Title: Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act of 2017
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act of 2017
This bill directs the Department of Interior to categorically exclude vegetative management activities that establish or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and mule deer from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Examples of vegetative management activities include restoring native vegetation following a natural disturbance or preventing the expansion of nonnative or invasive vegetation into such habitat.
A categorical exclusion under NEPA is a category of actions which do not have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required. The bill prohibits the categorical exclusion from including: (1) activity conducted in a wilderness area or wilderness study area, or (2) activity for the construction of a permanent road or trail.
Before commencing a vegetative management activity that is covered by a categorical exclusion, Interior must develop a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan, covering at least 20 years, to ensure that management of the treated area does not degrade the habitat gains secured by the vegetative management activity.
Vegetative material resulting from vegetative management activity may be: (1) used for fuel wood or other products; or (2) piled or burned, or both.
Native vegetative cover must be reestablished on a temporary road constructed in connection with a categorically excluded vegetative management activity in order to minimize soil erosion from areas disturbed by the temporary road.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3543 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3543

   To require the Secretary of the Interior to develop a categorical 
 exclusion for covered vegetative management activities carried out to 
establish or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and mule deer, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2017

Mr. Stewart (for himself and Mr. Tipton) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of the Interior to develop a categorical 
 exclusion for covered vegetative management activities carried out to 
establish or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and mule deer, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat 
Conservation and Restoration Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered vegetation management activity.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``covered vegetation 
                management activity'' means any activity described in 
                subparagraph (B) that--
                            (i) meets the objectives of the order of 
                        the Secretary numbered 3336 and dated January 
                        5, 2015;
                            (ii) conforms to an applicable land use 
                        plan;
                            (iii) protects, restores, or improves 
                        greater sage-grouse or mule deer habitat;
                            (iv) will not permanently impair--
                                    (I) the natural state of the 
                                treated area;
                                    (II) outstanding opportunities for 
                                solitude;
                                    (III) outstanding opportunities for 
                                primitive, unconfined recreation; or
                                    (IV) the identified values of a 
                                unit of the National Landscape 
                                Conservation System; and
                            (v)(I) restores native vegetation following 
                        a natural disturbance;
                            (II) prevents the expansion into greater 
                        sage-grouse or mule deer habitat of--
                                    (aa) juniper, pinon pine, or any 
                                other conifer; or
                                    (bb) nonnative or invasive 
                                vegetation;
                            (III) reduces the risk of loss of greater 
                        sage-grouse or mule deer habitat from wildfire 
                        or any other natural disturbance; or
                            (IV) provides emergency stabilization of 
                        soil resources after a natural disturbance.
                    (B) Description of activities.--An activity 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) is--
                            (i) manual cutting and removal of juniper 
                        trees, pinon pine trees, other conifers, or 
                        other nonnative or invasive vegetation;
                            (ii) mechanical mastication, cutting, or 
                        mowing, mechanical piling and burning, 
                        chaining, broadcast burning, or yarding;
                            (iii) removal of cheat grass, medusa head 
                        rye, other nonnative vegetation, or an invasive 
                        species;
                            (iv) collection and seeding or planting of 
                        native vegetation using a manual, mechanical, 
                        or aerial method;
                            (v) seeding of nonnative vegetation only 
                        for the purpose of emergency stabilization;
                            (vi) use of a herbicide, pesticide, or 
                        biological control agent, subject to the 
                        condition that the use shall be in accordance 
                        with applicable legal requirements, Federal 
                        agency procedures, and land use plans;
                            (vii) targeted or late-season livestock 
                        grazing to mitigate hazardous fuels and control 
                        noxious and invasive weeds;
                            (viii) temporary removal of wild horses or 
                        burros in the area in which the activity is 
                        being carried out to ensure treatment 
                        objectives are met;
                            (ix) temporary suspension of permitted 
                        grazing use until restoration treatment 
                        objectives are met;
                            (x) installation of new, or modification of 
                        existing, fencing or water sources intended to 
                        control use or improve wildlife habitat; or
                            (xi) construction of temporary roads.
                    (C) Exclusions.--The term ``covered vegetation 
                management activity'' does not include--
                            (i) any activity conducted in a wilderness 
                        area or wilderness study area; or
                            (ii) any activity for the construction of a 
                        permanent road or permanent trail.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Temporary road.--The term ``temporary road'' means a 
        road that is--
                    (A) authorized--
                            (i) by a contract, permit, lease, other 
                        written authorization; or
                            (ii) pursuant to an emergency operation;
                    (B) not intended to be part of the permanent 
                transportation system of a Federal department or 
                agency;
                    (C) not necessary for long-term resource 
                management; and
                    (D) designed in accordance with standards 
                appropriate for the intended use of the road, taking 
                into consideration--
                            (i) safety;
                            (ii) the cost of transportation; and
                            (iii) impacts to land and resources.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF HABITAT FOR GREATER SAGE-GROUSE AND MULE DEER.

    (a) Categorical Exclusion.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop one or 
        more categorical exclusions (as defined in section 1508.4 of 
        title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
        regulation)) for covered vegetative management activities 
        carried out to establish or improve habitat for greater sage-
        grouse and mule deer.
            (2) Administration.--In developing and administering a 
        categorical exclusion under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall--
                    (A) be consistent with the National Environmental 
                Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
                    (B) apply the extraordinary circumstances 
                procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code of 
                Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), in 
                determining whether to use the categorical exclusion; 
                and
                    (C) consider--
                            (i) the relative efficacy of landscape-
                        scale habitat projects;
                            (ii) the likelihood of continued declines 
                        in the populations of greater sage-grouse and 
                        mule deer in the absence of landscape-scale 
                        vegetation management; and
                            (iii) the need for habitat restoration 
                        activities after wildfire or other natural 
                        disturbances.
    (b) Long-Term Monitoring and Maintenance.--Before commencing any 
covered vegetative management activity that is covered by a categorical 
exclusion under subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop a long-term 
monitoring and maintenance plan, covering at least the 20-year period 
beginning on the date of commencement, to ensure that management of the 
treated area does not degrade the habitat gains secured by the covered 
vegetative management activity.
    (c) Disposal of Vegetative Material.--Subject to applicable local 
restrictions, any vegetative material resulting from a covered 
vegetation management activity that is covered by a categorical 
exclusion under subsection (a) may be--
            (1) used for--
                    (A) fuel wood; or
                    (B) other products; or
            (2) piled or burned, or both.
    (d) Treatment for Temporary Roads.--
            (1) In general.--A temporary road constructed in connection 
        with a covered vegetation management activity that is a 
        categorical exclusion under subsection (a) shall be treated to 
        ensure the reestablishment of native vegetative cover by 
        artificial or natural means, as necessary to minimize erosion 
        from any area disturbed by the construction or use of the 
        temporary road.
            (2) Requirement.--A treatment under paragraph (1) shall be 
        designed to reestablish vegetative cover--
                    (A) as soon as practicable; but
                    (B) not later than 10 years after the date of 
                completion of the applicable covered vegetation 
                management activity.
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