I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 387

To authorize the Regional Foresters to exempt tree-thinning projects, which 

are necessary to prevent the occurrence of wildfire likely to cause extreme 

harm to the forest ecosystem, from laws that give rise to legal causes 

of action that delay or prevent such projects. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2003

Mr. SHADEGG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on 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 authorize the Regional Foresters to exempt tree-thinning 

projects, which are necessary to prevent the occurrence 

of wildfire likely to cause extreme harm to the forest 

ecosystem, from laws that give rise to legal causes of 

action that delay or prevent such projects.

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 ‘‘Wildfire Prevention 

5 and Forest Health Protection Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) National Forest System lands in the United 

4 States are in poor ecological health and in grave 

5 danger of catastrophic wildfires because of high fuel 

6 loads. 

7 (2) The poor condition of these National Forest 

8 System lands is evidenced by the fact that, during 

9 2002, 71,160 wildfires devastated over 7 million for10 ested acres, including over 2.2 million acres in Alas11 ka, 650,000 acres in Arizona, 491,000 acres in Cali12 fornia, 915,000 acres of Colorado, 325,000 acres in 

13 New Mexico, 1 million acres in Oregon, and 265,000 

14 acres in Utah. 

15 (3) It has been scientifically established that re16 ducing fuel loads by thinning trees improves forest 

17 ecological health and reduces the risk of catastrophic 

18 crown fires. 

19 (4) Trees damaged by fire are more susceptible 

20 to insect infestation than healthy undamaged trees, 

21 and experts agree that fire damaged trees must be 

22 removed to improve forest health and that such re23 moval must occur within six to twelve months if the 

24 fire damaged trees are to have any commercial 

25 value. 
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1 (5) Under current Federal law, forest manage2 ment projects designed to reduce fuel loads are sub3 ject to challenge and appeal by groups and individ4 uals. 

5 (6) In a report issued in July 2002, the Forest 

6 Service found that 48 percent of projects involving 

7 mechanical tree thinning on National Forest System 

8 lands have been subject to challenge and appeal and 

9 that the extra decision-making analysis forced by 

10 these appeals ‘‘added significantly to time required 

11 but did not materially improve the proposed action’’. 

12 (7) The Forest Service further found that ‘‘In 

13 spite of the agency’s best efforts, individuals or or14 ganizations opposed to the projects filed appeals 

15 and/or filed suit to stop the projects.’’. 

16 (8) Use of existing administrative and legal 

17 processes to address the fire danger in the United 

18 States will not enable the Forest Service to take the 

19 immediate action necessary to reduce fuel loads to 

20 both improve forest ecological health and prevent the 

21 occurrence of wildfires likely to cause extreme harm 

22 to the forest ecosystem. 
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1 SEC. 3. REGIONAL FORESTER AUTHORITY TO EXEMPT 

2 WILDFIRE PREVENTION TREE-THINNING 

3 PROJECTS FROM CERTAIN LAWS. 

4 (a) EXEMPTION AUTHORITY.—Due to the extraor5 dinary wildfire threat present on National Forest System 

6 lands in the Forest Service Regions, the Regional Forester 

7 for a Forest Service Region may exempt a Forest Service 

8 project described in subsection (b) from any provision of 

9 law including, but not limited to, the National Environ10 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

11 the National Forest Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1601 et 

12 seq.), and the project shall proceed immediately and to 

13 completion. In addition, the project shall not be subject 

14 to the notice, comment, and appeal requirements of sec15 tion 322 of Public Law 102–381 (commonly known as the 

16 Appeals Reform Act; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) or to judicial 

17 review by any court of the United States. 

18 (b) COVERED PROJECTS.—A Forest Service project 

19 referred to in subsection (a) is a project that involves the 

20 removal of trees on National Forest System lands man21 aged by the Regional Forester that the Regional Forester 

22 finds, on the basis of the best scientific information avail23 able—

24 (1) are located in an area with a high fuel load, 

25 and a significant possibility exists that a crown fire 
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1 could occur which would cause extreme harm to the 

2 forest ecosystem; or 

3 (2) are dead or severely damaged from fire. 

4 (c) CERTIFICATION.—The Regional Forester shall 

5 certify the findings made under subsection (b) to the Chief 

6 of the Forest Service and the Congress. 

7 SEC. 4. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

8 The constitutional authority on which this Act rests 

9 is the authority of Congress to make all laws which shall 

10 be necessary and proper, as enumerated in Article I, Sec11 tion 8 of the United States Constitution, as well as the 

12 authority of Congress to make all needful rules and regu13 lations respecting the territory or other property belonging 

14 to the United States, as enumerated in Article IV, Section 

15 3 of the United States Constitution.

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