IB 

Union Calendar No. 137 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2647 

[Report No. 114–185, Parts I and II] 

To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act and improve forest 

management activities in units of the National Forest System derived 

from the public domain, 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2015 

Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, and Mr. ZINKE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GOSAR, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. RIBBLE, 

Mr. TIPTON, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. 

BENISHEK, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. PALMER

JUNE 25, 2015 

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with amendments 

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

JUNE 25, 2015 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with amendments 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 4, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act 

and improve forest management activities in units of 

the National Forest System derived from the public domain, 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. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re5 silient Federal Forests Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

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. 


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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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

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

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

7 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 


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

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

3 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘cat4 egorical exclusion’’ refers to an exception to the re5 quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act 

6 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) for a project or activ7 ity relating to the management of National Forest 

8 System lands or public lands. 

9 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col10 laborative process’’ refers to a process relating to the 

11 management of National Forest System lands or pub12 lic lands by which a project or activity is developed 

13 and implemented by the Secretary concerned through 

14 collaboration with interested persons, as described in 

15 section 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forests Restora16 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

17 (4) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.— 

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

19 the meaning given that term in section 101(3) of the 

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

21 6511(3)). 

22 (5) COOS BAY WAGON ROAD GRANT LANDS.—The 

23 term ‘‘Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands’’ means 

24 the lands reconveyed to the United States pursuant to 


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1 the first section of the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 

2 Stat. 1179). 

3 (6) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The term 

4 ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project or ac5 tivity carried out by the Secretary concerned on Na6 tional Forest System lands or public lands in concert 

7 with the forest plan covering the lands. 

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

9 means— 

10 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bureau 

11 of Land Management for public lands pursuant 

12 to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); or 

14 (B) a land and resource management plan 

15 prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the 

16 National Forest System pursuant to section 6 of 

17 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

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

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

20 term ‘‘large-scale catastrophic event’’ means a cata21 strophic event that adversely impacts at least 5,000 

22 acres of reasonably contiguous National Forest Sys23 tem lands or public lands. 

24 (9) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Na25 tional Forest System’’ has the meaning given that 


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

2 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

4 (10) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA RAILROAD GRANT

5 LANDS.—The term ‘‘Oregon and California Railroad 

6 Grant lands’’ means the following lands: 

7 (A) All lands in the State of Oregon re8 vested in the United States under the Act of 

9 June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), that are adminis10 tered by the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

11 through the Bureau of Land Management, pur12 suant to the first section of the Act of August 28, 

13 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a). 

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

15 Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the land ex16 changes authorized and directed by section 2 of 

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

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

19 United States at any time and made subject to 

20 the provisions of title II of the Act of August 28, 

21 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181f). 

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

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

24 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

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1 cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or2 egon and California Railroad Grant lands. 

3 (12) REFORESTATION ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘re4 forestation activity’’ means a project or activity car5 ried out by the Secretary concerned whose primary 

6 purpose is the reforestation of fire-impacted lands fol7 lowing a large-scale wildfire. The term includes 

8 planting, evaluating and enhancing natural regenera9 tion, clearing competing vegetation, and other activi10 ties related to reestablishment of forest species on the 

11 fire-impacted lands. 

12 (13) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

13 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the meaning 

14 given that term in section 201(3) of the Secure Rural 

15 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

16 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121(3)). 

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

18 operation’’ means a forest management activity un19 dertaken in response to a catastrophic event whose 

20 primary purpose— 

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

22 catastrophic event, or, if the catastrophic event 

23 was wildfire, to prevent a re-burn of the fire-im24 pacted area; 


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1 (B) is to provide an opportunity for utiliza2 tion of forest materials damaged as a result of 

3 the catastrophic event; or 

4 (C) is to provide a funding source for refor5 estation and other restoration activities for the 

6 National Forest System lands or public lands 

7 impacted by the catastrophic event. 

8 (15) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec9 retary concerned’’ means— 

10 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re11 spect to National Forest System lands; and 

12 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re13 spect to public lands. 

14 TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRON15 MENTAL ANALYSIS AND 

16 AVAILABILITY OF CATEGOR17 ICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPE18 DITE FOREST MANAGEMENT 

19 ACTIVITIES 

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

21 VERSUS NO ACTION) IN PROPOSED COLLABO22 RATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

23 (a) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL AS24 SESSMENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.— 

25 This section shall apply whenever the Secretary concerned 


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1 prepares an environmental assessment or an environmental 

2 impact statement pursuant to section 102(2) of the National 

3 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for 

4 a forest management activity that— 

5 (1) is developed through a collaborative process; 

6 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory com7 mittee; or 

8 (3) is covered by a community wildfire protec9 tion plan. 

10 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In an envi11 ronmental assessment or environmental impact statement 

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

13 study, develop, and describe only the following two alter14 natives: 

15 (1) The forest management activity, as proposed 

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

17 (a). 

18 (2) The alternative of no action. 

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

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

21 shall evaluate— 

22 (1) the effect of no action on— 

23 (A) forest health; 

24 (B) habitat diversity; 

25 (C) wildfire potential; and 


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1 (D) insect and disease potential; and 

2 (2) the implications of a resulting decline in for3 est health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect 

4 or disease infestation, given fire and insect and dis5 ease historic cycles, on— 

6 (A) domestic water costs; 

7 (B) wildlife habitat loss; and 

8 (C) other economic and social factors. 

9 SEC. 102. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE CERTAIN 

10 CRITICAL RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

11 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

12 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary concerned 

13 to develop and carry out a forest management activity on 

14 National Forest System lands or public lands when the pri15 mary purpose of the forest management activity is— 

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

17 (2) to reduce hazardous fuel loads; 

18 (3) to protect a municipal water source; 

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

20 habitat to protect it from catastrophic disturbances; 

21 (5) to increase water yield; or 

22 (6) any combination of the purposes specified in 

23 paragraphs (1) through (5). 

24 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the case of a forest 

2 management activity described in paragraph (2), a 

3 forest management activity covered by the categorical 

4 exclusion granted by subsection (a) may not contain 

5 harvest units exceeding a total of 5,000 acres. 

6 (2) LARGER AREAS AUTHORIZED.—A forest 

7 management activity covered by the categorical exclu8 sion granted by subsection (a) may not contain har9 vest units exceeding a total of 15,000 acres if the for10 est management activity— 

11 (A) is developed through a collaborative 

12 process; 

13 (B) is proposed by a resource advisory com14 mittee; or 

15 (C) is covered by a community wildfire pro16 tection plan. 

17 SEC. 103. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE SALVAGE 

18 OPERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CATA19 STROPHIC EVENTS. 

20 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

21 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary concerned 

22 to develop and carry out a salvage operation as part of the 

23 restoration of National Forest System lands or public lands 

24 following a catastrophic event. 

25 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 


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

2 by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection (a) 

3 may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 

4 5,000 acres. 

5 (2) HARVEST AREA.—In addition to the limita6 tion imposed by paragraph (1), the harvest units cov7 ered by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection 

8 (a) may not exceed one-third of the area impacted by 

9 the catastrophic event. 

10 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) ROAD BUILDING.—A salvage operation cov12 ered by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection 

13 (a) may not include any new permanent roads. Tem14 porary roads constructed as part of the salvage oper15 ation shall be retired before the end of the second fis16 cal year beginning after the completion of the salvage 

17 operation. 

18 (2) STREAM BUFFERS.—A salvage operation cov19 ered by the categorical exclusion granted by subsection 

20 (a) shall comply with the standards and guidelines 

21 for stream buffers contained in the applicable forest 

22 plan unless waived by the Regional Forester, in the 

23 case of National Forest System lands, or the State Di24 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, in the case 

25 of public lands. 


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1 (3) REFORESTATION PLAN.—A reforestation plan 

2 shall be developed under section 3 of the Act of June 

3 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson-Vanden4 berg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), as part of a salvage oper5 ation covered by the categorical exclusion granted by 

6 subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 104. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO MEET FOREST 

8 PLAN GOALS FOR EARLY SUCCESSIONAL FOR9 ESTS. 

10 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

11 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary concerned 

12 to develop and carry out a forest management activity on 

13 National Forest System lands or public lands when the pri14 mary purpose of the forest management activity is to mod15 ify, improve, enhance, or create early successional forests 

16 for wildlife habitat improvement and other purposes, con17 sistent with the applicable forest plan. 

18 (b) PROJECT GOALS.—To the maximum extent prac19 ticable, the Secretary concerned shall design a forest man20 agement activity under this section to meet early succes21 sional forest goals in such a manner so as to maximize pro22 duction and regeneration of priority species, as identified 

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

24 activity site. 


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1 (c) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest management ac2 tivity covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub3 section (a) may not contain harvest units exceeding a total 

4 of 5,000 acres. 

5 SEC. 105. CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING CATEGORICAL EX6 CLUSION AUTHORITY RELATED TO INSECT 

7 AND DISEASE INFESTATION. 

8 Section 603(c)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forests Restora9 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(2)(B)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘Fire Regime Groups I, II, or III’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Fire Regime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime III, or Fire 

12 Regime IV’’. 

13 SEC. 106. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO IMPROVE, RE14 STORE, AND REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE. 

15 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—A 

16 categorical exclusion is available to the Secretary concerned 

17 to carry out a forest management activity described in sub18 section (c) on National Forest System Lands or public 

19 lands when the primary purpose of the activity is to im20 prove, restore, or reduce the risk of wildfire on those lands. 

21 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest management ac22 tivity covered by the categorical exclusion granted by sub23 section (a) may not exceed 5,000 acres. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The following activi2 ties may be carried out using a categorical exclusion grant3 ed by subsection (a): 

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

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

6 noxious or invasive weeds specified on Federal or 

7 State noxious weeds lists through late-season livestock 

8 grazing, targeted livestock grazing, prescribed burns, 

9 and mechanical treatments. 

10 (2) Performance of hazardous fuels management. 

11 (3) Creation of fuel and fire breaks. 

12 (4) Modification of existing fences in order to 

13 distribute livestock and help improve wildlife habitat. 

14 (5) Installation of erosion control devices. 

15 (6) Construction of new and maintenance of per16 manent infrastructure, including stock ponds, water 

17 catchments, and water spring boxes used to benefit 

18 livestock and improve wildlife habitat. 

19 (7) Performance of soil treatments, native and 

20 non-native seeding, and planting of and trans21 planting sagebrush, grass, forb, shrub, and other spe22 cies. 

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

24 concerned determines that the activity is otherwise 

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1 cluding any forest plan applicable to the area covered 

2 by the activity. 

3 (d) 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 after 

10 both the invasive species and native perennial species 

11 have completed their current-year annual growth 

12 cycle until new plant growth begins to appear in the 

13 following year. 

14 (3) TARGETED LIVESTOCK GRAZING.—The term 

15 ‘‘targeted livestock grazing’’ means grazing used to for 

16 purposes of hazardous fuel reduction. 

17 SEC. 107. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

18 A forest management activity covered by a categorical 

19 exclusion granted by this title shall be conducted in a man20 ner consistent with the forest plan applicable to the Na21 tional Forest System land or public lands covered by the 

22 forest management activity. 


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1 TITLE II—SALVAGE AND REFOR2 ESTATION IN RESPONSE TO 

3 CATASTROPHIC EVENTS 

4 SEC. 201. EXPEDITED SALVAGE OPERATIONS AND REFOR5 ESTATION ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING LARGE6 SCALE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS. 

7 (a) EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—Not8 withstanding any other provision of law, any environ9 mental assessment prepared by the Secretary concerned 

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

11 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a salvage oper12 ation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on 

13 National Forest System lands or public lands adversely im14 pacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be completed 

15 within three months after the conclusion of the catastrophic 

16 event. 

17 (b) EXPEDITED IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLE18 TION.—In the case of reforestation activities conducted on 

19 National Forest System lands or public lands adversely im20 pacted by a large-scale catastrophic event, the Secretary 

21 concerned shall achieve reforestation of at least 75 percent 

22 of the impacted lands during the five-year period following 

23 the conclusion of the catastrophic event. 

24 (c) AVAILABILITY OF KNUTSON-VANDENBERG

25 FUNDS.—Amounts in the special fund established pursuant 


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1 to section 3 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known 

2 as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b) shall be 

3 available to the Secretary of Agriculture for reforestation 

4 activities authorized by this title. 

5 SEC. 202. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

6 A salvage operation or reforestation activity author7 ized by this title shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

8 with the forest plan applicable to the National Forest Sys9 tem lands or public lands covered by the salvage operation 

10 or reforestation activity. 

11 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION ON RESTRAINING ORDERS, PRE12 LIMINARY INJUNCTIONS, AND INJUNCTIONS 

13 PENDING APPEAL. 

14 No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or in15 junction pending appeal shall be issued by any court of the 

16 United States with respect to any decision to prepare or 

17 conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in re18 sponse to a large-scale catastrophic event. Section 705 of 

19 title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to any challenge 

20 to the salvage operation or reforestation activity. 

21 SEC. 204. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LANDS. 

22 In applying this title, the Secretary concerned may not 

23 carry out salvage operations or reforestation activities on 

24 National Forest System lands or public lands— 


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1 (1) that are included in the National Wilderness 

2 Preservation System; 

3 (2) that are located within an inventoried 

4 roadless area unless the reforestation activity is con5 sistent with the forest plan; or 

6 (3) on which timber harvesting for any purpose 

7 is prohibited by statute. 

8 TITLE III—COLLABORATIVE 

9 PROJECT LITIGATION RE10 QUIREMENT 

11 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

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

14 and costs described in section 1920 of title 28, United 

15 States Code. 

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

17 the expenditures incurred by the staff of the Secretary 

18 concerned in preparing for and responding to a legal 

19 challenge to a collaborative forest management activ20 ity and in participating in litigation that challenges 

21 the forest management activity, including such staff 

22 time as may be used to prepare the administrative 

23 record, exhibits, declarations, and affidavits in con24 nection with the litigation. 


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1 SEC. 302. BOND REQUIREMENT AS PART OF LEGAL CHAL2 LENGE OF CERTAIN FOREST MANAGEMENT 

3 ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) BOND REQUIRED.—In the case of a forest manage5 ment activity developed through a collaborative process or 

6 proposed by a resource advisory committee, any plaintiff 

7 or plaintiffs challenging the forest management activity 

8 shall be required to post a bond or other security equal to 

9 the anticipated costs, expenses, and attorneys fees of the Sec10 retary concerned as defendant, as reasonably estimated by 

11 the Secretary concerned. All proceedings in the action shall 

12 be stayed until the required bond or security is provided. 

13 (b) RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS, EXPENSES, AND

14 ATTORNEYS FEES.— 

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

16 concerned prevails in an action challenging a forest 

17 management activity described in subsection (a), the 

18 Secretary concerned shall submit to the court a mo19 tion for payment, from the bond or other security 

20 posted under subsection (a) in such action, of the rea21 sonable costs, expenses, and attorneys fees incurred by 

22 the Secretary concerned. 

23 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERED.—The 

24 amount of costs, expenses, and attorneys fees recovered 

25 by the Secretary concerned under paragraph (1) as a 

26 result of prevailing in an action challenging the forest 


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1 management activity may not exceed the amount of 

2 the bond or other security posted under subsection (a) 

3 in such action. 

4 (3) RETURN OF REMAINDER.—Any funds re5 maining from the bond or other security posted under 

6 subsection (a) after the payment of costs, expenses, 

7 and attorneys fees under paragraph (1) shall be re8 turned to the plaintiff or plaintiffs that posted the 

9 bond or security in the action. 

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

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the plaintiff ultimately pre12 vails on the merits in every action brought by the 

13 plaintiff challenging a forest management activity de14 scribed in subsection (a), the court shall return to the 

15 plaintiff any bond or security provided by the plain16 tiff under subsection (a), plus interest from the date 

17 the bond or security was provided. 

18 (2) ULTIMATELY PREVAILS ON THE MERITS.—In 

19 this subsection, the phrase ‘‘ultimately prevails on the 

20 merits’’ means, in a final enforceable judgment on the 

21 merits, a court rules in favor of the plaintiff on every 

22 cause of action in every action brought by the plain23 tiff challenging the forest management activity. 

24 (d) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.—If a challenge to a for25 est management activity described in subsection (a) for 


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1 which a bond or other security was provided by the plaintiff 

2 under such subsection is resolved by settlement between the 

3 Secretary concerned and the plaintiff, the settlement agree4 ment shall provide for sharing the costs, expenses, and at5 torneys fees incurred by the parties. 

6 (e) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith7 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

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

9 States Code, and no amounts may be obligated or expended 

10 from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States 

11 Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses under such sec12 tions to any plaintiff related to an action challenging a 

13 forest management activity described in subsection (a). 

14 TITLE IV—SECURE RURAL 

15 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY 

16 SELF-DETERMINATION ACT 

17 AMENDMENTS 

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

19 PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND AND CERTAIN 

20 NON-FEDERAL LAND. 

21 (a) REPEAL OF MERCHANTABLE TIMBER CON22 TRACTING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 204(e) of the Secure 

23 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

24 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7124(e)) is amended by striking paragraph 

25 (3). 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT FUNDS.—Section 

2 204 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-De3 termination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7124) is amended by 

4 striking subsection (f) and inserting the following new sub5 section: 

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

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

8 Secretary concerned shall ensure that at least 50 per9 cent of the project funds reserved by a participating 

10 county under section 102(d) shall be available only 

11 for projects that— 

12 ‘‘(A) include the sale of timber or other for13 est products; and 

14 ‘‘(B) implement stewardship objectives that 

15 enhance forest ecosystems or restore and improve 

16 land health and water quality. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—The requirement in para18 graph (1) shall apply only to project funds reserved 

19 by a participating county whose boundaries include 

20 Federal land that the Secretary concerned determines 

21 has been subject to a timber or other forest products 

22 program within 5 fiscal years before the fiscal year 

23 in which the funds are reserved.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

2 (a) RECOGNITION OF RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMIT3 TEES.—Section 205(a)(4) of the Secure Rural Schools and 

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

5 7125(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it 

6 appears and inserting ‘‘2020’’. 

7 (b) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN COMPOSITION OF COM8 MITTEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure Rural Schools and 

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

10 7125(d)) is amended— 

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

12 inserting ‘‘Except during the period specified in 

13 paragraph (6), each’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(6) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN MINIMUM NUM17 BER OF MEMBERS.— 

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

19 During the period beginning on the date of the 

20 enactment of this paragraph and ending on Sep21 tember 30, 2020, a resource advisory committee 

22 established under this section may be comprised 

23 of 6 or more members, of which— 

24 ‘‘(i) at least 2 shall be representative of 

25 interests described in subparagraph (A) of 

26 paragraph (2); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at least 2 shall be representative 

2 of interests described in subparagraph (B) 

3 of paragraph (2); and 

4 ‘‘(iii) at least 2 shall be representative 

5 of interests described in subparagraph (C) 

6 of paragraph (2). 

7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In ap8 pointing members of a resource advisory com9 mittee from the 3 categories described in para10 graph (2), as provided in subparagraph (A), the 

11 Secretary concerned shall ensure balanced and 

12 broad representation in each category. In the 

13 case of a vacancy on a resource advisory com14 mittee, the vacancy shall be filled within 90 days 

15 after the date on which the vacancy occurred. 

16 Appointments to a new resource advisory com17 mittee shall be made within 90 days after the 

18 date on which the decision to form the new re19 source advisory committee was made. 

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

21 advisory committee with 15 members that was 

22 filed on or before the date of the enactment of 

23 this paragraph shall be considered to be filed for 

24 a resource advisory committee described in this 

25 paragraph. The charter of a resource advisory 


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1 committee shall be reapproved before the expira2 tion of the existing charter of the resource advi3 sory committee. In the case of a new resource ad4 visory committee, the charter of the resource ad5 visory committee shall be approved within 90 

6 days after the date on which the decision to form 

7 the new resource advisory committee was made.’’. 

8 (c) CONFORMING CHANGE TO PROJECT APPROVAL RE9 QUIREMENTS.—Section 205(e)(3) of the Secure Rural 

10 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

11 (16 U.S.C. 7125(e)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of a resource advi13 sory committee consisting of fewer than 15 members, as au14 thorized by subsection (d)(6), a project may be proposed to 

15 the Secretary concerned upon approval by a majority of 

16 the members of the committee.’’. 

17 (d) EXPANDING LOCAL PARTICIPATION ON COMMIT18 TEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure Rural Schools and 

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

20 7125(d)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the pe22 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, consistent with the 

23 requirements of paragraph (4)’’; and 

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

25 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The members 

2 of a resource advisory committee shall reside within 

3 the county or counties in which the committee has ju4 risdiction or an adjacent county.’’. 

5 SEC. 403. PROGRAM FOR TITLE II SELF-SUSTAINING RE6 SOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

7 (a) SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE ADVISORY COM8 MITTEE PROJECTS.—Title II of the Secure Rural Schools 

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

10 7121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

11 new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 209. PROGRAM FOR SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE AD13 VISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) RAC PROGRAM.—The Chief of the Forest Service 

15 shall conduct a program (to be known as the ‘self-sustaining 

16 resource advisory committee program’ or ‘RAC program’) 

17 under which 10 resource advisory committees will propose 

18 projects authorized by subsection (c) to be carried out using 

19 project funds reserved by a participating county under sec20 tion 102(d). 

21 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING RESOURCE ADVI22 SORY COMMITTEES.—The selection of resource advisory 

23 committees to participate in the RAC program is in the 

24 sole discretion of the Chief of the Forest Service, except that, 


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1 consistent with section 205(d)(6), a selected resource advi2 sory committee must have a minimum of 6 members. 

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

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

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

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(1) accomplish forest management objectives or 

8 support community development; and 

9 ‘‘(2) generate receipts. 

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

11 Any revenue generated by a project conducted under the 

12 RAC program, including any interest accrued from the rev13 enues, shall be— 

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

15 Treasury established under section 102(d)(2)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(2) available, in such amounts as may be pro17 vided in advance in appropriation Acts, for addi18 tional projects under the RAC program. 

19 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

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

21 project under the RAC program shall terminate on 

22 September 30, 2020. 

23 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN TREASURY.—Any funds avail24 able for projects under the RAC program and not obVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RH H2647

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1 ligated by September 30, 2021, shall be deposited in 

2 the Treasury of the United States.’’. 

3 (b) EXCEPTION TO GENERAL RULE REGARDING

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

5 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

6 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7153(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘All reve7 nues’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 209, 

8 all revenues’’. 

9 SEC. 404. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF RESERVED 

10 FUNDS FOR TITLE III COUNTY PROJECTS. 

11 Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools and Com12 munity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142(a)) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘and law enforcement pa16 trols’’ after ‘‘including firefighting’’; and 

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

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para19 graph (4); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol21 lowing new paragraph (3): 

22 ‘‘(3) to cover training costs and equipment pur23 chases directly related to the emergency services de24 scribed in paragraph (2); and’’. 


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1 TITLE V—STEWARDSHIP END 

2 RESULT CONTRACTING 

3 SEC. 501. CANCELLATION CEILINGS FOR STEWARDSHIP 

4 END RESULT CONTRACTING PROJECTS. 

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

6 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) 

7 is amended— 

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

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

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following 

11 new subsection (h): 

12 ‘‘(h) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.— 

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

14 may obligate funds to cover any potential cancella15 tion or termination costs for an agreement or contract 

16 under subsection (b) in stages that are economically 

17 or programmatically viable. 

18 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF CAN19 CELLATION CEILING IN EXCESS OF $25,000,000.—Not 

20 later than 30 days before entering into a multiyear 

21 agreement or contract under subsection (b) that in22 cludes a cancellation ceiling in excess of $25,000,000, 

23 but does not include proposed funding for the costs of 

24 cancelling the agreement or contract up to such can25 cellation ceiling, the Chief or the Director, as the case 


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1 may be, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

2 Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, 

3 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Com4 mittee on Natural Resources and the Committee on 

5 Agriculture of the House of Representatives a written 

6 notice that includes— 

7 ‘‘(A) the cancellation ceiling amounts pro8 posed for each program year in the agreement or 

9 contract; 

10 ‘‘(B) the reasons why such cancellation ceil11 ing amounts were selected; 

12 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the costs of contract 

13 cancellation are not included in the budget for 

14 the agreement or contract; and 

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

16 not including budgeting for the costs of agree17 ment or contract cancellation. 

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

19 later than 14 days after the date on which written no20 tice is provided under paragraph (2) with respect to 

21 an agreement or contract under subsection (b), the 

22 Chief or the Director, as the case may be, shall trans23 mit a copy of the notice to the Director of the Office 

24 of Management and Budget.’’. 


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

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

3 6591c(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘, the Chief may’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘and section 2(a)(1) of the Act of July 31, 1947 

5 (commonly known as the Materials Act of 1947; 30 U.S.C. 

6 602(a)(1)), the Chief and the Director may’’. 

7 SEC. 502. EXCESS OFFSET VALUE. 

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

9 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(g)(2)) is amended by striking 

10 subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following new 

11 subparagraphs: 

12 ‘‘(A) use the excess to satisfy any out13 standing liabilities for cancelled agreements or 

14 contracts; or 

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

16 under subparagraph (A), apply the excess to 

17 other authorized stewardship projects.’’. 

18 SEC. 503. PAYMENT OF PORTION OF STEWARDSHIP 

19 PROJECT REVENUES TO COUNTY IN WHICH 

20 STEWARDSHIP PROJECT OCCURS. 

21 Section 604(e) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

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

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

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


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘services re2 ceived by the Chief or the Director’’ and all that fol3 lows through the period at the end and inserting the 

4 following: ‘‘services and in-kind resources received by 

5 the Chief or the Director under a stewardship con6 tract project conducted under this section shall not be 

7 considered monies received from the National Forest 

8 System or the public lands, but any payments made 

9 by the contractor to the Chief or Director under the 

10 project shall be considered monies received from the 

11 National Forest System or the public lands.’’. 

12 SEC. 504. SUBMISSION OF EXISTING ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

14 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c), as redesignated 

15 by section 501(a)(1), is amended by striking ‘‘report to the 

16 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

18 Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘submit to the congressional 

19 committees specified in subsection (h)(2) a report’’. 

20 TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL FUNDING 

21 SOURCES FOR FOREST MAN22 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

23 SEC. 601. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this title: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (A) a State or political subdivision of a 

4 State containing National Forest System lands 

5 or public lands; 

6 (B) a publicly chartered utility serving one 

7 or more States or a political subdivision thereof; 

8 (C) a rural electric company; and 

9 (D) any other entity determined by the Sec10 retary concerned to be appropriate for participa11 tion in the Fund. 

12 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the State13 Supported Forest Management Fund established by 

14 section 603. 

15 SEC. 602. AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE16 NUES AND COLLABORATIVE FOREST LAND17 SCAPE RESTORATION FUND TO COVER FOR18 EST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY PLANNING 

19 COSTS. 

20 (a) AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE21 NUES.—Section 604(e)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forests Res22 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(e)(2)(B)), as amend23 ed by section 503, is further amended by striking ‘‘appro24 priation at the project site from which the monies are colVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2647.RH H2647

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1 lected or at another project site.’’ and inserting the fol2 lowing: ‘‘appropriation— 

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

4 monies are collected or at another project 

5 site; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to cover not more than 25 percent 

7 of the cost of planning additional steward8 ship contracting projects.’’. 

9 (b) AVAILABILITY OF COLLABORATIVE FOREST LAND10 SCAPE RESTORATION FUND.—Section 4003(f)(1) of the Om11 nibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

12 7303(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘carrying out and’’ and 

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

14 SEC. 603. STATE-SUPPORTED PLANNING OF FOREST MAN15 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

16 (a) STATE-SUPPORTED FOREST MANAGEMENT

17 FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of the United 

18 States a fund, to be known as the ‘‘State-Supported Forest 

19 Management Fund’’, to cover the cost of planning (espe20 cially related to compliance with section 102(2) of the Na21 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4332(2))), carrying out, and monitoring certain forest 

23 management activities on National Forest System lands or 

24 public lands. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The State-Supported Forest Manage2 ment Fund shall consist of such amounts as may be— 

3 (1) contributed by an eligible entity for deposit 

4 in the Fund; 

5 (2) appropriated to the Fund; or 

6 (3) generated by forest management activities 

7 carried out using amounts in the Fund. 

8 (c) GEOGRAPHICAL AND USE LIMITATIONS.—In mak9 ing a contribution under subsection (b)(1), an eligible enti10 ty may— 

11 (1) specify the National Forest System lands or 

12 public lands for which the contribution may be ex13 pended; and 

14 (2) limit the types of forest management activi15 ties for which the contribution may be expended. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZED FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVI17 TIES.—In such amounts as may be provided in advance 

18 in appropriation Acts, the Secretary concerned may use the 

19 Fund to plan, carry out, and monitor a forest management 

20 activity that— 

21 (1) is developed through a collaborative process; 

22 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory com23 mittee; or 

24 (3) is covered by a community wildfire protec25 tion plan. 


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1 (e) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.—A forest manage2 ment activity carried out using amounts in the Fund may 

3 be carried out using a contract or agreement under section 

4 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

5 U.S.C. 6591c), the good neighbor authority provided by sec6 tion 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

7 2113a), a contract under section 14 of the National Forest 

8 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), or other author9 ity available to the Secretary concerned, but revenues gen10 erated by the forest management activity shall be used to 

11 reimburse the Fund for planning costs covered using 

12 amounts in the Fund. 

13 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

14 (1) REVENUE SHARING.—Subject to subsection 

15 (e), revenues generated by a forest management activ16 ity carried out using amounts from the Fund shall be 

17 considered monies received from the National Forest 

18 System. 

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

20 June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson21 Vanderberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.), shall apply to 

22 any forest management activity carried out using 

23 amounts in the Fund. 

24 (g) TERMINATION OF FUND.— 


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1 (1) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate 

2 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Upon the termi4 nation of the Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) or 

5 pursuant to any other provision of law, unobligated 

6 contributions remaining in the Fund shall be re7 turned to the eligible entity that made the contribu8 tion. 

9 TITLE VII—TRIBAL FORESTRY 

10 PARTICIPATION AND PROTEC11 TION 

12 SEC. 701. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL FOREST ASSETS 

13 THROUGH USE OF STEWARDSHIP END RE14 SULT CONTRACTING AND OTHER AUTHORI15 TIES. 

16 (a) PROMPT CONSIDERATION OF TRIBAL RE17 QUESTS.—Section 2(b) of the Tribal Forest Protection Act 

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

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

20 120 days after the date on which an Indian tribe sub21 mits to the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘In response to 

22 the submission by an Indian tribe of’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 

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


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

2 120 days after the date on which the Secretary 

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

4 Secretary shall provide an initial response to the 

5 Indian tribe regarding— 

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

7 selection criteria described in subsection (c); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood of the Secretary en10 tering into an agreement or contract with 

11 the Indian tribe under paragraph (2) for 

12 activities described in paragraph (3). 

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

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

15 under paragraph (1) shall be provided not later 

16 than one year after the date on which the Sec17 retary received the request. 

18 ‘‘(C) COMPLETION.—Not later than two 

19 years after the date on which the Secretary re20 ceives a tribal request under paragraph (1), 

21 other than a tribal request denied under sub22 section (d), the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) complete all environmental reviews 

24 necessary in connection with the agreement 


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1 or contract and proposed activities under 

2 the agreement or contract; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) enter into the agreement or con4 tract with the Indian tribe under para5 graph (2).’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

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

8 U.S.C. 3115a) is amended— 

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

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

11 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 

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

13 by section 323 of the Department of the Interior and 

14 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (117 Stat. 

15 275))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 604 of the Healthy For16 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c)’’; and 

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

18 (b)(1), the Secretary may’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 

19 (1) and (4)(B) of subsection (b), the Secretary shall’’. 

20 SEC. 702. MANAGEMENT OF INDIAN FOREST LAND AUTHOR21 IZED TO INCLUDE RELATED NATIONAL FOR22 EST SYSTEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

23 Section 305 of the National Indian Forest Resources 

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

25 at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS2 TEM LAND AND PUBLIC LAND.— 

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

4 tribe, the Secretary concerned may treat Federal for5 est land as Indian forest land for purposes of plan6 ning and conducting forest land management activi7 ties under this section if the Federal forest land is lo8 cated within, or mostly within, a geographic area 

9 that presents a feature or involves circumstances 

10 principally relevant to that Indian tribe, such as Fed11 eral forest land ceded to the United States by treaty, 

12 Federal forest land within the boundaries of a current 

13 or former reservation, or Federal forest land adju14 dicated to be tribal homelands. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—As part of the agreement 

16 to treat Federal forest land as Indian forest land 

17 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned and the 

18 Indian tribe making the request shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide for continued public access ap20 plicable to the Federal forest land prior to the 

21 agreement, except that the Secretary concerned 

22 may limit or prohibit such access as needed; 

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 agreement, in3 cluding, where applicable, 25-percent pay4 ments or 50 percent payments; or 

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

6 on terms agreed upon by the Indian tribe, 

7 the Secretary concerned, and State and 

8 county governments participating in a rev9 enue sharing agreement for the Federal for10 est land; 

11 ‘‘(C) comply with applicable prohibitions 

12 on the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 

13 the Federal forest land; and 

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

15 in place on Federal forest land prior to com16 mencement of tribal management activities. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Treating Federal forest land 

18 as Indian forest land for purposes of planning and 

19 conducting management activities pursuant to para20 graph (1) shall not be construed to designate the Fed21 eral forest land as Indian forest lands for any other 

22 purpose. 

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

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

25 ‘Federal forest land’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) National Forest System lands; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) public lands (as defined in sec3 tion 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 

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

5 1702(e))), including Coos Bay Wagon Road 

6 Grant lands reconveyed to the United States 

7 pursuant to the first section of the Act of 

8 February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179), and Or9 egon and California Railroad Grant lands. 

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

11 ‘Secretary concerned’ means— 

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

13 respect to the Federal forest land referred to 

14 in subparagraph (A)(i); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Interior, with 

16 respect to the Federal forest land referred to 

17 in subparagraph (A)(ii).’’. 

18 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

19 FOREST MANAGEMENT PRO20 VISIONS 

21 SEC. 801. BALANCING SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF 

22 FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN CON23 SIDERING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. 

24 As part of its weighing the equities while considering 

25 any request for an injunction that applies to any agency 


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1 action as part of a forest management activity under this 

2 Act, the court reviewing the agency action shall balance the 

3 impact to the ecosystem likely affected by the forest manage4 ment activity of— 

5 (1) the short- and long-term effects of under6 taking the agency action; against 

7 (2) the short- and long-term effects of not under8 taking the action. 

9 SEC. 802. CONDITIONS ON FOREST SERVICE ROAD DECOM10 MISSIONING. 

11 (a) CONSULTATION WITH AFFECTED COUNTY.—When12 ever any Forest Service defined maintenance level one or 

13 two system road within a designated high fire prone area 

14 of a unit of the National Forest System is considered for 

15 decommissioning, the Forest Supervisor of that unit of the 

16 National Forest System shall— 

17 (1) consult with the government of the county 

18 containing the road regarding the merits and possible 

19 consequences of decommissioning the road; and 

20 (2) solicit possible alternatives to decommis21 sioning the road. 

22 (b) REGIONAL FORESTER APPROVAL.—A Forest Serv23 ice road described in subsection (a) may not be decommis24 sioned without the advance approval of the Regional For25 ester. 


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1 SEC. 803. PROHIBITION ON APPLICATION OF EASTSIDE 

2 SCREENS REQUIREMENTS ON NATIONAL FOR3 EST SYSTEM LANDS. 

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

5 the Secretary of Agriculture may not apply to National 

6 Forest System lands any of the amendments to forest plans 

7 adopted in the Decision Notice for the Revised Continuation 

8 of Interim Management Direction Establishing Riparian, 

9 Ecosystem and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales (com10 monly known as the Eastside Screens requirements), in11 cluding all preceding or associated versions of these amend12 ments. 

13 SEC. 804. USE OF SITE-SPECIFIC FOREST PLAN AMEND14 MENTS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS AND ACTIVI15 TIES. 

16 If the Secretary concerned determines that, in order 

17 to conduct a project or carry out an activity implementing 

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

19 the Secretary concerned shall execute such amendment as 

20 a nonsignificant plan amendment through the record of de21 cision or decision notice for the project or activity. 

22 SEC. 805. KNUTSON-VANDENBERG ACT MODIFICATIONS. 

23 (a) DEPOSITS OF FUNDS FROM NATIONAL FOREST

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

25 of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson-Vanden26 berg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b(a)), is amended by striking ‘‘The 


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1 Secretary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘any purchaser’’ 

2 and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture 

3 shall require each purchaser’’. 

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

5 the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson6 Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Such deposits’’ and inserting the 

8 following: 

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

10 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

11 (d); and 

12 (3) by inserting before subsection (d), as so redes13 ignated, the following new subsection (c): 

14 ‘‘(c)(1) Amounts in the special fund established pursu15 ant to this section— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall be used exclusively to implement ac17 tivities authorized by subsection (a); and 

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

19 Service Region from which the original deposits were 

20 collected. 

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Agriculture may not deduct over22 head costs from the funds collected under subsection (a), ex23 cept as needed to fund personnel of the responsible Ranger 

24 District for the planning and implementation of the activi25 ties authorized by subsection (a).’’. 


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1 SEC. 806. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS2 TEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

3 Unless specifically provided by a provision of this Act, 

4 the authorities provided by this Act do not apply with re5 spect to any National Forest System lands or public 

6 lands— 

7 (1) that are included in the National Wilderness 

8 Preservation System; 

9 (2) that are located within an inventoried 

10 roadless area unless the forest management activity to 

11 be carried out under such authority is consistent with 

12 the forest plan applicable to the area; or 

13 (3) on which timber harvesting for any purpose 

14 is prohibited by statute. 

15 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

17 the ‘‘Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015’’. 

18 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con19 tents for 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. 


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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 

SELF-DETERMINATION 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. 

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. 

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 


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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. 

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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term 

4 ‘‘catastrophic event’’ means any natural 

5 disaster (such as hurricane, tornado, 

6 windstorm, snow or ice storm, rain storm, 

7 high water, wind-driven water, tidal 

8 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, 

9 landslide, mudslide, drought, or insect or 

10 disease outbreak) or any fire, flood, or ex11 plosion, regardless of cause. 

12 (2) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The 

13 term ‘‘categorical exclusion’’ refers to an 

14 exception to the requirements of the Na15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

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1 tivity relating to the management of Na2 tional Forest System lands or public 

3 lands. 

4 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The 

5 term ‘‘collaborative process’’ refers to a 

6 process relating to the management of 

7 National Forest System lands or public 

8 lands by which a project or activity is de9 veloped and implemented by the Sec10 retary concerned through collaboration 

11 with interested persons, as described in 

12 section 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy For13 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

14 6591b(b)(1)(C)). 

15 (4) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

16 PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire 

17 protection plan’’ has the meaning given 

18 that term in section 101(3) of the Healthy 

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

20 6511(3)). 

21 (5) COOS BAY WAGON ROAD GRANT

22 LANDS.—The term ‘‘Coos Bay Wagon Road 

23 Grant lands’’ means the lands reconveyed 

24 to the United States pursuant to the first 


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1 section of the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 

2 Stat. 1179). 

3 (6) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.— 

4 The term ‘‘forest management activity’’ 

5 means a project or activity carried out by 

6 the Secretary concerned on National For7 est System lands or public lands in con8 cert with the forest plan covering the 

9 lands. 

10 (7) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest 

11 plan’’ means— 

12 (A) a land use plan prepared by 

13 the Bureau of Land Management for 

14 public lands pursuant to section 202 

15 of the Federal Land Policy and Man16 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); 

17 or 

18 (B) a land and resource manage19 ment plan prepared by the Forest 

20 Service for a unit of the National For21 est System pursuant to section 6 of 

22 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

23 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1604). 


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1 (8) LARGE-SCALE CATASTROPHIC

2 EVENT.—The term ‘‘large-scale cata3 strophic event’’ means a catastrophic 

4 event that adversely impacts at least 

5 5,000 acres of reasonably contiguous Na6 tional Forest System lands or public 

7 lands. 

8 (9) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The 

9 term ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 11(a) 

11 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

12 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

13 1609(a)). 

14 (10) OREGON AND CALIFORNIA RAILROAD

15 GRANT LANDS.—The term ‘‘Oregon and 

16 California Railroad Grant lands’’ means 

17 the following lands: 

18 (A) All lands in the State of Or19 egon revested in the United States 

20 under the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 

21 218), that are administered by the 

22 Secretary of the Interior, acting 

23 through the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment, pursuant to the first section of 


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1 the Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 

2 1181a). 

3 (B) All lands in that State ob4 tained by the Secretary of the Inte5 rior pursuant to the land exchanges 

6 authorized and directed by section 2 

7 of the Act of June 24, 1954 (43 U.S.C. 

8 1181h). 

9 (C) All lands in that State ac10 quired by the United States at any 

11 time and made subject to the provi12 sions of title II of the Act of August 

13 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181f). 

14 (11) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public 

15 lands’’ has the meaning given that term 

16 in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Pol17 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

18 U.S.C. 1702(e)), except that the term in19 cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands 

20 and Oregon and California Railroad 

21 Grant lands. 

22 (12) REFORESTATION ACTIVITY.—The 

23 term ‘‘reforestation activity’’ means a 

24 project or activity carried out by the Sec25 retary concerned whose primary purpose 


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1 is the reforestation of fire-impacted lands 

2 following a large-scale wildfire. The term 

3 includes planting, evaluating and en4 hancing natural regeneration, clearing 

5 competing vegetation, and other activi6 ties related to reestablishment of forest 

7 species on the fire-impacted lands. 

8 (13) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

9 The term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ 

10 has the meaning given that term in sec11 tion 201(3) of the Secure Rural Schools 

12 and Community Self-Determination Act 

13 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121(3)). 

14 (14) SALVAGE OPERATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘salvage operation’’ means a forest man16 agement activity undertaken in response 

17 to a catastrophic event whose primary 

18 purpose— 

19 (A) is to prevent wildfire as a re20 sult of the catastrophic event, or, if 

21 the catastrophic event was wildfire, 

22 to prevent a re-burn of the fire-im23 pacted area; 

24 (B) is to provide an opportunity 

25 for utilization of forest materials 


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1 damaged as a result of the cata2 strophic event; or 

3 (C) is to provide a funding source 

4 for reforestation and other restora5 tion activities for the National Forest 

6 System lands or public lands im7 pacted by the catastrophic event. 

8 (15) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

9 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

10 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, 

11 with respect to National Forest Sys12 tem lands; and 

13 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, 

14 with respect to public lands. 

15 TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRON16 MENTAL ANALYSIS AND 

17 AVAILABILITY OF CATEGOR18 ICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPE19 DITE FOREST MANAGEMENT 

20 ACTIVITIES 

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

22 VERSUS NO ACTION) IN PROPOSED COLLABO23 RATIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

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1 PACT STATEMENTS.—This section shall apply 

2 whenever the Secretary concerned prepares 

3 an environmental assessment or an environ4 mental impact statement pursuant to section 

5 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy 

6 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a forest man7 agement activity that— 

8 (1) is developed through a collabo9 rative process; 

10 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory 

11 committee; or 

12 (3) is covered by a community wild13 fire protection plan. 

14 (b) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In 

15 an environmental assessment or environ16 mental impact statement described in sub17 section (a), the Secretary concerned shall 

18 study, develop, and describe only the fol19 lowing two alternatives: 

20 (1) The forest management activity, 

21 as proposed pursuant to paragraph (1), 

22 (2), or (3) of subsection (a). 

23 (2) The alternative of no action. 

24 (c) ELEMENTS OF NON-ACTION ALTER25 NATIVE.—In the case of the alternative of no 


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1 action, the Secretary concerned shall evalu2 ate— 

3 (1) the effect of no action on— 

4 (A) forest health; 

5 (B) habitat diversity; 

6 (C) wildfire potential; and 

7 (D) insect and disease potential; 

8 and 

9 (2) the implications of a resulting de10 cline in forest health, loss of habitat di11 versity, wildfire, or insect or disease in12 festation, given fire and insect and dis13 ease historic cycles, on— 

14 (A) domestic water costs; 

15 (B) wildlife habitat loss; and 

16 (C) other economic and social fac17 tors. 

18 SEC. 102. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE CER19 TAIN CRITICAL RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

20 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU21 SION.—A categorical exclusion is available to 

22 the Secretary concerned to develop and carry 

23 out a forest management activity on National 

24 Forest System lands or public lands when the 


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1 primary purpose of the forest management 

2 activity is— 

3 (1) to address an insect or disease in4 festation; 

5 (2) to reduce hazardous fuel loads; 

6 (3) to protect a municipal water 

7 source; 

8 (4) to maintain, enhance, or modify 

9 critical habitat to protect it from cata10 strophic disturbances; 

11 (5) to increase water yield; or 

12 (6) any combination of the purposes 

13 specified in paragraphs (1) through (5). 

14 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except in the case of 

16 a forest management activity described 

17 in paragraph (2), a forest management ac18 tivity covered by the categorical exclu19 sion granted by subsection (a) may not 

20 contain harvest units exceeding a total of 

21 5,000 acres. 

22 (2) LARGER AREAS AUTHORIZED.—A for23 est management activity covered by the 

24 categorical exclusion granted by sub25 section (a) may not contain harvest units 


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1 exceeding a total of 15,000 acres if the 

2 forest management activity— 

3 (A) is developed through a col4 laborative process; 

5 (B) is proposed by a resource ad6 visory committee; or 

7 (C) is covered by a community 

8 wildfire protection plan. 

9 SEC. 103. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO EXPEDITE SAL10 VAGE OPERATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CATA11 STROPHIC EVENTS. 

12 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU13 SION.—A categorical exclusion is available to 

14 the Secretary concerned to develop and carry 

15 out a salvage operation as part of the restora16 tion of National Forest System lands or public 

17 lands following a catastrophic event. 

18 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A salvage operation 

20 covered by the categorical exclusion 

21 granted by subsection (a) may not con22 tain harvest units exceeding a total of 

23 5,000 acres. 

24 (2) HARVEST AREA.—In addition to the 

25 limitation imposed by paragraph (1), the 


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1 harvest units covered by the categorical 

2 exclusion granted by subsection (a) may 

3 not exceed one-third of the area impacted 

4 by the catastrophic event. 

5 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (1) ROAD BUILDING.—A salvage oper7 ation covered by the categorical exclu8 sion granted by subsection (a) may not 

9 include any new permanent roads. Tem10 porary roads constructed as part of the 

11 salvage operation shall be retired before 

12 the end of the second fiscal year begin13 ning after the completion of the salvage 

14 operation. 

15 (2) STREAM BUFFERS.—A salvage oper16 ation covered by the categorical exclu17 sion granted by subsection (a) shall com18 ply with the standards and guidelines for 

19 stream buffers contained in the applica20 ble forest plan unless waived by the Re21 gional Forester, in the case of National 

22 Forest System lands, or the State Direc23 tor of the Bureau of Land Management, 

24 in the case of public lands. 


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1 (3) REFORESTATION PLAN.—A reforest2 ation plan shall be developed under sec3 tion 3 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (com4 monly known as the Knutson-Vandenberg 

5 Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), as part of a salvage 

6 operation covered by the categorical ex7 clusion granted by subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 104. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO MEET FOREST 

9 PLAN GOALS FOR EARLY SUCCESSIONAL 

10 FORESTS. 

11 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU12 SION.—A categorical exclusion is available to 

13 the Secretary concerned to develop and carry 

14 out a forest management activity on National 

15 Forest System lands or public lands when the 

16 primary purpose of the forest management 

17 activity is to modify, improve, enhance, or 

18 create early successional forests for wildlife 

19 habitat improvement and other purposes, 

20 consistent with the applicable forest plan. 

21 (b) PROJECT GOALS.—To the maximum ex22 tent practicable, the Secretary concerned 

23 shall design a forest management activity 

24 under this section to meet early successional 

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1 mize production and regeneration of priority 

2 species, as identified in the forest plan and 

3 consistent with the capability of the activity 

4 site. 

5 (c) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest man6 agement activity covered by the categorical 

7 exclusion granted by subsection (a) may not 

8 contain harvest units exceeding a total of 

9 5,000 acres. 

10 SEC. 105. CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING CATEGORICAL EX11 CLUSION AUTHORITY RELATED TO INSECT 

12 AND DISEASE INFESTATION. 

13 Section 603(c)(2)(B) of the Healthy Forests 

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

15 6591b(c)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘Fire 

16 Regime Groups I, II, or III’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Fire Regime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime 

18 III, or Fire Regime IV’’. 

19 SEC. 106. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO IMPROVE, RE20 STORE, AND REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE. 

21 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU22 SION.—A categorical exclusion is available to 

23 the Secretary concerned to carry out a forest 

24 management activity described in subsection 

25 (c) on National Forest System Lands or public 


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1 lands when the primary purpose of the activ2 ity is to improve, restore, or reduce the risk 

3 of wildfire on those lands. 

4 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A forest man5 agement activity covered by the categorical 

6 exclusion granted by subsection (a) may not 

7 exceed 5,000 acres. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The following 

9 activities may be carried out using a categor10 ical exclusion granted by subsection (a): 

11 (1) Removal of juniper trees, 

12 medusahead rye, conifer trees, pin ̃ on 

13 pine trees, cheatgrass, and other noxious 

14 or invasive weeds specified on Federal or 

15 State noxious weeds lists through late16 season livestock grazing, targeted live17 stock grazing, prescribed burns, and me18 chanical treatments. 

19 (2) Performance of hazardous fuels 

20 management. 

21 (3) Creation of fuel and fire breaks. 

22 (4) Modification of existing fences in 

23 order to distribute livestock and help im24 prove wildlife habitat. 


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1 (5) Installation of erosion control de2 vices. 

3 (6) Construction of new and mainte4 nance of permanent infrastructure, in5 cluding stock ponds, water catchments, 

6 and water spring boxes used to benefit 

7 livestock and improve wildlife habitat. 

8 (7) Performance of soil treatments, 

9 native and non-native seeding, and plant10 ing of and transplanting sagebrush, 

11 grass, forb, shrub, and other species. 

12 (8) Use of herbicides, so long as the 

13 Secretary concerned determines that the 

14 activity is otherwise conducted consist15 ently with agency procedures, including 

16 any forest plan applicable to the area 

17 covered by the activity. 

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS MANAGEMENT.— 

20 The term ‘‘hazardous fuels management’’ 

21 means any vegetation management ac22 tivities that reduce the risk of wildfire. 

23 (2) LATE-SEASON GRAZING.—The term 

24 ‘‘late-season grazing’’ means grazing ac25 tivities that occur after both the invasive 


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1 species and native perennial species have 

2 completed their current-year annual 

3 growth cycle until new plant growth be4 gins to appear in the following year. 

5 (3) TARGETED LIVESTOCK GRAZING.— 

6 The term ‘‘targeted livestock grazing’’ 

7 means grazing used to for purposes of 

8 hazardous fuel reduction. 

9 SEC. 107. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

10 A forest management activity covered by 

11 a categorical exclusion granted by this title 

12 shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

13 with the forest plan applicable to the National 

14 Forest System land or public lands covered by 

15 the forest management activity. 

16 TITLE II—SALVAGE AND REFOR17 ESTATION IN RESPONSE TO 

18 CATASTROPHIC EVENTS 

19 SEC. 201. EXPEDITED SALVAGE OPERATIONS AND REFOR20 ESTATION ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING LARGE21 SCALE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS. 

22 (a) EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESS23 MENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

24 of law, any environmental assessment pre25 pared by the Secretary concerned pursuant to 


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1 section 102(2) of the National Environmental 

2 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a sal3 vage operation or reforestation activity pro4 posed to be conducted on National Forest Sys5 tem lands or public lands adversely impacted 

6 by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be 

7 completed within three months after the con8 clusion of the catastrophic event. 

9 (b) EXPEDITED IMPLEMENTATION AND COM10 PLETION.—In the case of reforestation activi11 ties conducted on National Forest System 

12 lands or public lands adversely impacted by 

13 a large-scale catastrophic event, the Secretary 

14 concerned shall achieve reforestation of at 

15 least 75 percent of the impacted lands during 

16 the five-year period following the conclusion 

17 of the catastrophic event. 

18 (c) AVAILABILITY OF KNUTSON-VANDENBERG

19 FUNDS.—Amounts in the special fund estab20 lished pursuant to section 3 of the Act of June 

21 9, 1930 (commonly known as the Knutson-Van22 denberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b) shall be available 

23 to the Secretary of Agriculture for reforest24 ation activities authorized by this title. 


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1 SEC. 202. COMPLIANCE WITH FOREST PLAN. 

2 A salvage operation or reforestation activ3 ity authorized by this title shall be conducted 

4 in a manner consistent with the forest plan 

5 applicable to the National Forest System 

6 lands or public lands covered by the salvage 

7 operation or reforestation activity. 

8 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION ON RESTRAINING ORDERS, PRE9 LIMINARY INJUNCTIONS, AND INJUNCTIONS 

10 PENDING APPEAL. 

11 No restraining order, preliminary injunc12 tion, or injunction pending appeal shall be 

13 issued by any court of the United States with 

14 respect to any decision to prepare or conduct 

15 a salvage operation or reforestation activity 

16 in response to a large-scale catastrophic 

17 event. Section 705 of title 5, United States 

18 Code, shall not apply to any challenge to the 

19 salvage operation or reforestation activity. 

20 SEC. 204. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LANDS. 

21 In applying this title, the Secretary con22 cerned may not carry out salvage operations 

23 or reforestation activities on National Forest 

24 System lands or public lands— 

25 (1) that are included in the National 

26 Wilderness Preservation System; 


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1 (2) that are located within an inven2 toried roadless area unless the reforest3 ation activity is consistent with the forest 

4 plan; or 

5 (3) on which timber harvesting for 

6 any purpose is prohibited by statute. 

7 TITLE III—COLLABORATIVE 

8 PROJECT LITIGATION RE9 QUIREMENT 

10 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this title: 

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

13 the fees and costs described in section 

14 1920 of title 28, United States Code. 

15 (2) EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘expenses’’ 

16 includes the expenditures incurred by 

17 the staff of the Secretary concerned in 

18 preparing for and responding to a legal 

19 challenge to a collaborative forest man20 agement activity and in participating in 

21 litigation that challenges the forest man22 agement activity, including such staff 

23 time as may be used to prepare the ad24 ministrative record, exhibits, declaraVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H2647.RH H2647

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1 tions, and affidavits in connection with 

2 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 for7 est management activity developed through a 

8 collaborative process or proposed by a re9 source advisory committee, any plaintiff or 

10 plaintiffs challenging the forest management 

11 activity shall be required to post a bond or 

12 other security equal to the anticipated costs, 

13 expenses, and attorneys fees of the Secretary 

14 concerned as defendant, as reasonably esti15 mated by the Secretary concerned. All pro16 ceedings in the action shall be stayed until 

17 the required bond or security is provided. 

18 (b) RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS, EX19 PENSES, AND ATTORNEYS FEES.— 

20 (1) MOTION FOR PAYMENT.—If the Sec21 retary concerned prevails in an action 

22 challenging a forest management activity 

23 described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

24 concerned shall submit to the court a mo25 tion for payment, from the bond or other 


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1 security posted under subsection (a) in 

2 such action, of the reasonable costs, ex3 penses, and attorneys fees incurred by 

4 the Secretary concerned. 

5 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERED.— 

6 The amount of costs, expenses, and attor7 neys fees recovered by the Secretary con8 cerned under paragraph (1) as a result of 

9 prevailing in an action challenging the 

10 forest management activity may not ex11 ceed the amount of the bond or other se12 curity posted under subsection (a) in 

13 such action. 

14 (3) RETURN OF REMAINDER.—Any funds 

15 remaining from the bond or other secu16 rity posted under subsection (a) after the 

17 payment of costs, expenses, and attorneys 

18 fees under paragraph (1) shall be re19 turned to the plaintiff or plaintiffs that 

20 posted the bond or security in the action. 

21 (c) RETURN OF BOND TO PREVAILING PLAIN22 TIFF.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the plaintiff ulti24 mately prevails on the merits in every ac25 tion brought by the plaintiff challenging 


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1 a forest management activity described 

2 in subsection (a), the court shall return 

3 to the plaintiff any bond or security pro4 vided by the plaintiff under subsection 

5 (a), plus interest from the date the bond 

6 or security was provided. 

7 (2) ULTIMATELY PREVAILS ON THE MER8 ITS.—In this subsection, the phrase ‘‘ulti9 mately prevails on the merits’’ means, in 

10 a final enforceable judgment on the mer11 its, a court rules in favor of the plaintiff 

12 on every cause of action in every action 

13 brought by the plaintiff challenging the 

14 forest management activity. 

15 (d) EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT.—If a challenge 

16 to a forest management activity described in 

17 subsection (a) for which a bond or other secu18 rity was provided by the plaintiff under such 

19 subsection is resolved by settlement between 

20 the Secretary concerned and the plaintiff, the 

21 settlement agreement shall provide for shar22 ing the costs, expenses, and attorneys fees in23 curred by the parties. 

24 (e) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.— 

25 Notwithstanding section 1304 of title 31, 


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1 United States Code, no award may be made 

2 under section 2412 of title 28, United States 

3 Code, and no amounts may be obligated or ex4 pended from the Claims and Judgment Fund 

5 of the United States Treasury to pay any fees 

6 or other expenses under such sections to any 

7 plaintiff related to an action challenging a 

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

10 TITLE IV—SECURE RURAL 

11 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY 

12 SELF-DETERMINATION ACT 

13 AMENDMENTS 

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

15 PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND AND CERTAIN 

16 NON-FEDERAL LAND. 

17 (a) REPEAL OF MERCHANTABLE TIMBER CON18 TRACTING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 204(e) of 

19 the Secure Rural Schools and Community 

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

21 7124(e)) is amended by striking paragraph (3). 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT FUNDS.— 

23 Section 204 of the Secure Rural Schools and 

24 Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 

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1 section (f) and inserting the following new 

2 subsection: 

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

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para5 graph (2), the Secretary concerned shall 

6 ensure that at least 50 percent of the 

7 project funds reserved by a participating 

8 county under section 102(d) shall be 

9 available only for projects that— 

10 ‘‘(A) include the sale of timber or 

11 other forest products; and 

12 ‘‘(B) implement stewardship ob13 jectives that enhance forest eco14 systems or restore and improve land 

15 health and water quality. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—The requirement 

17 in paragraph (1) shall apply only to 

18 project funds reserved by a participating 

19 county whose boundaries include Federal 

20 land that the Secretary concerned deter21 mines has been subject to a timber or 

22 other forest products program within 5 

23 fiscal years before the fiscal year in 

24 which the funds are reserved.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

2 (a) RECOGNITION OF RESOURCE ADVISORY

3 COMMITTEES.—Section 205(a)(4) of the Secure 

4 Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter5 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125(a)(4)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘2020’’. 

8 (b) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN COMPOSITION

9 OF COMMITTEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure 

10 Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter11 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125(d)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 

14 ‘‘Each’’ and inserting ‘‘Except during the 

15 period specified in paragraph (6), each’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following 

18 new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN MINIMUM

20 NUMBER OF MEMBERS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) TEMPORARY 6-MEMBER MIN22 IMUM.—During the period beginning 

23 on the date of the enactment of this 

24 paragraph and ending on September 

25 30, 2020, a resource advisory com26 mittee established under this section 


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1 may be comprised of 6 or more mem2 bers, of which— 

3 ‘‘(i) at least 2 shall be rep4 resentative of interests described 

5 in subparagraph (A) of paragraph 

6 (2); 

7 ‘‘(ii) at least 2 shall be rep8 resentative of interests described 

9 in subparagraph (B) of paragraph 

10 (2); and 

11 ‘‘(iii) at least 2 shall be rep12 resentative of interests described 

13 in subparagraph (C) of paragraph 

14 (2). 

15 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 In appointing members of a resource 

17 advisory committee from the 3 cat18 egories described in paragraph (2), as 

19 provided in subparagraph (A), the 

20 Secretary concerned shall ensure bal21 anced and broad representation in 

22 each category. In the case of a va23 cancy on a resource advisory com24 mittee, the vacancy shall be filled 

25 within 90 days after the date on 


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1 which the vacancy occurred. Appoint2 ments to a new resource advisory 

3 committee shall be made within 90 

4 days after the date on which the deci5 sion to form the new resource advi6 sory committee was made. 

7 ‘‘(C) CHARTER.—A charter for a re8 source advisory committee with 15 

9 members that was filed on or before 

10 the date of the enactment of this 

11 paragraph shall be considered to be 

12 filed for a resource advisory com13 mittee described in this paragraph. 

14 The charter of a resource advisory 

15 committee shall be reapproved before 

16 the expiration of the existing charter 

17 of the resource advisory committee. 

18 In the case of a new resource advi19 sory committee, the charter of the re20 source advisory committee shall be 

21 approved within 90 days after the 

22 date on which the decision to form 

23 the new resource advisory committee 

24 was made.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING CHANGE TO PROJECT AP2 PROVAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 205(e)(3) of 

3 the Secure Rural Schools and Community 

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

5 7125(e)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of a 

7 resource advisory committee consisting of 

8 fewer than 15 members, as authorized by sub9 section (d)(6), a project may be proposed to 

10 the Secretary concerned upon approval by a 

11 majority of the members of the committee.’’. 

12 (d) EXPANDING LOCAL PARTICIPATION ON

13 COMMITTEES.—Section 205(d) of the Secure 

14 Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter15 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125(d)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting be18 fore the period at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘, consistent with the requirements of 

20 paragraph (4)’’; and 

21 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and in22 serting the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The 

24 members of a resource advisory com25 mittee shall reside within the county or 


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1 counties in which the committee has ju2 risdiction or an adjacent county.’’. 

3 SEC. 403. PROGRAM FOR TITLE II SELF-SUSTAINING RE4 SOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

5 (a) SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE ADVISORY

6 COMMITTEE PROJECTS.—Title II of the Secure 

7 Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter8 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 209. PROGRAM FOR SELF-SUSTAINING RESOURCE AD12 VISORY COMMITTEE PROJECTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) RAC PROGRAM.—The Chief of the For14 est Service shall conduct a program (to be 

15 known as the ‘self-sustaining resource advi16 sory committee program’ or ‘RAC program’) 

17 under which 10 resource advisory committees 

18 will propose projects authorized by sub19 section (c) to be carried out using project 

20 funds reserved by a participating county 

21 under section 102(d). 

22 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING RE23 SOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The selection 

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1 tion of the Chief of the Forest Service, except 

2 that, consistent with section 205(d)(6), a se3 lected resource advisory committee must 

4 have a minimum of 6 members. 

5 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—Notwith6 standing the project purposes specified in sec7 tions 202(b), 203(c), and 204(a)(5), projects 

8 under the RAC program are intended to— 

9 ‘‘(1) accomplish forest management 

10 objectives or support community devel11 opment; and 

12 ‘‘(2) generate receipts. 

13 ‘‘(d) DEPOSIT AND AVAILABILITY OF REVE14 NUES.—Any revenue generated by a project 

15 conducted under the RAC program, including 

16 any interest accrued from the revenues, shall 

17 be— 

18 ‘‘(1) deposited in the special account 

19 in the Treasury established under section 

20 102(d)(2)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(2) available, in such amounts as 

22 may be provided in advance in appro23 priation Acts, for additional projects 

24 under the RAC program. 

25 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The authority to ini2 tiate a project under the RAC program 

3 shall terminate on September 30, 2020. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN TREASURY.—Any 

5 funds available for projects under the 

6 RAC program and not obligated by Sep7 tember 30, 2021, shall be deposited in the 

8 Treasury of the United States.’’. 

9 (b) EXCEPTION TO GENERAL RULE REGARD10 ING TREATMENT OF RECEIPTS.—Section 403(b) 

11 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 

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

13 7153(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘All revenues’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 

15 209, all revenues’’. 

16 SEC. 404. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF RESERVED 

17 FUNDS FOR TITLE III COUNTY PROJECTS. 

18 Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools 

19 and Community Self-Determination Act of 

20 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘and law enforce23 ment patrols’’ after ‘‘including fire24 fighting’’; and 

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


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

2 paragraph (4); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) 

4 the following new paragraph (3): 

5 ‘‘(3) to cover training costs and equip6 ment purchases directly related to the 

7 emergency services described in para8 graph (2); and’’. 

9 TITLE V—STEWARDSHIP END 

10 RESULT CONTRACTING 

11 SEC. 501. CANCELLATION CEILINGS FOR STEWARDSHIP 

12 END RESULT CONTRACTING PROJECTS. 

13 (a) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.—Section 604 

14 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

15 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) 

17 and (i) as subsections (i) and (j), respec18 tively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) 

20 the following new subsection (h): 

21 ‘‘(h) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.— 

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

23 Director may obligate funds to cover any 

24 potential cancellation or termination 

25 costs for an agreement or contract under 


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1 subsection (b) in stages that are economi2 cally or programmatically viable. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF

4 CANCELLATION CEILING IN EXCESS OF

5 $25,000,000.—Not later than 30 days before 

6 entering into a multiyear agreement or 

7 contract under subsection (b) that in8 cludes a cancellation ceiling in excess of 

9 $25,000,000, but does not include pro10 posed funding for the costs of cancelling 

11 the agreement or contract up to such 

12 cancellation ceiling, the Chief or the Di13 rector, as the case may be, shall submit to 

14 the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources and the Committee on Agri16 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re18 sources and the Committee on Agri19 culture of the House of Representatives a 

20 written notice that includes— 

21 ‘‘(A) the cancellation ceiling 

22 amounts proposed for each program 

23 year in the agreement or contract; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the reasons why such can2 cellation ceiling amounts were se3 lected; 

4 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the costs 

5 of contract cancellation are not in6 cluded in the budget for the agree7 ment or contract; and 

8 ‘‘(D) an assessment of the finan9 cial risk of not including budgeting 

10 for the costs of agreement or contract 

11 cancellation. 

12 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL OF NOTICE TO OMB.— 

13 Not later than 14 days after the date on 

14 which written notice is provided under 

15 paragraph (2) with respect to an agree16 ment or contract under subsection (b), 

17 the Chief or the Director, as the case may 

18 be, shall transmit a copy of the notice to 

19 the Director of the Office of Management 

20 and Budget.’’. 

21 (b) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Section 

22 604(d)(5) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

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

24 by striking ‘‘, the Chief may’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘and section 2(a)(1) of the Act of July 31, 1947 


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1 (commonly known as the Materials Act of 

2 1947; 30 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)), the Chief and the Di3 rector may’’. 

4 SEC. 502. EXCESS OFFSET VALUE. 

5 Section 604(g)(2) of the Healthy Forests 

6 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(g)(2)) 

7 is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

8 (B) and inserting the following new subpara9 graphs: 

10 ‘‘(A) use the excess to satisfy any 

11 outstanding liabilities for cancelled 

12 agreements or contracts; or 

13 ‘‘(B) if there are no outstanding li14 abilities under subparagraph (A), 

15 apply the excess to other authorized 

16 stewardship projects.’’. 

17 SEC. 503. PAYMENT OF PORTION OF STEWARDSHIP 

18 PROJECT REVENUES TO COUNTY IN WHICH 

19 STEWARDSHIP PROJECT OCCURS. 

20 Section 604(e) of the Healthy Forests Res21 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(e)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting 

24 ‘‘subject to paragraph (3)(A),’’ before 

25 ‘‘shall’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

2 ‘‘services received by the Chief or the Di3 rector’’ and all that follows through the 

4 period at the end and inserting the fol5 lowing: ‘‘services and in-kind resources 

6 received by the Chief or the Director 

7 under a stewardship contract project 

8 conducted under this section shall not be 

9 considered monies received from the Na10 tional Forest System or the public lands, 

11 but any payments made by the contractor 

12 to the Chief or Director under the project 

13 shall be considered monies received from 

14 the National Forest System or the public 

15 lands.’’. 

16 SEC. 504. SUBMISSION OF EXISTING ANNUAL REPORT. 

17 Subsection (j) of section 604 of the 

18 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

19 U.S.C. 6591c), as redesignated by section 

20 501(a)(1), is amended by striking ‘‘report to 

21 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

22 Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 

23 Agriculture of the House of Representatives’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘submit to the congressional 


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1 committees specified in subsection (h)(2) a re2 port’’. 

3 TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL FUND4 ING SOURCES FOR FOREST 

5 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

6 SEC. 601. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligi9 ble entity’’ means— 

10 (A) a State or political subdivision 

11 of a State containing National Forest 

12 System lands or public lands; 

13 (B) a publicly chartered utility 

14 serving one or more States or a polit15 ical subdivision thereof; 

16 (C) a rural electric company; and 

17 (D) any other entity determined 

18 by the Secretary concerned to be ap19 propriate for participation in the 

20 Fund. 

21 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means 

22 the State-Supported Forest Management 

23 Fund established by section 603. 


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1 SEC. 602. AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT REVE2 NUES AND COLLABORATIVE FOREST LAND3 SCAPE RESTORATION FUND TO COVER FOR4 EST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY PLANNING 

5 COSTS. 

6 (a) AVAILABILITY OF STEWARDSHIP PROJECT

7 REVENUES.—Section 604(e)(2)(B) of the 

8 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

9 U.S.C. 6591c(e)(2)(B)), as amended by section 

10 503, is further amended by striking ‘‘appro11 priation at the project site from which the 

12 monies are collected or at another project 

13 site.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘appropria14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(i) at the project site from 

16 which the monies are collected or 

17 at another project site; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) to cover not more than 25 

19 percent of the cost of planning 

20 additional stewardship con21 tracting projects.’’. 

22 (b) AVAILABILITY OF COLLABORATIVE FOR23 EST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION FUND.—Section 

24 4003(f)(1) of the Omnibus Public Land Man25 agement Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303(f)(1)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘carrying out and’’ and 

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

3 SEC. 603. STATE-SUPPORTED PLANNING OF FOREST MAN4 AGEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

5 (a) STATE-SUPPORTED FOREST MANAGEMENT

6 FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of 

7 the United States a fund, to be known as the 

8 ‘‘State-Supported Forest Management Fund’’, 

9 to cover the cost of planning (especially re10 lated to compliance with section 102(2) of the 

11 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4332(2))), carrying out, and monitoring 

13 certain forest management activities on Na14 tional Forest System lands or public lands. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The State-Supported For16 est Management Fund shall consist of such 

17 amounts as may be— 

18 (1) contributed by an eligible entity 

19 for deposit in the Fund; 

20 (2) appropriated to the Fund; or 

21 (3) generated by forest management 

22 activities carried out using amounts in 

23 the Fund. 


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1 (c) GEOGRAPHICAL AND USE LIMITATIONS.— 

2 In making a contribution under subsection 

3 (b)(1), an eligible entity may— 

4 (1) specify the National Forest System 

5 lands or public lands for which the con6 tribution may be expended; and 

7 (2) limit the types of forest manage8 ment activities for which the contribu9 tion may be expended. 

10 (d) AUTHORIZED FOREST MANAGEMENT AC11 TIVITIES.—In such amounts as may be pro12 vided in advance in appropriation Acts, the 

13 Secretary concerned may use the Fund to 

14 plan, carry out, and monitor a forest manage15 ment activity that— 

16 (1) is developed through a collabo17 rative process; 

18 (2) is proposed by a resource advisory 

19 committee; or 

20 (3) is covered by a community wild21 fire protection plan. 

22 (e) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.—A forest 

23 management activity carried out using 

24 amounts in the Fund may be carried out using 

25 a contract or agreement under section 604 of 


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1 the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

2 (16 U.S.C. 6591c), the good neighbor authority 

3 provided by section 8206 of the Agricultural 

4 Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a), a contract under 

5 section 14 of the National Forest Management 

6 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), or other authority 

7 available to the Secretary concerned, but rev8 enues generated by the forest management 

9 activity shall be used to reimburse the Fund 

10 for planning costs covered using amounts in 

11 the Fund. 

12 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

13 (1) REVENUE SHARING.—Subject to sub14 section (e), revenues generated by a for15 est management activity carried out 

16 using amounts from the Fund shall be 

17 considered monies received from the Na18 tional Forest System. 

19 (2) KNUTSON-VANDERBERG ACT.—The 

20 Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as 

21 the Knutson-Vanderberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 

22 576 et seq.), shall apply to any forest man23 agement activity carried out using 

24 amounts in the Fund. 

25 (g) TERMINATION OF FUND.— 


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1 (1) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall ter2 minate 10 years after the date of the en3 actment of this Act. 

4 (2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Upon the 

5 termination of the Fund pursuant to 

6 paragraph (1) or pursuant to any other 

7 provision of law, unobligated contribu8 tions remaining in the Fund shall be re9 turned to the eligible entity that made 

10 the contribution. 

11 TITLE VII—TRIBAL FORESTRY 

12 PARTICIPATION AND PRO13 TECTION 

14 SEC. 701. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL FOREST ASSETS 

15 THROUGH USE OF STEWARDSHIP END RE16 SULT CONTRACTING AND OTHER AUTHORI17 TIES. 

18 (a) PROMPT CONSIDERATION OF TRIBAL RE19 QUESTS.—Section 2(b) of the Tribal Forest Pro20 tection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a(b)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not 

23 later than 120 days after the date on 

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1 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘In response to the 

2 submission by an Indian tribe of’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following 

4 new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) TIME PERIODS FOR CONSIDER6 ATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) INITIAL RESPONSE.—Not later 

8 than 120 days after the date on which 

9 the Secretary receives a tribal re10 quest under paragraph (1), the Sec11 retary shall provide an initial re12 sponse to the Indian tribe regard13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(i) whether the request may 

15 meet the selection criteria de16 scribed in subsection (c); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood of the Sec18 retary entering into an agreement 

19 or contract with the Indian tribe 

20 under paragraph (2) for activities 

21 described in paragraph (3). 

22 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—Notice 

23 under subsection (d) of the denial of 

24 a tribal request under paragraph (1) 

25 shall be provided not later than one 


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1 year after the date on which the Sec2 retary received the request. 

3 ‘‘(C) COMPLETION.—Not later than 

4 two years after the date on which the 

5 Secretary receives a tribal request 

6 under paragraph (1), other than a 

7 tribal request denied under sub8 section (d), the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) complete all environ10 mental reviews necessary in con11 nection with the agreement or 

12 contract and proposed activities 

13 under the agreement or contract; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) enter into the agreement 

16 or contract with the Indian tribe 

17 under paragraph (2).’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMEND19 MENTS.—Section 2 of the Tribal Forest Protec20 tion Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) is amended— 

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

22 striking ‘‘section 347 of the Department 

23 of the Interior and Related Agencies Ap24 propriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 2104 

25 note; Public Law 105–277) (as amended by 


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1 section 323 of the Department of the Inte2 rior and Related Agencies Appropriations 

3 Act, 2003 (117 Stat. 275))’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res5 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c)’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘sub8 section (b)(1), the Secretary may’’ and in9 serting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (4)(B) of sub10 section (b), the Secretary shall’’. 

11 SEC. 702. MANAGEMENT OF INDIAN FOREST LAND AUTHOR12 IZED TO INCLUDE RELATED NATIONAL FOR13 EST SYSTEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

14 Section 305 of the National Indian Forest 

15 Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3104) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following 

17 new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOR19 EST SYSTEM LAND AND PUBLIC LAND.— 

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

21 Indian tribe, the Secretary concerned 

22 may treat Federal forest land as Indian 

23 forest land for purposes of planning and 

24 conducting forest land management ac25 tivities under this section if the Federal 


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1 forest land is located within, or mostly 

2 within, a geographic area that presents a 

3 feature or involves circumstances prin4 cipally relevant to that Indian tribe, such 

5 as Federal forest land ceded to the 

6 United States by treaty, Federal forest 

7 land within the boundaries of a current 

8 or former reservation, or Federal forest 

9 land adjudicated to be tribal homelands. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—As part of the 

11 agreement to treat Federal forest land as 

12 Indian forest land under paragraph (1), 

13 the Secretary concerned and the Indian 

14 tribe making the request shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide for continued public 

16 access applicable to the Federal for17 est land prior to the agreement, ex18 cept that the Secretary concerned 

19 may limit or prohibit such access as 

20 needed; 

21 ‘‘(B) continue sharing revenue 

22 generated by the Federal forest land 

23 with State and local governments ei24 ther— 


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1 ‘‘(i) on the terms applicable to 

2 the Federal forest land prior to 

3 the agreement, including, where 

4 applicable, 25-percent payments 

5 or 50 percent payments; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the In7 dian tribe, on terms agreed upon 

8 by the Indian tribe, the Secretary 

9 concerned, and State and county 

10 governments participating in a 

11 revenue sharing agreement for 

12 the Federal forest land; 

13 ‘‘(C) comply with applicable pro14 hibitions on the export of unproc15 essed logs harvested from the Federal 

16 forest land; and 

17 ‘‘(D) recognize all right-of-way 

18 agreements in place on Federal forest 

19 land prior to commencement of tribal 

20 management activities. 

21 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Treating Federal 

22 forest land as Indian forest land for pur23 poses of planning and conducting man24 agement activities pursuant to paragraph 

25 (1) shall not be construed to designate 


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1 the Federal forest land as Indian forest 

2 lands for any other purpose. 

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

4 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL FOREST LAND.—The 

5 term ‘Federal forest land’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) National Forest System 

7 lands; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) public lands (as defined 

9 in section 103(e) of the Federal 

10 Land Policy and Management Act 

11 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e))), includ12 ing Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant 

13 lands reconveyed to the United 

14 States pursuant to the first sec15 tion of the Act of February 26, 

16 1919 (40 Stat. 1179), and Oregon 

17 and California Railroad Grant 

18 lands. 

19 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The 

20 term ‘Secretary concerned’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Agri22 culture, with respect to the Fed23 eral forest land referred to in sub24 paragraph (A)(i); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Inte2 rior, with respect to the Federal 

3 forest land referred to in subpara4 graph (A)(ii).’’. 

5 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 FOREST MANAGEMENT PRO7 VISIONS 

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

9 OF FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN 

10 CONSIDERING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. 

11 As part of its weighing the equities while 

12 considering any request for an injunction 

13 that applies to any agency action as part of 

14 a forest management activity under this Act, 

15 the court reviewing the agency action shall 

16 balance the impact to the ecosystem likely af17 fected by the forest management activity of— 

18 (1) the short- and long-term effects of 

19 undertaking the agency action; against 

20 (2) the short- and long-term effects of 

21 not undertaking the action. 

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

24 (a) CONSULTATION WITH AFFECTED COUN25 TY.—Whenever any Forest Service defined 


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1 maintenance level one or two system road 

2 within a designated high fire prone area of a 

3 unit of the National Forest System is consid4 ered for decommissioning, the Forest Super5 visor of that unit of the National Forest Sys6 tem shall— 

7 (1) consult with the government of 

8 the county containing the road regarding 

9 the merits and possible consequences of 

10 decommissioning the road; and 

11 (2) solicit possible alternatives to de12 commissioning the road. 

13 (b) REGIONAL FORESTER APPROVAL.—A For14 est Service road described in subsection (a) 

15 may not be decommissioned without the ad16 vance approval of the Regional Forester. 

17 SEC. 803. PROHIBITION ON APPLICATION OF EASTSIDE 

18 SCREENS REQUIREMENTS ON NATIONAL 

19 FOREST SYSTEM LANDS. 

20 On and after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may not 

22 apply to National Forest System lands any of 

23 the amendments to forest plans adopted in 

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1 lishing Riparian, Ecosystem and Wildlife 

2 Standards for Timber Sales (commonly 

3 known as the Eastside Screens requirements), 

4 including all preceding or associated versions 

5 of these amendments. 

6 SEC. 804. USE OF SITE-SPECIFIC FOREST PLAN AMEND7 MENTS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS AND ACTIVI8 TIES. 

9 If the Secretary concerned determines 

10 that, in order to conduct a project or carry 

11 out an activity implementing a forest plan, an 

12 amendment to the forest plan is required, the 

13 Secretary concerned shall execute such 

14 amendment as a nonsignificant plan amend15 ment through the record of decision or deci16 sion notice for the project or activity. 

17 SEC. 805. KNUTSON-VANDENBERG ACT MODIFICATIONS. 

18 (a) DEPOSITS OF FUNDS FROM NATIONAL

19 FOREST TIMBER PURCHASERS REQUIRED.—Sec20 tion 3(a) of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly 

21 known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 

22 U.S.C. 576b(a)), is amended by striking ‘‘The 

23 Secretary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘any 

24 purchaser’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The 


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1 Secretary of Agriculture shall require each 

2 purchaser’’. 

3 (b) CONDITIONS ON USE OF DEPOSITS.—Sec4 tion 3 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly 

5 known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 

6 U.S.C. 576b), is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Such deposits’’ and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) Amounts deposited under subsection 

10 (a)’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as 

12 subsection (d); and 

13 (3) by inserting before subsection (d), 

14 as so redesignated, the following new 

15 subsection (c): 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) Amounts in the special fund estab17 lished pursuant to this section— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be used exclusively to im19 plement activities authorized by sub20 section (a); and 

21 ‘‘(B) may be used anywhere within 

22 the Forest Service Region from which the 

23 original deposits were collected. 

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Agriculture may not 

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1 lected under subsection (a), except as needed 

2 to fund personnel of the responsible Ranger 

3 District for the planning and implementation 

4 of the activities authorized by subsection 

5 (a).’’. 

6 SEC. 806. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS7 TEM LANDS AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

8 Unless specifically provided by a provi9 sion of this Act, the authorities provided by 

10 this Act do not apply with respect to any Na11 tional Forest System lands or public lands— 

12 (1) that are included in the National 

13 Wilderness Preservation System; 

14 (2) that are located within an inven15 toried roadless area unless the forest 

16 management activity to be carried out 

17 under such authority is consistent with 

18 the forest plan applicable to the area; or 

19 (3) on which timber harvesting for 

20 any purpose is prohibited by statute. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill 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.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 137 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2647 

[Report No. 114–185, Parts I and II] 

A BILL 

To expedite under the National Environmental Polother purposes. overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and for ment, and on tribal lands to return resilience to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Manage- from the public domain, on public lands under in units of the National Forest System derived icy Act and improve forest management activities 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with 

amendments 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

amendments 


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