[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 858 Reported in House (RH)]





                                                  Union Calendar No. 77

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 858

                      [Report No. 105-136, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a pilot project on 
 designated lands within Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests in 
    the State of California to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 
resource management activities proposed by the Quincy Library Group and 
to amend current land and resource management plans for these national 
  forests to consider the incorporation of these resource management 
                              activities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             June 18, 1997

       Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                      not later than June 18, 1997

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
    Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed





                                                  Union Calendar No. 77
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 858

                      [Report No. 105-136, Part I]

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a pilot project on 
 designated lands within Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests in 
    the State of California to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 
resource management activities proposed by the Quincy Library Group and 
to amend current land and resource management plans for these national 
  forests to consider the incorporation of these resource management 
                              activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 1997

Mr. Herger (for himself, Mr. Fazio of California, Mr. Smith of Oregon, 
and Mr. Faleomavaega) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
  to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

                             June 18, 1997

       Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment

                             June 18, 1997

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                      not later than June 18, 1997

                             June 18, 1997

 Additional sponsors: Mr. Canady of Florida, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Hilliard, 
    Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Riggs, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Parker, Mr. Lewis of 
                       California, and Mr. Cannon

                             June 18, 1997

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
    Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on 
                           February 27, 1997]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a pilot project on 
 designated lands within Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests in 
    the State of California to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 
resource management activities proposed by the Quincy Library Group and 
to amend current land and resource management plans for these national 
  forests to consider the incorporation of these resource management 
                              activities.

    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 ``Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery 
and Economic Stability Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROJECT FOR PLUMAS, LASSEN, AND TAHOE NATIONAL FORESTS TO 
              IMPLEMENT QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP PROPOSAL.

    (a) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``Quincy 
Library Group-Community Stability Proposal'' means the agreement of 
July 1993 by a coalition of representatives of fisheries, timber, 
environmental, county government, citizen groups, and local communities 
that formed in northern California to develop a resource management 
program for certain Federal lands in the Sierra Nevada area. Such 
proposal includes the map entitled ``QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP Community 
Stability Proposal'', dated June 1993, and prepared by VESTRA Resources 
of Redding, California.
    (b) Pilot Project Required.--
            (1) Pilot project and purpose.--The Secretary of 
        Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, shall conduct a 
        pilot project on the Federal lands described in paragraph (2) 
        to implement and demonstrate the effectiveness of the resource 
        management activities described in subsection (d), as 
        recommended in the Quincy Library Group-Community Stability 
        Proposal.
            (2) Pilot project area.--The Secretary shall conduct the 
        pilot project on the Federal lands within Plumas National 
        Forest, Lassen National Forest, and the Sierraville Ranger 
        District of Tahoe National Forest in the State of California 
        designated as ``Available for Group Selection'' on the map 
        entitled ``QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP Community Stability Proposal'', 
        dated June 1993. Such lands shall be referred to as the ``pilot 
        project area'' for purposes of this Act. Such map shall be on 
        file and available for inspection in the appropriate offices of 
        the Forest Service.
    (c) Exclusion of Certain Lands and Riparian Protection.--
            (1) Exclusion.--All spotted owl habitat areas and protected 
        activity centers located within the pilot project area 
        designated under subsection (b)(2) will be deferred from 
        resource management activities required under subsection (d) 
        and timber harvesting during the term of the pilot project.
            (2) Riparian protection.--
                    (A) In general.--The Scientific Analysis Team 
                guidelines for riparian system protection described in 
                subparagraph (B) shall apply to all resource management 
                activities conducted under subsection (d) and all 
                timber harvesting activities that occur in the pilot 
                project area during the term of the pilot project.
                    (B) Guidelines described.--The guidelines referred 
                to in subparagraph (A) are those in the document 
                entitled ``Viability Assessments and Management 
                Considerations for Species Associated with Late-
                Successional and Old-Growth Forests of the Pacific 
                Northwest'', a Forest Service research document dated 
                March 1993 and co-authored by the Scientific Analysis 
                Team, including Dr. Jack Ward Thomas.
    (d) Resource Management Activities.--During the term of the pilot 
project, the Secretary shall implement and carry out the following 
resource management activities on an acreage basis on the Federal lands 
included within the pilot project area designated under subsection 
(b)(2):
            (1) Fuelbreak construction.--Construction of a strategic 
        system of defensible fuel profile zones, including shaded 
        fuelbreaks, utilizing thinning, individual tree selection, and 
        other methods of vegetation management consistent with the 
        Quincy Library Group-Community Stability Proposal, on not less 
        than 40,000, but not more than 60,000, acres per year.
            (2) Group selection and individual tree selection.--
        Utilization of group selection and individual tree selection 
        uneven-aged forest management prescriptions described in the 
        Quincy Library Group-Community Stability Proposal to achieve a 
        desired future condition of all-age, multistory, fire resilient 
        forests as follows:
                    (A) Group selection.--Group selection on an average 
                acreage of .57 percent of the pilot project area land 
                each year of the pilot project.
                    (B) Individual tree selection.--Individual tree 
                selection may also be utilized within the pilot project 
                area.
            (3) Total acreage.--The total acreage on which resource 
        management activities are implemented under this subsection 
        shall not exceed 70,000 acres each year.
    (e) Cost-Effectiveness.--In conducting the pilot project, the 
Secretary shall use the most cost-effective means available, as 
determined by the Secretary, to implement resource management 
activities described in subsection (d).
    (f) Effect on Multiple Use Activities.--The Secretary shall not 
rely on the resource management activities described in subsection (d) 
as a basis for administrative action limiting other multiple use 
activities on Federal lands included within the pilot project area 
designated under subsection (b)(2).
    (g) Funding.--
            (1) Source of funds.--In conducting the pilot project, the 
        Secretary shall use--
                    (A) those funds specifically provided to the Forest 
                Service by the Secretary to begin implementing resource 
                management activities according to the Quincy Library 
                Group-Community Stability Proposal; and
                    (B) other funds as are allocated for the 
                administration of Plumas National Forest, Lassen 
                National Forest, and the Sierraville Ranger District of 
                Tahoe National Forest.
            (2) Prohibition on use of certain funds.--The Secretary may 
        not conduct the pilot project using funds appropriated for any 
        other unit of the National Forest System.
            (3) Flexibility.--During the term of the pilot project, the 
        forest supervisors of Plumas National Forest, Lassen National 
        Forest, and Tahoe National Forest may allocate and use all 
        accounts available for the administration of Plumas National 
        Forest, Lassen National Forest, and the Sierraville Ranger 
        District of Tahoe National Forest to perform the resource 
        management activities described in subsection (d).
    (h) Term of Pilot Project.--The Secretary shall conduct the pilot 
project during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act and ending on the later of the following:
            (1) The date on which the Secretary completes amendment or 
        revision of the land and resource management plans for Plumas 
        National Forest, Lassen National Forest, and Tahoe National 
        Forest pursuant to subsection (i).
            (2) The date that is five years after the date of the 
        commencement of the pilot project.
    (i) Corresponding Forest Plan Amendments.--Within 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Regional Forester for Region 
5 shall initiate the process to amend or revise the land and resource 
management plans for Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, 
and Tahoe National Forest. The process shall include preparation of at 
least one alternative that--
            (1) incorporates the pilot project and area designations 
        made by subsection (b) and the resource management activities 
described in subsection (d); and
            (2) makes other changes warranted by the analyses conducted 
        in compliance with section 102(2) of the National Environmental 
        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)), section 6 of the Forest 
        and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
        U.S.C. 1604), and other applicable laws.
    (j) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than February 28 of each year 
        during the term of the pilot project, the Secretary after 
        consultation with the Quincy Library Group, shall submit to 
        Congress a report on the status of the pilot project. The 
        report shall include at least the following:
                    (A) A complete accounting of the use of funds made 
                available under subsection (g)(1)(A) until such funds 
                are fully expended.
                    (B) A complete accounting of the use of funds and 
                accounts made available under subsection (g)(1) for the 
                previous fiscal year, including a schedule of the 
                amounts drawn from each account used to perform 
                resource management activities described in subsection 
                (d).
                    (C) A description of total acres treated for each 
                of the resource management activities required under 
                subsection (d), forest health improvements, fire risk 
                reductions, water yield increases, and other natural 
                resources-related benefits achieved by the 
                implementation of the resource management activities 
                described in subsection (d).
                    (D) A description of the economic benefits to local 
                communities achieved by the implementation of the pilot 
                project.
                    (E) A comparison of the revenues generated by, and 
                costs incurred in, the implementation of the resource 
                management activities described in subsection (d) on 
                the Federal lands included in the pilot project area 
                with the revenues and costs during each of the fiscal 
                years 1992 through 1997 of timber management of such 
                lands before their inclusion in the pilot project.
                    (F) A schedule for the resource management 
                activities to be undertaken in the pilot project area 
                during the calendar year.
            (2) Limitation on expenditures.--The amount expended on 
        each annual report under this subsection shall not exceed 
        $30,000.
    (k) Final Report.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning after completion of the fourth 
        year of the pilot project, the Secretary shall compile a 
        science-based assessment of, and report on, the effectiveness 
        of the pilot project in meeting the stated goals of this pilot 
        project. Such assessment shall be compiled in consultation with 
        the Quincy Library Group and shall be submitted to the Congress 
        by February 28, 2003.
            (2) Limitation on expenditures.--The amount expended for 
        each report under this subsection shall not exceed $100,000.