I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 229

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

to declare that a forest health emergency exists on Federal lands under

their jurisdiction, to carry out accelerated forest health improvement

programs to prevent further forest damage and reduce the risk of disaster wildfires on these lands, and to implement management strategies

designed to produce sustained, diverse, and healthy forest ecosystems

on these lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. LAROCCO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources

AUGUST 9, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. SWIFT, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. DOOLEY,

Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HERGER, Mrs. MINK, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mrs. UNSOELD, Mr. ORTON,

Mr. LEHMAN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. RAHALL, Mr.

HASTINGS, Mr. SWETT, and Mrs. THURMAN

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

of the Interior to declare that a forest health emergency

exists on Federal lands under their jurisdiction, to carry

out accelerated forest health improvement programs to

prevent further forest damage and reduce the risk of

disaster wildfires on these lands, and to implement management strategies designed to produce sustained, diverse, and healthy forest ecosystems on these lands.
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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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘National Forest Health Act’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. Forest health emergencies.

Sec. 5. Forest health improvement programs.

Sec. 6. Forest health improvement projects.

Sec. 7. Analysis and review of projects.

Sec. 8. Administrative and judicial review.

Sec. 9. Lands excluded from treatment under a program.

Sec. 10. Annual forest health report.

Sec. 11. National Commission on Wildfire Disasters.

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

9 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

10 (1) Forest health emergencies currently exist on

11 many Federal forest lands that—

12 (A) have substantial areas of dead and

13 dying trees as a result of drought, insect infes14 tations, disease, fire, windstorm, or other

15 causes; or

16 (B) are at high risk of extreme damage

17 from drought, insect infestations, disease, fire,

18 or windstorm as a result of forest conditions

19 that are outside the natural range of variability

20 for the forest site involved.
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1 (2) There are many complex causes for these

2 forest health emergencies, including historic and re3 cent forest management methods, fire suppression

4 policies, forest-type changes, and climate trends,

5 such as the prolonged drought of the 1980’s and the

6 exceptionally severe drought experienced in 1992.

7 (3) When forest health emergencies exist and

8 are allowed to spread, substantial economic losses

9 are sustained by Federal, State, and local govern10 ments and individuals through the loss of timber,

11 watershed quality and performance, recreational op12 portunities, and fishery and wildlife habitat.

13 (4) Federal forest lands subject to a forest

14 health emergency, if properly thinned or otherwise

15 treated to reduce unnatural levels of dry fuel, will

16 have a better chance of resisting insect and disease

17 epidemics, as well as being able to tolerate both pre18 scribed fire and occasional wildfires.

19 (5) The removal of dead, dying, and excess live

20 trees on Federal forest lands subject to a forest

21 health emergency, if done expeditiously and with

22 sensitivity to the need to retain some dead wood to

23 help provide stand structure for multi-resource val24 ues, can begin the forest health restoration process,

25 retain the commercial value of timber, provide jobs
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1 and economic activity in forest-related communities,

2 produce revenues for the local, State, and Federal

3 governments, and help assure long-term forest

4 health and productivity.

5 (6) The current programs of the Federal land

6 management agencies are not able to respond rap7 idly and fully enough to meet the greatly increasing

8 forest health emergencies occurring on many Federal

9 forest lands, and an expedited forest health improve10 ment program, over a period of several years, is es11 sential in order to restore forest health, reduce the

12 risk of disaster wildfires, prevent future forest health

13 emergencies, assure a healthy and productive forest

14 that can be sustained in the future, and reduce the

15 risk of financial loss to the United States Treasury,

16 State and local governments, and private citizens.

17 (7) In the case of many of these forest health

18 emergencies, a long-term concerted effort will be re19 quired to control a forest health emergency, correct

20 unhealthy conditions, and monitor future progress

21 once desired conditions are achieved.

22 (8) The Bureau of Land Management of the

23 Department of Interior has no statutory provisions

24 or procedures for the maintenance of forest health

25 on Federal forest lands under the its jurisdiction,
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1 and such provisions are necessary to authorize the

2 Bureau of Land Management to expend receipts

3 from the sale of salvage timber or other salvaged

4 forest products for the purpose of restoring and

5 maintaining future forest health on such lands.

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

7 (1) to provide a mechanism by which the Forest

8 Service and the Bureau of Land Management can

9 expeditiously address forest health emergencies ex10 isting on Federal forest lands and carry out an ac11 celerated forest health improvement program for

12 these forests;

13 (2) to encourage accelerated forest management

14 actions that improve the health of Federal forest

15 lands subject to a forest health emergency and en16 hance the ability to manage these forests as thriving

17 ecosystems to serve a wide range of future uses;

18 (3) to provide flexibility during a forest health

19 emergency to combine timber sale, salvage sale, tim20 ber stand improvement, reforestation, fuels manage21 ment, insect and disease control, and other author22 ized activities into coordinated forest health improve23 ment projects that carry out both product and non24 product related management actions focused on im-
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1 proving forest health and creating resilient, produc2 tive forest ecosystems;

3 (4) to establish expedited review and decision

4 making on the management actions needed to imple5 ment a forest health improvement program in a

6 manner consistent with applicable forest manage7 ment plans and in compliance with the National En8 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 43211 et

9 seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

10 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Clean Water Act (33

11 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

12 7401 et seq.), and other environmental laws;

13 (5) to broaden the study and reporting mandate

14 of the National Commission on Wildfire Disasters

15 and improve the funding for the Commission; and

16 (6) to provide for an annual report from the

17 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Inte18 rior to the Congress on the health of the nation’s

19 forests, including information about the progress of

20 addressing the serious health problems of those Fed21 eral forest lands subject to a forest health emer22 gency.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

24 For purposes of this Act:

25 (1) The term ‘‘Federal forest lands’’ means—
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1 (A) those lands included in the National

2 Forest System (as defined in section 11(a) of

3 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

4 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)); and

5 (B) the public lands (as defined in section

6 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage7 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).

8 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means—

9 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the

10 case of Federal forest lands described in para11 graph (1)(A); and

12 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, in the

13 case of Federal forest lands described in para14 graph (1)(B).

15 (3) The term ‘‘Federal land management agen16 cy’’ means—

17 (A) the Forest Service, in the case of Fed18 eral forest lands described in paragraph (1)(A);

19 and

20 (B) the Bureau of Land Management, in

21 the case of Federal forest lands described in

22 paragraph (1)(B).

23 (4) The term ‘‘disaster wildfire’’ means

24 wildfires that, because of size, location, difficulty of

25 control, watershed sensitivity, or other characteris-
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1 tics, pose a significant threat to human life or devel2 opment in or near Federal forest lands or threaten

3 long-term sustainability of healthy forest stands.

4 (5) The term ‘‘forest health’’ means the condi5 tion of the forest in terms of its capacity to tolerate

6 natural and human influences (such as insects, dis7 eases, atmospheric deposition, silvicultural practices,

8 harvesting practices, and wildfire) within the natural

9 range of variability for the ecological system involved

10 and the desired range of ecological variability for the

11 land use in and around the forest unit.

12 (6) The term ‘‘program’’ means a forest health

13 improvement program prepared by a Federal land

14 management agency under section 5.

15 (7) The term ‘‘project’’ means a forest health

16 improvement project developed under section 6.

17 (8) The term ‘‘land management plan’’

18 means—

19 (A) a land and resource management plan

20 prepared by the Forest Service pursuant to sec21 tion 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

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

23 1604) for Federal forest lands described in

24 paragraph (1)(A) or, if a final plan is not in ef25 fect, the draft final plan for such lands; or
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1 (B) a land use plan prepared by the Bu2 reau of Land Management pursuant to section

3 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), or other

5 plan currently in effect, for Federal forest lands

6 described in paragraph (1)(B).

7 (9) The term ‘‘pest’’ means any organism

8 whose presence at current or foreseeable population

9 levels threatens the potential for restoration or

10 maintenance of acceptable forest health conditions.

11 SEC. 4. FOREST HEALTH EMERGENCIES.

12 (a) DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY FOR LANDS SUB13 JECT TO UNACCEPTABLE HEALTH CONDITIONS.—The

14 Secretary concerned may declare a forest health emer15 gency to exist with respect to a unit or portion of a unit

16 of Federal forest lands if the Secretary concerned finds

17 that at least one of the following unacceptable forest

18 health conditions exist on such lands:

19 (1) Forests on such lands have experienced sub20 stantial disturbances, such as disaster wildfires or

21 pest epidemics, that have caused total or near-total

22 stand mortality, but timely restoration work would

23 speed up the landscape’s ability to initiate an early

24 seral-stage forest within the natural or desired range

25 of variability, while inaction would result in further
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1 environmental degradation, such as soil erosion or

2 stream damage, or an unacceptable period of time

3 for regeneration and the related succession of plant

4 and animal communities native or adapted to the

5 site.

6 (2) Forest structure, function, or composition

7 on such lands has been altered outside of the natural

8 or desired range of variability for the forest system

9 involved, due to a combination of human and natural

10 factors, and management intervention is necessary

11 to reduce the risk of pest epidemics that would ex12 ploit the unnatural forest conditions.

13 (3) Significant economic and ecosystem values

14 or components are being lost or are at risk of being

15 lost on such lands due to increased potential of dis16 aster wildfire, pest invasion, or other natural or cul17 tural process.

18 (b) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNOR AND PUBLIC

19 COMMENT.—

20 (1) CONSULTATION.—Before declaring a forest

21 health emergency under subsection (a), the Sec22 retary concerned shall consult with the Governor of

23 each State in which Federal forest lands proposed to

24 be subject to the declaration are situated.
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1 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary concerned

2 shall provide public notice whenever Federal forest

3 lands are proposed to be subject to a declaration of

4 a forest health emergency under subsection (a). The

5 notice shall identify the Federal forest lands involved

6 and provide the reasons for the declaration.

7 (c) DURATION OF EMERGENCY.—A declaration of a

8 forest health emergency under subsection (a) shall expire

9 at the end of the five-year period beginning on the date

10 of the declaration. The Secretary concerned may establish

11 a shorter period for the duration of a declaration of a for12 est health emergency with respect to all or a portion of

13 the Federal forest lands subject to the declaration after

14 taking into consideration—

15 (1) the estimated number of years that forest

16 improvement will be required in order to restore

17 processes and conditions favorable to forest health;

18 (2) existing and predicted constraints in Fed19 eral budgets, local labor or other capacity, or other

20 factors that may establish limits as to how fast the

21 treatment program can restore forest health; and

22 (3) existing or predicted conditions that could

23 create natural forces that would either mitigate or

24 accelerate the deterioration of forest health condi25 tions in the forest.
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1 (d) CANCELLATION OR EXTENSION OF EMER2 GENCY.—

3 (1) CANCELLATION.—The Secretary concerned

4 may cancel a declaration of a forest health emer5 gency made under subsection (a) if the Secretary de6 termines that the conditions creating the original

7 forest health emergency have been mitigated, either

8 by natural events or as a result of management and

9 treatment.

10 (2) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary concerned

11 determines that unacceptable forest health condi12 tions on Federal forest lands persist for any reason

13 after the expiration of a forest health emergency

14 with respect to those lands, the Secretary may rees15 tablish a forest health emergency in the manner pro16 vided in this section.

17 (e) INCLUSION OF OTHER LANDS.—

18 (1) NON-FEDERAL LANDS.—At the request of

19 the Governor of the affected State, the Secretary of

20 Agriculture may include non-Federal lands within

21 the area subject to a declaration of a forest health

22 emergency made by the Secretary of Agriculture

23 under subsection (a). Non-Federal lands subject to

24 such a declaration shall be eligible to receive such

25 federal assistance for forest health improvement as
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1 the Secretary of Agriculture may develop using the

2 combined authorities available in the State and Pri3 vate Cooperative Forestry Program.

4 (2) OTHER FEDERAL LANDS.—At the request

5 of the head of a Federal agency, the Secretary of

6 Agriculture may include Federal lands administered

7 by that agency within the area subject to a declara8 tion of a forest health emergency made by the Sec9 retary of Agriculture under subsection (a).

10 SEC. 5. FOREST HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS.

11 (a) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—Upon the declaration

12 by the Secretary concerned of a forest health emergency

13 under section (4)(a), the responsible Federal land manage14 ment agency shall develop a forest health improvement

15 program designed to restore the forest health of the forest

16 lands subject to the declaration.

17 (b) PROGRAM CONTENT.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A forest health improvement

19 program shall be based upon an assessment of forest

20 health conditions of the forest lands subject to the

21 declaration of a forest health emergency. The pro22 gram shall contain—

23 (A) a scientific description of the forest

24 health conditions for the forest units involved,

25 an assessment of how such conditions relate to
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1 the natural and desired range of forest health

2 conditions for such sites, and the forest health

3 restoration objectives and general treatment

4 prescriptions that may be needed to restore for5 est health;

6 (B) identification of areas where current

7 conditions pose a high risk of future forest

8 health problems, and the preventive treatment

9 prescriptions that are recommended to reduce

10 the risk of unacceptable future forest health

11 conditions on these sites; and

12 (C) a description of the technical and cost13 sharing assistance to non-Federal land owners

14 that the Secretary of Agriculture has deter15 mined are available to assist non-Federal own16 ers in restoring forest health on non-Federal

17 lands; and

18 (D) a monitoring component sufficient to

19 indicate whether the effects of treatment are as

20 expected and whether desired results of the pro21 gram are being achieved during the implemen22 tation of such program.

23 (2) RESULTS OF MONITORING COMPONENT.—

24 The results and reports from the monitoring compo25 nent required under paragraph (1)(D) shall be made
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1 available to the public through the Forest Super2 visor’s office or administrative unit office of the Bu3 reau of Land Management involved. The Secretary

4 of Agriculture shall also include the results and re5 ports from the monitoring component in the forest

6 health report prepared annually under section 10.

7 (c) SCIENTIFIC INPUT AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—

8 (1) SCIENTIFIC INPUT.—The responsible Fed9 eral land management agency shall solicit the input

10 of scientific experts knowledgeable about the

11 ecosystems in the area covered by the forest health

12 emergency to assist in developing the forest health

13 improvement program. These experts may include

14 representatives of private institutions and State and

15 Federal agencies with research, resource manage16 ment or regulatory responsibilities in the area cov17 ered by the forest health emergency. Comments and

18 input from outside agencies, institutions, and indi19 viduals shall be made available in a timely manner

20 by the responsible Federal agency for public review.

21 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—During the develop22 ment of a program under subsection (a), the respon23 sible Federal land management agency shall provide

24 a 60-day period for interested persons to submit
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1 written data, views, or arguments with respect to the

2 proposed program.

3 (d) REVIEW FOR CONSISTENCY WITH LAND MAN4 AGEMENT PLAN.—If a proposed program, or a portion of

5 the program, is not consistent with the long-term manage6 ment goals and objectives of the applicable land manage7 ment plan, but otherwise complies with the Endangered

8 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Clean

9 Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Clean Air Act

10 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and other applicable laws, the

11 Secretary concerned shall propose the program or the in12 consistent portion of the program as the basis for an

13 amendment to the applicable land management plan in ac14 cordance with section 6(f)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland

15 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.

16 1604(f)(4)) or section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and

17 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), whichever ap18 plies. Any such amendment shall not constitute a revision

19 under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

20 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) or sec21 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act

22 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712).

23 (e) MODIFICATION OF PROGRAM.—The Federal land

24 management agency responsible for a program may mod25 ify the program in light of changes in the forest health
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1 of the Federal forest lands subject to the program. Any

2 modification of a program shall be subject to subsections

3 (c) and (d).

4 SEC. 6. FOREST HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.

5 (a) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.—

6 (1) PROJECTS REQUIRED.—Upon the imple7 mentation of a program developed under section 5

8 for Federal forest lands, the Secretary concerned

9 shall design and implement forest health improve10 ment projects for such lands consistent with the ap11 plicable program. The projects shall constitute man12 agement decisions for the Federal forest lands cov13 ered by the project.

14 (2) PROJECT PURPOSES.—Each project shall be

15 designed to address specific site conditions with the

16 combination of management practices, treatment,

17 and protection needed to restore the forest back to

18 a condition of acceptable forest health.

19 (3) ROLE OF SALES.—The sale of timber, bio20 mass, or other products may occur as part of a

21 project in order to help achieve the forest health

22 goals of the project and to produce revenues to as23 sist in supporting the cost of any non-commercial

24 work needed to achieve the desired condition in the

25 forest. However, sale volumes and revenues from a
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1 project shall be secondary to the primary consider2 ation of taking the necessary steps to enhance or re3 store a healthy forest ecosystem. In cases in which

4 the harvest of live trees is included as part of a

5 project, the Secretary concerned shall explicitly ex6 plain the reasons why such harvest will further the

7 forest health purposes of this Act.

8 (b) MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS.—In implementing

9 projects, the Secretary concerned may enter into multi10 year contracts, including service contracts, for cultural

11 treatments of forest stands to achieve a defined forest

12 health objective if the Secretary considers such a contract

13 to be advantageous to the Federal Government.

14 (c) FUNDING OF FOREST SERVICE PROJECTS.—The

15 Secretary of Agriculture may use amounts in the salvage

16 sale fund authorized by section 14(h) of the National For17 est Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(h)) and in

18 the fund established under the Act of June 9, 1930 (16

19 U.S.C. 576 et seq.)(commonly known as the Knutson-Van20 denberg Act) to carry out projects developed by the Sec21 retary of Agriculture under subsection (a), including both

22 product and non-product related cultural treatments.

23 Funds derived from the sale of any products resulting

24 from a project on Federal forest lands described in section

25 3(1)(A) shall, after any payment to a State that may be
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1 required under the Act of May 23, 1908, and section 13

2 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500), be deposited

3 in the salvage sale fund and used in the implementation

4 of forest health projects on Federal forest lands described

5 in section 3(1)(A).

6 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF BLM REHABILITATION

7 FUND.—

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In9 terior shall establish a special fund from the Federal

10 share of moneys received from the disposal of sal11 vage forest products or timber from Federal forest

12 lands described in section 3(1)(B) pursuant to the

13 Act of August 28, 1937 (Chapter 876, 50 Stat. 874;

14 43 U.S.C. 1181a et seq.), the Act of May 24, 1939

15 (Chapter 144, 53 Stat. 1181f–1 et seq.), the Act of

16 July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or this Act.

17 (2) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the fund es18 tablished under paragraph (1) shall be available to

19 the Secretary of the Interior, without further appro20 priation, for—

21 (A) planning and preparing salvage timber

22 for disposal;

23 (B) the administration of timber sales pur24 suant to this Act or other applicable law;
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1 (C) subsequent site preparation, reforest2 ation, and forest development activities required

3 on the rehabilitated site; and

4 (D) activities prescribed to maintain

5 healthy forest ecosystems, such as controlled

6 burning, site preparation, tree planting, protec7 tion of seedlings from animal and other envi8 ronmental elements, release from competing

9 vegetation, and precommercial thinning.

10 (e) MULTI-RESOURCE ELEMENTS.—The Secretary

11 concerned shall include multiple-resource elements within

12 projects developed under subsection (a) so that recreation,

13 wildlife, watershed restoration, and other forest values are

14 given appropriate consideration in efforts to restore forest

15 health.

16 (f) EFFECT ON PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN UNDER

17 OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as

18 preventing or limiting the Secretary concerned from un19 dertaking any forest management project, including a tim20 ber sale, salvage timber sale, prescribed burning, timber

21 stand improvement, or insect or disease control, whether

22 located within or outside of Federal forest lands to which

23 a declaration of emergency made pursuant to section 4(a)

24 or a program prepared pursuant to section 5(a) applies,

25 if such project is authorized by a law other than this Act.
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1 If the Secretary concerned elects to proceed with such

2 project in accordance with the procedures and standards

3 of such other law, within an area where a program pre4 pared pursuant to section 5(a) is in full effect, such

5 project shall be consistent with the purposes of this Act.

6 (g) PRIVATE LANDS.—Where non-Federal lands have

7 been included within areas designated under section

8 4(e)(1), the Secretary of Agriculture upon the request of

9 the landowner shall provide technical and cost-sharing as10 sistance in projects that are based on a forest management

11 plan that is consistent with the objectives of the program

12 developed under section 5.

13 SEC. 7. ANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF PROJECTS.

14 (a) METHOD FOR COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA.—In

15 light of the emergency situation surrounding the declara16 tion of a forest health emergency under section 4(a) and

17 the need to implement the accelerated program of forest

18 health improvement practices in a responsible and timely

19 manner pursuant to this Act, the Secretary concerned

20 shall comply with section 102(2) of the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) in the

22 manner provided in this section.

23 (b) CONSISTENT WITH LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN

24 AND LAWS.—If a project developed under section 6 is con25 sistent with the long-term management goals and objec-
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1 tives of the applicable land management plan, complies

2 with environmental laws, and requires documentation pur3 suant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental

4 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)), the document

5 required shall be an environmental assessment prepared

6 pursuant to subparagraph (E) of such section 102(2).

7 (c) INCONSISTENT WITH LAND MANAGEMENT

8 PLAN.—If a project developed under section 6 is not con9 sistent with the long-term management goals and objec10 tives of the applicable land management plan, but other11 wise complies with environmental laws, the Secretary con12 cerned shall propose the project as the basis for an amend13 ment to the land management plan in accordance with sec14 tion 6(f)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re15 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(4)) or

16 section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management

17 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712), whichever applies. Any

18 such amendment shall not constitute a revision under sec19 tion 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

20 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) or section 202

21 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

22 (43 U.S.C. 1712).

23 (d) APPLICATION OF NEPA TO DECLARATIONS AND

24 PROGRAMS.—The declaration of a forest health emergency

25 under section 4(a), and the preparation of a forest health
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1 improvement program, or any portion of a program, which

2 the Secretary concerned determines under section 5(d) to

3 be consistent with the long-term management goals and

4 objectives of the applicable land management plan and to

5 comply with environmental laws, shall not be subject to

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

7 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)). Whenever the Secretary

8 concerned offers a program or portion of a program as

9 the basis for an amendment to a land management plan,

10 as provided in section 5(d), the program or portion shall

11 comply with such section 102(2) in the manner provided

12 by regulation for preparation of amendments to land man13 agement plans.

14 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

15 (a) EFFECT ON EXISTING LAW.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall

17 alter the comment, administrative appeal, or judicial

18 review rights and procedures provided by other laws

19 and available to the public upon enactment of this

20 Act concerning land management plans and actions.

21 (2) EFFECT OF NEW ADMINISTRATIVE

22 STEPS.—The two new administrative steps estab23 lished in sections 4 and 5 of this Act provide two

24 new opportunities for public comment pursuant to

25 sections 4(b) and 5(c), must be consistent with exist-
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1 ing land management plans or be subject to the

2 comment, administrative appeal, and judicial review

3 rights and procedures provided by law and regula4 tion for amendment and implementation of such

5 plans, and do not constitute final decisions on the

6 management of the Federal forest lands involved

7 and therefore are not subject to additional adminis8 trative review and are subject to judicial review pur9 suant to subsection (b).

10 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Judicial review of a project

12 developed pursuant to section 6, any component of

13 a forest health improvement program developed pur14 suant to section 5 which relates specifically to such

15 project, or the declaration of emergency made pursu16 ant to section 4 as it relates specifically to the Fed17 eral forest lands on which the project would occur

18 may be sought in accordance with this subsection.

19 (2) TIME FOR FILING.—Any petition for judi20 cial review under this subsection shall be filed within

21 45 days after the date of the publication of the deci22 sion document prepared with respect to the project,

23 or the petition shall be barred.

24 (3) SUBSEQUENT APPEAL.—Any appeal from a

25 final decision of the district court in a judicial review
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1 proceeding under this subsection shall be filed within

2 30 days after such final decision.

3 (4) SPECIAL PROCEDURES.—In order to ensure

4 decisions are reached consistent with the time peri5 ods specified in paragraph (5), the court may set

6 rules governing the procedures of any judicial review

7 proceeding under this subsection which set page lim8 its on briefs and time limits on filing briefs and mo9 tions and other actions which are shorter than the

10 limits specified in the Federal rules of civil or appel11 late procedure.

12 (5) RECOMMENDED TIME PERIOD FOR JUDG13 MENT.—The courts shall expeditiously render their

14 final decision in any judicial review proceeding under

15 this subsection. The district court shall make every

16 effort to render its final decision relative to any ac17 tion within 60 days from the date such action is

18 filed, and the court of appeals shall make every ef19 fort to render its final decision relative to any appeal

20 within 90 days from the date such appeal is filed.

21 (6) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—In order to

22 promptly reach a decision in a case filed under this

23 subsection, a district court may assign all or part of

24 the case to one or more Special Masters for prompt

25 review and recommendations to the court.
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1 SEC. 9. LANDS EXCLUDED FROM TREATMENT UNDER A

2 PROGRAM.

3 (a) EXCLUDED LANDS.—The Secretary concerned

4 may not plan or implement a project under section 6 with

5 respect to any Federal forest lands located in an area

6 within the National Wilderness Preservation System, Re7 search Natural Area, other area formally withdrawn from

8 timber production by law, roadless area designated by

9 Congress for wilderness study, or roadless area rec10 ommended by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land

11 Management for wilderness.

12 (b) NO EFFECT ON WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT.—

13 Nothing in this Act shall affect authorities for wilderness

14 management granted to the Secretary concerned under

15 provisions of existing law, such as the Wilderness Act of

16 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).

17 SEC. 10. ANNUAL FOREST HEALTH REPORT.

18 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri19 culture, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior,

20 shall prepare an annual Forest Health Report to evaluate

21 the overall health of forest lands in the United States.

22 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—Each report required by

23 subsection (a) shall include the results of the long-term

24 forest health monitoring program authorized by section 8

25 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16

26 U.S.C. 2104) in those States in which the monitoring pro-
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1 gram has been implemented. The report shall also con2 tain—

3 (1) quantitative and qualitative data on the

4 health of Federal forest lands;

5 (2) a description of the actions taken during

6 the period covered by the report within the Sec7 retary’s available funding and authorities (including

8 reprogramming actions); and

9 (3) any additional funding needs and authori10 ties necessary to restore the health of the forest eco11 system.

12 (c) INFORMATION ON EMERGENCY PROGRAM.—Each

13 report required by subsection (a) shall include information

14 regarding the status of forest health improvement pro15 grams developed under section 5. The report shall list all

16 Federal forest lands subject to a declaration of forest

17 health emergency, and the rationale for decisions made to

18 include or exclude other lands during the period covered

19 by the report. With respect to Federal forest lands covered

20 by a program established pursuant to section 5, the report

21 shall include—

22 (1) the current extent and status of the condi23 tions and risks that provided the basis for the emer24 gency inclusion;
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1 (2) the improvement actions being taken to

2 mitigate those conditions;

3 (3) the estimated impact, in terms of changed

4 conditions or risks, resulting from the actions being

5 taken;

6 (4) the acres treated to date relative to total

7 acres planned and requiring treatment;

8 (5) funding needs in future years to satisfac9 torily address the conditions; and

10 (6) additional authorities, if any, needed to

11 carry out the purpose of this Act.

12 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The report required

13 by subsection (a) shall be completed not later than Decem14 ber 31 of each year and shall cover conditions and activi15 ties during the previous fiscal year. The Secretary of Agri16 culture shall submit the report upon completion to the

17 Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Interior

18 and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives, and

19 to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

20 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

21 the Senate.

22 SEC. 11. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON WILDFIRE DISASTERS.

23 (a) EXTEND DEADLINE FOR REPORT.—Section

24 103(c) of the Wildfire Disaster Recovery Act of 1989 (16
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1 U.S.C. 551 note) is amended by striking ‘‘December 1,

2 1991’’ and inserting ‘‘December 1, 1993’’.

3 (b) ELEMENT OF STUDY.—Section 103 of such Act

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 section:

6 ‘‘(d) FOREST HEALTH MANAGEMENT.—In the study

7 required by this section, the Commission shall also con8 sider the potential costs and benefits of managing forest

9 ecosystems for improved forest health as a means of re10 ducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires while allowing in11 creased usage of management tools, such as prescribed

12 fire.’’.

13 (c) FEDERAL FUNDING.—Section 105 of such Act is

14 amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol15 lowing new subsection (b):

16 ‘‘(b) USE OF DEPARTMENT FUNDS.—Upon the ap17 proval by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

18 of the Interior of a plan of study and budget of the Com19 mission, the Secretary of Agriculture may provide funds

20 to the Commission from general operating funds of the

21 Department of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte22 rior may provide funds to the Commission from general

23 operating funds of the Department of the Interior.’’.
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1 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this

4 Act.

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