I
108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2169
To save taxpayers money, reduce the deficit, cut corporate welfare, protect
communities from wildfires, encourage Federal land management agency
reform and accountability, and protect and restore America’s natural
heritage by eliminating the fiscally wasteful and ecologically destructive
commercial logging program on Federal public lands, restoring native
biodiversity in our Federal public forests, and facilitating the economic
recovery and diversification of communities affected by the Federal log-
ging program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 20, 2003
Mr. LEACH (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN,
Mr. BECERRA, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of
Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr.
CASE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois,
Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ENGEL,
Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massa-
chusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOEFFEL,
Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KLECZ-
KA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE,
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Ms.
MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNUL-
TY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms.
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO,
Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr.
PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms.
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SAXTON, Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN,
Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TOWNS,
Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WALSH, Ms. WATERS, Mr.
WATT, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, and
Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture
and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To save taxpayers money, reduce the deficit, cut corporate
welfare, protect communities from wildfires, encourage
Federal land management agency reform and account-
ability, and protect and restore America’s natural herit-
age by eliminating the fiscally wasteful and ecologically
destructive commercial logging program on Federal pub-
lic lands, restoring native biodiversity in our Federal
public forests, and facilitating the economic recovery and
diversification of communities affected by the Federal
logging program.
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
‘‘National Forest Protection and Restoration 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. Findings.
Sec. 4. Prohibition on timber sales to protect Federal public lands.
Sec. 5. Effect of prohibition on existing timber sale contracts.
Sec. 6. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 7. Natural heritage restoration.
Sec. 8. Worker retraining.
Sec. 9. Allocation of funds.
Sec. 10. Continuation of payments for States and counties containing Federal
public lands under Public Law 106–393.
Sec. 11. Enforcement by citizens.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘agencies’’ means
the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the
Bureau of Land Management, and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(2) COMMERCIAL LOGGING.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘commercial
logging’’ means—
(i) the sale of timber;
(ii) the execution of a timber sale; or
(iii) any other transfer of timber or
biomass to an individual, company, cor-
poration, or other entity, which then offers
the transferred timber or biomass, or any
product produced from that timber or bio-
mass, for sale or uses the transferred tim-
ber or biomass for other commercial pur-
poses.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘commercial
logging’’ includes a sale, execution, or other
transfer specified in subparagraph (A) regard-
less of—
(i) the stated reason for the sale, exe-
cution, or transfer; or
(ii) whether the timber is standing,
fallen, living, or dead.
(3) FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral public lands’’ means—
(A) all lands in the United States included
in the National Forest System;
(B) all lands in the United States included
in the National Wildlife Refuge System;
(C) all lands in the United States included
in the National Park System; and
(D) all lands under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(4) NATIVE BIODIVERSITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘native bio-
diversity’’ means—
(i) the full range of variety and varia-
bility within and among living organisms;
and
(ii) the ecological complexes in which
the living organisms would have occurred
in the absence of significant human im-
pact.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘native bio-
diversity’’ includes diversity—
(i) within a species (including genetic
diversity, species diversity, and age diver-
sity);
(ii) within a community of species;
(iii) between communities of species;
(iv) within a total area, such as a wa-
tershed;
(v) along a vertical plane from ground
to sky, including application of the plane
to all the other types of diversity; and
(vi) along the horizontal plane of the
earth-surface, including application of the
plane to all the other types of diversity.
(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘native bio-
diversity’’ excludes genetically modified or engi-
neered organisms.
(5) LATE-SUCCESSIONAL/OLD
GROWTH
FOR-
EST.—The term ‘‘late-successional/old growth for-
est’’ refers to any stand of forest within the bound-
aries of a timber sale that may contain trees that ex-
ceed 80 years in age.
(6) ROADLESS
AREA.—The term ‘‘roadless
area’’ means each of the following:
(A) Any inventoried roadless area.
(B) Any area of at least 1,000 contiguous
acres meeting Forest Service road density
guidelines.
(C) Any area of less than 1,000 contiguous
acres meeting Forest Service road density
guidelines, if the area is adjacent to a unit of
the National Wilderness Preservation System, a
unit of the National Park System, an inven-
tories roadless area, or a designated Wilderness
Study Area.
(7) TIMBER SALE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘timber sale’’
means—
(i) the sale of timber;
(ii) the offering of timber for sale or
consideration; or
(iii) any other transfer of timber or
biomass to an individual, company, cor-
poration, or other entity, which then offers
the transferred timber or biomass, or any
product produced from that timber or bio-
mass, for sale or uses the transferred tim-
ber or biomass for other commercial pur-
poses.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘timber sale’’
includes a sale, offer, or other transfer specified
in subparagraph (A) regardless of—
(i) the stated reason for the sale,
offer, or transfer; or
(ii) whether the timber is standing,
fallen, living, or dead.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Polls conducted by the Forest Service show
that a strong majority of the American people think
that natural resources on Federal public lands
should not be made available to produce consumer
goods.
(2) The 1995 Forest Service draft report enti-
tled ‘‘Forest Service Program for Forest and Range-
land Resources: A Long-Term Strategic Plan’’ shows
that recreation and tourism in the National Forest
System creates over 30 times more jobs, and gen-
erates over 30 times more income, than commercial
logging on national forests.
(3) According to Forest Service figures, timber
cut from Federal public lands comprises less than
five percent of the annual timber consumption of the
United States.
(4) The vast majority of America’s original
pristine forests have been logged, and what little pri-
mary forest that remains exists almost entirely on
public lands.
(5) The ecological crisis resulting from this se-
vere habitat loss and fragmentation of American for-
ests requires bold action to protect this Nation’s
natural heritage so that pristine forests may remain
pristine, and damaged forests may have an oppor-
tunity to recover.
(6) It is in the interests of the American people
and the international community to protect and re-
store native biodiversity in our Federal public lands
for its inherent benefits, the resulting economic ben-
efits, and for the protection of this natural heritage
for current and future generations.
(7) The 1995 report of the Comptroller General
regarding distribution of Forest Service timber sales
receipts (GAO/RCED–95–237FS) and the 1998 fol-
low-up report (GAO/RCED–99–24) reveal that, of
the hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer
money that is annually expended on the Forest Serv-
ice timber sales program, only a small fraction finds
its way back to the Federal Treasury, resulting in
an enormous net loss to taxpayers.
(8) In September 2001, the General Accounting
Office stated that it was ‘impractical, if not impos-
sible, for us or anyone to accurately determine the
Forest Service’s timber sales program cost.’’ (GAO–
01–1101R Forest Service Timber Costs), and this
lack of accurate accounting results in waste and
abuse of taxpayer funds and natural resources.
(9) Forests absorb rainfall, retard stream run-
off, reduce floods, increase slope stability, and retain
topsoil, and retard soil erosion and siltation in
streams, irrigation ditches, and reservoirs.
(10) Commercial logging has many indirect
costs which are very significant, but not easily meas-
ured, such as flooding damage and relief of flooding
damage through Federal funds, damage to the salm-
on fishing industry; and harm to the recreation and
tourism industries.
(11) A congressionally commissioned scientific
study of the Sierra Nevada forests found that more
than any other human activity, commercial logging
has increased the risk and severity of fires by remov-
ing the cooling shade of trees and leaving flammable
debris (see Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project Final
Report to Congress, Vol. 1, Assessment Summaries
and Management Strategies, 1996).
(12) Forest Service studies have confirmed the
finding that logging, including both thinning and
clearcutting, increases fire severity (United States
Forest Service, Historical and Current Forest Land-
scapes in Eastern Oregon and Washington, Part II:
Linking Vegetation Characteristics to Potential Fire
Behavior and Related Smoke Production, PNW–
GTR–355, p. 22 (1995); United States Forest Serv-
ice, Integrated Scientific Assessment for Ecosystem
Management in Interior Columbia Basin, PNW–
GTR–382, p. 61 (1996)).
(13) The Forest Service’s chief fire specialist
has stated that the material that needs to be re-
duced to prevent unnaturally severe forest fires is
underbrush that is less than two or three inches in
diameter, not mature trees (Washington Journal, C–
SPAN, Aug. 10, 2000).
(14) The Forest Service’s own fire research sta-
tion found that the only effective way to protect
homes in the urban/wildland interface from forest
fires is to reduce the flammability of the home itself
and its immediate surroundings within 40 meters,
not engage in logging activities on Federal public
lands (Jack Cohen, Reducing the Wildland Fire
Threat to Homes: where and how much?, United
States Forest Service, Fire Sciences Laboratory,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Mon-
tana, report presented at the Fire Economics, Policy
and Planning: Bottom Line Symposium, April 5–9,
1999, San Diego, California).
(15) It is in the interests of the American peo-
ple to protect watersheds on Federal public lands in
order to prevent potentially damaging and deadly
floods.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON TIMBER SALES TO PROTECT FED-
ERAL PUBLIC LANDS.
(a) PROHIBITION ON NEW TIMBER SALES.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, effective as of the
date of the enactment of this Act, no timber sales shall
be prepared, advertised, offered, or awarded on Federal
public lands and, except as provided in section 5, no com-
mercial logging shall occur on Federal public lands.
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The use of forest materials for
noncommercial use, including personal-use permits under
the personal use component of the forest management pro-
gram of the Forest Service or an equivalent program of
the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Serv-
ice, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to the
extent allowed under existing law, is not prohibited by sub-
section (a), but any such use of forest materials for non-
commercial use must be consistent with section 7, includ-
ing subsection (k) of such section.
(c) NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES.—Nothing contained
in this Act shall be construed to modify, amend, or breach
any treaty in existence on the date of enactment of this
Act with any Native American tribe.
SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PROHIBITION ON EXISTING TIMBER
SALE CONTRACTS.
(a) REMAINING SALVAGE RIDER SALES.—Notwith-
standing any outstanding judicial order or administrative
proceeding interpreting section 2001 of Public Law 104–
19 (109 Stat. 240; 16 U.S.C. 1611 note), the Secretary
of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall im-
mediately suspend each timber sale or activity that was
being undertaken in whole or in part under the authority
provided in such section.
(b) ROADLESS AREAS
AND LATE-SUCCESSIONAL/
OLD GROWTH FORESTS.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall immediately suspend each tim-
ber sale in any roadless area or late-successional/old
growth forest on Federal public lands.
(c) PHASE-OUT PERIOD AUTHORIZED.—There shall
be a 2-year period to phase out those timber sale contracts
in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
The phase-out period shall begin on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. Any remaining timber sales on Federal
public lands shall be automatically suspended upon the ex-
piration of the phase-out period. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no commercial logging shall occur
anywhere on Federal public lands after the end of the
phase-out period.
(d) EARLY TERMINATION.—For all timber sales sus-
pended under subsection (a), subsection (b), and sub-
section (c) of this subsection, the Secretary concerned
shall—
(1) exercise any provision of the original con-
tract that authorizes termination and payment of
specified damages; or
(2) terminate the contract to avoid adverse ef-
fects on the environment or natural resources.
(e) PAYMENT FOR TIMBER SALE CONTRACTS RELIN-
QUISHED.—Any claim, whether as a result of a judgment
or an agreement against the Federal Government, arising
from termination of any timber sale contract under sub-
section (d) of this subsection, may be—
(1) paid from funds made available under sec-
tion 1304 of title 31, United States Code, and shall
not require reimbursement under section 13(c) of
the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C.
612(c));
(2) offset by forgiveness of a Federal Govern-
ment loan or loan guarantee;
(3) paid through funds appropriated for the
purpose; or
(4) paid through the transfer of funds from
Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management ac-
counts for forest management, road construction, or
general administration for such purposes.
(f) DISPUTES.—Any claim by a purchaser against the
Federal Government relating to a contract terminated
under this section shall be subject to the Contract Dis-
putes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) CALCULATION OF TAXPAYER LOSSES FROM LOG-
GING.—The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Interior, shall determine the average
amount of Federal funds appropriated annually from the
General Fund of the Treasury over the five fiscal years
immediately preceding the date of the enactment of this
Act for commercial logging and commercial logging-
related activities on Federal public lands. In making this
determination, the Secretary shall include amounts ex-
pended for the following, using estimates when necessary:
(1) Timber sales management.
(2) Forest-land vegetation management.
(3) Land management planning, inventory, and
monitoring related to commercial logging.
(4) Research related to commercial logging.
(5) The portion of the forest roads and road
maintenance program related to commercial logging.
(6) General administration expenses related to
commercial logging.
(7) Landline location related to commercial log-
ging.
(8) Law enforcement related to commercial log-
ging.
(9) The portion of the forest fire fighting and
prevention program related to commercial logging.
(10) The portion of any other activities related
to commercial logging.
(b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this Act in the fiscal years beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act, but not to exceed for any fiscal
year two-thirds of the amount calculated in subsection (a)
as the taxpayer losses from logging.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than
ten percent of the funds appropriated or allocated to carry
out sections 7 and 8 may be reserved for the administra-
tion of activities authorized under those sections.
SEC. 7. NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION.
(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, agency projects or programs to re-
store biological diversity and ecological processes on Fed-
eral public lands shall be carried out in a manner con-
sistent with this section and shall be integrated into the
program established by this section.
(b) PURPOSES, FINDINGS, AND BASIC MANAGEMENT
REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The purpose of this section is to
protect and restore the natural heritage of the Federal
public lands through the restoration of native biodiversity
and natural ecological complexes and processes. In most
circumstances, natural processes will heal damaged areas
without assistance, but, in many circumstances, where ex-
tensive damage from logging and road-building is evident,
it is necessary to take immediate action to stop soil erosion
and pervasive resource damage. The primary emphasis of
this section is to change circumstances that effectively act
as barriers to natural restoration processes. This section
does not envision the broad application of largely experi-
mental techniques or tactics for which there is no solid
scientific support or concrete evidence of effectiveness.
(2) It is also the purpose of this section to provide
guidance and limitations for the protection and restoration
of native biological diversity. The inherent guiding prin-
ciple or basic approach that managers shall use to imple-
ment the ecological restoration provisions of this section
is to ‘‘do no harm’’ to ecosystems when implementing ac-
tive management projects and programs.
(3) Scientific uncertainty about complex ecosystems
requires a precautionary approach to active management.
Therefore, proposed projects that are intended to restore
ecological processes must have short- and long-term bene-
fits that significantly outweigh any short- or long-term
risks.
(4) In most cases ecosystems are inherently resilient
if left to function without interference from man, but in
some cases action is necessary to stop immediate resource
damage. Therefore, ecological restoration projects shall
emphasize the removal of barriers that prevent ecosystems
from restoring themselves. Some examples of such barriers
are roads, erosion, landslides, nonnative invasive species,
fire suppression, certain types of hazardous fuels, dams
or man-made barriers in streams, and other significant
man-made damage and developments that interfere with
natural ecological processes.
(5) In other cases ecosystems require the reintroduc-
tion of native species that once contributed to natural eco-
logical processes. Therefore, each ecological restoration
project shall include an evaluation of which native species
may be missing from the ecosystem and shall ensure the
presence of adequate habitat and forage or prey for the
native species, to be followed by a scheduled reintroduction
of the native species in coordination with State natural
heritage and wildlife agencies and the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service.
(c) NATURAL HERITAGE RESTORATION CORPS.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In-
terior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each es-
tablish a special unit (to be known as the ‘‘Natural
Heritage Restoration Corps’’) for the purposes of—
(A) conducting ecological restoration of na-
tive biodiversity in areas of Federal public lands
where the integrity of natural ecosystems has
been degraded;
(B) assisting in the monitoring of forest
resources, including effectiveness monitoring of
ecological restoration projects; and
(C) in cooperation with each agency’s law
enforcement programs, monitoring and pro-
tecting public resources from various illegal ac-
tivities, including timber theft and poaching.
(2) USE OF PERSONNEL FROM EXISTING PRO-
GRAMS.—The Natural Heritage Restoration Corps
may be created using personnel in existing programs
in the agencies.
(3) OTHER PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT.—In
addition to the personnel selected under paragraph
(2), the Natural Heritage Restoration Corps may
hire other personnel, which may include private con-
tractors, and purchase or lease the necessary equip-
ment to implement the Natural Heritage Restoration
Plans to achieve the goals and objectives as set forth
by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of
the Interior under this section. There shall be a hir-
ing preference for dislocated workers who have been
terminated or laid off, or have received a notice of
termination or lay off, as a consequence of the en-
actment of this Act.
(4) TRAINING.—Personnel of the Natural Her-
itage Restoration Corps shall be properly trained so
that they are able to carry out the activities specified
in paragraph (1) consistent with this section.
(d) NATURAL
HERITAGE
RESTORATION
PLAN-
NING.—
(1) NATIONAL
FOREST
SYSTEM
LANDS.—For
lands in the National Forest System, the Secretary
of Agriculture shall develop Natural Heritage Res-
toration Plans at the regional level to carry out an
ecological restoration program in each region con-
sistent with this section and incorporating the stand-
ards, guidelines, and procedures developed in sub-
section (e). Such Plans shall be completed no later
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this
Act and shall be revised at least every 10 years.
(2) BLM, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, AND
NATIONAL PARK LANDS.—For lands under the juris-
diction of the Bureau of Land Management, and, as
necessary for National Wildlife Refuges and units of
the National Park System, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall develop Natural Heritage Restoration
Plans at the regional level to carry out an ecological
restoration program in each region consistent with
this section and incorporating the standards, guide-
lines, and procedures developed in subsection (e).
Such Plans shall be completed no later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this Act and
shall be revised at least every 10 years.
(3) MONITORING.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall include in
the Natural Heritage Restoration Plans—
(A) monitoring provisions to ensure the ef-
fectiveness 
of 
each 
ecological 
restoration
project; and
(B) provisions to gauge each Plan’s
progress in achieving any restoration goals and
objectives that are developed in accordance with
subsection (g).
(4) FOLLOW-UP
EVALUATIONS
AND
CORREC-
TIONS.—The Secretary of Interior and the Secretary
of Agriculture shall provide for appropriate follow-up
evaluations and actions to ensure the long-term suc-
cess of ecological restoration projects. The failure of
any restoration project shall be evaluated and re-
ported to the appropriate Secretary, who shall take
prompt action to provide new solutions to correct the
failed restoration projects.
(e) DEVELOPING STANDARDS, GUIDELINES, AND
PROCEDURES FOR RESTORATION.—
(1) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARIES.—
(A) The Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of
the Interior shall develop regional standards, guide-
lines, and procedures for restoration, consistent with
this section, as soon as practicable after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and shall incorporate
these regional standards, guidelines, and procedures,
as well as regional Natural Heritage Restoration
Plans, into land management plans for each unit of
Federal public lands in accordance with existing
land management planning regulations, by no later
than two years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(B) The Secretaries shall report to the Con-
gress on the progress of implementing this section in
the annual report required by section 8(c) of the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan-
ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1606(c)) and section
311 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1741).
(2) COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS.—(A) In car-
rying out the purposes of this subsection, the Sec-
retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, shall appoint a committee of
scientists, for each of the various administrative re-
gions in the United States who are not officers or
employees of the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, or the timber industry, and who are
not contractors for the timber industry.
(B) The committee shall provide scientific and
technical advice and counsel on the proposed stand-
ards, guidelines, and procedures of this subsection to
assure that an effective interdisciplinary approach is
proposed and adopted for the development of Nat-
ural Heritage Restoration Plans in each region.
(C) The committee shall terminate upon pro-
mulgation of the standards, guidelines, and proce-
dures, but the Secretary shall appoint similar com-
mittees, at least every 10 years, to consider revisions
of regional standards, guidelines, and procedures
based on new scientific information and the knowl-
edge gained from implementing ecological restora-
tion projects. Standards, guidelines, and procedures
for developing Natural Heritage Restoration Plans
or their revisions for each region shall be completed
no later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act or the initiation of the revision
process. The views of the committees shall be in-
cluded in the public information supplied when the
standards and guidelines are proposed for adoption.
(3) CLERICAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
Clerical and technical assistance, as may be nec-
essary to discharge the duties of the committee of
scientists established under paragraph (2), shall be
provided from the personnel of the Department of
Agriculture or the Department of Interior, as appro-
priate.
(4) COMPENSATION.—While attending meetings
of the committee, the members shall be entitled to
receive compensation at a rate of $200 per diem, in-
cluding travel time, and while away from their
homes or regular places of business they may be al-
lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,
United States Code, for persons in the Government
service employed intermittently.
(5) REGIONAL BOUNDARIES.—The Secretary of
the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture, shall determine each region’s bound-
aries for which the standards, guidelines, and proce-
dures are to be developed under this subsection.
(f) INTERIM NEEDS FOR RESTORATION.—During the
interim period while regional standards, guidelines, and
procedures, as well as regional Natural Heritage Restora-
tion Plans, are being developed and incorporated into land
management plans, the Secretary of Agriculture and Sec-
retary of the Interior shall identify interim needs for eco-
logical restoration and shall take prompt action to begin
this restoration work with available personnel. Interim
needs for restoration under this section shall be limited
to the following:
(1) Prescribed or managed fire or manual pre-
treatments to reduce severe fire incidence and haz-
ardous fuels pursuant to subsection (j).
(2) Stabilization of slopes and soils so as to
prevent or reduce further erosion and land sliding.
(3) Decommissioning and obliteration of roads.
(4) Removal of nonnative invasive species.
(5) Removal of manmade developments that
interfere with natural ecological processes.
(g) RESTORATION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.—Within
two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior
shall develop specific restoration goals and objectives for
each unit of Federal public lands, and shall, within the
same time period, develop a specific schedule to accom-
plish those goals and objectives with any funds made avail-
able to the Secretaries, including those funds authorized
to be appropriated in section 6.
(h) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION.—Any program or
project provided in this section shall be carried out in com-
pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regu-
lations, and any other public involvement processes pro-
vided by law, regulation, or agency policy.
(i) PROHIBITIONS.—Road construction or re-con-
struction shall be prohibited when conducting projects or
programs provided by this section. This prohibition in-
cludes any projects to reduce the incidence of severe fire
and hazardous fuels pursuant to subsection (j).
(j) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR REDUCING THE INCI-
DENCE OF SEVERE FIRE AND HAZARDOUS FUELS.—
(1) PRESCRIBED OR MANAGED FIRES.—The use
of prescribed or managed fires—
(A) shall be the primary tool for reducing
severe fire incidence and hazardous fuels;
(B) shall only be prescribed in areas that
have been scientifically identified as fire-adapt-
ed ecosystems;
(C) shall be carried out in a manner de-
signed to maintain habitat quality for any pro-
posed, threatened, endangered, or sensitive spe-
cies, or their prey; and
(D) shall be carried out during a time of
year and with a frequency that is most eco-
logically appropriate, while also minimizing ad-
verse effects on air quality.
(2) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING MANUAL PRE-
TREATMENTS.—Manual pre-treatments to reduce se-
vere fire incidence and hazardous fuels—
(A) shall include use of prescribed or man-
aged fire, where appropriate, as the primary
treatment of the project in accordance with
paragraph (1);
(B) may only be implemented in areas
which have a moderate to high risk of severe
fire incidence;
(C) shall be prioritized for urban-wildland
interface areas;
(D) shall not reduce the overstory canopy
component of the pre-treatment area;
(E) shall maintain habitat quality for any
proposed, threatened, endangered, or sensitive
species, or their prey;
(F) may remove hazardous fuels to mini-
mize occurrences of prescribed fires reaching
the forest canopy; and
(G) shall only be prescribed in areas that
have been scientifically identified as fire-adapt-
ed ecosystems.
(3) APPLICATION TO OTHER PROJECTS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, any treat-
ments or manual pre-treatments to reduce severe
fire incidence and hazardous fuels as part of any
agency projects or programs to reduce the incidence
of severe fire and hazardous fuels on Federal public
lands shall be performed in a manner consistent
with this subsection, this section, and section 4.
(k) USES OF FOREST MATERIALS THAT RESULT
FROM ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OR PRE-TREATMENTS
TO REDUCE SEVERE FIRE INCIDENCE AND HAZARDOUS
FUELS.—A hierarchy of use of forest materials that result
from manual pre-treatments in fire-adapted ecosystems or
ecological restoration (such as saplings, bushes, fine sur-
face fuels, and materials from plantations that are being
restored back to native forests) is established in the fol-
lowing order:
(1) Forest materials shall be—
(A) left as biomass on the forest floor,
lopped, scattered, masticated, or piled and
burned (or a combination of such treatments),
as appropriate; or
(B) left as species habitat in the form of
downed woody debris in the project area.
(2) If removal of forest material is necessary
for ecological restoration or because the area is pre-
treated in accordance with subsection (j), that mate-
rial shall be used for recreation or maintenance
projects in the same unit of Federal public land,
such as trails, bridges or facilities, or for restoration
projects such as woody debris in streams, woody de-
bris to provide species habitat, or for biomass to
build soil in other areas of the same unit of Federal
public land.
(3) Any excess material not used as described
in paragraph (2) may only be used for public pur-
poses, and not for private or public commercial gain.
This material may be provided for personal non-
commercial uses, such as firewood or other subsist-
ence uses, or for other public noncommercial pur-
poses. Other public purposes may include, but are
not limited to, the processing of these forest mate-
rials for uses such as fuel for low-income households,
or, in limited circumstances, timber for low-income
housing provided by a not for profit venture reg-
istered by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
(l) RELATION TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Any ac-
tivities undertaken pursuant to subsection (k) or the rest
of this section must be undertaken in strict compliance
with section 4.
SEC. 8. WORKER RETRAINING.
(a) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—For the pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means
an individual who—
(1) is a dislocated worker, as that term is de-
fined in section 101 of the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–220; 112 Stat. 939;
29 U.S.C. 2801); and
(2) has been terminated or laid off, or has re-
ceived a notice of termination or lay off, as a con-
sequence of the enactment of this Act, or as a con-
sequence of management decisions on Federal public
lands prior to the enactment of this Act.
(b) DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.—The deter-
mination of whether an individual is an eligible individual
shall be made by the Secretary of Labor, pursuant to cri-
teria established by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation
with the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior.
(c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Labor
may make grants to States, employers, employer associa-
tions, and representatives of employees—
(1) to provide training, adjustment assistance,
and employment services to eligible individuals; and
(2) to make needs-related payments to eligible
individuals in accordance with subsection (h).
(d) PRIORITY AND APPROVAL.—
(1) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications for
grants under subsection (c), the Secretary of Labor
shall give priority to applications proposing to pro-
vide training, adjustment assistance, and services in
areas which have the greatest number or percentage
of eligible individuals.
(2) NEEDS-RELATED PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—
The Secretary of Labor shall not approve an appli-
cation for a grant under subsection (c) unless the
application contains assurances that the applicant
will use grant funds to provide needs-related pay-
ments in accordance with subsection (h).
(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to the requirements of
subsections (f), (g), and (h), grants under subsection (c)
may be used for any purpose for which funds may be used
under section 134 of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (Public Law 105–220; 112 Stat. 990; 29 U.S.C.
2864).
(f) JOB SEARCH ALLOWANCE.—
(1) ALLOWANCE AUTHORIZED.—Grants under
subsection (c) for adjustment assistance may be
used to provide job search allowances to eligible indi-
viduals. Such allowance, if granted, shall provide re-
imbursement to the individual of not more than 90
percent of the cost of necessary job search expenses,
as prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of
Labor, but may not exceed $1,200 unless the need
for a greater amount is justified in the application
and approved by the Secretary of Labor.
(2) CRITERIA FOR GRANTING JOB SEARCH AL-
LOWANCES.—A job search allowance may be granted
only—
(A) to assist an eligible individual who has
been totally separated in securing a job within
the United States; and
(B) where the Secretary of Labor deter-
mines that such employee cannot reasonably be
expected to secure suitable employment in the
commuting area in which the worker resides.
(g) RELOCATION ALLOWANCE.—
(1) ALLOWANCE AUTHORIZED.—Grants under
subsection (c) for adjustment assistance may be
used to provide relocation allowances to eligible indi-
viduals. Such an allowance may only be granted to
assist an eligible individual in relocating within the
United States and only if the Secretary of Labor de-
termines that such employee—
(A) cannot reasonably be expected to se-
cure suitable employment in the commuting
area in which the employee resides;
(B) has obtained suitable employment af-
fording a reasonable expectation of long-term
duration in the area in which the employee
wishes to relocate, or has obtained a bona fide
offer of such employment; and
(C) is totally separated from employment
at the time relocation commences.
(2) AMOUNT
OF
RELOCATION
ALLOWANCE.—
The amount of any relocation allowance for any eli-
gible individual may not exceed the amount which is
equal to the sum of—
(A) 90 percent of the reasonable and nec-
essary expenses, specified in regulations pre-
scribed by the Secretary, incurred in trans-
porting an individual and the individual’s fam-
ily, if any, and household effects; and
(B) a lump sum equivalent to 3 times the
employee’s average weekly wage, up to a max-
imum payment of $1,200, unless the need for
a greater amount is justified in the application
and approved by the Secretary of Labor.
(h) NEEDS-RELATED PAYMENTS.—The Secretary of
Labor shall prescribe regulations with respect to the use
of funds from grants under subsection (c) for needs-re-
lated payments in order to enable eligible individuals to
complete training or education programs under this sec-
tion. Such regulations shall—
(1) require that such payments shall be pro-
vided to an eligible individual only if such
individual—
(A) does not qualify or has ceased to qual-
ify for unemployment compensation;
(B) has been enrolled in training by the
end of the 13th week of the individual’s initial
unemployment compensation benefit period, or,
if later, the end of the 8th week after an indi-
vidual is informed that a short-term layoff will
in fact exceed six months; and
(C) is participating in training or edu-
cation programs under this section, except that
such regulations shall protect an individual
from being disqualified pursuant to this clause
for a failure to participate that is not the fault
of the individual;
(2) provide that to qualify for such payments
the individual currently receives, or is a member of
a family which currently receives, a total family in-
come (exclusive of unemployment compensation,
child support payments, and welfare payments)
which, in relation to family size, is not in excess of
the lower living standard income level;
(3) provide that the levels of such payments
shall be equal to the higher of—
(A) the applicable level of unemployment
compensation; or
(B) the poverty level determined in accord-
ance with criteria established by the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget;
(4) provide for the adjustment of payments to
reflect changes in total family income; and
(5) provide that the grantee shall obtain infor-
mation with respect to such income, and changes
therein, from the eligible individual.
(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall
prescribe regulations to carry out this section not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 9. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.
(a) AVAILABILITY
OF CERTAIN ACCOUNTS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, from the date of
the enactment of this Act through the duration of the two-
year phase-out period provided in section 5 plus two years
thereafter, all funds in each of the following Forest Service
and Bureau of Land Management accounts, including any
funds deposited into these accounts during the two-year
phase-out period, shall be used only to carry out this Act:
(1) Timber salvage funds (including the Salvage
Sale Fund established under section 14(h) of the
National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16
U.S.C. 472a(h))).
(2) The fund established under section 3 of the
Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the
Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b).
(3) The fund containing moneys associated with
the Purchaser-Elect Roads Program under section 6
of Public Law 88–657 (commonly known as the For-
est Roads And Trails Act; 16 U.S.C. 537).
(b) ALLOCATION OF TIMBER SALES REVENUES DUR-
ING PHASE-OUT PERIOD.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, from the date of the enactment of this
Act through the duration of the two-year phase-out period,
all timber sale revenues from Federal public lands shall
be deposited in the fund established under section 3 of
the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the
Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b).
(c) ABOLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the funds referred to in sub-
section (a) shall be used to carry out this section until
no funds remain in such accounts, after which these ac-
counts shall be abolished.
(d) WORKER RETRAINING.—Monies shall be distrib-
uted from the funds referred to in subsection (a) to carry
out section 8. Such distributions shall be made in amounts
up to $80,000,000 in the first year of the phase-out pe-
riod, and $80,000,000 and $120,000,000, respectively, in
the subsequent two years.
(e) NATURAL
HERITAGE
RESTORATION
PLAN-
NING.—From the funds referred to in subsection (a), up
to a sum of $100,000,000 shall be made available to the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture
to carry out subsections (d) and (e) of section 7 until such
time as the Natural Heritage Restoration Plans required
by subsection (d) of such section have been incorporated
into the management plans for each unit of Federal public
lands.
(f) ALTERNATIVES TO WOOD.—From the funds re-
ferred to in subsection (a), at least $1,000,000 and up
to $3,000,000 shall be distributed to the Environmental
Protection Agency to fund an investigation into wood-free
alternative products for paper and construction. Within
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
shall make recommendations for grants to entities involved
in the development and production of the most environ-
mentally sound nonwood alternatives for paper and con-
struction products, including entities involved in using ag-
ricultural residues to produce paper. Up to $100,000,000
from the funds referred to in subsection (a) shall be made
available to the Environmental Protection Agency for such
grants, which shall be made within three years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE TO RE-
DUCE STRUCTURE FLAMMABILITY IN URBAN-WILDLAND
INTERFACE AREAS.—From the funds referred to in sub-
section (a), up to $15,000,000 shall be used annually to
educate owners of structures on non-Federal land adjacent
to Federal public lands about ways in which these struc-
tures can be protected from forest fires by reducing the
flammability of a structure and the area within 40 meters
of a structure. Both technical support and financial assist-
ance, in coordination or collaboration with existing State
and local programs, to the extent possible, shall be pro-
vided where, and to the extent, appropriate.
(h) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.—Any funds
remaining in the accounts referred to in subsection (a) in
the fourth year after the date of the enactment of this
Act shall be deposited into the general fund of the United
States Treasury.
SEC. 10. CONTINUATION OF PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND
COUNTIES CONTAINING FEDERAL PUBLIC
LANDS UNDER PUBLIC LAW 106–393.
(a) CONTINUATION OF PAYMENTS AFTER FISCAL
YEAR 2006.—The Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–393; 16
U.S.C. 500 note) is amended—
(1) in section 101(a), by striking ‘‘years 2001
through 2006,’’ both places it appears and inserting
‘‘year 2001 and thereafter,’’;
(2) in section 102(b)(2), by striking ‘‘through
fiscal year 2006’’; and
(3) in section 103(b)(1), by striking ‘‘through
fiscal year 2006’’.
(b) TERMINATION OF REQUIREMENT TO RESERVE
FUNDS FOR FOREST PROJECTS.—(1) Section 102(d) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF ALLOCATION AND ELEC-
TION
REQUIREMENTS.—This subsection shall not
apply in the case of payments made under sub-
section (a) for fiscal year 2007 and thereafter.’’.
(2) Section 103(c) of such Act is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF ALLOCATION AND ELEC-
TION
REQUIREMENTS.—This subsection shall not
apply in the case of payments made under sub-
section (a) for fiscal year 2007 and thereafter. The
entire payment amount shall be expended as re-
quired by the laws referred to in subsection (a)(1).’’.
SEC. 11. ENFORCEMENT BY CITIZENS.
(a) PURPOSE AND FINDING.—The purpose of this
section is to foster the widest possible enforcement of this
Act. Congress finds that all people of the United States
are injured by any action that violates the provisions of
this Act on all lands to which this Act applies.
(b) CITIZEN SUITS AUTHORIZED.—Any person may
commence a civil action against any person, including the
United States, who is alleged to be in violation of this Act.
The action shall be brought in the district court for the
district in which the alleged violation occurred or the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
When the United States is a defendant, venue may also
be in the district court for the district in which the office
of any officer or employee of the United States who is
alleged to be involved in the violation is located. The dis-
trict court shall have jurisdiction without regard to the
amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties.
(c) RELIEF.—If the court determines that a violation
of this Act has occurred, the court may issue an injunction
and provide other appropriate equitable relief as the court
considers necessary. If the plaintiff is the prevailing or
substantially prevailing party, the court may award to the
plaintiff reasonable costs of the litigation, including attor-
ney fees, witness fees, and other necessary expenses. When
the United States is a defendant, any award of costs of
litigation against the United States shall be paid by the
United States within 40 days after judgment.
(d) STANDARD OF PROOF.—The standard of proof
in all actions brought under this section shall be the pre-
ponderance of the evidence and the trial shall be de novo.
(e) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—The United
States, including its agencies, agents, and employees,
waives its sovereign immunity in all respects in all actions
under this section. No notice is required to enforce this
section.
Æ