I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1526 
To restore employment and educational opportunities in, and improve the 
economic stability of, counties containing National Forest System land, 
while also reducing Forest Service management costs, by ensuring that 
such counties have a dependable source of revenue from National Forest 
System land, to provide a temporary extension of the Secure Rural 
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2013 
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Ms. 
HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. 
SOUTHERLAND, Mr. DAINES, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GOHMERT, 
Mr. PEARCE, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mrs. LUMMIS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To restore employment and educational opportunities in, and 
improve the economic stability of, counties containing 
National Forest System land, while also reducing Forest 
Service management costs, by ensuring that such coun-
ties have a dependable source of revenue from National 
Forest System land, to provide a temporary extension 
of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter-
mination Act of 2000, 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 
‘‘Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities 
Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Establishment of Forest Reserve Revenue Areas and annual volume re-
quirements. 
Sec. 4. Management of Forest Reserve Revenue Areas. 
Sec. 5. Distribution of forest reserve revenues. 
Sec. 6. Extension of Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 
Act of 2000 pending full operation of Forest Reserve Revenue 
Areas. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ANNUAL VOLUME REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘annual vol-
ume requirement’’, with respect to a Forest Re-
serve Revenue Area, means a volume of na-
tional forest materials no less than 50 percent 
of the sustained yield of the Forest Reserve 
Revenue Area. 
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—In determining the vol-
ume of national forest materials or the sus-
tained yield of a Forest Reserve Revenue Area, 
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the Secretary may not include non-commercial 
post and pole sales and personal use firewood. 
(2) BENEFICIARY COUNTY.—The term ‘‘bene-
ficiary county’’ means a political subdivision of a 
State that, on account of containing National Forest 
System land, was eligible to receive payments 
through the State under title I of the Secure Rural 
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 
2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111 et seq.). 
(3) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘cata-
strophic event’’ means an event (including severe 
fire, insect or disease infestations, windthrow, or 
other extreme weather or natural disaster) that the 
Secretary determines will cause or has caused sub-
stantial damage to National Forest System land or 
natural resources on National Forest System land. 
(4) 
COMMUNITY
WILDFIRE
PROTECTION 
PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 
plan’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6511). 
(5) COVERED
FOREST
RESERVE
PROJECT.— 
The terms ‘‘covered forest reserve project’’ and ‘‘cov-
ered project’’ mean a project involving the manage-
ment or sale of national forest materials within a 
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(ii) on which the removal of vegetation 
is specifically prohibited by Federal stat-
ute. 
(7) FOREST
RESERVE
REVENUES.—The term 
‘‘forest reserve revenues’’ means revenues derived 
from the sale of national forest materials in a Forest 
Reserve Revenue Area. 
(8) NATIONAL FOREST MATERIALS.—The term 
‘‘national forest materials’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 14(e)(1) of the National Forest 
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(e)(1)). 
(9) NATIONAL
FOREST
SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range-
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
U.S.C. 1609(a)), except that the term does not in-
clude the National Grasslands and land utilization 
projects designated as National Grasslands adminis-
tered pursuant to the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 
U.S.C. 1010–1012). 
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(11) SUSTAINED YIELD.—The term ‘‘sustained 
yield’’ means the annual growth of the forest cal-
culated on the basis of the culmination of mean an-
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nual increment using cubic measurement or other 
methods at the sole discretion of the Secretary. 
(12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(13) 25-PERCENT
PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘25- 
percent payment’’ means the payment to States re-
quired by the sixth paragraph under the heading of 
‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908 
(35 Stat. 260; 16 U.S.C. 500), and section 13 of the 
Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 963; 16 U.S.C. 
500). 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREST RESERVE REVENUE 
AREAS 
AND 
ANNUAL 
VOLUME 
REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF FOREST RESERVE REV-
ENUE AREAS.—Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish one 
or more Forest Reserve Revenue Areas within each unit 
of the National Forest System. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a Forest Reserve 
Revenue Area is to provide a dependable source of 25-per-
cent payments and economic activity for each beneficiary 
county containing National Forest System land. 
(c) FIDUCIARY
RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary 
shall have a fiduciary responsibility to beneficiary counties 
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to manage Forest Reserve Revenue Areas to satisfy the 
annual volume requirement. 
(d) DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL VOLUME REQUIRE-
MENT.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the es-
tablishment of a Forest Reserve Revenue Area, the Sec-
retary shall determine the annual volume requirement for 
that Forest Reserve Revenue Area. 
(e) LIMITATION
ON REDUCTION
OF FOREST RE-
SERVE REVENUE AREAS.—Once a Forest Reserve Rev-
enue Area is established under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary may not reduce the number of acres of National 
Forest System land included in that Forest Reserve Rev-
enue Area. 
(f) MAP.—The Secretary shall provide a map of all 
Forest Reserve Revenue Areas established under sub-
section (a) for each unit of the National Forest System 
to— 
(1) the Committee on Agriculture and the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate. 
(g) 
RECOGNITION
OF
VALID
AND
EXISTING 
RIGHTS.—Neither the establishment of Forest Reserve 
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Revenue Areas under subsection (a) nor any other provi-
sion of this Act shall be construed to limit or restrict— 
(1) access to National Forest System land for 
hunting, fishing, recreation, and other related pur-
poses; or 
(2) valid and existing rights regarding National 
Forest System land, including rights of any federally 
recognized Indian tribe. 
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF FOREST RESERVE REVENUE 
AREAS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT TO ACHIEVE ANNUAL VOLUME 
REQUIREMENT.—Effective for fiscal year 2014 and each 
fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall manage each 
Forest Reserve Revenue Area in the manner necessary to 
achieve the annual volume requirement for the Forest Re-
serve Revenue Area. The Secretary is authorized and en-
couraged to commence covered forest reserve projects as 
soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this 
Act to begin generating forest reserve revenues. 
(b) STANDARDS FOR PROJECTS WITHIN FOREST RE-
SERVE REVENUE AREAS.—The Secretary shall conduct 
covered forest reserve projects within Forest Reserve Rev-
enue Areas in accordance with this section, which shall 
serve as the sole means by which the Secretary will comply 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
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U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) and other laws applicable to the cov-
ered projects. 
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSIS
PROCESS
FOR 
PROJECTS IN FOREST RESERVE REVENUE AREAS.— 
(1) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall give published notice and complete an 
environmental 
assessment 
pursuant 
to 
section 
102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) for a covered forest re-
serve project proposed to be conducted within a For-
est Reserve Revenue Area, except that the Secretary 
is not required to study, develop, or describe any al-
ternative to the proposed agency action. 
(2) CUMULATIVE
EFFECTS.—The Secretary 
shall consider cumulative effects solely by evaluating 
the impacts of a proposed covered forest reserve 
project combined with the impacts of any other 
projects that were approved with a Decision Notice 
or Record of Decision before the date on which the 
Secretary published notice of the proposed covered 
project. The cumulative effects of past projects may 
be considered in the environmental assessment by 
using a description of the current environmental 
conditions. 
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