I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1294 

To establish a program that will generate dependable economic activity for 

counties and local governments containing National Forest System land 

through a management-focused approach, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2013 

Mr. LABRADOR (for himself, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. 

PEARCE, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a program that will generate dependable economic activity for counties and local governments containing National Forest System land through a management-focused approach, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Establishment of community forest demonstration areas. 

Sec. 5. Board of Trustees. 

Sec. 6. Management of community forest demonstration areas. 

Sec. 7. Distribution of funds from Community Forest Demonstration Area. 

3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to generate dependable 

5 economic activity for counties and local governments 

6 through sustainable forest management. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—The term ‘‘Board 

10 of Trustees’’ means the Board of Trustees appointed 

11 by the Governor of a State for the community forest 

12 demonstration area established for the State. 

13 (2) COMMUNITY FOREST DEMONSTRATION

14 AREA.—The term ‘‘community forest demonstration 

15 area’’ means a community forest demonstration area 

16 established for a State under section 4. 

17 (3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

19 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range20 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

21 U.S.C. 1609(a)), except that the term does not in22 clude the National Grasslands and land utilization 


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1 projects designated as National Grasslands adminis2 tered pursuant to the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 

3 U.S.C. 1010–1012). 

4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Agriculture or the designee of the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

8 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

9 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY FOREST DEM10 ONSTRATION AREAS. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED; TIME FOR ESTAB12 LISHMENT.—Not later than one year after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

14 establish the community forest demonstration area or 

15 areas of a State at the request of the Board of Trustees 

16 appointed to manage community forest demonstration 

17 area land in that State. 

18 (b) COVERED LAND.— 

19 (1) INCLUSION OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM

20 LAND.—The community forest demonstration areas 

21 of a State shall consist of the National Forest Sys22 tem land in the State identified for inclusion by the 

23 Board of Trustees of that State. 


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1 (2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LAND.—A commu2 nity forest demonstration area shall not include Na3 tional Forest System land— 

4 (A) that is a component of the National 

5 Wilderness Preservation System; or 

6 (B) on which the removal of vegetation is 

7 specifically prohibited by Federal law. 

8 (c) CONDITIONS ON ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) ACREAGE REQUIREMENT.—A community 

10 forest demonstration area must include at least 

11 200,000 acres of National Forest System land. 

12 (2) MANAGEMENT LAW REQUIREMENT.—A 

13 community forest demonstration area may be estab14 lished in a State only if the State has a forest prac15 tices law or regulatory structure applicable to State 

16 or privately owned forest land in the State. 

17 (3) REVENUE SHARING REQUIREMENT.—As a 

18 condition of the inclusion in a community forest 

19 demonstration area of National Forest System land 

20 located in a particular county in a State, the county 

21 must enter into an agreement with the Governor of 

22 the State that requires that, in utilizing revenues re23 ceived by the county under section 7, the county 

24 shall continue to meet any obligations under applica25 ble State law as provided under title I of the Secure 


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1 Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

2 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111 et seq.) or as provided 

3 in the sixth paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST 

4 SERVICE’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 

5 500) and section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 

6 (16 U.S.C. 500). 

7 (d) TREATMENT UNDER CERTAIN OTHER LAWS.— 

8 National Forest System land included in a community for9 est demonstration area shall not be considered Federal 

10 land for purposes of making payments to counties under 

11 the sixth paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST SERV12 ICE’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500) and 

13 section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500). 

14 (e) RECOGNITION OF VALID AND EXISTING

15 RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit 

16 or restrict— 

17 (1) access to National Forest System land in18 cluded in a community forest demonstration area for 

19 hunting, fishing, and other related purposes; or 

20 (2) valid and existing rights regarding such Na21 tional Forest System land, including rights of any 

22 federally recognized Indian tribe. 


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1 SEC. 5. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 

2 (a) APPOINTMENT.—A community forest demonstra3 tion area for a State shall be managed by a Board of 

4 Trustees appointed by the Governor of the State. 

5 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Board of Trustees for a 

6 community forest demonstration area in a State shall in7 clude, but is not limited to, the following members: 

8 (1) One member who holds county or local 

9 elected office, appointed from each county or local 

10 governmental unit in the State containing commu11 nity forest demonstration area land. 

12 (2) One member who represents the commercial 

13 timber, wood products, or milling industry. 

14 (3) One member who represents persons hold15 ing Federal grazing or other land use permits. 

16 (4) One member who represents recreational 

17 users of National Forest System land. 

18 (c) TERMS.— 

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

20 initial appointments required by paragraph (2), 

21 members of a Board of Trustees shall serve for a 

22 term of three years. 

23 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—In making initial 

24 appointments to a Board of Trustees, the Governor 

25 making the appointments shall stagger terms so that 


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1 at least one-third of the members will be replaced 

2 every three years. 

3 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members of a Board of Trust4 ees shall serve without pay, but may be reimbursed from 

5 the funds made available for the management of a commu6 nity forest demonstration area for the actual and nec7 essary travel and subsistence expenses incurred by mem8 bers in the performance of their duties. 

9 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY FOREST DEM10 ONSTRATION AREAS. 

11 (a) ASSUMPTION OF MANAGEMENT.— 

12 (1) CONFIRMATION.—The Board of Trustees 

13 appointed for a community forest demonstration 

14 area shall assume all management authority with re15 gard to the community forest demonstration area as 

16 soon as the Secretary confirms that— 

17 (A) the National Forest System land to be 

18 included in the community forest demonstration 

19 area meets the requirements of subsections (b) 

20 and (c) of section 4; and 

21 (B) the Board of Trustees has been duly 

22 appointed under section 5 and is able to con23 duct business. 

24 (2) SCOPE AND TIME FOR CONFIRMATION.— 

25 The determination of the Secretary under paragraph 


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1 (1) is limited to confirming whether the conditions 

2 specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such 

3 paragraph have been satisfied. The Secretary shall 

4 make the determination not later than 60 days after 

5 the date of the appointment of the Board of Trust6 ees. 

7 (3) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO CONFIRM.—If the 

8 Secretary determines that either or both conditions 

9 specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

10 (1) are not satisfied for confirmation of a Board of 

11 Trustees, the Secretary shall— 

12 (A) promptly notify the Governor of the af13 fected State and the Board of Trustees of the 

14 reasons preventing confirmation; and 

15 (B) make a new determination under para16 graph (2) within 60 days after receiving a new 

17 request from the Board of Trustees that ad18 dresses the reasons that previously prevented 

19 confirmation. 

20 (b) MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—Upon as21 sumption of management of a community forest dem22 onstration area, the Board of Trustees for the community 

23 forest demonstration area shall manage the land and re24 sources of the community forest demonstration area and 

25 the occupancy and use thereof in conformity with this Act, 


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1 and to the extent not in conflict with this Act, the laws 

2 and regulations applicable to management of State forest 

3 lands in the State in which the community forest dem4 onstration area is located. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.— 

6 The administration and management of a community for7 est demonstration area, including implementing actions, 

8 shall not be considered Federal action and shall be subject 

9 to the following only to the extent that such laws apply 

10 to the State administration and management of forest 

11 lands in the State in which the community forest dem12 onstration area is located: 

13 (1) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

14 (33 U.S.C. 1251 note). 

15 (2) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 

16 (3) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

17 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

18 (4) Federal laws and regulations governing pro19 curement by Federal agencies. 

20 (5) Other Federal laws. 

21 (d) CONSULTATION.— 

22 (1) WITH INDIAN TRIBES.—The Board of 

23 Trustees for a community forest demonstration area 

24 shall cooperate and consult with Indian tribes on 

25 management policies and practices for the commuVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:55 Mar 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1294.IH H1294

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1 nity forest demonstration area that may affect the 

2 Indian tribes. The Board of Trustees may allow the 

3 use of lands within the community forest demonstra4 tion area for religious and cultural uses by Native 

5 Americans. 

6 (2) WITH COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.—The 

7 Board of Trustees for a community forest dem8 onstration area shall consult with any applicable for9 est collaborative group. 

10 (e) RECREATION.—Nothing in this section shall af11 fect public use and recreation within a community forest 

12 demonstration area. 

13 (f) FIRE MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall pro14 vide fire presuppression, suppression, and rehabilitation 

15 services on and with respect to a community forest dem16 onstration area to the same extent generally authorized 

17 in other units of the National Forest System. 

18 SEC. 7. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FROM COMMUNITY FOR19 EST DEMONSTRATION AREA. 

20 (a) RETENTION OF FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT.—The 

21 Board of Trustees of a community forest demonstration 

22 area may retain such sums as the Board of Trustees con23 siders to be necessary from amounts generated from that 

24 community forest demonstration area to fund the manage25 ment, administration, restoration, operation and mainteVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:55 Mar 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1294.IH H1294

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1 nance, improvement, repair, and related expenses incurred 

2 with respect to the community forest demonstration area. 

3 (b) FUNDS TO COUNTIES OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL

4 UNITS.—Subject to subsection (a), the Board of Trustees 

5 of a community forest demonstration area in a State shall 

6 distribute funds received by the Board of Trustees under 

7 section 6 to each county or local governmental unit in the 

8 State in an amount proportional to the funds received by 

9 the county or local governmental unit under title I of the 

10 Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 

11 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111 et seq.). 

Æ 


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