IB 
Union Calendar No. 349 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4888 
[Report No. 111–604] 
To revise the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program as it applies 
to units of the National Forest System derived from the public domain 
by implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for deter-
mining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2010 
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, 
Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mrs. MCMORRIS 
RODGERS, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. NUNES, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. REHBERG, 
and Mr. HERGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 
Additional sponsors: Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. 
HUNTER, 
Mr. 
WALDEN, 
Ms. 
GIFFORDS, 
Ms. 
BORDALLO, 
Mr. 
MCNERNEY, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FARR, 
Ms. SPEIER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, and Mr. HELLER 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 19, 2010] 
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A BILL 
To revise the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program 
as it applies to units of the National Forest System 
derived from the public domain by implementing a sim-
ple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining 
cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Cabin Fee Act of 2010’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Cabin user fees. 
Sec. 4. Cabin transfer fees. 
Sec. 5. Allocation of cabin user fee and cabin transfer fee revenue. 
Sec. 6. Right of appeal and judicial review. 
Sec. 7. Consistency with other law and rights. 
Sec. 8. Regulations. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The terms ‘‘authorized’’ 
and ‘‘authorization’’ refer to the issuance of a special 
use permit for the use and occupancy of National 
Forest System land derived from the public domain 
by a cabin owner under the Recreation Residence 
Program. 
(2) CABIN.—The term ‘‘cabin’’ means a pri-
vately built and owned recreation residence and re-
lated improvements on National Forest System land 
derived from the public domain that is authorized for 
private use and occupancy and may be sold or trans-
ferred between private parties. 
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(3) CABIN
OWNER.—The term ‘‘cabin owner’’ 
means— 
(A) a person authorized by the Secretary to 
use and to occupy a cabin on National Forest 
System land derived from the public domain; 
and 
(B) a trust or an heir or assigns of such a 
person. 
(4) CABIN
TRANSFER
FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin 
transfer fee’’ means a fee paid to the United States 
upon the transfer of a cabin between private parties 
for money or other consideration that also includes 
issuance of a new permit. 
(5) CABIN USER FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin user 
fee’’ means an annual fee paid to the United States 
by a cabin owner pursuant to an authorization for 
the use and occupancy of a cabin on National Forest 
System land derived from the public domain. 
(6) CURRENT CABIN USER FEE.—The term ‘‘cur-
rent cabin user fee’’ means the most recent cabin user 
fee, which results from an annual adjustment to the 
prior cabin user fee under section 3(d). 
(7) LOT.—The term ‘‘lot’’ means a parcel of Na-
tional Forest System land derived from the public do-
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main on which a person is authorized to build, use, 
occupy, and maintain a cabin. 
(8) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The term 
‘‘National Forest System land’’ is limited to National 
Forest System land derived from the public domain. 
(9) RECREATION
RESIDENCE
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘Recreation Residence Program’’ means the 
Recreation Residence Program established pursuant 
to the last paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST 
SERVICE’’ in the Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 
1101, chapter 144; 16 U.S.C. 497). 
(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 
of the Forest Service. 
(11) TYPICAL
LOT.—The term ‘‘typical lot’’ 
means a cabin lot, or group of cabin lots, in a tract 
that is selected for use in an appraisal as being rep-
resentative of, and that has similar value characteris-
tics as, other lots or groups of lots within the tract. 
SEC. 3. CABIN USER FEES. 
(a) PAYMENT OF CABIN USER FEES.— 
(1) ANNUAL PAYMENT.—A cabin user fee shall be 
paid annually by the cabin owner. 
(2) INSTALLMENTS.—Payment of the cabin user 
fee for a year may be made in two installments. 
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(b) INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish initial cabin user fees in the manner required by 
this subsection. 
(2) ASSIGNMENT TO VALUE TIERS.—Upon com-
pletion of the current appraisal cycle, as required by 
paragraph (4), the Secretary shall assign each per-
mitted lot on National Forest System land to one of 
five tiers based on the following: 
(A) All appraised lot values shall be ad-
justed, or normalized, for price changes from its 
date of value according to the national NAHB/ 
Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index prior to 
tier assignment. 
(B) The tiers shall be established according 
to relative lot value, using all fully completed 
appraisal data with lots having the lowest ad-
justed appraised value assigned to Tier 1 and 
lots having the highest adjusted appraised value 
assigned to Tier 5. 
(C) The number of lots (by percentage) as-
signed to each tier is specified in the table con-
tained in paragraph (3). 
(D) Data from incomplete appraisals may 
not be used to establish the fee tiers. 
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(E) Until assigned to a tier, permitted 
cabin lots, including lots with incomplete ap-
praisals, are assigned an interim fee of $4000 or 
their current annual fee, indexed in accordance 
with subsection (d), whichever is less. 
(3) TABLE OF INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.—The 
initial cabin user fees, based on the assignments made 
by the Secretary under paragraph (2) are as follows: 
Fee Tier 
Approximate Percent of 
Permits Nationally 
Fee Amount 
Tier 1 
10% 
$500
Tier 2 
35% 
$1,000
Tier 3 
40% 
$2,000
Tier 4 
10% 
$3,000
Tier 5 
5% 
$4,000. 
(4) DEADLINE
FOR
COMPLETION
OF
CURRENT 
APPRAISAL CYCLE.—The Secretary shall complete the 
current appraisal cycle within three years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The initial cabin user 
fees required by this subsection shall take effect begin-
ning with the first calendar year beginning after the 
completion of the current appraisal cycle. 
(c) OVERPAYMENTS OR UNDERPAYMENTS.—If, upon 
assignment to a tier under subsection (b), the Secretary de-
termines that the fee charged to a cabin owner during the 
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preceding three years resulted in an overpayment or under-
payment totaling more than $500, the fee for the next three 
years shall be adjusted, if such a fee adjustment is requested 
by the Secretary or by the affected cabin owner, as necessary 
to correct the overpayment or underpayment. 
(d) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS OF CABIN USER FEE.— 
The Secretary shall use changes in the Implicit Price 
Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product published by the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Com-
merce, applied on a five-year rolling average, to determine 
and apply an annual adjustment to cabin user fees. 
(e) EFFECT OF DESTRUCTION, SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, 
OR LOSS OF ACCESS.—If a cabin is destroyed or suffers 
substantial damage amounting to greater than 50 percent 
of replacement cost, or if access to a cabin is significantly 
impaired, whether by catastrophic events, natural causes or 
governmental actions, such that the cabin is rendered unsafe 
or unable to be occupied as a result, the Secretary shall 
reduce the cabin user fee for the affected lot to $100 per 
year. This fee shall be in effect for the remainder of the 
year in which the destruction occurs and until such time 
as the cabin may be lawfully reoccupied and normal access 
has been restored. 
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SEC. 4. CABIN TRANSFER FEES. 
(a) PAYMENT OF CABIN TRANSFER FEES.—In con-
junction with the transfer of ownership of any cabin and 
the issuance of a new permit, the transferor shall file with 
the Secretary a sworn statement declaring the amount of 
money or other value received, if any, for the transfer of 
the cabin. As a condition of the issuance by the Secretary 
of a new authorization for the use and occupancy of the 
cabin, the transferor shall pay, or cause to be paid, to the 
Secretary a cabin transfer fee in an amount determined as 
follows: 
Consideration Received by Transfer 
Transfer Fee Amount 
$0 to $250,000 
$1,000 
$250,000.01 to $500,000.00 
$1,000 plus 5% of consideration in 
excess of $250,000 up to $500,000 
$500,000.01 and above 
$1,000 plus 5% of consideration in 
excess of $250,000 up to $500,000 
plus 10% of consideration in excess 
of $500,000. 
(b) INDEX.—The Secretary shall use changes in the 
Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product pub-
lished by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Depart-
ment of Commerce, applied on a five-year rolling average, 
to determine and apply an annual adjustment to the cabin 
transfer 
fee 
threshold 
amounts 
($250,000.01 
and 
$500,000.01) set forth in the table contained in subsection 
(a). 
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SEC. 5. ALLOCATION OF CABIN USER FEE AND CABIN 
TRANSFER FEE REVENUE. 
(a) RETAINED FEES TO COVER COSTS.—Subject to 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall retain the amount of rev-
enue from cabin user fees and cabin transfer fees necessary 
to fully cover the costs incurred by the Forest Service to 
administer the Recreation Residence Program. Revenue col-
lected in excess of that amount shall be deposited in the 
Treasury. 
(b) LIMITATION.—The total retained by the Secretary 
under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may not exceed $500 
per cabin. The Secretary shall use changes in the Implicit 
Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product published by 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of 
Commerce, applied on a five-year rolling average, to deter-
mine and apply an annual adjustment to this limitation. 
Revenue collected from cabin user fees and cabin transfer 
fees in excess of this limitation shall be deposited in the 
Treasury. 
SEC. 6. RIGHT OF APPEAL AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 
(a) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—Notwithstanding any action 
of a cabin owner to exercise rights in accordance with sec-
tion 7, the Secretary shall by regulation grant the cabin 
owner the right to an administrative appeal of the deter-
mination of a new cabin user fee, fee tier, transfer fee, or 
whether or not to reduce a cabin user fee under section 3(e). 
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Such appeal shall be pursuant to the appeal process pro-
vided under subpart C (Appeal of Decisions Relating to Oc-
cupancy and Use of National Forest System Lands) of part 
251 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (section 251.80 
et seq.). 
(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A cabin owner that contests 
a final decision of the Secretary under this Act may bring 
a civil action in United States district court. The venue 
for actions brought before the United States District Court 
shall be in the United States Judicial District where the 
cabin is located or the permit holder resides. Nothing in 
this Act precludes the parties from seeking mediation. 
SEC. 7. CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAW AND RIGHTS. 
(a) CONSISTENCY WITH RIGHTS
OF
THE UNITED 
STATES.—Nothing in this Act limits or restricts any right, 
title, or interest of the United States in or to any land or 
resource. 
(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALASKA.—In determining a 
cabin user fee in the State of Alaska, the Secretary shall 
not establish or impose a cabin user fee or a condition af-
fecting a cabin user fee that is inconsistent with 1303(d) 
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 
U.S.C. 3193(d)). 
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Union Calendar No. 349 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4888 
[Report No. 111–604] 
A BILL 
To revise the Forest Service Recreation Residence 
Program as it applies to units of the National 
Forest System derived from the public domain by 
implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable 
procedure for determining cabin user fees, and 
for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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