I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4717 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 with respect to 
third-party contracts for wildfire hazard fuel removal, to amend the 
National Forest Management Act with respect to the threshold for adver-
tised timber sales, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2023 
Mr. LAMBORN (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. BOEBERT, and Mr. LAMALFA) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag-
riculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
with respect to third-party contracts for wildfire hazard 
fuel removal, to amend the National Forest Management 
Act with respect to the threshold for advertised timber 
sales, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Locally Led Restora-
tion Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTS FOR WILDFIRE HAZARD 
FUEL REMOVAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of the Healthy For-
ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘(including 
contracts proposed by such entities)’’ after ‘‘private 
entities’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(8) SALVAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A contract or agree-
ment for a stewardship contracting project pro-
posed by a private person or other public or pri-
vate entity may only be entered into under sub-
section (b) if— 
‘‘(i) the land management goals of the 
project include the removal of vegetation; 
and 
‘‘(ii) at least 10 percent of the vegeta-
tion proposed to be removed is salvage. 
‘‘(B) SALVAGE DEFINED.—For purposes of 
subparagraph (A), the term ‘salvage’ includes 
wildfire kill, beetle kill, and dead or dying or-
ganic material. 
‘‘(9) NOTIFICATIONS AND RESPONSES.— 
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‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION OF OPPORTUNITY TO 
SUBMIT PROPOSALS.—Not less than once per 
year, the Chief and the Director shall publicly 
notice the opportunity to submit proposals for 
stewardship contracting projects under sub-
section (b). 
‘‘(B) RESPONSE TO PROPOSAL.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 
stewardship contracting project proposed 
by a private person or other public or pri-
vate entity, the Chief and the Director 
shall not later than 120 days after receiv-
ing such a proposal, provide the person or 
entity submitting such proposal a response 
with respect to such proposal. 
‘‘(ii) NOTICE OF DENIAL.—In the case 
of a response referred to in clause (i) that 
is a denial, such response may— 
‘‘(I) identify the specific factors 
that caused, and explain the reasons 
that support, the denial; and 
‘‘(II) identify potential courses of 
action for overcoming specific issues 
that led to the denial. 
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‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed as requir-
ing the Chief or the Director to enter into a 
contract or an agreement with respect to a 
stewardship contracting project proposed by a 
private person or other public or private entity. 
‘‘(10) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 
days after the date on which a private person 
or other public or private entity submits to the 
Chief or the Director a proposal to enter into 
a stewardship contracting project under sub-
section (b), the Chief or the Director may issue 
public notice of initiation of any necessary envi-
ronmental review. 
‘‘(B) AGREEMENTS
AND
CONTRACTS.— 
Following completion of any necessary environ-
mental review, the Chief or the Director may 
enter into an agreement or contract with the 
private person or other public or private entity 
under subsection (b). 
‘‘(11) CONFLICTING PROPOSALS.—In the case 
of conflicting proposals for a stewardship con-
tracting project under subsection (b), the Chief and 
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the Director shall have sole discretion in determining 
which such proposals, if any, are accepted. 
‘‘(12) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—A contract or 
agreement entered into under this section— 
‘‘(A) shall be made on a best value basis, 
as determined by the Chief and the Director; 
‘‘(B) may not be carried out— 
‘‘(i) on acres that are— 
‘‘(I) included in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System; or 
‘‘(II) located within an inven-
toried roadless area; or 
‘‘(ii) on any area where removal of 
vegetation is prohibited by Federal statute; 
and 
‘‘(C) may only be carried out if the Chief 
and the Director determine the stewardship 
contracting project is in accordance with the 
forest plan or land and resource management 
plan applicable to the land on which the project 
will be carried out.’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit a report to Congress that 
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includes, with respect to the preceding 5-year period, in-
formation on— 
(1) the number of project proposals under sec-
tion 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) received by the Chief of the 
Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management; 
(2) the number of contracts and agreements en-
tered into under such section; and 
(3) the number of acres on which forest 
thinning and hazardous fuels reduction were carried 
out pursuant to such contracts and agreements. 
SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR ADVERTISED SALES. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the threshold above which the Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall advertise timber sales, absent extraordinary 
conditions, established in section 14(d) of the National 
Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)), is 
adjusted by the amendments made by subsection (b) to 
reflect the inflation that has occurred since the date of 
enactment of such section and to address any inflation 
that may occur after the date of enactment of this section. 
(b) THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT.—Section 14(d) of the 
National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 
472a(d)) is amended by— 
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(1) 
striking 
‘‘$10,000’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$55,000’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Begin-
ning the first year after the date of enactment of the 
Locally Led Restoration Act of 2023, the amount in 
the first sentence of this subsection shall be adjusted 
annually by the Secretary for changes in the Con-
sumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers pub-
lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De-
partment of Labor.’’. 
Æ 
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