I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5319
To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
of the Interior to expeditiously address wildfire prone conditions on
National Forest System lands and other public lands that threaten com-
munities, watersheds, and other at-risk landscapes through the establish-
ment of expedited environmental analysis procedures under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, to establish a predecisional adminis-
trative review process for the Forest Service, to expand fire management
contracting authorities, to authorize appropriations for hazardous fuels
reduction projects, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 4, 2002
Mr. MCINNIS (for himself, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. YOUNG of Alas-
ka, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr.
SIMPSON, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr.
GALLEGLY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. OTTER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs.
CUBIN, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. POMBO, and Mr. DOOLITTLE)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Re-
sources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture
and the Secretary of the Interior to expeditiously address
wildfire prone conditions on National Forest System
lands and other public lands that threaten communities,
watersheds, and other at-risk landscapes through the
establishment of expedited environmental analysis proce-
dures under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, to establish a predecisional administrative review
process for the Forest Service, to expand fire manage-
ment contracting authorities, to authorize appropriations
for hazardous fuels reduction projects, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Healthy Forests Reform Act of 2002’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS UNDER NA-
TIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 FOR FIRE RE-
DUCTION AND FOREST HEALTH MEASURES ON CERTAIN FED-
ERAL LANDS
Sec. 101. Basis and required elements of expedited environmental analysis.
Sec. 102. Content of analysis for fire reduction and forest health measures cov-
ered by rules.
Sec. 103. Required consultation under Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Sec. 104. Judicial review.
Sec. 105. Monitoring requirements.
Sec. 106. Annual Comptroller General audit of expedited decisionmaking proc-
ess.
TITLE II—FOREST SERVICE PREDECISIONAL REVIEW
Sec. 201. Predecisional review process for Forest Service.
Sec. 202. Completion of review.
Sec. 203. Negotiated settlement.
Sec. 204. Exemption.
Sec. 205. Exhaustion of predecisional review process.
Sec. 206. Annual Comptroller General audit of predecisional review process.
Sec. 207. Repeal of Forest Service decisionmaking and appeals reform.
TITLE III—IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY PROTECTION ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Emergency response to extraordinary circumstances affecting Federal
lands.
Sec. 303. Actions to reduce bark beetle infestations, and attendant threat of
catastrophic wildfire, in Routt National Forest, Colorado.
TITLE IV—STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
Sec. 401. Stewardship contracting.
Sec. 402. Contracts.
Sec. 403. Receipts.
Sec. 404. Treatment of services received.
Sec. 405. Performance and payment guarantees under a stewardship contract.
TITLE V—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR
HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION
Sec. 501. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Approximately 190,000,000 acres of Na-
tional Forest System lands and public lands man-
aged by the Department of Interior are at unnatu-
rally high risk to catastrophic wildfire because of the
unhealthy build-up of forest fuels.
(2) By excluding natural fire processes on these
Federal lands over several decades, and by failing to
adequately reduce the forest fuels that have accumu-
lated in the absence of naturally occurring fire, Fed-
eral land managers and scores of communities face
the threat of wildfires that burn hotter, larger, and
more destructive than has been the case with
wildfires historically.
(3) The impending specter of large-scale cata-
strophic wildfire on these Federal lands presents a
clear and present threat to the health and safety of
scores of communities, the millions of Americans
who reside near these lands, and the Federal, State,
local, and private firefighters who will be called upon
to fight the eventual wildfires.
(4) Hazardous wildfire conditions pose signifi-
cant unacceptable risks to the natural environment,
endangering air quality and water quality and quan-
tity on a massive scale, threatening the biological
health and diversity of Federal, State, and private
forests and rangelands, jeopardizing the continued
viability of threatened species, endangered species,
and other wildlife species and their habitat in certain
areas.
(5) Professional foresters, fire ecologists, and
other environmental scientists rightly conclude that
an active forest management regime is the only way
to lessen the growing risk of catastrophic wildfire on
Federal forests and rangelands.
(6) The Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary
of Interior, and other senior Federal land managers
assert that the legal morass of laws, regulations, ad-
ministrative procedures, and court decisions that
govern National Forest System lands and other pub-
lic lands impose undesirably cumbersome procedural,
(9) To implement management activities on the
scale needed to meaningfully reduce the specter of
large scale catastrophic wildfire on Federal lands,
Federal land managers need immediate relief from
certain procedural requirements that substantially
burden land management professionals without
bringing any value to the decisionmaking process.
(10) Procedural requirements on agency actions
related to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire
and promoting forest health can be made more ra-
tional and efficient without unduly infringing on the
public’s right to comment on proposed agency ac-
tions and challenge those actions through adminis-
trative channels and in the courts.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to em-
power Federal land managers to reduce hazardous fuel
conditions on Federal lands that threaten communities,
watersheds, and other at-risk landscapes through—
(1) the establishment of expedited environ-
mental analysis procedures under the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.);
(2) the establishment of a predecisional admin-
istrative review process for the Forest Service;
(3) the expansion of fire management con-
tracting authorities for Federal land managers; and
(4) the authorization of appropriations suffi-
cient for the implementation of hazardous fuels re-
duction projects on Federal lands.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CONDITION CLASS 1.—The term ‘‘condition
class 1’’, with respect to an area of Federal lands,
means that—
(A) fire regimes on the lands are within
historical ranges;
(B) vegetation composition and structure
are intact; and
(C) the risk of losing key ecosystem com-
ponents from the occurrence of fire remains rel-
atively low.
(2) CONDITION CLASS 2.—The term ‘‘condition
class 2’’, with respect to an area of Federal lands,
means that—
(A) fire regimes on the lands have been
moderately altered from their historical range
by either increased or decreased fire frequency;
and
(B) there exists a moderate risk of losing
key ecosystem components from fire.
(3) CONDITION CLASS 3.—The term ‘‘condition
class 3’’, with respect to an area of Federal lands,
means that—
(A) fire regimes on the lands have been
significantly altered from their historical return
interval and fire frequencies have departed from
historical ranges by multiple return intervals;
(B) there exists a high risk of losing key
ecosystem components from fire;
(C) vegetation composition, structure, and
diversity have been significantly altered; and
(D) the lands verge on the greatest risk of
ecological collapse as a result of fire.
(4) 
CONGRESSIONAL
RESOURCES
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘congressional resources commit-
tees’’ means the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(5) DAY.—The term ‘‘day’’ means a calendar
day.
(6) FEDERAL
LAND
MANAGER.—The term
‘‘Federal land manager’’ means—
(A) the superintendent of a unit of the Na-
tional Park System, the manager of a national
wildlife refuge, or the field office manager of a
Bureau of Land Management area; and
(B) the supervisor of a unit of the Na-
tional Forest System.
(7) FEDERAL
LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal
lands’’ means—
(A) National Forest System lands; and
(B) public lands administered by the Sec-
retary of the Interior, acting through the Na-
tional Park Service, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Land Man-
agement.
(8) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The ‘‘Secretary
concerned’’ means—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture or the ap-
propriate Federal land manager with respect to
the Federal lands described in paragraph
(7)(A); and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior or the ap-
propriate Federal land manager with respect to
the Federal lands described in paragraph
(7)(B).
(9) 
STEWARDSHIP
CONTRACT.—The 
term
‘‘stewardship contract’’ means a contract entered
into under title IV for the performance of services
to achieve certain land management goals for Fed-
eral lands.
(10) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term
‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ means an area of Fed-
eral lands that—
(A) meets or intermixes with areas con-
taining humans and their homes, structures, or
other human developments; and
(B) may be vulnerable to wildfire.
TITLE I—EXPEDITED ENVIRON-
MENTAL 
ANALYSIS 
UNDER
NATIONAL 
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY 
ACT 
OF 
1969 
FOR
FIRE REDUCTION AND FOR-
EST HEALTH MEASURES ON
CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS
SEC. 101. BASIS AND REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF EXPEDITED
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.
(a) EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCE.—The Council on
Environmental Quality shall treat the threat of cata-
strophic wildfire on Federal lands identified by the Sec-
retary concerned under subsection (b) as an emergency
circumstance for the purposes of section 1506.11 of title
40, Code of Federal Regulations.
(b) COVERED AGENCY ACTIONS.—The Council on
Environmental Quality shall promulgate programmatic
rules establishing an expedited process under section
1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, which
authorizes alternative arrangements in emergency cir-
cumstances that supersede requirements otherwise appli-
cable under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), for each agency action by
the Secretary concerned that the Secretary concerned cer-
tifies requires rapid analysis related to the reduction of
the risk of catastrophic wildfire and the promotion of for-
est health on Federal lands for the purpose of elevating
the status of such lands from condition class 2 or condi-
tion class 3 toward condition class 1.
(c) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS.—In
utilizing the expedited process established under sub-
section (b) to implement agency actions for Federal lands,
the Secretary concerned shall give a priority for agency
actions related to the reduction of the risk of catastrophic
wildfire and the promotion of forest health on Federal
lands that are—
(1) located in the wildland-urban interface;
(2) located in the relative proximity of munic-
ipal watersheds and municipal water supplies;
(3) afflicted or imminently threatened by dis-
ease or insect infestation (or both); or
(4) windthrown or at high risk of reburn.
(d) CONSULTATION.—The Council on Environmental
Quality shall promulgate the rules under subsection (b)
in consultation with the Secretary concerned. The con-
sultation otherwise required by section 1506.11 of title 40,
Code of Federal Regulations, shall not apply to agency ac-
tions covered by the expedited process.
(e) REQUIRED TIME PERIODS
FOR CERTAIN AC-
TIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The rules promulgated
under subsection (b) shall provide for the following
time limitations in connection with each proposed
agency action covered by the rules:
(A) Public comments must be received
within the 21-day period beginning on the date
of the release of the proposed agency action.
(B) A request for predecisional review
must be received within the 14-day period be-
ginning on the date on which notice of the pro-
posed decision is provided.
(C) The review officer must decide on the
merits of a challenge brought under the
predecisional review process within 30 days
after the date on which the request for review
was received.
(2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary concerned may
authorize an extension of the time limits specified in
paragraph (1) for a proposed agency action covered
by the rules promulgated under subsection (b) in
rare cases if the Secretary concerned considers such
an extension to be appropriate. However, in the case
of such an agency action, the expedited process
under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 must be completed and any subsequent appeals
reconciled or dismissed within 120 days after the
date of the release of the proposed agency action.
(f) RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—The expe-
dited process required by this section is in addition to
other exceptions or alternative authorities available to the
Secretary concerned under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 or its implementing regulations to con-
duct agency actions.
(g) TIME FOR PROMULGATION.—The Council on En-
vironmental Quality shall promulgate the rules required
by subsection (b) not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(h) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the rules
under subsection (b) shall be made without regard to—
(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and
(2) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction
Act’’).
(i) EXCEPTION
TO CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW
OF
AGENCY RULEMAKING.—In promulgating the rules under
subsection (b), the Council on Environmental Quality shall
use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 102. CONTENT OF ANALYSIS FOR FIRE REDUCTION
AND FOREST HEALTH MEASURES COVERED
BY RULES.
The environmental analysis required for an agency
action covered by the rules promulgated under section 101
shall be limited to an abbreviated statement by the Sec-
retary concerned on—
(1) the purpose and need of the agency action;
(2) the environmental effects of the agency ac-
tion;
(3) the results of consultation required under
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1536) or other provision of law, if required
for the agency action; and
(4) the general categories and themes of public
comment received on the agency action.
SEC. 103. REQUIRED CONSULTATION UNDER ENDANGERED
SPECIES ACT OF 1973.
(a) CONSULTATION PROCESS.—In the case of an
agency action covered by the rules promulgated under sec-
tion 101 for which consultation is required under section
7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1536), the Secretary concerned shall commence such con-
sultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
or the National Marine Fisheries Service, whichever is ap-
propriate, not later than the date on which the Secretary
concerned provides public notice of the proposed agency
action.
(b) COMPLETION.—Within 75 days after the date on
which consultation commences under subsection (a) with
regard to an agency action, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service
shall conclude such consultation.
(c) ALLOCATION
OF
RESOURCES.—The United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine
Fisheries Service shall allocate such resources as may be
necessary and take such steps as may be necessary to en-
sure compliance with subsection (b).
SEC. 104. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) PLACE AND TIME OF FILING.—An agency action
covered by the rules promulgated under section 101 shall
be subject to judicial review only in the United States dis-
trict court for the district in which the Federal lands af-
fected by the agency action are located. Any challenge to
the agency action must be filed in such district court with-
in 15 days after the date on which the agency action is
final. The Secretary concerned may not agree to, and a
court may not grant, a waiver of the requirements of this
subsection.
(b) EFFECT OF FILING ON AGENCY ACTION.—For
45 days after the date of the filing of a challenge to an
agency action covered by the rules promulgated under sec-
tion 101, the Secretary concerned shall take no action to
implement the agency action. Given this limitation on
agency action, and the expedited review period prescribed
by subsection (c), there should be no need for the review-
ing court to issue a restraining order or preliminary in-
junction.
(c) TIME FOR DECISION.—Civil actions filed under
this section shall be assigned for hearing at the earliest
possible date. The court shall render its final decision rel-
ative to any challenge within 45 days after the date on
which the challenge is brought, unless the court deter-
mines that a longer period of time is required to satisfy
the requirements of the United States Constitution. In
order to reach a decision within 45 days, the district court
may assign all or part of any such case or cases to one
or more Special Masters, for prompt review and rec-
ommendations to the court.
(d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The courts shall have
authority to enjoin permanently, order modification of, or
void an agency action if it is determined by a review of
the record that the decision that is the basis for the agency
action was arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in
accordance with applicable law.
(e) PROCEDURES.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the court may set rules governing the proce-
dures of any proceeding brought under this section which
set page limits on briefs and time limits on filing briefs
and motions and other actions that are shorter than the
limits specified in the Federal rules of civil or appellate
procedure.
(f) APPEAL.—Any appeal from the final decision of
a district court in an action brought pursuant to this sec-
tion shall be filed not later than 30 days after the date
of decision.
SEC. 105. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) MONITORING
BY INDEPENDENT PANEL.—The
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior
shall jointly establish an independent panel to conduct a
general assessment, using accepted measures, indicators,
and sampling techniques, of the general success of agency
actions covered by the rules promulgated under section
101 in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, pro-
moting forest health, protecting watersheds, and sus-
taining biological diversity and other ecological values on
Federal lands. The panel shall catalogue any adverse envi-
ronmental effects or unforeseen ecological consequences
associated with the agency actions, if they occur.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The panels established under
this section shall consist in part of members nominated
by the Chairmen and ranking minority members of each
of the congressional resources committees.
(c) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT
AND REPORTING.—The
assessment required by subsection (a) shall be performed
on an annual basis, and the panel shall submit to the Sec-
retary concerned and the congressional resources commit-
tees an annual report containing the results of the assess-
ment.
(d) SECRETARIAL RESPONSE.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall respond to the annual report of the panel,
and that response shall be included in the copy of the re-
port submitted to the congressional resources committees.
SEC. 106. ANNUAL COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF EX-
PEDITED DECISIONMAKING PROCESS.
(a) ANNUAL AUDIT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller
General shall conduct an annual programmatic audit to
determine the efficacy of the rules promulgated under sec-
tion 101 and the other requirements of this title in—
(1) expediting the implementation of agency ac-
tions to mitigate the threat of catastrophic wildfire,
improve forest health, protect watersheds, and sus-
tain biological diversity and other ecological values
on Federal lands;
(2) yielding an informed analysis of environ-
mental effects associated with proposed agency ac-
tions;
(3) guaranteeing meaningful opportunities for
the public to comment on proposed actions, con-
sistent with the imperative that the Secretary con-
cerned move with dispatch in reducing hazardous
conditions on Federal lands; and
(4) minimizing excessive documentation and
analysis that do not aid informed decisionmaking
and slow implementation of wildfire mitigation or
forest health projects.
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Comptroller
General shall submit to the congressional resources com-
mittees an annual report containing the results of the
audit.
TITLE II—FOREST SERVICE
PREDECISIONAL REVIEW
SEC. 201. PREDECISIONAL REVIEW PROCESS FOR FOREST
SERVICE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall establish a predecisional review process to be used
for—
(1) Forest Service actions covered by the rules
promulgated under section 101; and
(2) other proposed actions of the Forest Service
concerning projects and activities implementing land
and resource management plans developed under the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan-
ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
(b) NOTICE.—The predecisional review process shall
provide for notice of a proposed decision and an oppor-
tunity to request review before a final decision on the
agency action is made.
(c) OPPORTUNITY TO REQUEST A PREDECISIONAL
REVIEW.—For a period not to exceed 14 days from the
date notice is provided under subsection (b) with respect
to a proposed decision, review of the proposed decision
may be requested by any person, but only if the person
submitted specific written comments during the prepara-
tion stage of the agency action on the specific issue or
issues for which predecisional review is sought.
(d) INAPPLICABILITY TO DECISIONS OF THE SEC-
RETARY.—The predecisional review process does not apply
to decisions made personally by the Secretary of Agri-
culture.
SEC. 202. COMPLETION OF REVIEW.
(a) COMPLETION.—The review of a request for
predecisional review shall be completed within 30 days
after the date the request for review was received, but in
no case later than the issuance of the final decision re-
garding the agency action.
(b) CORRECTION OF PROPOSED DECISION.—In lieu
of remanding a proposed agency action regarding which
the Forest Service review officer determines that the re-
view request has merit, the review officer, in consultation
with the parties, may sign a new decision so as to avoid
the time-consuming remand process.
SEC. 203. NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT.
(a) AVAILABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of the law, during the 30-day review period, the
Forest Service review officer may participate in negotia-
tions with the parties and other persons who submitted
written comments during the preparation stage of the
agency action in an attempt to reach settlement on the
appealed issues.
(b) DISCRETION.—The decision to accept a nego-
tiated settlement under this section is at the sole discre-
tion of the Forest Service review officer.
SEC. 204. EXEMPTION.
The Secretary of Agriculture may exempt from the
predecisional review process any proposed decision re-
sponding to an unexpected or serious event that would
provide relief from imminent hazards threatening human
health, property, and safety or natural resources.
SEC. 205. EXHAUSTION OF PREDECISIONAL REVIEW PROC-
ESS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
must exhaust the predecisional review process provided
under this title before the person may bring an action in
court challenging an agency action described in section
201(a).
SEC. 206. ANNUAL COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF
PREDECISIONAL REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) ANNUAL AUDIT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller
General shall conduct an annual programmatic audit to
determine the efficacy of the predecisional review process
in—
(1) providing meaningful opportunities for per-
sons to petition for administrative redress against
agency actions alleged to have been decided in error;
and
(2) forestalling legal challenges in the courts by
encouraging collaborative mediation of disputes dur-
ing administrative review processes;
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Comptroller
General shall submit to the congressional resources com-
mittees an annual report containing the results of the
audit.
SEC. 207. REPEAL OF FOREST SERVICE DECISIONMAKING
AND APPEALS REFORM.
(a) REPEAL.—Effective 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, section 322 of the Department of
the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note), is re-
pealed.
(b) EFFECT ON EXISTING APPEALS.—Section 322 of
the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Ap-
propriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C.
1612 note), as in effect on the day before the effective
date of the repeal, shall continue to apply to decisions
issued before that date.
TITLE III—IMMEDIATE COMMU-
NITY 
PROTECTION 
ASSIST-
ANCE
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Section 706(j) of the 2002 Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and
Response To Terrorist Attacks on the United States
requires certain forest management activities in the
Black Hills National Forest in the State of South
Dakota to proceed immediately and to completion
notwithstanding any other provision of law includ-
ing, but not limited to, the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the
National Forest Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.).
(2) Such section also exempts these activities
from the notice, comment, and appeal requirements
of section 322 of Public Law 102–381 (commonly
known as the Appeals Reform Act; 16 U.S.C. 1612
SEC. 303. ACTIONS TO REDUCE BARK BEETLE INFESTA-
TIONS, AND ATTENDANT THREAT OF CATA-
STROPHIC WILDFIRE, IN ROUTT NATIONAL
FOREST, COLORADO.
Section 302 shall apply to actions undertaken by the
Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to the Forest Service
Record of Decision signed April 8, 2002, to reduce bark
beetle infestations, and the attendant threat of cata-
strophic wildfire, in spruce and lodgepole pine stands in
the Routt National Forest in portions of Grand, Jackson,
and Moffat Counties, Colorado, as based on and supported
by the Bark Beetle Analysis Final Environmental Impact
Statement completed in April 2002.
TITLE IV—STEWARDSHIP
CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
SEC. 401. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING.
(a) CONTRACTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary con-
cerned may enter into stewardship contracts with private
persons or other public or private entities to perform serv-
ices to achieve land management goals for Federal lands.
(b) LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS.—The land manage-
ment goals to be accomplished using a stewardship con-
tract may include one or more of the following:
(1) Road and trail maintenance or obliteration
to restore or maintain water quality.
(2) Enhancement of soil productivity, habitat
for wildlife and fisheries, or other resource values.
(3) Prescribed fires to improve the composition,
structure, condition, and health of forests, wood-
lands, and rangelands or to improve wildlife habitat.
(4) Removal of vegetation or other activities to
promote healthy forest stands, woodlands, and
rangelands, to reduce fire hazards, or to achieve
other land management objectives.
(5) Watershed restoration and maintenance.
(6) Restoration and maintenance of wildlife and
fish habitat.
(7) Control of noxious and exotic weeds and re-
establishing native plant species.
(8) Any other land management goals under ex-
isting statutory authorities.
SEC. 402. CONTRACTS.
(a) AWARD PROCEDURE.—A stewardship contract
may be awarded on a best-value basis, including consider-
ation of the contractor’s performance under other public
and private contracts and the contractor’s ability to meet
performance measures in the contract. In the case of Na-
tional Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture
may solicit offers and award such contracts notwith-
standing the requirements of subsections (a), (d),
(e)(1)(B), and (g) of section 14 of the National Forest
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a).
(b) MULTIYEAR TERM.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the term of a stewardship contract may
exceed five years but may not exceed 10 years.
(c) OFFSETS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned
may apply the value of timber or forest products, or
other vegetative materials, removed as an offset
against the cost of services received in connection
with stewardship contracts.
(2) METHODS
OF
APPRAISAL.—The value of
timber or forest products, or other vegetative mate-
rials, used as offsets under paragraph (1) may, as
appropriate, be determined—
(A) using existing agency guidelines com-
mensurate with the quality and quantity of
products to be removed;
(B) through a competitive bidding process;
or
(C) using a unit of measure appropriate to
the products which may include valuation on-
site.
(3) EXCESS
OFFSET
VALUE.—If the offset
value of the products exceeds the value of the re-
source improvement treatments, the Secretary con-
cerned may collect any excess offset value and apply
it as provided in section 403.
(d) AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out this section, the
Secretary concerned may use existing contracting authori-
ties and procedures or may develop by regulation new au-
thorities and procedure.
(e) MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND REPORTING.—
The Secretary concerned shall establish a multiparty mon-
itoring and evaluation process that assesses community
acceptance of agency land management activities and im-
provements in the effectiveness of agency business man-
agement of stewardship contracting conducted under this
section. Besides representatives of Federal land managers,
participants in this process may include any cooperating
governmental agencies, including tribal governments, and
any interested groups or individuals. The Secretary con-
cerned shall not be required to perform multiparty moni-
toring and evaluation in any region where the Secretary’s
cost, including in-kind contributions, to carry out
multiparty monitoring and evaluation would exceed 50
percent of the total cost of such multiparty monitoring and
evaluation.
SEC. 403. RECEIPTS.
(a) COLLECTION.—The Secretary concerned may col-
lect moneys from a stewardship contract so long as such
collection is secondary to the land management goals of
the contract.
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, funds described in subsection (a) and section
402(c)(3) shall—
(1) be made available to the Secretary con-
cerned that collected the funds without further ap-
propriation; and
(2) remain available until expended.
(c) USE BY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—In the
case of funds collected by the Secretary of Agriculture the
funds may—
(1) be used by the Secretary of Agriculture for
activities under a stewardship contract; or
(2) deposited into the Knutson-Vandenberg
Fund authorized by the Act of June 9, 1930 (com-
monly known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16
U.S.C. 576 et seq.).
(d) USE BY SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—In the
case of funds collected by the Secretary of the Interior,
the funds may be used by the Secretary of the Interior
for activities under a stewardship contract.
(e) COSTS OF REMOVAL.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture may collect deposits from contractors covering the
costs of removal of timber or other forest products pursu-
ant to the Act of August 11, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 490); and
the next to the last paragraph under the heading ‘‘Forest
Service’’ under the heading ‘‘Department of Agriculture’’
in the Act of June 30, 1914 (16 U.S.C. 498), notwith-
standing the fact that the timber purchasers did not har-
vest the timber.
SEC. 404. TREATMENT OF SERVICES RECEIVED.
The value of services received by the Secretary under
a stewardship contract and any payments made or re-
sources provided by the contractor or the Secretary con-
cerned under such a contract shall not be considered to
be moneys received from the National Forest System or
other Federal lands under any other provision of law,
including—
(1) the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known
as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576 et
seq.);
(2) section 3 of the Materials Act of 1947 (30
U.S.C. 603); or
(3) provisions regarding Oregon and California
Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands