Special Forest Products Program Reauthorization Act of 2019

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to charge and collect not less than the fair market value for forest botanical products harvested on National Forest System lands, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Special Forest Products Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 2. Charges and fees for harvest of forest botanical products (a) Recovery of fair market value for products (1) In general The Secretary shall establish and carry out a program to charge and collect fees under subsection (b) for forest botanical products harvested on National Forest System lands. (2) Appraisal methods; bidding procedures The Secretary shall establish appraisal methods and bidding procedures to ensure that the amounts collected for forest botanical products are not less than fair market value. (b) Fees (1) Imposition and collection The Secretary shall charge and collect fees from persons who harvest forest botanical products on National Forest System lands. (2) Amount of fee The fees collected under paragraph (1) shall be in an amount established by the Secretary to recover at least a portion of the fair market value of the harvested forest botanical products and a portion of all the costs incurred by the Department of Agriculture associated with the granting, modifying, or monitoring the authorization for harvest of the forest botanical products, including the costs of any environmental or other analysis. (3) Security The Secretary may require a person assessed a fee under this subsection to provide security to ensure that the Secretary receives the fees imposed under this subsection from the person. (c) Sustainable harvest levels for forest botanical products (1) In general The Secretary shall— (A) conduct appropriate analyses to determine whether and how the harvest of forest botanical products on National Forest System lands can be conducted on a sustainable basis; and (B) establish procedures and timeframes to monitor and revise the harvest levels established for forest botanical products. (2) Prohibition on harvest in excess of sustainable levels The Secretary may not permit under the program under this section the harvest of forest botanical products at levels in excess of sustainable harvest levels, as defined under section 4 of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 ( 16 U.S.C. 531 (d) Waiver authority (1) Personal use The Secretary shall establish a personal use harvest level for each forest botanical product, and the harvest of a forest botanical product below that level by a person for personal use shall not be subject to charges and fees under subsections (a) and (b). (2) Other exceptions The Secretary may also waive the application of subsection (a) or (b) pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. (e) Deposit and use of funds (1) Deposit Funds collected under the program in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) shall be deposited into a special account in the Treasury of the United States. (2) Funds available Funds deposited into the special account in accordance with paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended without further appropriation. (3) Authorized uses The funds made available under paragraph (2) shall be expended at units of the National Forest System in proportion to the charges and fees collected at that unit under the program under this section to pay for— (A) the costs of conducting inventories of forest botanical products, determining sustainable levels of harvest, monitoring and assessing the impacts of harvest levels and methods, and for restoration activities, including any necessary vegetation; and (B) the costs described in subsection (b)(2). (4) Treatment of fees Funds collected under the program in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) shall not be taken into account for the purposes of the following laws: (A) The sixth paragraph under the heading forest service 16 U.S.C. 500 16 U.S.C. 500 (B) The fourteenth paragraph under the heading forest service 16 U.S.C. 501 (C) Section 33 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1012 (D) The Act of August 8, 1937, and the Act of May 24, 1939 ( 43 U.S.C. 1181a (E) Section 6 of the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly known as the Recreation and Public Purposes Act; 43 U.S.C. 869–4 (F) Chapter 69 16 U.S.C. 715s (G) Section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 ( 16 U.S.C. 460l–6a (H) Any other provision of law relating to revenue allocation. (f) Reporting requirements As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year in which the Secretary collects charges and fees under the program in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) or expends funds from the special account under subsection (e), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report summarizing the activities of the Secretary under the program under this section, including the funds collected under the program in accordance with subsections (a) and (b), the expenses incurred to carry out the program under this section, and the expenditures made from the special account during that fiscal year. (g) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) Forest botanical product The term forest botanical product (A) means any naturally occurring mushroom, fungus, flower, seed, root, bark, leaf, or other vegetation (or portion thereof) that grows on National Forest System lands; and (B) does not include trees, or portions of trees, except as provided in regulations issued under this section by the Secretary. (2) National Forest System The term National Forest System 16 U.S.C. 1609(a) (3) Secretary The term Secretary

Summary: Special Forest Products Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a program of charging and collecting fees for forest botanical products harvested on National Forest System (NFS) lands. Under the program, USDA may not permit forest botanical products to be harvested in excess of sustainable harvest levels. Collected fees must be in an amount to recover a portion of the fair market value of the harvested forest botanical products and a portion of all of the costs incurred by USDA that are associated with the granting, modifying, or monitoring of the authorization for harvest of the products, including the costs of any environmental or other analysis. USDA must establish a personal use harvest level for each forest botanical product. The harvesting of a forest botanical product below that level by a person for personal use shall not be subject to the charges and fees under this bill. USDA shall (1) conduct analyses to determine whether and how the harvest of forest botanical products on NFS lands can be conducted on a sustainable basis, and (2) establish procedures and timeframes for monitoring and revising the harvest levels established for such products. Funds collected under the program shall be expended at NFS units to pay for the costs of conducting inventories of forest botanical products, determining sustainable levels of harvest, monitoring and assessing the impacts of harvest levels and methods, restoration activities, and authorizing harvest.