Pacific Yew Act
PL 102-335 (H.R.3836), enacted 08/07/1992

PUBLIC LAW 102-335—AUG. 7, 1992 
106 STAT. 859 
Public Law 102-335 
102d Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the management of Federal lands containing the Pacific yew to 
ensure a sufficient supply of taxol, a cancer-treating drug made from the Pacific 
yew. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the "Pacific Yew 
Act". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Over 12,000 women die each year fi"om ovarian cancer 
and 44,500 women die 
fi*om 
breast cancer. 
(2) Taxol, a drug made 
fi*om 
the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia), 
has been successfiil in treating ovarian cancer in clinical trials 
and shows promise in the treatment of breast cancer and other 
types of cancer. 
(3) The production of small amounts of taxol currently 
requires the use of large numbers of Pacific yew. 
(4) The Pacific yew is a slow-growing tree species found 
in the Western United States. 
(5) Signific£int numbers of Pacific yew trees are found in 
old-growth forests on Federal lands in the Pacific Northwest. 
(6) Before the importance of taxol was discovered, the Pacific 
yew was considered a trash tree and was often burned in 
slash piles after timber operations. 
(7) Remaining Pacific yew resources must be carefully 
managed in order to ensure a steady supply of taxol for the 
treatment of cancer, while also providing for the long-term 
conservation of the species. 
(8) Appropriate management guidelines must be implemented 
promptly in order to prevent any wasting of the Pacific yew 
in current and future timber sales on Federal lands, while 
successful and affordable alternative methods of manufacturing 
taxol are being developed. 
(b) PURPOSES.—^The purposes of this Act are to contribute to 
the successful treatment of cancer by ensuring that Pacific yew 
trees located on lands of the National Forest System and on public 
lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management are man-
aged to— 
(1) provide for the efficient collection and utilization of those 
parts of the Pacific yew that can be used in the manufacture 
of teixol for the treatment of cancer; 
(2) provide for the sale of Pacific yew fi*om such lands for 
the commercial production and subsequent sale of taxol at 
a reasonable cost to csmcer patients; 
Aug. 7, 1992 
[H.R. 3836] 
Pacific Yew 
Act. 
Forests and 
forest products. 
16 u s e 4801 
note. 
16 u s e 4801. 
106 STAT. 860 
PUBLIC LAW 102-335—AUG. 7, 1992 
(3) ensure the long-term conservation of the Pacific yew; 
and 
(4) prevent the wasting of Pacific yew resources while success-
ful and affordable alternative methods of manufacturing taxol 
are being developed. 
(c) SECRETARY CONCERNED DEFINED.—For purposes of this Act, 
the term "Secretary concerned" means— 
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to lands and 
interests in lands under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service; 
and 
(2) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to lands and 
interests in lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
Management. 
16 u s e 4802. 
SEC. 3. PACIFIC YEW CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT. 
(a) PACIFIC YEW POLICY.—The Secretary of Agricultiu-e and the 
Secretary of the Interior shall pursue a conservation and memage-
ment policy with respect to lands £ind interests in lands under 
the jurisdiction of the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, which contain the Pacific yew in order to— 
(1) provide for the sustainable harvest of Pacific yew, or 
Pacific yew parts, in accordance with relevant land and resource 
management plans for the manufacture of taxol; and 
(2) provide for the long-term conservation of the Pacific yew 
in the wild. 
(b) CONTENT OF POLICY.—^The conservation and msinagement pol-
icy required by subsection (a) shall ensure that— 
(1) in planning harvests of the Pacific yew, priority be given 
first to areas in which timber has been cut but Pacific yew 
trees have not been removed, second to areas in which timber 
is already sold but rem£iins uncut, third to areas scheduled 
for timber sale in the near future, and fourth to those other 
areas where commercial and salvage timber sales are allowed 
under existing laws; 
(2) individual Pacific yew trees are utilized with little or 
no waste; 
(3) to the extent that timber harvesters' health and safety 
will not be jeopardized, the bark is harvested from Pacific 
yew trees in timber sale areas before the harvest of other 
timber resources; 
(4) whenever Pacific yew trees are harvested, they are— 
(A) cut using methods designed to allow for resprouting 
from the stump; and 
(B) replanted where necessary to maintain the species 
in the ecosystem; and 
(5) timber management and harvest activities are carried 
out in a manner that will minimize any adverse effects on 
the survival and regeneration of Pacific yew trees. 
(c) APPLICATION OF POLICY TO TIMBER HARVESTING.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—The Secretary concerned shall ensure that 
timber sales awarded after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and timber sales completed before that date but still 
unharvested on that date, are conducted in accordance with— 
(A) the policy expressed in subsection (a); and 
(B) the relevant land and resource management plans 
of the Secretary concerned. 
PUBLIC LAW 102-335—AUG. 7, 1992 
106 STAT. 861 
(2) CONSULTATION UNDER ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.—If the 
Secretary concerned foresees the need to harvest Pacific yew 
in an area for which an opinion issued under subsection 
(b)(3)(A) of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1536) has concluded that a commercial timber sale 
is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an endangered 
or threatened species or destroy or adversely modify critical 
habitat identified for the species imder that Act, the Secretary 
concerned shall immediatefy initiate consultation under that 
section to determine the eftect on endangered and threatened 
species and critical habitat of harvesting only Pacific yew trees. 
(d) INVENTORY OF PACIFIC YEW.—^Not later than 6 months aft«r 
the date of the enactment of this Act, each Secretary concerned 
shall complete the ongoing inventory of Pacific yew on l£uids under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned. 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH. 
16 USC 4803. 
Each Secretary concerned shall encourage and, where appro-
priate, assist in research regarding— 
(1) the ecology of the Pacific yew; 
(2) the development of alternative methods of procuring taxol, 
including utiUzation of other yew parts in addition to bark, 
the sustainable harvest of yew needles, and the utilization 
of other yew species; and 
(3) the propagation of Pacific yew and other yew species 
in agricultural or commercial settings. 
SEC. 5. COLLECTION AND SALE OP PACIFIC YEW RESOURCES. 
16 USC 4804. 
(a) ENFORCEMENT AND ACCESS.—^The Secretary concerned shall 
ensure the development, implementation, and enforcement of proc-
esses for the collection and sale of Pacific yew resources that will 
minimize the illegal harvest and sale of such resources. The Sec-
retary shgdl also ensure that access to Pacific yew resources is 
allowed in a timely manner such that collection of Pacific yew 
parts can occur before the taxol properties of such parts are 
degraded. 
(b) NEGOTIATED SALES.— 
(1) FOREST SERVICE SALES.—^Notwithstanding section 14 of 
the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), 
the Secretary of Agriculture may negotiate sales of Pacific 
yew on lands under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service at 
not less than appraised value, to parties manufacturing taxol 
in the United States in accordance with section 505 of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355) for 
use in humans. 
(2) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT SALES.—^Notwithstanding 
the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601-604), the Federal 
Land PoUcy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 
et seq.), and Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a-1181f), 
the Secretary of the Interior may negotiate sales of Pacific 
yew on lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
Management at not less than appraised value, to parties manu-
facturing taxol in the United States in accordance with section 
505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
355) for use in humeins. 
(3) DISPOSITION OF UNUTILIZED MATERIAL.—The Secretary 
concerned shall, to the extent practicable, make materisQ 
unutiUzed by purchasers of Pacific yew available to others. 
106 STAT. 862 
PUBLIC LAW 102-335—AUG. 7, 1992 
(4) LIMITS ON OTHER SALES.—Except as provided in para-
graphs (1), (2), and (3), the Secretary concerned shall not sell 
Pacific yew for commercial use. 
(5) USE OF RECEIPTS.—^The Secretary concerned may use 
amounts received from the sale of Pacific yew under this section 
to pay the costs incurred by the Secretary concerned associated 
with the harvest and sale of Pacific yew. 
(c) RECORD 
KEEPING.—^The Secretary concerned shall keep 
accurate records of all sedes, bark removal, or other harvest of 
the Pacific yew. The records shall include the following information: 
(1) The date of sale (where applicable) and the date of harvest. 
(2) The names of the persons performing the harvest. 
(3) The record of authorization for the harvest. 
(4) The location and size of the area in which the hgirvest 
occurred. 
(5) The quantity of Pacific yew harvested, including, to the 
extent practicable, the number of trees harvested, volume of 
bark harvested, and weight of bark harvested. 
(d) EFFECT ON PRIOR SALES.—With respect to Pacific yew har-
vested before the date of the enactment of this Act on lands imder 
the jurisdiction of the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Mginage-
ment, the Secretary concerned may permit taxol derived from that 
Pacific yew to be used for purposes other than research if the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies to the Secretary 
concerned that such permission— 
(1) will increase patient access to taxol treatment; and 
(2) will not result in insufficient suppUes of taxol for clinical 
research. 
16 use 4805. 
SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as modifying the provi-
sions of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), or the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), except 
as explicitly provided in section 3. 
16 use 4806. 
SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act (and annually thereafter), each Secretary concerned shall 
submit to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, the 
Committee on Interior £ind Insulsir Affairs, and the Committee 
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resoiurces, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry of the Senate a report containing the following: 
(1) A judgment as to whether sufficient amounts of Pacific 
yew have been harvested, and can continue to be harvested 
for the next year, to supply necessguy amounts of taxol required 
for medicinal purposes, together with a simimary of the 
information on which the judgment is based. 
(2) The results of the Pacific yew inventory required by 
section 3(d). 
16 use 4807. 
SEC. 8. EXPIRATION OF REQUIREMENTS. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall determine 
when quantities of taxol sufficient to satisfy medicinal demands 
are available from sources other than Pacific yew trees harvested 
PUBLIC LAW 102-335—AUG. 7, 1992 
106 STAT. 863 
on Federal lands and notify each Secretary concerned upon making 
such determination. If the Secretaries concerned concur, they shall 
jointly notify the relevant congressional committees, as Hsted in 
section 7, at which time the requirements of this Act shall expire. 
Approved August 7, 1992. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3836 (S. 2851): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 102-552, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries), Pt. 
2 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs), and Pt. 3 (C!omm. on 
Agriculture). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 102-323 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 138 (1992): 
July 7, considered and passed House. 
July 23, considered and passed Senate. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 28 (1992): 
Aug. 7, Presidential statement.