I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3846 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 

to enter into an agreement or contract with Indian tribes meeting certain 

criteria to carry out projects to protect Indian forest land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2004 

Mr. POMBO (for himself, Mr. RENZI, Mr. BACA, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. UDALL of 

Colorado, Mr. NUNES, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, and Mr. DOOLEY of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 

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 authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of the Interior to enter into an agreement or contract 

with Indian tribes meeting certain criteria to carry out 

projects to protect Indian forest land. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Forest Protec5 tion Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. TRIBAL FOREST ASSETS PROTECTION. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

4 means— 

5 (A) land of the National Forest System (as 

6 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 

7 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

8 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) administered by 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

10 Chief of the Forest Service; and 

11 (B) public lands (as defined in section 103 

12 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

13 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)), the surface of 

14 which is administered by the Secretary of the 

15 Interior, acting through the Director of the Bu16 reau of Land Management. 

17 (2) INDIAN FOREST LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian 

18 forest land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec19 tion 304 of the National Indian Forest Resources 

20 Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103). 

21 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

24 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

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

26 means— 
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1 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re2 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the For3 est Service; and 

4 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re5 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Bu6 reau of Land Management. 

7 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROTECT TRIBAL FOREST AS8 SETS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

10 after the date on which an Indian tribe submits to 

11 the Secretary a request to enter into an agreement 

12 or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian 

13 forest land that meets the criteria described in sub14 section (c), the Secretary may issue public notice of 

15 initiation of any necessary environmental review or 

16 of the potential of entering into an agreement or 

17 contract with the Indian tribe pursuant to section 

18 347 of the Department of the Interior and Related 

19 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 2104 

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

21 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related 

22 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (117 Stat. 275)), 

23 or such other authority as appropriate, under which 

24 the Indian tribe would carry out activities described 

25 in paragraph (3). 
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1 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.—Following 

2 completion of any necessary environmental analysis, 

3 the Secretary may enter into an agreement or con4 tract with the Indian tribe as described in paragraph 

5 (1). 

6 (3) ACTIVITIES.—Under an agreement or con7 tract entered into under paragraph (2), the Indian 

8 tribe may carry out activities to achieve land man9 agement goals for Federal land that is— 

10 (A) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; 

11 and 

12 (B) bordering or adjacent to the Indian 

13 forest land under the jurisdiction of the Indian 

14 tribe. 

15 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The criteria referred to 

16 in subsection (b), with respect to an Indian tribe, are 

17 whether— 

18 (1) the Indian forest land under the jurisdiction 

19 of the Indian tribe borders on or is adjacent to land 

20 under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service or the 

21 Bureau of Land Management; 

22 (2) Forest Service or Bureau of Land Manage23 ment land bordering on or adjacent to the Indian 

24 forest land under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe 

25 poses a fire, disease, or other threat to— 
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1 (A) the Indian forest land under the juris2 diction of the Indian tribe; or 

3 (B) a tribal community; 

4 (3) the agreement or contracting activities ap5 plied for by the Indian tribe are not already covered 

6 by a stewardship contract or other instrument that 

7 would present a conflict on the subject land; and 

8 (4) the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Man9 agement land described in the application of the In10 dian tribe presents or involves a feature or cir11 cumstance unique to that Indian tribe (including 

12 treaty rights or biological, archaeological, historical, 

13 or cultural circumstances). 

14 (d) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—If the Secretary denies a 

15 tribal request under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary may 

16 issue a notice of denial to the Indian tribe, which— 

17 (1) identifies the specific factors that caused, 

18 and explains the reasons that support, the denial; 

19 (2) identifies potential courses of action for 

20 overcoming specific issues that led to the denial; and 

21 (3) proposes a schedule of consultation with the 

22 Indian tribe for the purpose of developing a strategy 

23 for protecting the forest land of the Indian tribe and 

24 interests of the Indian tribe in Federal land. 
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1 (e) PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION

2 FACTORS.—In entering into an agreement or contract in 

3 response to a request of an Indian tribe under subsection 

4 (b)(1), the Secretary may— 

5 (1) use a best-value basis; and 

6 (2) give specific consideration to tribally-related 

7 factors in the proposal of the Indian tribe, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) the status of the Indian tribe as an In10 dian tribe; 

11 (B) the trust status of the forest land of 

12 the Indian tribe; 

13 (C) the cultural, traditional, and historical 

14 affiliation of the Indian tribe with the land sub15 ject to the proposal; 

16 (D) the treaty rights or other reserved 

17 rights of the Indian tribe relating to the land 

18 subject to the proposal; 

19 (E) the indigenous knowledge and skills of 

20 members of the Indian tribe; 

21 (F) the features of the landscape of the 

22 land subject to the proposal, including water23 sheds and vegetation types; 

24 (G) the working relationships between the 

25 Indian tribe and Federal agencies in coordi-
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1 nating activities affecting the land subject to 

2 the proposal; and 

3 (H) the access by members of the Indian 

4 tribe to the land subject to the proposal. 

5 (f) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

6 in this Act— 

7 (1) prohibits, restricts, or otherwise adversely 

8 affects the participation of any Indian tribe in stew9 ardship agreements or contracting under the author10 ity of section 347 of the Department of the Interior 

11 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 

12 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law 105–277) (as amend13 ed by section 323 of the Department of the Interior 

14 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (117 

15 Stat. 275)) or other authority invoked pursuant to 

16 this Act; or 

17 (2) invalidates any agreement or contract under 

18 that authority. 

19 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

21 Congress a report that describes the Indian tribal requests 

22 received and agreements or contracts that have been en23 tered into under this Act. 

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