I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4875 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to help reduce 
the increased risk of severe wildfires to communities in forested areas 
affected by infestations of bark beetles and other insects, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 2, 2006 
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. SALAZAR) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committees on Resources, Ways and Means, and Science, 
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 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
to help reduce the increased risk of severe wildfires to 
communities in forested areas affected by infestations 
of bark beetles and other insects, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Rocky Mountain Forest Insects Response Enhancement 
and Support Act’’ or the ‘‘Rocky Mountain FIRES Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose. 
Sec. 3. Response to widespread infestations of bark beetles and other insects 
on Federal land in Rocky Mountain region. 
Sec. 4. Community wildfire protection plan development assistance for at-risk 
communities in the Rocky Mountain region. 
Sec. 5. Additional assistance for preparation of community wildfire protection 
plans. 
Sec. 6. Biomass commercial utilization grant program and biomass collection. 
Sec. 7. Cooperation with certain private landowners. 
Sec. 8. Partial exclusion from gross income of payments received as compensa-
tion for silvicultural activities in response to insect-infestation 
emergencies. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Fire, bark beetles, and other insects that 
feed on trees are natural parts of the Rocky Moun-
tain forest ecology that have some beneficial effects 
and help shape the forests by thinning dense tree 
stands and promoting cyclical re-growth. 
(2) However, in various parts of the Rocky 
Mountain region, large-scale infestations of bark 
beetles and other insects, in combination with other 
factors, have increased the likelihood of unusually 
severe wildfires that pose a threat to lives and prop-
erty in nearby communities. 
(3) This increased wildfire danger is the result 
of the following factors: 
(A) A century-long policy of suppressing 
even small fires on Federal lands, which com-
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bined with a more recent reduction in the quan-
tity of timber harvesting on Federal lands, has 
resulted in unusually dense vegetation that can 
provide fuel for unusually severe wildfires. 
(B) A pronounced and prolonged drought 
that has weakened trees and made them more 
susceptible to both wildfire and insects. 
(C) Population growth in mountain com-
munities adjacent to Federal lands and the de-
velopment of ski areas and other recreational 
facilities on and in the vicinity of Federal lands, 
with a resulting increase in the number of peo-
ple, homes, and businesses at risk; 
(4) The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (Public Law 108–148; 16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq) 
addressed the need to reduce the volume of fuel that 
can feed the most severe fires that threaten commu-
nities. 
(5) However, provisions of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 and other laws need to be 
modified to help further reduce the risks to commu-
nities in the Rocky Mountain region associated with 
current insect infestations. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to facili-
tate a swifter response by the Secretary of Agriculture and 
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the Secretary of the Interior to reduce the increased risk 
of severe wildfires to communities in the Rocky Mountain 
region resulting from the effects of widespread infestations 
of bark beetles and other insects. 
SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO WIDESPREAD INFESTATIONS OF 
BARK BEETLES AND OTHER INSECTS ON FED-
ERAL LAND IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101 of the Healthy For-
ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (12) through 
(16) as paragraphs (13), (14), (16), (17), and (18), 
respectively; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (11) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(12) INSECT-EMERGENCY
AREA.—The term 
‘insect-emergency area’ means Federal land in the 
Rocky Mountain region that— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary determines is subject to 
a widespread infestation of bark beetles or 
other insects; 
‘‘(B) is identified for hazardous fuel reduc-
tion treatment in a community wildfire protec-
tion plan; and 
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‘‘(C) is characterized by insect-induced tree 
mortality that the Secretary determines has, or 
within one year will have, produced a condition 
such that an immediate reduction in hazardous 
fuels is required in order to reduce the risks to 
human life and property or to a municipal 
water supply from a severe wildfire.’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (14), as redes-
ignated by paragraph (2), the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(16) ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
REGION.—The term 
‘Rocky Mountain region’ means the States of Ari-
zona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.’’. 
(b) FUNDING ALLOCATION PRIORITIZATION
FOR 
FEDERAL LANDS IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION.—Sec-
tion 103(d)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513(d)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
ROCKY
MOUN-
TAIN REGION.—The Secretary shall allocate not 
less than 70 percent of the funds allocated for 
authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects in 
the Rocky Mountain region for— 
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‘‘(i) projects in the wildland-urban 
interface; and 
‘‘(ii) lands that are in proximity to a 
municipal water supply system or a stream 
feeding such a system within a municipal 
watershed and that have been identified for 
such projects in community wildfire protec-
tion plans.’’. 
(c) ALTERNATIVE
ANALYSIS
PROCESS.—Section 
104(d)(2) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6514(d)(2)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘at- 
risk community’’ the following: ‘‘or on any other lands 
identified for such a project in a community wildfire pro-
tection plan for an at-risk community in or adjacent to 
an insect-emergency area’’. 
(d) INSECT EMERGENCIES.—Title I of the Healthy 
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 107 and 108 as 
sections 109 and 110, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 106 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 107. ACTIONS RELATED TO INSECT-EMERGENCY 
AREAS. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 
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‘‘(1) DESIGNATION AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 
may designate insect-emergency areas. The designa-
tion shall be made on the basis of the best informa-
tion available, including observation of relevant in-
sect infestations. 
‘‘(2) INITIATION.—The designation of an in-
sect-emergency area may be made on the initiative 
of the Secretary or in response to a request by any 
State agency or any political subdivision of a State. 
‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—If a State agency or a polit-
ical subdivision of a State requests an area to be 
designated as an insect-emergency area pursuant to 
paragraph (2), the decision regarding such request 
shall be made no later than 90 days after receipt of 
the request. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION
ON
DELEGATION.—In the 
case of National Forest System lands, the authority 
to make a designation under this subsection may be 
delegated only to a Regional Forester. 
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—Be-
fore making a determination to designate an insect-emer-
gency area, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) consult with any Federal agency respon-
sible for management of lands within a relevant 
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community wildfire protection plan and appropriate 
State and local officials; and 
‘‘(2) provide public notice and seek public com-
ments. 
‘‘(c) REVIEW OF DESIGNATION.—Any administrative 
or judicial review of a designation made pursuant to sub-
section (a) shall be subject to regulations issued pursuant 
to section 105 and to the provisions of section 106. 
‘‘(d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED
HAZARDOUS
FUEL
REDUC-
TION PROJECTS.—An authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project involving lands within an area des-
ignated as an insect-emergency area may be cat-
egorically excluded from documentation in an envi-
ronmental impact statement and environmental as-
sessment under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if— 
‘‘(A) the project involves only lands that 
are identified for hazardous-fuel reduction 
treatment in a community wildfire protection 
plan; and 
‘‘(B) the decision to categorically exclude 
the project is made in accordance with applica-
ble extraordinary circumstances procedures es-
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tablished pursuant to section 1508.4 of title 40, 
Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(2) STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS.—A stewardship 
contracting project under section 347 of the Depart-
ment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appro-
priations Act, 1999 (as contained in section 101(e) 
of Public Law 105–277; 16 U.S.C. 2104 note) to 
implement a hazardous fuel reduction project in an 
insect-emergency area may exceed 10 years, but may 
not exceed 15 years. 
‘‘(e) PERSONNEL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture may relocate or reassign personnel of the Forest 
Service in order to provide additional personnel to prepare 
and carry out applied silvicultural assessments under sec-
tion 404 in response to an insect emergency or to prepare 
and implement other appropriate actions involving Federal 
lands subject to an insect emergency.’’. 
(e) RELATION TO APPEALS REFORM ACT.—Section 
105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6515) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) RELATION TO APPEALS REFORM ACT.—Noth-
ing in section 322 of the Department of the Interior and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 
102–381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) shall be construed to re-
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quire administrative review procedures different from, or 
in addition to, the procedures established by regulations 
issued pursuant to this section for administrative review 
of an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project con-
ducted pursuant to section 102 or the designation of an 
insect-emergency area pursuant to section 107.’’. 
SEC. 4. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN DEVEL-
OPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR AT-RISK COMMU-
NITIES IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 103 of 
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 
6513) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(e) PLANNING ASSISTANCE FOR AT-RISK COMMU-
NITIES.—Using amounts made available to the Secretary 
of Agriculture under section 35(c) of the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 191(c)), the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
make grants to at-risk communities in the Rocky Moun-
tain region to assist the at-risk communities to prepare 
or revise a community wildfire protection plan. The Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall make such grants in consulta-
tion with appropriate State agencies.’’. 
(b) FUNDING SOURCE.—Section 35 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), $5,000,000 of 
the monies paid into the Treasury under such subsection 
for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010 shall be 
made available to the Secretary of Agriculture, without 
further appropriation and until expended, for obligation 
and expenditure pursuant to section 103(e) of the Healthy 
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513).’’. 
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR PREPARATION OF 
COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS. 
Subparagraph (L) of section 33(b)(3) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
2229(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(L) To fund fire prevention programs, in-
cluding the development of community wildfire 
protection plans (as defined in section 101 of 
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6511)).’’. 
SEC. 6. BIOMASS COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM AND BIOMASS COLLECTION. 
(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 203 of the Healthy 
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6531) is 
amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 203. BIOMASS COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture may make grants to the owners or operators of 
facilities that use biomass— 
‘‘(1) as a raw material to produce electricity, 
sensible heat, transportation fuel, or substitutes for 
petroleum-based products; 
‘‘(2) for wood-based products; or 
‘‘(3) for other commercial purposes. 
‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applications sub-
mitted by persons who purchase biomass removed from 
lands in insect-emergency areas through an authorized 
hazardous fuel reduction project carried out pursuant to 
section 102. 
‘‘(c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grants made pursuant 
to this section may be used to offset the costs of pur-
chasing biomass. 
‘‘(d) RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.—The au-
thority provided by this section is in addition to any other 
authority of the Secretary to make grants related to bio-
mass. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
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$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010 
to make grants under this section.’’. 
(b) CENTRAL COLLECTION POINTS.—Title II of the 
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRAL COLLECTION 
POINTS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To the maximum extent 
practicable and consistent with relevant land management 
plans, the Secretary shall establish one or more collection 
point for the placement of vegetative material removed 
from Federal or other lands as part of hazardous fuel re-
duction projects under title I. No collection point shall be 
established on any lands not owned by the United States 
without the consent of the owner of such lands. 
‘‘(b) USE.—Vegetative material placed at a collection 
point established under this section may be sold, donated, 
or otherwise made available to any party who will remove 
the material from the collection point. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Sec-
retary’’ means— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect 
to lands managed by the Forest Service; and 
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‘‘(2) the Secretary of the Interior with respect 
to lands managed by any agency of the Department 
of the Interior.’’. 
SEC. 7. COOPERATION WITH CERTAIN PRIVATE LAND-
OWNERS. 
Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 is amended by inserting after section 107, as added 
by section 3(d), the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 108. COOPERATION WITH CERTAIN PRIVATE LAND-
OWNERS. 
‘‘(a) USE
OF PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.—The Sec-
retary may award stewardship contracts to or enter into 
agreements with owners of lands contiguous to Federal 
lands managed by the Secretary under which the land-
owners may carry out a fuel-reduction project or other ac-
tivities on the contiguous Federal lands in order to reduce 
the extent to which the Federal lands or other lands could 
be affected by wildfires. The agreement shall include such 
terms and conditions as the Secretary considers appro-
priate with regard to activities to be performed on the 
Federal lands. 
‘‘(b) REIMBURSEMENT.—A stewardship contract or 
other agreement under this section may provide for reim-
bursement by the Secretary for costs incurred by the land-
owner related to the fuel-reduction project or other activi-
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ties on the Federal lands. If reimbursement is not pro-
vided, the cost incurred by the landowner shall be treated 
as a donation to the United States for purposes of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 
SEC. 8. PARTIAL EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF PAY-
MENTS RECEIVED AS COMPENSATION FOR 
SILVICULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN RESPONSE TO 
INSECT-INFESTATION EMERGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap-
ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended 
by inserting after section 139A the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 139B. COMPENSATION FOR SILVICULTURAL ACTIVI-
TIES IN RESPONSE TO INSECT-INFESTATION 
EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—Gross income shall not in-
clude any qualified silvicultural payments. 
‘‘(b) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The aggregate of the 
payments which may be taken into account under sub-
section (a) with respect to a taxpayer for a taxable year 
shall not exceed $10,000 ($20,000 in the case of a joint 
return). 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED SILVICULTURAL PAYMENTS.—For 
purposes of this section— 
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