I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5312
To amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974 and related laws to strengthen the protection of native biodiver-
sity and ban clearcutting on Federal land, and to designate certain 
Federal land as Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection 
areas, and special areas where logging and other intrusive activities 
are prohibited. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 8, 2004
Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. 
BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. CORRINE 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. 
CARDIN, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. 
CLYBURN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COOPER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 
FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. 
GONZALEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, 
Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 
JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. 
EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. 
KLECZKA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, 
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. 
LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. MCCARTHY of 
New York, Ms. MCCARTHY
of Missouri, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, 
Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 
California, Mr. MOORE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OLVER, 
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, 
Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SERRANO, 
Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, 
Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. 
TOWNS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 
WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 and related laws to strengthen 
the protection of native biodiversity and ban clearcutting 
on Federal land, and to designate certain Federal land 
as Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection 
areas, and special areas where logging and other intru-
sive activities are prohibited.
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 
‘‘Act to Save America’s Forests’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 
TITLE I—LAND MANAGEMENT 
Sec. 101. Committee of scientists. 
Sec. 102. Continuous forest inventory. 
Sec. 103. Administration and management. 
Sec. 104. Conforming amendments. 
TITLE II—PROTECTION FOR ANCIENT FORESTS, ROADLESS 
AREAS, WATERSHED PROTECTION AREAS, AND SPECIAL AREAS 
Sec. 201. Findings. 
Sec. 202. Definitions. 
Sec. 203. Designation of special areas. 
Sec. 204. Restrictions on management activities in Ancient forests, roadless 
areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas.
TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 301. Effective date. 
Sec. 302. Effect on existing contracts. 
Sec. 303. Wilderness act exclusion.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) Federal agencies that permit clearcutting 
and other forms of even-age logging operations in-
clude the Forest Service, the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment; 
(2) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations cause substantial alterations in 
native biodiversity by—
(A) emphasizing the production of a lim-
ited number of commercial species, and often 
only a single species, of trees on each site; 
(B) manipulating the vegetation toward 
greater relative density of the commercial spe-
cies; 
(C) suppressing competing species; and 
(D) requiring the planting, on numerous 
sites, of a commercial strain of the species that 
reduces the relative diversity of other genetic 
strains of the species that were traditionally lo-
cated on the same sites;
(3) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations—
(A) frequently lead to the death of immo-
bile species and the very young of mobile spe-
cies of wildlife; and 
(B) deplete the habitat of deep-forest spe-
cies of animals, including endangered species 
and threatened species; 
(4)(A) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations—
(i) expose the soil to direct sunlight and 
the impact of precipitation; 
(ii) disrupt the soil surface; 
(iii) compact organic layers; and 
(iv) disrupt the run-off restraining capa-
bilities of roots and low-lying vegetation, result-
ing in soil erosion, the leaching of nutrients, a 
reduction in the biological content of soil, and 
the impoverishment of soil; and 
(B) all of the consequences described in sub-
paragraph (A) have a long-range deleterious effect 
on all land resources, including timber production; 
(5) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations aggravate global climate change 
by—
(A) decreasing the capability of the soil to 
retain carbon; and 
(B) during the critical periods of felling 
and site preparation, reducing the capacity of 
the biomass to process and to store carbon, 
with a resultant loss of stored carbon to the at-
mosphere; 
(6) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations render soil increasingly sensitive 
to acid deposits by causing a decline of soil wood 
and coarse woody debris; 
(7) a decline of solid wood and coarse woody 
debris reduces the capacity of soil to retain water 
and nutrients, which in turn increases soil heat and 
impairs soil’s ability to maintain protective carbon 
compounds on the soil surface; 
(8) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations result in—
(A) increased stream sedimentation and 
the silting of stream bottoms; 
(B) a decline in water quality; 
(C) the impairment of life cycles and 
spawning processes of aquatic life from benthic 
organisms to large fish; and
(D) as a result of the effects described in 
subparagraphs (A) through (C), a depletion of 
the sport and commercial fisheries of the 
United States; 
(9) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
management of Federal forests disrupt natural dis-
turbance regimes that are critical to ecosystem func-
tion; 
(10) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations increase harmful edge effects, in-
cluding—
(A) blowdowns; 
(B) invasions by weed species; and 
(C) heavier losses to predators and com-
petitors; 
(11) by reducing the number of deep, canopied, 
variegated, permanent forests, clearcutting and other 
forms of even-age logging operations—
(A) limit areas where the public can satisfy 
an expanding need for recreation; and 
(B) decrease the recreational value of land; 
(12) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations replace forests described in para-
graph (11) with a surplus of clearings that grow into
relatively impenetrable thickets of saplings, and then 
into monoculture tree plantations; 
(13) because of the harmful and, in many 
cases, irreversible, damage to forest species and for-
est ecosystems caused by logging of Ancient and 
roadless forests, clearcutting, and other forms of 
even-age management, it is important that these 
practices be halted based on the precautionary prin-
ciple; 
(14) human beings depend on native biological 
resources, including plants, animals, and micro-orga-
nisms—
(A) for food, medicine, shelter, and other 
important products; and 
(B) as a source of intellectual and sci-
entific knowledge, recreation, and aesthetic 
pleasure; 
(15) alteration of native biodiversity has serious 
consequences for human welfare, as the United 
States irretrievably loses resources for research and 
agricultural, medicinal, and industrial development; 
(16) alteration of biodiversity in Federal forests 
adversely affects the functions of ecosystems and 
critical ecosystem processes that—
(A) moderate climate;
(B) govern nutrient cycles and soil con-
servation and production; 
(C) control pests and diseases; and 
(D) degrade wastes and pollutants; 
(17)(A) clearcutting and other forms of even-
age management operations have significant delete-
rious effects on native biodiversity, by reducing habi-
tat and food for cavity-nesting birds and insectivores 
such as the 3-toed woodpecker and hairy woodpecker 
and for neotropical migratory bird species; and 
(B) the reduction in habitat and food supply 
could disrupt the lines of dependency among species 
and their food resources and thereby jeopardize crit-
ical ecosystem function, including limiting outbreaks 
of destructive insect populations; for example—
(i) the 3-toed woodpecker requires clumped 
snags in spruce-fir forests, and 99 percent of its 
winter diet is composed of insects, primarily 
spruce beetles; and 
(ii) a 3-toed woodpecker can consume as 
much as 26 percent of the brood of an endemic 
population of spruce bark beetle and reduce 
brood survival of the population by 70 to 79 
percent;
(18) the harm of clearcutting and other forms 
of even-age logging operations on the natural re-
sources of the United States and the quality of life 
of the people of the United States is substantial, se-
vere, and avoidable; 
(19) by substituting selection management, as 
required by this Act, for clearcutting and other 
forms of even-age logging operations, the Federal 
agencies involved with those logging operations 
would substantially reduce devastation to the envi-
ronment and improve the quality of life of the people 
of the United States; 
(20) selection management—
(A) retains natural forest structure and 
function; 
(B) focuses on long-term rather than 
short-term management; 
(C) works with, rather than against, the 
checks and balances inherent in natural proc-
esses; and 
(D) permits the normal, natural processes 
in a forest to allow the forest to go through the 
natural stages of succession to develop a forest 
with old growth ecological functions;
(21) by protecting native biodiversity, as re-
quired by this Act, Federal agencies would maintain 
vital native ecosystems and improve the quality of 
life of the people of the United States; 
(22) selection logging—
(A) is more job intensive, and therefore 
provides more employment than clearcutting 
and other forms of even-age logging operations 
to manage the same quantity of timber produc-
tion; and 
(B) produces higher quality sawlogs than 
clearcutting and other forms of even-age log-
ging operations; and 
(23) the judicial remedies available to enforce 
Federal forest laws are inadequate, and should be 
strengthened by providing for injunctions, declara-
tory judgments, statutory damages, and reasonable 
costs of suit. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to conserve 
native biodiversity and protect all native ecosystems on all 
Federal land against losses that result from—
(1) clearcutting and other forms of even-age 
logging operations; and 
(2) logging in Ancient forests, roadless areas, 
watershed protection areas, and special areas.
TITLE I—LAND MANAGEMENT 
SEC. 101. COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS. 
Section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) is 
amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To carry out subsection 
(g), the Secretary shall appoint a committee com-
posed of scientists—
‘‘(A) who are not officers or employees of 
the Forest Service, of any other public entity, 
or of any entity engaged in whole or in part in 
the production of wood or wood products; 
‘‘(B) not more than one-third of whom 
have contracted with or represented any entity 
described in subparagraph (A) during the 5-
year period ending on the date of the proposed 
appointment to the committee; and 
‘‘(C) not more than one-third of whom are 
foresters. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS OF FORESTERS.—A for-
ester appointed to the committee shall be an indi-
vidual with—
‘‘(A) extensive training in conservation bi-
ology; and 
‘‘(B) field experience in selection manage-
ment. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The committee shall provide sci-
entific and technical advice and counsel on proposed 
guidelines and procedures and all other issues involv-
ing forestry and native biodiversity to promote an ef-
fective interdisciplinary approach to forestry and na-
tive biodiversity. 
‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The committee shall ter-
minate on the date that is 10 years after the date 
of enactment of the Act to Save America’s For-
ests.’’. 
SEC. 102. CONTINUOUS FOREST INVENTORY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each of the Chief of the 
Forest Service, the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management (referred to individually as an ‘‘agency 
head’’) shall prepare a continuous inventory of forest land 
administered by those agency heads, respectively. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A continuous forest inventory 
shall constitute a long-term monitoring and inventory sys-
tem that—
(1) is contiguous throughout affected Federal 
forest land; and 
(2) is based on a set of permanent plots that 
are inventoried every 10 years to—
(A) assess the impacts that human activi-
ties are having on management of the eco-
system; 
(B) gauge—
(i) floristic and faunistic diversity, 
abundance, and dominance; and 
(ii) economic and social value; and 
(C) monitor changes in the age, structure, 
and diversity of species of trees and other vege-
tation. 
(c) DECENNIAL INVENTORIES.—Each decennial in-
ventory under subsection (b)(2) shall be completed not 
more than 60 days after the date on which the inventory 
is begun. 
(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES.—In pre-
paring a continuous forest inventory, an agency head may 
use the services of the National Academy of Sciences to—
(1) develop a system for the continuous forest 
inventory by which certain guilds or indicator species 
are measured; and
(2) identify any changes to the continuous for-
est inventory that are necessary to ensure that the 
continuous forest inventory is consistent with the 
most accurate scientific methods. 
(e) WHOLE-SYSTEM MEASURES.—At the end of each 
forest planning period, an agency head shall document 
whole-system measures that will be taken as a result of 
a decennial inventory. 
(f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Results of a continuous 
forest inventory shall be made available to the public with-
out charge. 
SEC. 103. ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT. 
The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 is amended by adding after section 
6 (16 U.S.C. 1604) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 6A. CONSERVATION OF NATIVE BIODIVERSITY; SE-
LECTION 
LOGGING; 
PROHIBITION 
OF 
CLEARCUTTING. 
‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to the ad-
ministration and management of—
‘‘(1) National Forest System land, under this 
Act; 
‘‘(2) Federal land, under the Federal Land Pol-
icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 
et seq.); and
‘‘(3) National Wildlife Refuge System land, 
under the National Wildlife Refuge System Adminis-
tration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.). 
‘‘(b) NATIVE BIODIVERSITY IN FORESTED AREAS.—
The Secretary shall provide for the conservation or res-
toration of native biodiversity in each stand and each wa-
tershed throughout each forested area, except during the 
extraction stage of authorized mineral development or dur-
ing authorized construction projects, in which cases the 
Secretary shall conserve native biodiversity to the max-
imum extent practicable. 
‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF CERTAIN LOGGING 
PRACTICES.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) AGE DIVERSITY.—The term ‘age di-
versity’ means the naturally occurring range 
and distribution of age classes within a given 
species. 
‘‘(B) BASAL AREA.—The term ‘basal area’ 
means the area of the cross section of a tree 
stem, including the bark, at 4.5 feet above the 
ground. 
‘‘(C) 
CLEARCUTTING.—The 
term 
‘clearcutting’ means an even-age logging oper-