I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3973 
To authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to 
carry out a series of pilot projects to encourage collaborative approaches 
to, and to provide research on, the rehabilitation of forest ecosystem 
health following uncharacteristic disturbances of forested Federal lands, 
to be conducted in a manner that protects wildlife habitat, water quality, 
and forest resiliency while also promoting social and economic opportuni-
ties in nearby communities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2005 
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. RAHALL) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land 
Management to carry out a series of pilot projects to 
encourage collaborative approaches to, and to provide 
research on, the rehabilitation of forest ecosystem health 
following uncharacteristic disturbances of forested Fed-
eral lands, to be conducted in a manner that protects 
wildlife habitat, water quality, and forest resiliency while 
also promoting social and economic opportunities in near-
by communities, 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 ‘‘National Forests Reha-
bilitation and Recovery Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In enacting the Healthy Forest Restoration 
Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–148; 16 U.S.C. 6501 
et seq.), Congress clearly recognized the priority of 
reducing wildfire risks to communities through ac-
tive hazardous fuels reduction treatment of adjacent 
forested Federal lands. 
(2) Because of funding limitations, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte-
rior have been unable to fully implement the nec-
essary hazardous fuels reductions anticipated by the 
Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, and many 
communities in the vicinity of forested Federal lands 
remain at risk for wildland fire. 
(3) The Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
retary of the Interior should increase efforts to 
prioritize and aggressively pursue hazardous fuel re-
duction in communities at risk in the wildland-urban 
interface.
(4) Many communities are still at risk from un-
natural accumulation of fuels, and, for such at-risk 
communities, it is important to pro-actively consider 
scenarios for the rehabilitation of Federal land near 
these communities, should an uncharacteristic dis-
turbance occur. 
(5) While significant scientific research exists 
on the short-term and long-term impacts of vegeta-
tive removal following a fire, it is essential to test 
various approaches to post-disturbance management 
to determine whether and how trees of commercial 
value can be removed during the post-disturbance 
period while ensuring the best and fastest recovery 
to a resilient state that will ensure long-term protec-
tion for both forest ecosystems and forest commu-
nities. 
(6) Community collaboration has shown great 
promise in resolving controversial issues prior to, 
and as part of, the process required under the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4331 et seq.), and the Healthy Forest Restoration 
Act of 2003 recognized the promise of collaboration 
by encouraging the development of community wild-
fire protection plans.
(7) It is important to promote pro-active plan-
ning and collaboration to accelerate the approval of 
restoration projects following wildland fire or other 
uncharacteristic disturbance events. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this section: 
(1) COLLABORATION.—The term ‘‘collabora-
tion’’ means an inclusive and open process of bring-
ing together interested persons, including local elect-
ed officials, State and Federal agencies, and emer-
gency responders, to develop a consensus on a par-
ticular natural resource issue. 
(2) 
COMMUNITY
WILDFIRE
PROTECTION 
PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection 
plan’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
101(3) of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(3)), which is further de-
scribed by the Western Governors Association in the 
document entitled ‘‘Preparing a Community Wildfire 
Protection Plan: A Handbook for Wildland-Interface 
Communities’’ and dated March 2004. 
(3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means— 
(A) land of the National Forest System (as 
defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) administered by 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Chief of the Forest Service; and 
(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)), the surface of 
which is administered by the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting through the Director of the Bu-
reau of Land Management. 
(4) FEDERAL LAND FOREST COMMUNITY.—The 
term ‘‘Federal land forest community’’ means a 
town, city, county, Indian tribe, or collaborative 
group— 
(A) located adjacent to (or, in the case of 
a county, containing) Federal land; and 
(B) whose residents (or, in the case of an 
Indian tribe or collaborative group, whose mem-
bers) have a history of deriving income and em-
ployment from recreation, grazing, timber har-
vesting, or other activities involving Federal 
land. 
(5) INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREA.—The term 
‘‘Inventoried roadless area’’ means one of the areas 
identified in the set of inventoried roadless areas
maps contained in the Forest Service Roadless 
Areas Conservation, Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, Volume 2, dated November 2000. 
(6) PILOT PROJECT.—The term ‘‘pilot project’’ 
means one of the post-disturbance rehabilitation 
pilot projects authorized by this Act. 
(7) PILOT
PROJECT
SITE.—The term ‘‘pilot 
project site’’ means an area of Federal land des-
ignated by the Secretary concerned under section 4 
as a location in which a pilot project will be carried 
out. 
(8) POST-DISTURBANCE.—The term ‘‘Post-dis-
turbance’’ means a period of three years immediately 
following an uncharacteristic disturbance. 
(9) REHABILITATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘reha-
bilitation plan’’ means a plan developed under sec-
tion 5 to address the post-disturbance rehabilitation 
of a pilot project site. 
(10) 
SECRETARY
CONCERNED.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to land of the National Forest System de-
scribed in paragraph (3)(A); and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to public lands described in paragraph 
(3)(B). 
(11) UNCHARACTERISTIC DISTURBANCE.—The 
term ‘‘uncharacteristic disturbance’’ means a rel-
atively discrete event, such as forest fire, insect in-
festation, or hurricane, that significantly alters the 
structure, composition, function, or successional tra-
jectory of an ecological system. 
SEC. 
4. 
POST-DISTURBANCE 
REHABILITATION 
PILOT 
PROJECTS FOR FEDERAL LAND FOREST COM-
MUNITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—On the basis of applications 
submitted by Federal land forest communities, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
may each establish not more than five post-disturbance re-
habilitation pilot projects involving Federal land for the 
purpose of encouraging post-disturbance rehabilitation of 
the pilot project site in a manner that— 
(1) reflects the common ground identified by di-
verse interests within a Federal land forest commu-
nity; 
(2) restores the forest ecosystem health and di-
versity of the pilot project site; and
(3) will benefit the Federal land forest commu-
nity. 
(b) APPLICATION PROCESS.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
concerned shall develop an application process by which 
Federal land forest communities may seek the designation 
of an area of Federal land as a pilot project site for use 
of the authorities provided by this Act. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—An area of Federal land 
must satisfy at least one of the following criteria before 
the Secretary concerned may designate the area as a pilot 
project site: 
(1) The area is covered by a community wildfire 
protection plan or a collaborative working group or 
infrastructure, in existence as of the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
(2) Federal lands that are demonstrably at seri-
ous risk from the impacts of uncharacteristically in-
tense wildland fire, a severe blow down, or other cat-
astrophic events, such as hurricanes with associated 
windfall, beyond the range of historic variability. 
(3) The area is in the vicinity of a Federal land 
forest community or communities that have worked 
to address forest health across land ownership types.
(4) The area is adjacent to, or intermingled 
with, communities, and the area has had an unnatu-
ral buildup of fuels due to a long history of fire sup-
pression or has become an unnatural ecosystem due 
to past management practices. 
(d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR 
PILOT PROJECTS.—In evaluating the application sub-
mitted by a Federal land forest community for the des-
ignation of a pilot project site, the Secretary concerned 
shall give special consideration to the following: 
(1) Documented support for the application 
from a diversity of interested persons in the commu-
nity. 
(2) The community has a proven track record 
of working in a collaborative manner to resolve nat-
ural resource issues. 
(3) The community has worked to address for-
est health issues through comprehensive watershed 
assessments. 
(4) The community, or entities in the commu-
nity, are already receiving grants or working with 
the Secretary of Agriculture through one or more 
programs under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance 
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).
(e) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND.—Not-
withstanding subsection (c), the following Federal land 
may not be included within a pilot project site: 
(1) Federal land containing old growth forest or 
late successional forest. 
(2) Federal land on which the removal of vege-
tation is prohibited, including components of the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System. 
(3) Wilderness Study Areas. 
(4) Inventoried roadless areas. 
(5) Federal land included in a land allocation 
made by an Act of Congress or the Secretary con-
cerned for the special protection of natural, histor-
ical, cultural, recreational, or other public values and 
regarding which trees located on the land is not 
scheduled to contribute to the regular timber sale 
program 
(f) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—A pilot project site may 
not exceed 10,000 acres. The total acreage encompassed 
by all pilot project sites designated by the Secretary con-
cerned may not exceed 50,000 acres. 
(g) DURATION OF DESIGNATION AUTHORITY.—The 
authority of the Secretary concerned to designate pilot 
project sites expires at the end of the three-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. The
expiration of such authority shall not affect the use of the 
authorities provided by this Act in pilot project sites des-
ignated before the end of such period. 
SEC. 5. POST-DISTURBANCE REHABILITATION PLAN FOR 
DESIGNATED FEDERAL LAND FOREST COM-
MUNITIES. 
(a) PLAN REQUIRED.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—Once an area of 
Federal land is designated as a pilot project site, the 
Federal land forest community that applied for the 
designation of the pilot project site shall develop and 
submit to the Secretary concerned a plan to address 
post-disturbance rehabilitation of the pilot project 
site, whether the uncharacteristic disturbance is 
caused 
by 
a 
wildfire 
or 
nonfire-related 
uncharacteristic disturbance event. 
(2) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN 
AMENDMENT.—If an area of Federal land des-
ignated as a pilot project site is already covered by 
a community wildfire protection plan, the rehabilita-
tion plan may be developed as an amendment to the 
community wildfire protection plan. 
(3) ADDRESSING NON-FIRE-RELATED DISTURB-
ANCE
EVENTS.—A rehabilitation plan intended to 
address nonfire-related uncharacteristic disturbance
events shall be developed in accordance with the di-
rection provided for community wildfire protection 
plans pursuant to the Healthy Forest Restoration 
Act of 2003. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 
Secretary concerned may provide technical and financial 
assistance to Federal land forest communities to assist in 
their efforts to develop a rehabilitation plan or amend a 
community wildfire protection plan to include a rehabilita-
tion plan. 
(c) CONTENTS
OF PLAN.—A rehabilitation plan, 
whether developed as an amendment to a community wild-
fire protection plan or as a separate plan, shall specifically 
address the following: 
(1) Any anticipated temporary road use or road 
decommissioning. 
(2) Reducing the standing dead hazardous fuels 
and surface hazardous fuels to levels described in 
the existing land management plan or returning the 
area to a condition class 1 or 2 fire regime. 
(3) Measures for protection of fragile soils and 
rehabilitation of soil integrity. 
(4) Water quality and quantity protection and 
restoration. 
(5) Wildlife and fish habitat and restoration.
(6) Management to prevent adverse impacts to 
soils and wildlife and fish habitat. 
(7) Guidance directing projects to avoid steep 
slopes and erosion-prone areas. 
(8) Utilization and marketing of material re-
moved to ensure economic benefit to the Federal 
land forest community. 
(9) Replanting needs, with an emphasis on na-
tive vegetation. 
(d) FIRE PLANNING, GRAZING, AND TREE RE-
MOVAL.— 
(1) FIRE PLANNING.—To be considered to ade-
quately address fire planning, post disturbance reha-
bilitation projects under a rehabilitation plan must 
conform to the strategic restoration objectives pro-
vided by the applicable Fire Management Plan. 
(2) GRAZING.—To be considered to adequately 
address grazing, the rehabilitation plan for a pilot 
project site must design and adjust allotment man-
agement plans (including grazing deferrals) to opti-
mize recovery of a disturbed area. 
(3) TREE REMOVAL.—If standing trees are pro-
posed for removal at a pilot project site, the rehabili-
tation plan for the site shall—
(A) focus on small diameter trees and 
thinning from below; 
(B) maximize the retention of legacy trees 
to promote recovery of a natural composition of 
native plant and wildlife species; and 
(C) vary treatment intensities, and avoid 
even-aged management, to ensure forest health 
(e) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION
OF REHABILITA-
TION PLAN AND UNCHARACTERISTIC DISTURBANCE RE-
SPONSES.— 
(1) RESPONSE
TO
UNCHARACTERISTIC
DIS-
TURBANCE.—After an uncharacteristic disturbance 
occurs on a pilot project site that is covered by a re-
habilitation plan accepted by the Secretary con-
cerned, and at the request of the Federal land forest 
community that developed the redevelopment plan, 
the Secretary concerned shall initiate a process 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) for the purpose of de-
ciding what, if any, management activities to take to 
respond to the uncharacteristic disturbance. 
(2) SCOPING; PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—De-
velopment of a qualifying rehabilitation plan is con-
sidered to meet the scoping requirements of the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Among
those alternatives considered in the process initiated 
under such Act, the rehabilitation plan shall be pro-
posed (with any necessary refinement) as the pre-
ferred alternative. 
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL
DOCUMENTATION.—To 
the extent practicable, the Secretary concerned shall 
make the environmental documentation available to 
the public— 
(A) within 60 days after the end of the 
uncharacteristic disturbance; or 
(B) 
in 
the 
case 
of 
an 
ongoing 
uncharacteristic disturbance, such as an insect 
infestation, as soon as practicable. 
(4) PUBLIC
COMMENT.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall provide for a period of public comment 
of not less than— 
(A) 30 days, in the case of an environ-
mental assessment; and 
(B) 45 days, in the case of a draft environ-
mental impact statement or final environmental 
impact statement. 
(5) RECORD OF DECISION.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall issue a record of decision not later than 
30 days after the close of the public comment pe-
riod.
(6) APPEAL.—To the extent practicable, deci-
sions on appeals should be made within 30 days. 
(f) INDEPENDENT MONITORING.—In order to have 
the most effective projects within a pilot project site, 
projects shall have independent third-party monitoring (or 
at the request of the Federal land forest community, local 
level multi-party monitoring) to evaluate the impacts of 
the post-disturbance rehabilitation work. A plan for moni-
toring shall be established at the earliest stages of collabo-
ration and shall be incorporated into project design and 
implementation and shall be linked to the participatory re-
search efforts directed in this Act. 
(g) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.— 
(1) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary 
con-
cerned shall establish a national oversight committee 
to provide independent scientific and socio-economic 
monitoring of the pilot projects and activities carried 
out at the pilot project sites. 
(2) 
MEMBERSHIP.—The 
national 
oversight 
committee shall be set up under the auspices of the 
National Academy of Sciences and shall consist of 
five members who are scientists with expertise in 
evaluating the biological, ecological, hydrogeological, 
and socioeconomic components of the pilot projects.
(3) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The oversight com-
mittee shall conduct independent scientific and 
socio-economic monitoring under subsection (f) and 
submit reports to Congress on the short- and long- 
term results of the pilot project. Specifically, the re-
ports should evaluate improvements in forest diver-
sity, soil stability, reduction of fire risk, and local 
economic indicators. 
(h) REPORTS OF FEDERAL LAND FOREST COMMU-
NITY.—The Federal land forest community that applied 
for the designation of an approved pilot project site shall 
submit to the national oversight committee two reports re-
garding the results of the pilot project for that pilot 
project site. An initial report shall be submitted at the 
halfway point of their pilot project and a final report shall 
be submitted at the end of their pilot project. 
Æ