Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out vegetation management projects and timber production projects on certain National Forest System land in the States of Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022 2. Vegetation management projects on Black Hills National Forest using expedited NEPA authorities The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this Act as the Secretary 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. 16 U.S.C. 6591b 3. Funding for timber production projects (a) In general Of the amounts made available to the Secretary by section 40803(c)(11) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(11) (b) Use of categorical exclusion and emergency action authorities In carrying out projects under subsection (a), the Secretary shall use, to the extent practicable— (1) the categorical exclusion established by section 40806(b) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592b(b) (2) the emergency action authority under section 40807 of that Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592c (c) Excess amounts If any amounts made available under subsection (a) are not used by the Secretary by September 30, 2026, and the Secretary has exhausted all reasonable means to use those amounts for the purposes described in that subsection, those amounts shall remain available to the Secretary until expended to carry out projects described in section 40803(c)(11) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(11) 4. Wood products infrastructure In the ranking system developed under section 40804(d)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592a(d)(1) 5. Administration (a) Judicial review A project carried out under section 2 or 3 shall not be subject to judicial review. (b) Excluded land A project carried out under section 2 or 3 may not be carried out on— (1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; or (2) an inventoried roadless area.

Summary: Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022 This bill provides for vegetation management projects and timber production projects on certain National Forest System lands in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The bill directs the Forest Service to issue one or more decisions using expedited authorities for compliance with environmental review requirements to carry out vegetation management projects on land in the Black Hills National Forest. Furthermore, the Forest Service shall categorize the Black Hills National Forest and the Bighorn National Forest as being very high priority for ecological restoration that involves vegetation removal. The Forest Service must also use specified amounts made available for forest thinning and timber harvesting for timber production in the Bighorn National Forest, the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and the Black Hills National Forest. In carrying out such timber production, the Forest Service shall use, to the extent practicable, the categorical exclusion for certain forest management activities and specified emergency action authority. A vegetation management or timber production project carried out under this bill shall not be subject to judicial review. Such a project may not be carried out on (1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, or (2) an inventoried roadless area.