I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4068
To improve the health and productivity of National Forest System lands
in the State of California and to demonstrate the use of ecosystem
management as a practical management program on such lands.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 17, 1994
Mr. LEHMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture
A BILL
To improve the health and productivity of National Forest
System lands in the State of California and to dem-
onstrate the use of ecosystem management as a practical
management program on such lands.
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
‘‘California Forest Ecosystems Health Act’’.
(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.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Ecosystem management plans for National Forest System lands in Cali-
fornia.
Sec. 5. Process for full implementation of ecosystem management plans.
Sec. 6. Research and monitoring program.
Sec. 7. Miscellaneous requirements.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Although people have had an active part in
the development and maintenance of forest structure
and the condition of the National Forest System
lands in the State of California for many years, re-
cent forest management policies have often resulted
in a degeneration of the forest structure and a loss
of forest health and vigor.
(2) The Forest Service, through the judicious
use of ecosystem management, has an opportunity to
reverse these forest management policies and restore
the health and vigor of National Forest System
lands in California.
(3) Ecosystems are dynamic and in a state of
constant change, and it is not possible to preserve
a given ecosystem condition in a static state over a
period of time.
(4) The many and varied resources and uses of
National Forest System lands provide both tangible
and intangible benefits to the people of the United
States.
(5) Although management of National Forest
System lands in California has traditionally placed
first priority on the need to produce maximum vol-
umes of timber, the other multiple forest resources
and services are equally important to the people of
California and the United States.
(6) Ecosystem management must balance the
needs of outdoor recreation, range, timber, water-
shed, fish, and wildlife, as required by the Multiple-
Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et
seq.), as well as protect soil and air quality and pro-
vide for forest research.
(7) National Forest System lands in California
include some of the most unique forest ecosystems in
the world, including giant sequoias, coastal red-
woods, and bristlecone pines.
(8) Destructive forest fires classified by the
Forest Service as ‘‘intense’’ have occurred in unprec-
edented numbers and size on the National Forest
System lands in California in recent years, and these
fires pose a threat to the very health of the forests
and present a danger to human life and property.
(9) The Forest Service, through the judicious
use of ecosystem management, has an opportunity to
reduce the likelihood that fires classified as ‘‘in-
tense’’ will occur with such frequency and, at the
same time, to improve forest vigor and visitor safety.
(10) Ecosystem management that considers the
needs of all species and their ability to interact with
the presence of humans can integrate both the con-
servation needs of the many species of the
ecosystems and the multiple use activities of hu-
mans.
(11) Identification of sound management op-
tions is both a biological issue and a social issue,
and the resulting management policies must be so-
cially acceptable, ecologically sustainable, scientif-
ically sound, legally responsible, and economically
viable.
(12) The results of management practices in
local ecosystems can have a profound effect on the
levels of demand for commodity outputs from other
ecosystems around the world.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) 
ADAPTIVE
MANAGEMENT.—The 
term
‘‘adaptive management’’ means the experimental and
monitored application of scientifically derived man-
agement decisions to gain knowledge that is then
used to improve subsequent management decisions.