I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5007
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to use stewardship contracting
under which the receipts from the sale of timber and other forest prod-
ucts from National Forest System lands are available to the Secretary
to conduct other resource activities on such lands for the improvement
and restoration of healthy forest ecosystems.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 20, 1994
Mr. LAROCCO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to use stewardship
contracting under which the receipts from the sale of
timber and other forest products from National Forest
System lands are available to the Secretary to conduct
other resource activities on such lands for the improve-
ment and restoration of healthy forest ecosystems.
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 ‘‘National Forest Stew-
ardship Contracting Act of 1994’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings:
(1) In many of the units of the National Forest
System, current conditions, such as heavy fuel loads,
tree density, and increased threats from catastrophic
fires, disease, and insect infestations, adversely af-
fect the biodiversity, health, and sustainability of the
forest ecosystems of such units.
(2) The current authority granted to resource
managers of units of the National Forest System
does not provide for the distribution of revenues
from the sale of timber and other forest products to
accomplish ecosystem restoration work under a sin-
gle contract.
(3) A new and innovative contracting process
for the National Forest System is required to meet
Federal goals of improving forest resource conditions
through implementation of ecosystem management.
(4) The improvement of the forest resource is
important to the long-term viability of species found
on National Forest System lands.
(5) Ecosystem restoration work performed as
part of a timber sale contract would improve em-
ployment opportunities in communities near units of
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the National Forest System to the benefit of long-
term economic health and community stability.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows:
(1) To improve and restore the health of forest
resources through implementation of ecosystem man-
agement.
(2) To provide for employment opportunities
and economic stability for communities near units of
the National Forest System.
(3) To provide for needed flexibility in procure-
ment and funding practices and in the distribution
of revenues from timber and other forest products to
assist in implementation of ecosystem management.
(4) To provide the Secretary of Agriculture
with the authority to enter into stewardship con-
tracts to achieve management requirements pre-
scribed in the following provisions of law:
(A) The Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly
known as the Organic Administration Act; 16
U.S.C. 473–475, 477–482, 551).
(B) The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act
of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528–531).
(C) The Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600–1614).
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(D) Section 14 of the National Forest
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a).
(E) The Act of May 23, 1908, and section
13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C.
500).
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:
(1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the
Stewardship Account established under section 5.
(2) 
STEWARDSHIP
CONTRACT.—The 
term
‘‘stewardship contract’’ means a contract under
which receipts from the sale of timber or other for-
est products are available to finance other resource
activities for the improvement and restoration of for-
est ecosystems of units of the National Forest
System.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture.
(4) RESOURCE
ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘re-
source activities’’ includes site preparation, replant-
ing, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, silvi-cul-
tural treatments, watershed improvement, fuel treat-
ments (including prescribed burning), and road ob-
literation.
(5) RESOURCE MANAGER.—The term ‘resource
manager’ refers to the line officer responsible for
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management decisios associated with project imple-
mentation on a unit of a national forest.
SEC. 3. USE OF STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS.
(a) USE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish and implement in the Forest Service a program to
use stewardship contracts for the sale of timber and forest
products on National Forest System lands using resource
activities that provide for the health of the forest, sustain-
able ecosystems and economic assistance to forest re-
source-dependent communities.
(b) DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CONTRACTS.—The
Secretary shall develop a standard stewardship contract
for use throughout the National Forest System. Each re-
source manager of a unit of the National Forest System
may enter into stewardship contracts with qualified non-
Federal entities (as established in regulations relating to
procurement by the Federal Government or as determined
by the Secretary). Contracts should clearly describe the
desired future condition for each resource managed under
the contract and the evaluation criteria to be used to de-
termine acceptable performance. The Secretary shall en-
sure that resource managers give such preferential treat-
ment to small businesses, including small business con-
cerns within the meaning of section 3(a) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)), in the awarding of stew-
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ardship contracts as is required under existing laws and
policies relating to the allocation of timber sale programs
in the Forest Service. The length of a stewardship con-
tract shall be consistent with the requirements of section
14 of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16
U.S.C. 472a).
(c) SELECTION OF AREAS FOR CONTRACTS.—In se-
lecting areas within units of the National Forest System
to be subject to stewardship contracts, the Secretary and
resource managers shall base the selection on the need to
improve forest health, maintain and improve soil and
water quality, and improve fisheries and wildlife habitat.
Priority shall be given to wildland interface areas with re-
spect to reducing fire hazards and minimizing the effects
of insect and disease infestations.
(d) APPLICATION OF CONTRACTS.—Subject to sub-
section (e), the Secretary may apply all or part of the reve-
nues received from the sale of timber or any other forest
products resulting to the Federal Government under a
stewardship contract as an offset against the cost of other
resource activities undertaken by the Secretary.
(e) EFFECT ON OTHER REVENUE REQUIREMENTS.—
Required deposits shall continue to be made to the Na-
tional Forest Fund, and 25 percent of the actual value
of timber removed under stewardship contracts shall re-
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main available for payments to States, as required under
the Act of May 23, 1908, and section 13 of the Act of
March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500). The Secretary shall first
collect revenues to make such payments before exercising
the authority provided in subsection (d).
(f) SUPPLEMENTATION
OF
CONTRACTS.—Appro-
priated funds may be included in a stewardship contract
before the award of the contract if—
(1) the monies are available from the current
annual appropriation; and
(2) the monies are provided for the benefiting
function.
SEC. 4. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACT RECEIPTS AND EXPENDI-
TURES.
(a) RECEIPTS.—Monetary receipts, as part of the
payment for timber and other forest products under stew-
ardship contracts, shall be deposited in a designated fund
to be known as the ‘‘Stewardship Account’’. Amounts in
the Account shall be used to make payments to States
under the Act of May 23, 1908, and section 13 of the
Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500) and to fund re-
source activities. Amounts in the Account are hereby ap-
propriated and shall be available to the Secretary until ex-
pended, except that those amounts found by the Secretary
to be in excess to the needs of the Secretary shall be trans-
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ferred to miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury of the
United States.
(b) EXPENDITURES.—Not less than 80 percent of
amounts in the Account available for resource activities
shall be used for the direct costs of such resource activi-
ties.
(c) REPORTING.—As part of the annual report of the
Secretary to Congress, the Secretary shall include an ac-
counting of revenues, expenditures, and accomplishments
related to the stewardship contracts.
SEC. 5. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
All stewardship contracts shall comply with existing
applicable laws, and nothing in this Act may be construed
as modifying the provisions of any other law except as ex-
plicitly provided in this Act.
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