAND. 

4 (a) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM VALUE OF SMALL PAR5 CELS.—Section 3 of Public Law 97–465 (commonly known 

6 as the ‘‘Small Tract Act of 1983’’) (16 U.S.C. 521e) is 

7 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking 

8 ‘‘$150,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$500,000’’. 

9 (b) ADDITIONAL CONVEYANCE PURPOSES.—Section 3 

10 of Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521e) (as amended by 

11 subsection (a)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in13 serting a semicolon; 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

15 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) parcels of 40 acres or less that are deter18 mined by the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(A) to be physically isolated; 

20 ‘‘(B) to be inaccessible; or 

21 ‘‘(C) to have lost National Forest character; 

22 ‘‘(5) parcels of 10 acres or less that are not eligi23 ble for conveyance under paragraph (2) but are en24 croached on by a permanent habitable improvement 

25 for which there is no evidence that the encroachment 

26 was intentional or negligent; or 


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1 ‘‘(6) parcels used as a cemetery (including a 

2 parcel of not more than 1 acre adjacent to the parcel 

3 used as a cemetery), a landfill, or a sewage treatment 

4 plant under a special use authorization issued or oth5 erwise authorized by the Secretary.’’. 

6 (c) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.—Section 2 of Public 

7 Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521d) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘The Secretary is authorized’’ and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY; CONSIDERATION.—The 

12 Secretary is authorized’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2), in the second sentence, by 

14 striking ‘‘The Secretary shall insert’’ and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) INCLUSION OF TERMS, COVENANTS, CONDITIONS, 

17 AND RESERVATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall insert’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (b) (as so designated)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘convenants’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘covenants’’; and 

22 (B) in the second sentence by striking ‘‘The 

23 preceding sentence shall not’’ and inserting the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not’’; 

2 and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEPOSIT IN SISK FUND.—The net proceeds 

6 derived from any sale or exchange conducted under 

7 paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 3 shall be depos8 ited in the fund established under Public Law 90–171 

9 (commonly known as the ‘Sisk Act’) (16 U.S.C. 

10 484a). 

11 ‘‘(2) USE.—Amounts deposited under paragraph 

12 (1) shall be available to the Secretary until expended 

13 for— 

14 ‘‘(A) the acquisition of land or interests in 

15 land for administrative sites for the National 

16 Forest System in the State from which the 

17 amounts were derived; 

18 ‘‘(B) the acquisition of land or interests in 

19 land for inclusion in the National Forest System 

20 in that State, including land or interests in land 

21 that enhance opportunities for recreational ac22 cess; 

23 ‘‘(C) the performance of deferred mainte24 nance on administrative sites for the National 

25 Forest System in that State or other deferred 


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1 maintenance activities in that State that en2 hance opportunities for recreational access; or 

3 ‘‘(D) the reimbursement of the Secretary for 

4 costs incurred in preparing a sale conducted 

5 under the authority of section 3 if the sale is a 

6 competitive sale.’’. 

7 SEC. 409. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION FOR CONVEY8 ANCE OF FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRATIVE 

9 SITES. 

10 Section 503(f) of the Forest Service Facility Realign11 ment and Enhancement Act of 2005 (16 U.S.C. 580d note; 

12 Public Law 109–54) is amended by striking ‘‘2016’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

14 SEC. 410. PRESCRIBED BURN APPROVAL. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) NATIONAL FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM.— 

17 The term ‘‘national fire danger rating system’’ means 

18 the national system used to provide a measure of fire 

19 danger according to a range of low to moderate to 

20 high to very high to extreme. 

21 (2) PRESCRIBED BURN.—The term ‘‘prescribed 

22 burn’’ means a planned fire intentionally ignited. 

23 (b) LIMITATIONS ON PRESCRIBED BURNS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), the head of a Federal agency shall not auVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 thorize a prescribed burn on Federal land if, for the 

2 county or contiguous county in which the Federal 

3 land is located, the national fire danger rating system 

4 indicates an extreme fire danger level. 

5 (2) EXCEPTION.—The head of a Federal agency 

6 may authorize a prescribed burn under a condition 

7 described in paragraph (1) if the head of the Federal 

8 agency coordinates with the applicable State govern9 ment and local fire officials. 

10 (3) REPORT.—At the end of each fiscal year, the 

11 Chief of the Forest Service shall submit to Congress 

12 a report describing— 

13 (A) the number and locations of prescribed 

14 burns during that fiscal year; and 

15 (B) each prescribed burn during that fiscal 

16 year that was authorized by the head of a Fed17 eral agency pursuant to paragraph (2). 

18 SEC. 411. NORTH CAROLINA WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS. 

19 The Secretary shall not designate any land in the 

20 Nantahala National Forest or the Pisgah National Forest 

21 in the State of North Carolina as a wilderness study area 

22 unless each affected county approves the designation. 


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1 TITLE V—KISATCHIE NATIONAL 

2 FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE 

3 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Kisatchie National For5 est Land Conveyance Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 502. FINDING. 

7 Congress finds that it is in the public interest to au8 thorize the conveyance of certain Federal land in the 

9 Kisatchie National Forest in the State of Louisiana for 

10 market value consideration. 

11 SEC. 503. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

13 (1) COLLINS CAMP PROPERTIES.—The term 

14 ‘‘Collins Camp Properties’’ means Collins Camp 

15 Properties, Inc., a corporation incorporated under the 

16 laws of the State. 

17 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

19 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

20 of Louisiana. 

21 SEC. 504. AUTHORIZATION OF CONVEYANCES. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

24 rights and subsection (b), the Secretary may convey 

25 the Federal land described in paragraph (2) by quitVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 claim deed at public or private sale, including com2 petitive sale by auction, bid, or other methods. 

3 (2) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The Federal land 

4 referred to in paragraph (1) consists of— 

5 (A) all Federal land within sec. 9, T. 10 N., 

6 R. 5 W., Winn Parish, Louisiana; and 

7 (B) a 2.16-acre parcel of Federal land located in the SW1 8 ⁄4 of sec. 4, T. 10 N., R. 5 W., 

9 Winn Parish, Louisiana, as depicted on a cer10 tificate of survey dated March 7, 2007, by Glen 

11 L. Cannon, P.L.S. 4436. 

12 (b) FIRST RIGHT OF PURCHASE.—Subject to valid ex13 isting rights and section 506, during the 1-year period be14 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act, on the provi15 sion of consideration by the Collins Camp Properties to the 

16 Secretary, the Secretary shall convey, by quitclaim deed, 

17 to Collins Camp Properties all right, title and interest of 

18 the United States in and to— 

19 (1) not more than 47.92 acres of Federal land 

20 comprising the Collins Campsites within sec. 9, T. 10 

21 N., R. 5 W., in Winn Parish, Louisiana, as generally 

22 depicted on a certificate of survey dated February 28, 

23 2007, by Glen L. Cannon, P.L.S. 4436; and 

24 (2) the parcel of Federal land described in sub25 section (a)(2)(B). 


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1 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may— 

2 (1) configure the Federal land to be conveyed 

3 under this title— 

4 (A) to maximize the marketability of the 

5 conveyance; or 

6 (B) to achieve management objectives; and 

7 (2) establish any terms and conditions for the 

8 conveyances under this title that the Secretary deter9 mines to be in the public interest. 

10 (d) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration for a conveyance 

11 of Federal land under this title shall be— 

12 (1) in the form of cash; and 

13 (2) in an amount equal to the market value of 

14 the Federal land being conveyed, as determined under 

15 subsection (e). 

16 (e) MARKET VALUE.—The market value of the Federal 

17 land conveyed under this title shall be determined— 

18 (1) in the case of Federal land conveyed under 

19 subsection (b), by an appraisal that is— 

20 (A) conducted in accordance with the Uni21 form Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Ac22 quisitions; and 

23 (B) approved by the Secretary; or 

24 (2) if conveyed by a method other than the meth25 ods described in subsection (b), by competitive sale. 


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1 (f) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

3 (A) DISCLOSURE AND REMEDIATION.—In 

4 any conveyance of Federal land under this title 

5 to Collins Camp Properties, or any occupant re6 siding on the Federal land under a special use 

7 permit issued by the Forest Service, the Sec8 retary shall meet disclosure requirements for haz9 ardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants, 

10 but shall not otherwise be required to remediate 

11 or abate the hazardous substances, pollutants, or 

12 contaminants. 

13 (B) INDEMNIFICATION.—Collins Camp 

14 Properties, or any occupant residing on the Fed15 eral land conveyed under this title under a spe16 cial use permit issued by the Forest Service, that 

17 acquires the Federal land shall agree, as a condi18 tion of the conveyance, to indemnify and hold 

19 harmless the United States for costs associated 

20 with the remediation or abatement of any haz21 ardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants 

22 located on the acquired land. 

23 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section otherwise 

24 affects the application of the Comprehensive Environ25 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 


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1 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) to the conveyances of 

2 Federal land. 

3 SEC. 505. PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF LAND. 

4 (a) DEPOSIT OF RECEIPTS.—The Secretary shall de5 posit the proceeds of a conveyance of Federal land under 

6 section 504 in the fund established under Public Law 90– 

7 171 (commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

8 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited under sub9 section (a) shall be available to the Secretary until ex10 pended, without further appropriation, for the acquisition 

11 of land and interests in land in the Kisatchie National For12 est in the State. 

13 SEC. 506. ADMINISTRATION. 

14 (a) COSTS.—As a condition of a conveyance of Federal 

15 land to Collins Camp Properties under section 504, the Sec16 retary shall require Collins Camp Properties to pay at clos17 ing— 

18 (1) reasonable appraisal costs; and 

19 (2) the cost of any administrative and environ20 mental analyses required by law (including regula21 tions). 

22 (b) PERMITS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An offer by Collins Camp 

24 Properties for the acquisition of the Federal land 

25 under section 504 shall be accompanied by a written 


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1 statement from each holder of a Forest Service special 

2 use authorization with respect to the Federal land 

3 that specifies that the holder agrees to relinquish the 

4 special use authorization on the conveyance of the 

5 Federal land to Collins Camp Properties. 

6 (2) SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS.—If any 

7 holder of a special use authorization described in 

8 paragraph (1) fails to provide a written authoriza9 tion in accordance with that paragraph, the Sec10 retary shall require, as a condition of the conveyance, 

11 that Collins Camp Properties administer the special 

12 use authorization according to the terms of the special 

13 use authorization until the date on which the special 

14 use authorization expires. 

15 TITLE VI—CHATTAHOOCHEE16 OCONEE NATIONAL FOREST 

17 LAND ADJUSTMENT 

18 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Chattahoochee-Oconee 

20 National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2016’’. 

21 SEC. 602. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) certain National Forest System land in the 

24 State of Georgia consists of isolated tracts that— 

25 (A) are inefficient to manage; or 


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1 (B) have lost the principal value of the 

2 tracts for the National Forest System; 

3 (2) the disposal of the land described in para4 graph (1) would be in the public interest; and 

5 (3) the best use of proceeds from the sale of land 

6 authorized under this title is the purchase by the Sec7 retary of land in the State of Georgia for the Na8 tional Forest System. 

9 SEC. 603. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

10 In this title, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

11 of Agriculture. 

12 SEC. 604. LAND CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, the 

14 Secretary is authorized to sell or exchange all right, title, 

15 and interest of the United States in and to the National 

16 Forest System land described in subsection (b) under terms 

17 and conditions that the Secretary may prescribe. 

18 (b) LAND AUTHORIZED FOR DISPOSAL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The land referred to in sub20 section (a) consists of 30 tracts of land totaling ap21 proximately 3,841 acres generally depicted on 2 maps 

22 entitled ‘‘Priority Land Adjustments, State of Geor23 gia, U.S. Forest Service–Southern Region, Oconee 

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1 sional Districts–8, 9, 10 & 14’’ and dated September 

2 24, 2013. 

3 (2) INSPECTION OF MAPS.—The maps described 

4 in paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for 

5 public inspection in the Office of the Forest Super6 visor, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, until the 

7 land is sold or exchanged under subsection (a). 

8 (3) MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES.—The Sec9 retary may modify the boundaries of the land de10 scribed in paragraph (1) based on land management 

11 considerations. 

12 (c) FORM OF CONVEYANCE.— 

13 (1) QUITCLAIM DEED.—The Secretary shall con14 vey land sold or exchanged under subsection (a) by 

15 quitclaim deed. 

16 (2) RESERVATIONS.—The Secretary may reserve 

17 any right-of-way or other right or interest in land 

18 sold or exchanged under subsection (a) that the Sec19 retary considers necessary— 

20 (A) for management purposes; or 

21 (B) to protect the public interest. 

22 (d) VALUATION.— 

23 (1) MARKET VALUE.—The Secretary may not 

24 sell or exchange land under subsection (a) for less 


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1 than market value, as determined by appraisal or 

2 through a competitive bidding process. 

3 (2) APPRAISAL REQUIREMENTS.—An appraisal 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be— 

5 (A) consistent with— 

6 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

7 for Federal Land Acquisitions; or 

8 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes9 sional Appraisal Practice; and 

10 (B) subject to the approval of the Secretary. 

11 (e) CONSIDERATION.— 

12 (1) CASH.—Consideration for a sale of land or 

13 equalization of an exchange under subsection (a) shall 

14 be paid in cash. 

15 (2) EXCHANGE.—Notwithstanding section 206(b) 

16 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

17 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)), the Secretary may accept 

18 a cash equalization payment in excess of 25 percent 

19 of the value of land exchanged under subsection (a). 

20 (f) METHOD OF SALE.— 

21 (1) OPTIONS.—The Secretary may sell land 

22 under subsection (a) at public or private sale, includ23 ing competitive sale by auction, bid, or otherwise, in 

24 accordance with any terms, conditions, or procedures 


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1 the Secretary determines are in the best interest of the 

2 United States. 

3 (2) SOLICITATIONS.—The Secretary may— 

4 (A) make public or private solicitations for 

5 the sale or exchange of land under subsection (a); 

6 and 

7 (B) reject any offer that the Secretary deter8 mines is not— 

9 (i) adequate; or 

10 (ii) in the public interest. 

11 (g) BROKERS.—The Secretary may— 

12 (1) use a broker or other third party in the sale 

13 or exchange of land under subsection (a); and 

14 (2) from the proceeds of a sale or exchange of 

15 land under subsection (a), pay reasonable commis16 sions or fees, if applicable. 

17 SEC. 605. TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS. 

18 (a) DEPOSIT.—Except as provided in section 

19 604(g)(2), the Secretary shall deposit the proceeds or cash 

20 equalization payment of a sale or exchange under section 

21 604(a) in the fund established under Public Law 90–171 

22 (commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

23 (b) AVAILABILITY AND USE.—Subject to subsection (c), 

24 amounts deposited under subsection (a) shall be available 

25 to the Secretary until expended, without further appropriaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RS H2647

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1 tion, only for the acquisition of land in the State of Georgia 

2 for the National Forest System. 

3 (c) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.—Nothing in 

4 this title authorizes the use of amounts deposited under sub5 section (a) to be used to acquire land without the written 

6 consent of the owner of the land. 


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Calendar No. 634 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2647 

AN ACT 

To expedite under the National Environmental Pollands, and for other purposes. turn resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested of Land Management, and on tribal lands to re- public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau activities on National Forest System lands, on icy Act of 1969 and improve forest management 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS