[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2866 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2866

 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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 1993

  Mr. Hamburg (for himself, Mr. Stark, Mr. Studds, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. 
   Miller of California, Mr. Waxman, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Woolsey, Mrs. 
Schroeder, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Mineta, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Vento, Mr. Ravenel, 
  Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Richardson, Mr. Smith of Iowa, Ms. Furse, Mr. 
 Edwards of California, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Poshard, Miss 
 Collins of Michigan, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Andrews of Maine, 
  Mr. Olver, Ms. Molinari, Mr. Markey, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. 
   Beilenson, Mr. Berman, Mr. Bishop, Mrs. Mink, Mr. Blackwell, Mr. 
   Serrano, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Washington, Mr. Brown of California, Mr. 
Jacobs, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Waters, Mr. Watt, Mr. Torres, Mrs. 
Clayton, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Dixon, Mrs. Collins of Illinois, 
 Mr. Kopetski, Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Engel, Ms. Shepherd, Mr. Underwood, 
 Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Pomeroy, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Johnson of 
South Dakota, Mr. Evans, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
Owens, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. Filner, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. 
  Schumer, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Martinez, Mr. 
McHale, Mrs. Meek, Ms. Pelosi, Mrs. Unsoeld, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Romero-
  Barcelo, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Sharp) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred jointly to the Committees on Natural Resources and 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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 Representatives 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 habitat needed for survival of old-growth dependent 
        species. 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.
    (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 certain lands and 
waters to the Six Rivers National Forest and by including a portion of 
such lands in the national wilderness preservation system.

SEC. 3. ADDITION TO SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST.

    (a) Extension of Boundaries.--The exterior boundaries of the Six 
Rivers National Forest in the State of California are hereby extended 
to include the area comprising approximately 44,000 acres, as generally 
depicted on the map entitled ``Six Rivers National Forest Addition 
proposed'', dated June 1993. Such area shall hereinafter in this Act be 
referred to as the Six Rivers National Forest Addition. The map 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 Agriculture.
    (b) Acquisition of Land.--(1) The Secretary shall acquire lands or 
interests in land within the exterior boundaries of the Six Rivers 
National Forest Addition by donation, by purchase with donated or 
appropriated funds, or by exchange for other lands owned by any 
department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States. When any 
tract of land is only partly within such boundaries, the Secretary may 
acquire all or any portion of the land outside of such boundaries in 
order to minimize the payment of severance costs. Land so acquired 
outside of the boundaries may be exchanged by the Secretary for non-
Federal lands within the boundaries, and any land so acquired and not 
utilized for exchange shall be reported to the General Services 
Administration for disposal under the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 377). Lands, and 
interests in lands, within the boundaries of the Headwaters Forest 
which are owned by the State of California or any political subdivision 
thereof, may be acquired only by donation or exchange.
    (2) The Secretary is authorized to accept from the State of 
California funds to cover the cost of acquiring lands within the 
Headwaters Forest, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary may retain and expend such funds for purposes of such 
acquisition. Such funds shall be available for such purposes without 
further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.
    (c) Land Acquisition Plan.--The Secretary shall develop and 
implement, within 6 months after the enactment of this Act, a land 
acquisition plan which 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 boundaries of the 
Headwaters Forest Wilderness identified on the map referred to in 
section 3(a). The Secretary shall submit copies of such plan to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the United States House of 
Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the United States Senate.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are hereby authorized 
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this Act.

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 
Wilderness (Proposed)'' shall be designated as wilderness and therefore 
as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 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 boundary description 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 United States Senate. The Secretary may correct clerical and 
typographical errors in such boundary description and such map. Each 
such map and boundary description shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, 
United States Department of Agriculture.
    (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 perimeters 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 wilderness area.
    (d) State Authority over Fish and Wildlife.--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 
California with respect to wildlife and fish in any areas designated by 
this Act as wilderness.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Management Plan.--The Secretary shall develop, within 1 year 
after the enactment of this Act, a comprehensive management plan 
detailing measures for the preservation of the existing old growth 
redwood ecosystems in the Six Rivers National Forest Addition, 
including but not limited to each of the following:
            (1) Prohibition of sale of timber from lands within the old 
        growth redwood groves as depicted generally on the map referred 
        to in section 3(a). Timber sales in other areas shall be 
        allowed consistent with the purposes of this Act and other 
        applicable Federal laws and regulations.
            (2) Measures to restore lands affected by previous timber 
        harvests to mitigate watershed degradation and impairment of 
        habitat for the marbled murrelet, spotted owl, native salmon 
        stocks, and other old-growth forest dependent species 
        (``Restoration Measures'').
The Management Plan shall be reviewed and revised every time the Six 
Rivers National Forest Land and Resource Management plan is revised or 
more frequently as necessary to meet the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Applicable Laws and Policies.--(1) The Secretary, 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 accordance 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 workers, unemployed commercial fishermen, or other 
unemployed 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 management 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 appropriations and the 
provisions of subsection (c), for a period 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 soil type, slope 
        and such determination of appropriate timber harvest levels,
            (B) comparable timber size class, age, and quality,
            (C) market conditions,
            (D) all applicable Federal, State, and local laws and 
        regulations, and
            (E) the goal of sustainable, even-flow harvest or renewable 
        timber resources.
    (c) California Timber Yield Tax.--The amount of State of California 
Timber Yield Tax payments paid to Humboldt County in any year pursuant 
to the laws of California for timber sold from lands acquired under 
this Act shall be deducted from the sums to be paid to Humboldt County 
in that year under subsection (b).
    (d) 25-Percent Fund.--Amounts paid under subsection (b) with 
respect to any land in any year shall be reduced by any amounts paid 
under the Act of May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500) which are attributable to 
sales from the same lands in that year.

SEC. 7. FOREST STUDY.

    The Secretary shall study the lands within the area comprising 
approximately 13,620 acres and generally depicted as ``Study Area'' on 
the map referred to in section 3(a). The study shall analyze the area's 
potential to be added to the Headwaters Forest and shall identify the 
natural resources of the area including the location of old growth 
forests, old growth redwood stands, threatened and endangered species 
habitat and populations including the northern spotted owl and marbled 
murrelet, commercial timber volume, recreational opportunities, 
wildlife and fish, watershed management, and the cost of acquiring the 
land. Within one year of the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit a report with the findings of the study to the 
Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture of the United States 
House of Representatives and the Committees on Energy and Natural 
Resources, and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the United 
States Senate.

                                 <all>