103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2866
AN ACT
To provide for the sound management and protection of
Redwood forest areas in Humboldt County, California,
by adding certain lands and waters to the Six Rivers
National Forest and by including a portion of such lands
in the national wilderness preservation system.
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 ‘‘Headwaters Forest
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:
(1) Redwoods are a significant national symbol
and a defining symbol of the State of California.
(2) Old growth redwood trees are a unique and
irreplaceable natural resource.
(3) Most of the Nation’s old growth forests
have been cut. Less than 5 percent of the original
2,000,000 acre Coast redwoods remain standing.
The groves that are left are crucial to maintain habi-
tat needed for survival of old-growth dependent spe-
cies. The Headwaters Forest, for example, is home
to one of California’s three largest population of
marbled murrelets, rare sea birds that nest only in
coastal old growth trees; the Northern Spotted Owl;
and native salmon stocks that spawn in the Forest’s
creeks.
(4) The remaining unprotected stands of old
growth forests and old growth redwoods are under
immediate threat of being harvested without regard
to their ecological importance and without following
Federal timber harvest guidelines.
(5) Significant amounts of old growth redwoods
in the proposed National Forest additions are being
cut at a pace that is based on paying high interest
rates on poor quality bonds and not at a pace that
is based on sound forest management practices.
(6) The continued fragmentation and loss of ir-
replaceable ecosystems creates an urgent need to de-
velop creative solutions to achieve the long-term ben-
efits of permanent protection and preservation.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide
for the sound management and protection of old growth
Redwood forest areas in Humboldt County, California,
and to preserve and enhance habitat for the marbled
murrelet, Northern Spotted owl, native salmon stocks, and
other old growth forest dependent species, by adding cer-
tain lands and waters to the Six Rivers National Forest
and by including a portion of such lands in the national
wilderness preservation system.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:
(1) The terms ‘‘Six Rivers National Forest Ad-
dition’’ and ‘‘Headwaters Forest’’ mean the area au-
thorized for land acquisition activities under section
3, as depicted on the map described in section
3(b)(1).
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
SEC. 3. ADDITION TO SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST.
(a) MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES.—Effective upon
the consummation of a land acquisition conducted as pro-
vided in subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall
modify the exterior boundaries of the Six Rivers National
Forest in the State of California to include the acquired
lands.
(b) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—
(1) AREA FOR ACQUISITION ACTIVITIES.—The
Secretary may acquire lands and interests in land
within the boundaries of an area comprising approxi-
mately 44,000 acres, as generally depicted on the
map entitled ‘‘Six Rivers National Forest Addition
proposed’’ and dated June 1993, for inclusion in the
Six Rivers National Forest under subsection (a).
The map shall be on file and available for public in-
spection in the offices of the Forest Supervisor, Six
Rivers National Forest, and in the offices of the
Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agri-
culture.
(2) MANNER OF CONDUCTING ACQUISITION.—
Lands and interests in lands within the Six Rivers
National Forest Addition may be acquired by the
Secretary only by donation, by purchase with do-
nated or appropriated funds, or by exchange.
(3) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
FEDERAL
TRANS-
FERS.—For purposes of making an exchange under
paragraph (2), excess or surplus lands under the ju-
risdiction of any other department, agency, or in-
strumentality of the United States may be trans-
ferred, subject to the advance approval of the trans-
fer by law, to the administrative jurisdiction of the
Secretary if the Secretary identifies the lands as
suitable for use in making an exchange. To facilitate
the approval of a transfer of lands under this para-
graph, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives and to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
of the Senate proposed legislation in connection with
the proposed transfer. The transfer of lands under
this paragraph shall be made without compensation
to the transferring department, agency, or instru-
mentality.
(4) ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN LANDS OUTSIDE
ADDITION.—When a tract of land proposed to be ac-
quired is only partly within the Six Rivers National
Forest Addition, the Secretary may acquire all or
any portion of the land outside of the Six Rivers Na-
tional Forest Addition to minimize the payment of
(c) LAND ACQUISITION PLAN.—The Secretary shall
develop and implement, within 6 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, a land acquisition plan that
contains specific provisions addressing how and when
lands will be acquired under subsection (b). The plan shall
give priority first to the acquisition of lands within the
Six Rivers National Forest Addition proposed for inclusion
in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The plan
shall include an analysis of the possibilities for acquisition
through means other than the expenditure of funds, in-
cluding the use of excess and surplus Federal properties.
The Secretary shall identify and list these properties. The
Secretary shall submit copies of the plan to the Committee
on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; LIMITA-
TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act; except
that the total amount obligated or expended to acquire
lands or interests in lands in the Six Rivers Forest Addi-
tion shall not exceed $200,000,000.
(e) TERMINATION OF ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
Secretary may not acquire lands under the authority of
this section after the end of the 10-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f) CONSENT OF OWNER REQUIRED FOR ACQUISI-
TION.—Lands and interests in lands within the Six Rivers
National Forest Addition may not be acquired by the Sec-
retary for purposes of this Act without the consent of the
owner of the lands. The Secretary may not acquire lands
or interests in lands within the Six Rivers National Forest
Addition by condemnation.
SEC. 4. WILDERNESS AREAS.
(a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131–1136), lands in the
State of California acquired under section 3 of this Act
which are within the areas generally depicted on the map
referred to in section 3 as the ‘‘Headwaters Forest Wilder-
ness (Proposed)’’ shall be designated as wilderness and
therefore as a component of the National Wilderness Pres-
ervation System, effective upon acquisition under section
3. Such lands shall be known as the Headwaters Forest
Wilderness.
(b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.—As soon as practicable
after the inclusion of any lands in the Headwaters Forest
Wilderness, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal de-
scription of the area so included with the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and
with the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate. The Secretary may correct clerical and typo-
graphical errors in such legal description and such map.
Each such map and legal description shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the offices of the Forest
Supervisor, Six Rivers National Forest, and in the offices
of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agri-
culture.
(c) BUFFER ZONES NOT INTENDED.—The Congress
does not intend that designation of any area as wilderness
under this section lead to the creation of protective perim-
eters or buffer zones around the wilderness area. The fact
that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard
from areas within a wilderness shall not, of itself, preclude
such activities or uses up to the boundary of the wilder-
ness area.
(d) STATE AUTHORITY OVER FISH
AND WILD-
LIFE.—As provided in section 4(d)(8) of the Wilderness
Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting
the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Califor-
nia with respect to wildlife and fish in any areas des-
ignated by this Act as wilderness.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within 1 year after ac-
quiring all or part of the lands identified to be acquired
in section 3, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive
management plan for the acquired lands detailing meas-
ures for the preservation of the existing old growth red-
wood ecosystems. The management plan shall include each
of the following with respect to the lands so acquired:
(1) Prohibition of the sale of timber from lands
within the old growth redwood groves as depicted
generally on the map referred to in section 3(b)(1).
Timber sales in other areas within the Six Rivers
National Forest Addition shall be allowed consistent
with the purposes of this Act and other applicable
Federal laws and regulations.
(2) Measures to restore lands affected by pre-
vious timber harvests to mitigate watershed degrada-
tion and impairment of habitat for the marbled
murrelet, northern spotted owl, native salmon
stocks, and other old-growth forest dependent spe-
cies.
The management plan shall be reviewed and revised each
time the land and resource management plan for the Six
Rivers National Forest is revised or more frequently as
necessary to meet the purposes of this Act.
(b) APPLICABLE LAWS AND POLICIES.—(1) The Sec-
retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service,
shall administer the lands acquired under section 3(b) in
accordance with the Management Plan, this Act, and with
the other laws, rules, and regulations applicable to such
national forest. In addition, subject to valid existing
rights, any lands acquired and designated as wilderness
under section 4(a) shall also be administered in accord-
ance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act governing
areas designated by that Act as wilderness, except that
any reference in such provisions to the effective date of
the Wilderness Act (or any similar reference) shall be
deemed to be a reference to the date of acquisition of such
lands under section 3 of this Act.
(2) To the maximum extent practicable, all work to
implement the management plan’s Restoration Measures
shall be performed by unemployed forest and timber work-
ers, unemployed commercial fishermen, or other unem-
ployed persons whose livelihood depends on fishery and
timber resources.
(3) In order to facilitate management, the Secretary,
acting through the Chief of the Forest Service may enter
into agreements with the State of California for the man-
agement of lands owned by the State or purchased with
State assistance.
SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
(a) PILT.—Solely for purposes of payments made
pursuant to chapter 69 of title 31 of the United States
Code, all lands added to the Six Rivers National Forest
by this Act shall be deemed to have been acquired for the
purposes specified in section 6904(a) of such title 31.
(b) 10-YEAR PAYMENT.—(1) Subject to annual ap-
propriations and the provisions of subsection (c), for a pe-
riod of 10 years after acquisition by the United States of
lands added to the Six Rivers National Forest by this Act,
the Secretary, with respect to such acquired lands, shall
make annual payments to Humboldt County in the State
of California in an amount equal to the State of California
Timber Yield Tax revenues payable under the California
Revenue and Taxation Code (sec. 38101 et seq.) in effect
as of the date of enactment of this Act that would have
been paid with respect to such lands if the lands had not
been acquired by the United States, as determined by the
Secretary pursuant to this subsection.
(2) The Secretary shall determine the amounts to be
paid pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection based
on an assessment of a variety of factors including, but not
limited to—
(A) timber actually sold in the subject year
from comparable commercial forest lands of similar