[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3485 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3485

 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct an adaptive forest 
 management research program in Colville National Forest, Washington, 
 that will provide for a creditable, science-based approach to manage 
 fire-generated, overstocked, small-diameter, stagnated forest stands 
 for the purposes of improving forest health, providing wood fiber for 
 manufacturing facilities in forest-dependent communities, and meeting 
                current and future environmental needs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 1996

Mr. Nethercutt introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct an adaptive forest 
 management research program in Colville National Forest, Washington, 
 that will provide for a creditable, science-based approach to manage 
 fire-generated, overstocked, small-diameter, stagnated forest stands 
 for the purposes of improving forest health, providing wood fiber for 
 manufacturing facilities in forest-dependent communities, and meeting 
                current and future environmental needs.

    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 ``Colville National Forest Adaptive 
Management of Timber Resources Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Forest vegetation on Federal lands in the intermountain 
        West, including eastern Washington and particularly the 
        Colville National Forest in the State of Washington, is in an 
        extremely overstocked condition due to fire exclusion and 
        nonmanagement, resulting in unhealthy, low-vigor stands that 
        are susceptible to disease, insects, and fire.
            (2) The value of this forest vegetation far exceeds the 
        cost of managing these stands for a healthy, productive 
        ecosystem, but the current regulatory structure of overlapping 
        directives and planning documents hinders management of this 
        forest vegetation in a manner necessary to achieve, 
        simultaneously, healthy and productive ecosystems and community 
        benefits.
            (3) The current regulatory structure and overall policy 
        direction further hinder the flexibility of the Forest Service 
        to plan and prepare projects that effectively consider local 
        conditions and opportunities or capture market opportunities.
            (4) Federal budgetary limitations have reduced the trained 
        and experienced Forest Service workforce below the level 
        necessary to plan for and maintain healthy and productive 
        ecosystems. At the same time the Forest Service is forced to 
        spend a disproportionate amount of its resources on planning, 
        with insufficient resources remaining to implement 
        scientifically acceptable forest management activities.
            (5) Implementation of adaptive management techniques in 
        selected areas of the Colville National Forest will provide a 
        healthy ecosystem, provide for long-term national fiber needs, 
        generate funds in excess of costs, and stimulate the economies 
        of local, resource-dependent communities.
            (6) The scientific knowledge gained from projects conducted 
        using the adaptive management techniques required under this 
        Act will benefit similar forest stands throughout the 
        intermountain West.
            (7) The economic knowledge gained from such projects will 
        benefit management projects in all timber stands.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To combat the adverse human and environmental 
        consequences of catastrophic wildfire, including immediate-term 
        loss of life, vegetation, soil, water, and nearby land use, and 
        long-term loss of land productivity and continuous resource 
        flow.
            (2) To use a creditable, science-based, adaptive management 
        approach to manage fire-generated, overstocked, small-diameter, 
        stagnated forest stands to improve forest health, meet current 
        and future environmental needs, and provide wood fiber for 
        processing in dependent communities.
            (3) To demonstrate the cost-effective use of private 
        contractors to perform substantive planning and plan 
        implementation tasks for the Forest Service.

SEC. 4. PREPARATION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION OF ADAPTIVE FOREST 
              MANAGEMENT IN COLVILLE NATIONAL FOREST.

    (a) Adaptive Management Research Plan Required.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall prepare and submit to Congress a research plan, 
including supporting environmental documents, that provides for the 
implementation and evaluation of controlled silvicultural treatment in 
fire-generated, overstocked, small-diameter, stagnated forest stands in 
designated areas of the Colville National Forest in the State of 
Washington for the purpose of testing the effect of adaptive management 
techniques in the treatment of such forest stands.
    (b) Areas Covered by Plan.--The research plan prepared under 
subsection (a) shall apply to the following areas of the Colville 
National Forest:
            (1) The approximately 110,000 acres of the Colville 
        National Forest identified as economically suited for adaptive 
        management techniques in the Forest Service study of 1989-1994 
        regarding creating opportunities.
            (2) Other lands in the Colville National Forest selected by 
        the Secretary as having characteristics similar to the lands 
        identified in paragraph (1).
    (c) Implementation of Plan.--The Secretary shall implement the 
research plan prepared under subsection (a) not later than the second 
full field season beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. The Secretary may begin an initial demonstration project based on 
a preliminary draft of the research plan as soon as practicable in an 
area of approximately 10,000 acres.
    (d) Use of Private Sector.--Subject to the availability of funds 
for this purpose under subsection (e), the Secretary may use private 
contractors, including individuals and groups involved in the 
preparation of the study referred to in subsection (b)(1), in the 
preparation and implementation of the research plan required under 
subsection (a) and in monitoring the effects of the research plan under 
subsection (i). To the greatest extent practicable, such private 
contractors shall be selected from communities adversely affected by 
reductions in the timber sale program of the National Forest System.
    (e) Funding.--
            (1) Establishment of special account.--To fund the 
        preparation and implementation of the research plan required 
        under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish an account 
        to be known as the ``Ecosystem Adaptive Management 
        Demonstration Account''.
            (2) Funds for account.--There shall be allocated or 
        transferred to the account the following:
                    (A) A portion of the amount annually allocated to 
                the Colville National Forest pursuant to any other 
                provision of law, to be based on the proportion of the 
                Colville National Forest subject to the research plan.
                    (B) The amounts deposited pursuant to subsection 
                (g)(3).
                    (C) Any amounts borrowed under paragraph (3).
            (3) Borrowing authority.--To the extent necessary to fund 
        startup costs under the research plan, the Secretary may borrow 
        amounts from salvage sale accounts of the Forest Service or 
        amounts available under the Act of June 9, 1930 (16 U.S.C. 576 
        et seq; commonly known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act). The 
        Secretary shall repay amounts borrowed, without interest, using 
        funds deposited in the account under subsection (g)(3).
    (f) Use of Account.--The Secretary shall use amounts in the special 
account established under subsection (e) for--
            (1) the design and implementation of research projects 
        conducted under the research plan prepared under subsection 
        (a), except that the Secretary shall use funds from other 
        sources to cover any costs related to appeals or litigation 
        concerning those projects; and
            (2) to the extent amounts remain available in the special 
        account after expenditures under paragraph (1), vegetative 
        management activities, fuels treatment, monitoring, and 
        watershed improvement projects within the areas covered by the 
        research plan.
    (g) Treatment of Receipts.--Receipts generated from the sale of 
forest products resulting from silvicultural treatments under the 
research plan prepared under subsection (a) shall be deposited or 
utilized as follows:
            (1) 25 percent shall be deposited in the general fund of 
        the Treasury of the United States as a miscellaneous receipt, 
        pursuant to the procedures specified in the fifth paragraph 
        under the heading ``FOREST SERVICE'' in the Act of March 4, 
        1907 (34 Stat. 1270; 16 U.S.C. 499), and related laws.
            (2) 25 percent shall be provided to the State of Washington 
        pursuant to the procedures specified in the sixth paragraph 
        under the heading ``FOREST SERVICE'' in the Act of May 23, 1908 
        (35 Stat. 260; 16 U.S.C. 500).
            (3) 50 percent shall be deposited in the special account 
        established under subsection (e).
    (h) Schedule of Silvicultural Treatments.--Silvicultural treatments 
under the research plan prepared under subsection (a) shall be 
conducted during the 10-year period beginning on the date the research 
plan is first implemented. The total number of acres treated in each of 
the first 5 years shall not vary by more than 20 percent from \1/10\ of 
the total acres covered by the research plan.
    (i) Monitoring and Reports.--The Secretary shall commence 
monitoring of the effects of research activities under the research 
plan prepared under subsection (a) immediately after implementation of 
the research plan. Monitoring activities shall continue for a period of 
not less than 15 years. At 5-year intervals during the monitoring 
period, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
results of the monitoring, findings derived from the research projects 
under the research plan, and the implications of such findings for 
management of similar overstocked stands. Each report shall include a 
detailed accounting of direct costs and returns associated with the 
implementation of the research plan.
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