[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1320 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1320

 To provide to the Federal land management agencies the authority and 
   capability to manage effectively the Federal lands, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 1, 1999

   Mr. Craig introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide to the Federal land management agencies the authority and 
   capability to manage effectively the Federal lands, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Public Lands 
Planning and Management Improvement Act of 1999''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Supplemental authority.
Sec. 5. Transition.
TITLE I--ENSURING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL LAND 
                                PLANNING

Sec. 101. Purposes.
                           Part A--In General

Sec. 102. Mission of the land management agencies.
Sec. 103. Scientific basis for Federal lands decisions.
      Part B--Resource Management and Management Activity Planning

Sec. 104. Levels of Planning.
Sec. 105. Contents of planning and allocation of decisions to each 
                            planning level.
Sec. 106. Planning deadlines.
Sec. 107. Plan amendments and revisions.
Sec. 108. Consideration of communities dependent on Federal lands and 
                            resources.
Sec. 109. Ecosystem management principles.
            Part C--Encouragement of Collaborative Planning

Sec. 110. Participation of local multi-interest committees.
Sec. 111. Citizen petitions for plan amendments or revisions.
Sec. 112. Notice and comment on management activities.
   Part D. Consideration and Disclosure of Budget and Funding Effects

Sec. 113. Disclosure of funding constraints on planning and management.
Sec. 114. Fully allocated costs.
Sec. 115. Budget and cost disclosures.
               Part E--Monitoring and Adaptive Management

Sec. 116. Monitoring.
Sec. 117. Adaptive management and other changes due to monitoring.
Sec. 118. Monitoring funds.
                  Part F--Planning-Related Assessments

Sec. 119. Purpose and authorization of ecoregion and other assessments.
Sec. 120. Status, effect, and application of assessments.
Sec. 121. Reports to Congress on assessments.
                     Part G--Challenges to Planning

Sec. 122. Administrative appeals.
Sec. 123. Judicial review.
  TITLE II--COORDINATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

Sec. 201. Purposes.
Sec. 202. Environmental analysis.
Sec. 203. Wildlife protection.
Sec. 204. Water quality protection.
Sec. 205. Air quality protection.
Sec. 206. Meetings with users of the Federal lands.
   TITLE III--DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOBAL RENEWABLE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT

Sec. 301. Purposes.
Sec. 302. Global Renewable Resources Assessment.
Sec. 303. National Council on Renewable Resources Policy.
Sec. 304. Repeal of certain provisions of the Forest and Rangeland 
                            Renewable Resources Planning Act.
                        TITLE IV--ADMINISTRATION

                           Part A--In General

Sec. 401. Confirmation of the Chief of the Forest Service.
Sec. 402. Interagency transfer and interchange authority.
Sec. 403. Commercial film and photography fees.
Sec. 404. Forest Service visitor facilities improvement demonstration 
                            program.
Sec. 405. Fees for linear rights-of-way.
Sec. 406. Fees for processing records requests.
Sec. 407. Off-budget study.
Sec. 408. Exemption from strict liability for the recovery of fire 
                            suppression costs.
                       Part B--Non-Federal Lands

Sec. 409. Access to adjacent or intermingled non-Federal lands.
Sec. 410. Exchanges of Federal lands for non-Federal lands.
                      Part C--The Forest Resource

Sec. 411. Timber sale preparation user fee.
Sec. 412. Forest health credits in sales of forest products.
Sec. 413. Special funds.
Sec. 414. Private contractors.
Sec. 415. Timber and special forest products.
                         TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 501. Regulations.
Sec. 502. Authorization for appropriations.
Sec. 503. Effective date.
Sec. 504. Savings clauses.
Sec. 505. Severability.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Bureau of Land Management, Department of the 
        Interior, and the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, 
        are comprised of professionals with considerable expertise and 
        judgment to manage Federal lands within their jurisdictions.
            (2) In 1976, the Congress enacted the Federal Land Planning 
        and Management Act and the National Forest Management Act which 
        declared multiple use and sustained yield to be the basic 
        principles under which the two land management agencies are to 
        manage their Federal lands.
            (3) These principles of multiple use and sustained yield 
        enjoy strong support from the American public and among the 
        diverse stakeholders in Federal land management.
            (4) These same Management Acts established resource 
        management planning processes as the method for engaging the 
        land management agencies' expertise and professional judgment 
        in, applying the multiple use and sustained yield principles 
        to, and obtaining the views of the public on, management of 
        these Federal lands.
            (5) Nevertheless, as documented by the Committee of 
        Scientists established by the Secretary of Agriculture in the 
        March 15, 1999 report entitled ``Sustaining the People's Lands: 
        Recommendations for Stewardship of the National Forest and 
        Grasslands into the Next Century'' and by the authors of an 
        April 1999 report commissioned by the Society of American 
        Foresters entitled ``Forest Discord: Options for Governing Our 
        Forests and Federal Public Lands,'' in the two decades since 
        the Management Acts were passed, fundamental flaws in the 
        planning and decision making processes established by these 
        Acts have become apparent and have caused all stakeholders, 
        whether they favor resource protection or resource extraction, 
        to express increasing dissatisfaction with and distrust of 
        these processes.
            (6) The report of the Committee of Scientists and the 
        report commissioned by the Society of American Foresters 
        concurred with these numerous flaws threaten the integrity of 
        the Federal lands planning and decision making processes and 
        undermine the ability of the agencies to fulfill their 
        statutory land management responsibilities and accomplish 
        management that is well grounded in science.
            (7) The intent of the Congress that the land management 
        agencies would complete the planning required by the Management 
        Acts within a discrete time frame and the new resource 
        management plans would provide secure guidance for subsequent 
        management activities has not been met.
            (8) Although mid-eighties deadlines were set by statute or 
        regulation for completing the new resource management plans, 
        initial planning remains unfinished more than two decades after 
        enactment of the Management Acts even as new planning is 
        undertaken.
            (9) The land management agencies are engaged in a perpetual 
        cycle of planning through the continuous preparation of interim 
        policies, plan amendments, and plan revisions that precludes 
        the provision to both agency professionals and the public of 
        any secure guidance for predictable management of the Federal 
        lands.
            (10) Although the Management Acts anticipated and directed 
        that only two layers of planning--multiple-use resource 
        management planning for each national forest, Bureau of Land 
        Management district, or other designated planning unit, and 
        site-specific planning for management activities--be 
        undertaken, the agencies have engaged in planning at multiple 
        layers--regional, ecoregion, watershed, etc.--without license 
        or direction from statute or regulation.
            (11) As described in the report commissioned by the Society 
        of American Foresters, the Management Acts do not assign 
        particular decisions to specific levels of planning, thereby 
        resulting in repetitious or haphazard decision making in an 
        ``ambiguous'' decision making process.
            (12) These new layers of planning have not been applied 
        uniformly on the Federal lands; frequently have ignored the 
        multiple use mandates of the Management Acts and, instead, have 
        focused narrowly on a single resource, even a single species of 
        wildlife; have been undertaken without consistent agency-wide 
        direction; have been conducted without the meaningful 
        opportunities for public participation established for planning 
        by the Management Acts; and have resulted in guidance that 
        often conflicts with the planning that is prescribed by the 
        Management Acts.
            (13) As described in the report commissioned by the Society 
        of American Foresters, the procedures and requirements of other 
        environmental laws often burden with increased costs and 
        delays, conflict with, and frustrate the planning and 
        management processes established by the Management Acts; 
        effectively transfer the planning and management decision 
        making authority from the professionals in the land management 
        agencies to officials of other agencies; and sanction decisions 
        by those officials who are not expert in land management and 
        are less familiar with the affected resources, activities, and 
        sites. Without doubt, Congress has failed to reconcile the 
        procedures and requirements of other environmental laws with 
        the planning and management processes established by the 
        Management Acts.
            (14) Both the report of the Committee of Scientists and the 
        report commissioned by the Society of American Foresters found 
        that the land management agencies conduct their planning 
        without regard to the funding likely to be available for plan 
        implementation, and that the agencies' budgets and 
        appropriations of Congress are not linked to the agencies' 
        plans.
            (15) Increasingly, even after the land management agencies 
        reach decisions on the planning and management of Federal lands 
        the implementation of those decisions is barred by 
        administrative appeals and litigation. These myriad 
        administrative appeals and lawsuits have delayed substantially 
        completion of planning; encumbered and, at times, paralyzed 
        plan implementation and management activities; drained scarce 
agency resources; and, on several occasions, compelled the Congress to 
enact emergency provisions to restore land management authority to the 
agencies.
            (16) The loss in goods and services from Federal lands 
        resulting from these numerous flaws in Federal land planning 
        and decision making has increased this Nation's dependency on 
        foreign sources for certain resources and has encouraged 
        imports from countries with land management policies and 
        priorities that are far less environmentally responsive than 
        those applicable to the Federal lands.
            (17) As described in the report of the Committee of 
        Scientists, new concepts in Federal land planning and 
        management, such as ecosystem management and adaptive 
        management, have developed since passage of the Management 
        Acts. Yet, these new concepts are being imposed on or 
        incorporated in Federal land planning and management without 
        adequate statutory authority.
            (18) New processes developed by stakeholders to better 
        participate in Federal land planning and decision making, such 
        as the community-based collaborative deliberations of the 
        Quincy Library Group and Applegate Partnership, are not 
        recognized or encouraged by the Management Acts.
            (19) The provisions of section 322 of Public Law 102-381 
        (106 Stat. 1419) requiring the Forest Service to provide notice 
        and an opportunity for public comment on, and establish a 
        streamlined administrative appeals process for, management 
        activities have expired and these well-received congressional 
        requirements for inviting public comment and processing 
        administrative appeals should be restored and expanded to 
        include decisions concerning planning, as well as decisions on 
        management activities, made by the Bureau of Land Management, 
        as well as the Forest Service.
            (20) The Management Acts were passed at a time when the 
        ecosystems on the Federal lands were regarded generally as 
        healthy, but now critical watersheds have become degraded, 
        numerous species are declining because of significant habitat 
        loss, and many, extensive forested areas are undergoing or are 
        threatened by an unprecedented forest health crisis.
            (21) Although the Management Acts and their implementing 
        regulations contain detailed instructions to the land 
        management agencies on planning procedures and contents, they 
        are virtually silent in providing guidance or authority to 
        enable the agencies to implement resource management plans, 
        thereby devaluing the term ``Management'' common to both titles 
        of both statutes.
            (22) The report of the Committee of Scientists judged 
        monitoring to be a ``key component of planning.'' Yet both that 
        report and the report commissioned by the Society of American 
        Foresters found that the land management agencies neither 
        incorporated monitoring into planning procedures nor conducted 
        adequate monitoring to determine whether the planning has been 
        properly implemented or whether conditions have changed 
        sufficiently to warrant new planning in accordance with the 
        concept of adaptive management.
            (23) These numerous flaws in the laws pertaining to Federal 
        land management and in the planning and decision making for 
        Federal lands, particularly the multiple layers and perpetual 
        existence of planning, the increasing intervention of other 
        agencies, and the constant barrage of administrative and 
        judicial challenges, have escalated the land management 
        agencies' costs of managing the Federal lands even as their 
        ability to secure actual management accomplishments on these 
        lands has diminished substantially.
            (24) All stakeholders have incurred injuries--both 
        environmental and economic--from these planning and decision 
        making flaws, but none more than the local resource-dependent 
        communities, which have little or no protection under the 
        Management Acts and have experienced the loss of wages, 
        revenues, and public services, and resultant social 
        instability.
            (25) As described in the United States General Accounting 
        Office report, ``Forest Service Decision-making: A Framework 
        for Improving Performance,'' April 1997, these flaws in the 
        laws pertaining to Federal land management and in the planning 
        and decision making for Federal lands, and the increasing 
        distrust in the laws and decision making experienced by 
        virtually all stakeholders in the Federal lands, have both 
        contributed to and been compounded by the lack of a clear 
        mission statement for the land management agencies.
            (26) Additional Congressional direction for the planning 
        of, and implementation of planning on, the Federal lands is 
        required to ensure that the predictability in Federal land 
        management intended by the Management Acts is achieved, that 
        the land management agencies are able to exercise fully their 
        considerable management expertise and judgment, that authority 
        is provided for use of ecosystem management and other new 
        concepts of land planning and management, that planning and 
        management decisions are made in a collaborative manner which 
        ensures the public is heard, and that the adverse environmental 
        effects and economic and social dislocation which result from 
        the present flaws in the planning processes are avoided.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Specific Terms.--As used in this Act, the term--
            (1) ``Agencies'' or ``Agency'' means the Bureau of Land 
        Management, Department of the Interior, with respect to the 
        lands described in paragraph (4)(A), and/or the Forest Service, 
        Department of Agriculture, with respect to the lands described 
        in paragraph (4)(B).
            (2) ``Committees of Congress'' means the Committee on 
        Resources and Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
        Forestry of the United States Senate;
            (3) ``ecosystem management'' means an approach to 
        implementation of the principles of multi-use and sustained-
        yield on the Federal lands which employs current understanding 
        of ecosystem processes to evaluate the effects of management 
        strategies on ecosystem health, sustainability, and 
        productivity in conjunction with attainment of planned outputs 
        of goods, services, and amenities; the effectiveness of 
        management strategies in pursuing and achieving ecological, 
        economic, and social sustainability on Federal lands, and 
        contributing to such sustainability on a national and 
        international scale.
            (4) ``Federal lands'' means--
                    (A) those lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
                Management and defined in section 103(e) of the Federal 
                Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
                Sec. 1702(e)); and
                    (B) those lands in the National Forest System, 
                including units of the national grasslands, managed by 
                the Forest Service and defined in section 11(a) of the 
                Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
                of 1974 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1609(a));
            (5) ``non-Federal lands'' means lands, other than Federal 
        lands, owned or administered by the federal government and 
        lands of other ownership;
            (6) ``resource management plans'' means land use plans 
        prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for units of the 
        Federal lands described in paragraph (4)(A) pursuant to section 
        202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. Sec. 1712) and this Act, and land and resource 
        management plans prepared by the Forest Service for units of 
        the lands described in paragraph (4)(B) pursuant to section 6 
        of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
        1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 
        (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1604), and this Act; and
            (7) ``Secretaries'' or ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior with respect to the Federal lands described in 
        paragraph (4)(A) and/or the Secretary of Agriculture with 
        respect to the Federal lands described in paragraph (4)(B).
    (b) Other Terms.--Terms used in this Act shall have the same 
meaning they are accorded in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq.) with respect to the Federal lands 
described in subsection (a)(4)(A) and in the Forest and Rangeland 
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1600 et seq.) 
with respect to the Federal lands described in subsection (a)(4)(B).

SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY.

    The provisions of this Act apply to all Federal lands and 
supplement the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq.), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act 
of 1976 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1600 et seq.), and other laws applicable to the 
Federal lands. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, in the event 
of conflict or inconsistency between this Act and the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 or the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Planning Act of 1974, this Act shall prevail. For any Federal 
lands designated as units of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or National Trails 
System, the provisions of law governing management of those systems or 
specific units shall prevail whenever such provisions conflict or are 
inconsistent with this Act.

SEC. 5. TRANSITION.

    Except as otherwise provided in this Act, any plan, policy, or 
guidance of the Agencies with respect to the Federal lands in effect on 
the date of enactment of this Act shall continue to apply to such lands 
until such plan, policy, or guidance is revised, changed, modified, or 
terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

TITLE I--ENSURING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL LAND 
                                PLANNING

SEC. 101. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this title are to establish a mission for the 
Agencies in the management of the Federal lands; to provide 
Congressional direction on, and eliminate fundamental flaws in, the 
conducting and implementing of planning for the Federal lands; to avoid 
the environmental, economic, and social injuries that result from those 
flaws and the past absence of direction; and to achieve predictability 
in the management of, and timely and cost-effective accomplishment of 
management activities on, the Federal lands.

                           PART A--IN GENERAL

SEC. 102. MISSION OF THE LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

    The mission of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Forest Service, 
and of the Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, 
shall be to manage the Federal lands under their respective 
jurisdictions to assure the health, sustainability, and productivity of 
the lands' ecosystems; consistent with this objective, to furnish a 
sustainable flow of multiple goods, services, and amenities; to 
preserve or establish a full range and diversity of natural habitats of 
native species in a dynamic manner over the landscape; and, where 
necessary or appropriate, to designate discrete areas to conserve 
certain resources or allow certain uses.

SEC. 103. SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR FEDERAL LANDS DECISIONS.

    In rendering decisions concerning resource management plans for and 
management activities on Federal lands, each Secretary shall utilize 
the best scientific and commercial data available to the Secretary.

      PART B--RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY PLANNING

SEC. 104. LEVELS OF PLANNING.

    (a) Planning Levels.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretaries 
shall conduct no more than two levels of planning for the Federal 
lands, comprised of--
            (1) multiple-use planning in the form of resource 
        management plans for planning units designated pursuant to 
        subsection (b); and
            (2) site-specific or area-specific planning for management 
        activities.
    (b) Planning Unit Size.--Each Secretary may designate planning 
units of whatever geographic size, ecological scale, and number the 
Secretary deems appropriate.
    (c) Other Analyses or Assessments.--Pursuant to section 119, each 
Secretary may conduct assessments for regions or other geographical 
areas that are not planning units designated pursuant to subsection 
(b), and may apply the results of such analyses or assessments to the 
affected Federal lands by amendment to or revision of resource 
management plans for the planning units encompassing such lands in 
accordance with section 120(b), other applicable provisions of this 
Act, and other applicable law.
    (d) Noncomplying Plans.--(1) Consistent with subsection (a), the 
Secretaries shall have 3 years from the date of enactment of this Act 
to amend or revise in accordance with this Act the resource management 
plans and management activity plans described in subsection (a) to 
incorporate, where appropriate and with such modifications as may be 
warranted, any policies which may be applicable to the Federal lands 
subject to, but which are contained in plans other than, such resource 
management plans and management activity plans.
    (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), all plans other than the 
plans described in subsection (a) shall terminate 3 years from the date 
of enactment of this Act.
    (3) A plan other than a plan described in subsection (a) shall no 
longer apply to Federal lands in a planning unit upon its termination 
date established by paragraph (2) or when the resource management plan 
or management activity plan for such lands has been amended or revised 
pursuant to paragraph (1), whichever is earlier.

SEC. 105. CONTENTS OF PLANNING AND ALLOCATION OF DECISIONS TO EACH 
              PLANNING LEVEL.

    (a) Plan Contents.--(1)(A) Each resource management plan shall 
contain the following basic elements:
            (i) A statement of goals and objectives for the management 
        of the Federal lands to which the plan applies during the term 
        of the plan;
            (ii) The classification for suitable types of resource 
        management of, or allocation of land uses to, areas of the 
        Federal lands to which the plan applies for the term of the 
        plan;
            (iii) Determinations of outputs of goods and services from 
        the Federal lands to which the plan applies annually and for 
        the term of the plan;
            (iv) Policies and standards necessary to ensure compliance 
        with the requirements of this Act and other applicable law for 
        the conservation of the resources and protection of the 
        environment on the Federal lands to which the plan applies: 
        Provided, That, to the extent feasible consistent with this Act 
        and other applicable law, such policies and standards shall 
        avoid the application of prescriptive requirements generally 
        applicable to the planning unit and, instead, shall provide 
        guidance for the determination, during the planning for each 
        management activity, of specific requirements that are 
        addressed to the precise conditions of the lands and resources 
        to be affected by such activity; and
            (v) A description of the desired future conditions of the 
        Federal lands subject to the plan, a statement of the expected 
        durations of time necessary to achieve such conditions 
        consistent with the other basic elements of the plan described 
        in this subparagraph, and a discussion of how such elements 
        assist in the achievement of such conditions.
    (B) Each of the basic elements described in subparagraph (A) shall 
be accorded equal consequence by the Secretary, and no one element 
shall be elevated or given preference over any other element in the 
resource management plan or in the management of the Federal lands to 
which the plan applies.
    (C) To the extent feasible, each of the basic elements described in 
subparagraph (A) shall be set forth in the resource management plan in 
a manner that provides a basis for monitoring pursuant to section 116 
and adaptive management pursuant to section 117.
    (2) Each resource management plan also shall--
            (A) contain a statement of historical uses, and trends in 
        conditions, of the resources on the Federal lands subject to 
        the plan;
            (B) compare and contrast the projected results of the basic 
        elements described in paragraph (1)(A) with recent performance 
        by the Agency on the Federal lands subject to the plan and 
        discuss in detail any significant change in direction that is 
        proposed or expected, including any steps that will be taken to 
        ameliorate any adverse economic, social, or environmental 
        consequences that will or could result from such change;
            (C) a schedule and procedure, including the type, location, 
        and intensity of measurements needed, for monitoring the 
        implementation of the plan, the management of the Federal lands 
        subject to the plan, and trends in the conditions and use of 
        resources on the Federal lands subject to the plan, as required 
        by section 116; and
            (D) criteria for determining what circumstances on the 
        Federal lands subject to the plan warrant adaptive management 
        of the resources of such lands pursuant to section 116(a)(3) 
        and section 117(c).
    (b) Assignment of Decisions to Planning Levels.--(1)(A) Each 
Secretary shall promulgate regulations that assign to each level of 
planning for Federal lands authorized by section 104(a) the analyses 
and decisions to be conducted or made at that level.
    (B) All analysis and decisions to be assigned by or pursuant to 
this subsection to a particular level of planning for Federal lands 
shall be conducted or made solely at that level and may not be 
conducted or made, or reconsidered, at the level to which they are not 
assigned.
    (2) The regulations required by paragraph (1) shall provide that, 
among other matters--
            (A) in a resource management plan: in addition to the 
        matters specified in subsection (a) and sections 108, 109, 112, 
        and 113, resource inventories and analyses of cumulative 
        effects of planning decisions and subsequent management 
        activities on the various resources (including water quality) 
        and values of the Federal lands to which the plan applies shall 
        be conducted; the relationship of the plan to relevant State 
        and local plans shall be discussed; Federal land which may be 
        exchanged or otherwise made available for disposal shall be 
        identified; and decisions concerning wilderness, lands 
        unsuitable for certain activities, and visual objectives, shall 
        be made; and
            (B) in the planning for a specific management activity: 
        analyses of site-specific resources and effects shall be 
        conducted; decisions concerning the design of and requirements 
        for the activity, including decisions related to water quality 
        effects of the activity, method for harvesting forest products, 
        and revenue benefits of the activity, shall be made; and a 
        schedule and procedures for monitoring the effects of the 
        activity shall be established.

SEC. 106. PLANNING DEADLINES.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in section 104(d), the 
deadlines for completing planning and management activities and all 
decisions associated therewith on Federal lands shall be--
            (1) for preparation of a resource management plan, 36 
        months;
            (2) for development of an amendment to a resource 
        management plan which is determined to be significant, 18 
        months, and for development of an amendment to a resource 
        management plan which is determined not to be significant, 12 
        months;
            (3) for revision of a resource management plan, 30 months; 
        and
            (4) for a decision on a management activity which is 
        determined to be significant in accordance with regulations 
        that define significant, 12 months, and for a decision on a 
        management activity which is determined to be not significant 
        in accordance with regulations that define not significant, 9 
        months.
    (b) Deadline for Submission to Congress.--The deadline established 
in subsection (a) for any activity or decision deemed to be a ``rule'' 
as defined in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 804(3) applies to the date on which such 
activity or decision is submitted to each House of the Congress and the 
Comptroller General pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Sec. 801(a)(1)(A).

SEC. 107. PLAN AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS.

    (a) Inconsistent or Conflicting Plan Provisions or Federal Lands 
Policies or Decisions.--Except by amendment to or revision of the 
applicable resource management plan or as provided in subsection (c), 
no policy may be applied to or decision made on a management activity 
on the Federal lands subject to the plan if that policy or decision is 
inconsistent with any provision of the plan, including any basic 
element described in section 105(a)(1)(A).
    (b) Plan Contribution Statement.--Each Secretary shall report in 
writing in each decision to undertake a management activity on the 
Federal lands that such decision contributes to, or at a minimum does 
not preclude, achievement of any of the basic elements of the 
applicable resource management plan described in section 105(a)(1)(A) 
or take such action as required by subsection (c)(1).
    (c) Restoring Plan Conformity; Making Required Planning Changes.--
(1) Whenever, as a result of monitoring the implementation of a 
resource management plan pursuant to section 116, planning a management 
activity on Federal lands to which the plan applies, or other 
circumstance, the Secretary concerned determines that a conflict exists 
between any of the provisions of the plan or that a policy or decision 
the Secretary would otherwise establish or make is inconsistent with a 
provision of the plan, whether the provision concerns a goal or 
objective, land allocation, output determination, environmental policy 
or standard, or desired future condition, the Secretary shall initiate 
immediately the process to amend or review the plan to eliminate the 
conflict, inconsistency, or departure: Provided, That the Secretary may 
waive for a single specific management activity within any class of 
management activities any provision in a resource management plan 
without an amendment to or revision of the plan if such provision does 
not implement a nondiscretionary statutory requirement, no waiver of 
such provision has been provided previously during the term of the plan 
for any activity within such class of management activities, and the 
Secretary determines in writing that the waiver is in the public 
interest.
    (2) Any change in the management of any Federal lands that is 
required by a law enacted, regulation promulgated, or court order 
issued, or is warranted by new information that becomes available, 
after the adoption of the resource management plan which applies to 
such lands shall be effected by an amendment to or revision of the 
plan, and, except where the Secretary determines such law or court 
order requires otherwise and publishes the determination in the Federal 
Register, shall not become effective until a final decision is made on 
the amendment or revision.
    (d) Plan Revisions.--Whenever a resource management plan is 
revised, the Secretary shall consider all provisions of the plan and 
all Federal lands and resources subject to the plan in the decision and 
environmental analysis documents associated with the revision and may 
not address only those particular provisions, lands, or resources which 
may be identified by the Agency, any other Federal agency, or any 
segment of the public at the time of revision as requiring review or 
alteration.
    (e) Continuation of Management Activities During Planning.--(1) No 
management activities shall be stayed during the process of preparing 
an amendment to or revision of a resource management plan in 
anticipation of changes to be made by the amendment or revision, except 
as otherwise required by this Act, court order, or a formal declaration 
of the Secretary published in the Federal Register: Provided, That a 
specific management activity may be stayed by the responsible agency 
official for a purpose that is unrelated to the purpose or likely 
effect of the amendment or revision.
    (2) The authority of the Secretary to make a formal declaration 
pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be delegated.
    (3) Except as provided in paragraph (1) or required by court order, 
an amendment to or revision of a resource management plan shall not 
become effective until final decisions on management activities on the 
Federal lands to which the plan applies that are scheduled to be made 
during the amendment or revision process have been made.

SEC. 108. CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNITIES DEPENDENT ON FEDERAL LANDS AND 
              RESOURCES.

    (a) Responsibility for Consideration of Communities.--In preparing, 
amending, or revising a resource management plan, the Secretary shall 
consider if, and explain whether, the plan maintains to the maximum 
extent feasible under this Act and other applicable law the stability 
of each community dependent on the commodity or non-commodity resources 
of the Federal lands to which the plan applies.
    (b) Procedure.--The Secretary shall conduct during, and publish in 
the environmental analysis document prepared in, the process of 
developing a resource management plan, or an amendment to or revision 
of such a plan, an analysis for each community dependent on the 
commodity or non-commodity resources of the Federal lands to which the 
plan applies that--
            (1) examines the impacts of planning alternatives on the 
        community, including its revenues and budget, the level and 
        quality of its public services, wages for its residents, and 
        its social conditions:
            (2) explains how resource allocations for the planning 
        alternatives would comport with or differ from historic 
        community expectations; and
            (3) describes how those impacts were considered in 
        selecting a preferred alternative.
    (c) Definition.--The term ``community dependent on the commodity or 
non-commodity resources of the Federal lands'' means a community which 
is located in a proximity to Federal lands and is significantly 
affected socially, economically, or environmentally by the allocation 
of uses affecting one or more of the commodity or non-commodity 
resources of those lands.
    (d) Regulations.--The Secretaries, in consultation with the 
Secretaries of Commerce and Labor, shall establish by regulations the 
criteria for identifying communities dependent on the commodity or non-
commodity resources of the Federal lands as defined in subsection (c).

SEC. 109. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.

    The Secretaries shall consider and discuss ecosystem management 
principles in the environmental analysis documents prepared for 
resource management plans, and amendments to and revisions of such 
plans. Such principles shall implement section 102, and shall be 
consistent, and not be authority for noncompliance, with the other 
requirements of this Act and other law applicable to resource 
management plan documents and decisions.

            PART C--ENCOURAGEMENT OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

SEC. 110. PARTICIPATION OF LOCAL, MULTI-INTEREST COMMITTEES.

    (a) Independent Committees.--(1) The Secretaries shall include and 
analyze in any documentation under section 102(2) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)) related to 
the development of a resource management plan, or an amendment to or 
revision of such plan, and consider and discuss in any decision 
document on such plan, amendment, or revision, any alternative for such 
plan, amendment, or revision developed by an independent committee of 
local interests as defined in paragraph (5).
    (2) If more than two independent committees of local interests are 
established and submit alternatives pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall conduct the analysis required by paragraph (1) on the 
alternative submitted by each of the two committees which the Secretary 
determines to be most broadly representative of the various local 
interests likely to be affected by the plan, amendment, or revision 
referred to in paragraph (1). The Secretary shall endeavor to 
consolidate for analysis or otherwise discuss alternatives propounded 
by committees other than the two selected committees.
    (3) If the entirety or a significant part of an alternative of an 
independent committee of local interests analyzed pursuant to paragraph 
(1) is adopted by the Secretary, the Secretary may provide to the 
committee adequate monies from the appropriate fund established 
pursuant to section 118 or, if such monies are insufficient, 
appropriated funds to enable the committee to monitor the 
implementation and effects of the plan, amendment, or revision referred 
to in paragraph (1) in accordance with the schedule and procedures for 
monitoring provided in the plan, amendment, or revision pursuant to 
section 105(a)(2)(C).
    (4) Independent committees of local interests shall not be 
established or funded by either Secretary and shall not be subject to 
the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (5) For purposes of this section ``independent committee of local 
interests'' shall mean a committee of other entity formed by and 
composed of representatives of two or more interests active on the 
Federal lands to which the plan, amendment, or revision referred to in 
paragraph (1) would apply: Provided, That at least one such interest 
shall be concerned principally with the production of a commodity 
resource or resources from such lands and at least one such interest 
shall be concerned principally with use or protection of a non-
commodity resource or resources on such lands.
    (b) Committees Established by the Secretaries.--(1) Each Secretary 
is authorized and encouraged to establish committees corresponding to 
the planning units established pursuant to section 104.
    (2) The membership of each committee established pursuant to 
paragraph (1) shall be broadly representative of the various local 
interests likely to be affected by the planning and management of the 
Federal lands within the planning unit for which the committee is 
established.
    (3) Each committee established pursuant to paragraph (1) is 
authorized to--
            (A) advise the Secretary with jurisdiction over the 
        planning unit for which the committee is established during the 
        preparation of the resource management plan, or an amendment to 
        or revision of the plan, applicable to the unit; and
            (B) monitor the implementation of the plan, amendment, or 
        revision.
    (4) Each Secretary shall--
            (A) in accordance with procedures established by 
        regulation, seek the advice of the committees established 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) as provided in paragraph (3)(A); and
            (B) provide to the committees established pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) adequate monies from the appropriate fund 
        established pursuant to section 118 or, if such monies are 
        insufficient, appropriated funds to permit the committees to 
        conduct the monitoring provided for in paragraph (3)(B).

SEC. 111. CITIZEN PETITIONS FOR PLAN AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS.

    (a) Petition Filing.--(1) A person may challenge a resource 
management plan, or an amendment to or revision of such plan, after the 
deadline for filing an administrative appeal thereof established 
pursuant to section 122(b)(4) solely--
            (A) on the basis of new information, law, or regulation, as 
        defined in subsection (d), that is pertinent to the issue on 
        which the challenge is based; and
            (B) by a petition to the concerned Secretary for amendment 
        to or revision of the plan.
    (2) The petition for plan amendment or revision shall be filed in 
accordance with regulations adopted by the Secretary and may include a 
request for a stay of any activities to which the requested amendment 
or revision would apply.
    (b) Petition Decision.--(1) The Secretary shall accept or deny in 
writing a petition pursuant to subsection (a) within 90 days, and any 
request for a stay within 5 days, of receipt of the petition.
    (2) The decision of the Secretary to accept or deny a petition 
shall not be subject to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536) or section 102 of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4332).
    (c) Effect of Petition Decision.--(1) If the Secretary accepts a 
petition pursuant to subsection (b), the amendment or revision process 
shall begin on the date of acceptance.
    (2) If the Secretary denies a petition, or any part thereof, or a 
request for a stay, pursuant to subsection (b), or fails to render a 
decision on such petition within 90 days, or a request for a stay 
within 5 days, of receipt of the petition, the person who filed the 
petition may seek immediate judicial review pursuant to section 123.
    (d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, ``new information, 
law, or regulation'' means any material and significant information 
related to a resource management plan, or an amendment to or revision 
of such plan, that was not known to and considered by the Secretary in 
the development of the plan, amendment, or revision, or any law or 
regulation not in effect when the decision was made to adopt the plan, 
amendment, or revision.

SEC. 112. NOTICE AND COMMENT ON MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Each Secretary shall establish a notice and 
comment process for proposed actions of the Agency under the 
Secretary's jurisdiction concerning activities implementing resource 
management plans.
    (b) Notice and Comment.--(1) Prior to making a final decision to 
undertake or authorize an action referred to in subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall give notice of the proposed action, and the 
availability of the proposed action for public comment by--
            (A) promptly mailing notice of the proposed action to any 
        person who has requested it in writing, and to persons who are 
        known to have participated in the decisionmaking process; and,
            (B)(i) in the case of any other action by the Chief, Forest 
        Service, or Director, Bureau of Land Management, publishing 
        notice of the action in the Federal Register; or
            (ii) in the case of any other action referred to in 
        subsection (a), publishing notice of the action in a newspaper 
        of general circulation that has previously been identified in 
        the Federal Register as the newspaper in which notice under 
        this paragraph may be published.
    (2) Each Secretary shall accept comments on an action referred to 
in subsection (a) within 30 days after the publication in accordance 
with paragraph (1).

   PART D--CONSIDERATION AND DISCLOSURE OF BUDGET AND FUNDING EFFECTS

SEC. 113. DISCLOSURE OF FUNDING CONSTRAINTS ON PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT.

    The environmental analysis accompanying each resource management 
plan, or amendment to or revision of a resource management plan, shall 
consider generally for each alternative, and the decision on such plan 
shall determine specifically for the plan, how implementation of the 
alternative or plan will be affected by, and what goals and objectives, 
land allocations, outputs, environmental policies and standards, and 
desired future conditions as described in section 105(a)(1)(A), shall 
be effective for the alternative or plan within a range of possible 
levels of funding of Agency programs determined reasonable by the 
Secretary, with at least one level which provides less funds annually, 
and one level which provides more funds annually, than the level of 
funding for the current fiscal year.

SEC. 114. FULLY ALLOCATED COSTS ANALYSIS.

    The Secretaries shall specify, in the environmental analysis 
documents prepared for resource management plans, and amendments to and 
revisions of such plans, the economic value and fully allocated cost 
(including foregone revenues), expressed as a user fee or cost-per-
beneficiary, of each non-commodity output from the Federal lands to 
which the plans apply.

SEC. 115. BUDGET AND COST DISCLOSURES.

    (a) Plan Implementation.--Commencing with the fiscal budget for the 
fiscal year following enactment of this Act, the requests presented by 
the President to the Congress governing the planning and management of 
Federal lands shall include as an appendix to the budget a statement of 
what funds would be required to achieve 100 per centum of annual 
outputs specified in, and to otherwise implement fully the basic 
elements as described in, section 105(a)(1)(A) in the resource 
management plan for each planning unit of the Federal lands.
    (b) Plan Preparation.--On or before July 1 of each year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each Secretary shall submit a report to 
the Committees of Congress that provides the total cost and costs per 
function or procedure incurred in the preparation of each resource 
management plan, significant amendment to or revision of any such plan, 
and assessment pursuant to section 119, which is published in the 
preceding calendar year. Such costs shall include the costs of the 
Agency responsible for preparation of the plan, amendment, revision, or 
assessment and of any other Federal agency which participates in the 
preparation of the plan, amendment, revision, or assessment or prepares 
an opinion concerning or comments on the compliance of the plan, 
amendment, revision, or assessment with any Federal law or regulation 
administered by such Federal agency.

               PART E--MONITORING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

SEC. 116. MONITORING.

    (a) In General.--Using monies from the Monitoring Funds established 
pursuant to section 118 and, where such monies are insufficient, 
appropriated funds, each Secretary shall monitor, on a schedule 
established by each resource management plan pursuant to section 
105(a)(2)(C) but no less than every 2 years, the implementation of the 
plan and management of the Federal lands subject to the plan and trends 
in the conditions and uses of the resources on such lands to--
            (1) ensure that no basic element of the plan as described 
        in section 105(a)(1)(A) is constructively changed through a 
        pattern of management activities or of failures to undertake 
        management activities; and
            (2) determine that no conflict has arisen between any of 
        the basic elements of the plan as described in section 
        105(a)(1)(A); and
            (3) determine if circumstances warrant adaptive management 
        of any of the resources, to be authorized either--
                    (A) in accordance with requirements and procedures 
                prescribed in the plan, if such management will not 
                require or result in any change in the basic elements 
                of the plan as described in section 105(a)(1)(A), or
                    (B) by amendment to or revision of the plan.
    (b) Monitoring Procedures.--The monitoring required by subsection 
(a) shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures for monitoring 
prescribed in the applicable resource management plan pursuant to 
section 105(a)(2)(C).
    (c) Adaptive Management Circumstances.--The determination of 
circumstances warranting adaptive management pursuant to subsection 
(a)(3) shall be made in accordance with the criteria for such 
determination contained in the applicable resource management plan 
pursuant to section 105(a)(2)(D).

SEC. 117. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AND OTHER CHANGES DUE TO MONITORING.

    (a) Correcting Constructive Plan Changes.--If, as a consequence of 
monitoring pursuant to section 116, the Secretary finds that a change 
described in section 116(a)(1) has occurred, the Secretary shall direct 
that corrective management activities be undertaken to restore 
compliance with the affected resource management plan or that the plan 
be amended or revised.
    (b) Correcting Conflicts Between Plan Elements.--If, as a 
consequence of monitoring pursuant to section 116, the Secretary finds 
that a conflict between any of the basic elements of the affected 
resource management described in section 105(a)(1)(A) exists, the 
Secretary should take such action as required by section 107(c)(1).
    (c) Ensuring Adaptive Management.--If, as a consequence of 
monitoring pursuant to section 116, the Secretary finds pursuant to 
section 116(a)(3) that the circumstances warranting adaptive management 
to exist and require an amendment to or revision of the affected 
resource management plan, the plan shall be amended or revised.

SEC. 118. MONITORING FUNDS.

    (a) Establishment of Funds.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
establish a Public Lands Monitoring Fund and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall establish a Forest Lands Monitoring Fund.
    (b) Payment Into Funds.--(1) Any revenues from Federal lands 
described in section 3(a)(4)(A) received by the Secretary of the 
Interior in any fiscal year in excess of revenues from such lands 
projected for the Bureau of Land Management in the baseline budget of 
the President for such fiscal year, minus the funds necessary to make 
payments to States or local governments under other laws concerning the 
distribution of revenues derived from such lands, shall be deposited 
into the Public Lands Monitoring Fund.
    (2) Any revenues from Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B) 
received by the Secretary of Agriculture in any fiscal year in excess 
of revenues from such lands projected for the Forest Service in the 
baseline budget of the President for such fiscal year, minus the funds 
necessary to make payments to States or local governments under other 
laws concerning the distribution of revenues derived from such lands, 
shall be deposited in the Forest Lands Monitoring Fund.
    (c) Use of Fund Monies.--(1) Funds deposited into the Public Lands 
Monitoring Fund shall be available, without fiscal year limitation or 
further appropriation, to the Secretary of the Interior to conduct the 
monitoring required by section 116 or pursuant to section 110(a)(3) or 
110(b)(4)(B) on Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(A).
    (2) Funds deposited in the Forest Lands Monitoring Fund shall be 
available, without fiscal year limitation or further appropriation, to 
the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct the monitoring required by 
section 116 or pursuant to section 110(a)(3) or 110(b)(4)(B) on Federal 
lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B).
    (d) Private Contractors.--To conserve personnel resources, each 
Secretary is encouraged to use private contractors, including 
contractors under the Jobs in the Woods Program, to conduct the 
monitoring required by section 116 and any other monitoring related to 
the Federal lands, except monitoring conducted pursuant to section 
110(a)(3) and section 110(b)(4)(B). Any contracts issued pursuant to 
this subsection shall comply with the requirements of the McNamara-
O'Hara Service Contract Act (11 U.S.C. 351(a)).

                  PART F--PLANNING-RELATED ASSESSMENTS

SEC. 119. PURPOSE AND AUTHORIZATION OF ECOREGION AND OTHER ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this part is to authorize the 
development and prescribe the use, of assessments of environmental, 
economic, and social issues and conditions that transcend the 
boundaries of planning units established pursuant to section 102 in 
order to inform resource management planning and the planning of 
management activities on the Federal lands.
    (b) Authorization.--Each Secretary is authorized to prepare or 
participate in the preparation of assessments which may encompass all 
Federal lands and non-Federal lands within a region or other geographic 
area that is not a planning unit established pursuant to section 104(b) 
and that is specified by the Secretary: Provided, That non-Federal 
lands that are not subject to the jurisdiction of a federally-
recognized Indian tribe may be included in an assessment only upon the 
written concurrence of the Governor or Governors in whose States the 
lands are located and non-Federal lands that are subject to the 
jurisdiction of a federally-recognized tribe may be included in an 
assessment only upon written concurrence of the tribe.
    (c) Congressional and Public Notification.--(1) Ninety days prior 
to initiating any assessment pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary 
or Secretaries shall submit to the Committees of Congress and publish 
in the Federal Register a notice of intention to prepare the 
assessment.
    (2) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall include a 
description of the region or geographic area and the Federal lands and 
non-Federal lands, if any, to be included in the assessment; the 
officials to be responsible for the assessment; the estimated cost of, 
and deadlines for, the assessment; the charter for, or other 
instructions concerning the conduct and substance of the assessment; 
the procedures for ensuring participation of the affected States, local 
governments, and tribes and the public in the preparation of the 
assessment; a thorough explanation of how the region or geographic area 
that is the subject of the assessment was identified and the attributes 
which establish the region or area; and the detailed reasons for the 
decision to initiate the assessment.

SEC. 120. STATUS, EFFECT, AND APPLICATION OF ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Nondecisional Status.--The assessments prepared pursuant to 
section 119 shall not contain any decisions concerning resource 
management planning or management activities on the Federal lands. Any 
decision concerning resource management planning or management 
activities which reflects or employs information or analyses contained 
in an assessment prepared pursuant to section 119 shall be made in 
accordance with section 104(c) and this section.
    (b) Application of Assessments.--(1) Within 180 days of the 
completion of an assessment pursuant to section 119, each Forest 
Supervisor of the Forest Service and State Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management with jurisdiction over Federal lands to which the 
assessment applies shall review the assessment and determine whether 
the information contained therein warrants an amendment to or revision 
of any resource management plan applicable to such lands as required by 
section 104(c).
    (2) If an amendment to or revision of a resource management plan is 
determined warranted pursuant to paragraph (1), such amendment or 
revision shall be completed within the applicable deadline established 
by section 106 and otherwise comply with the requirements of this Act 
and other applicable law.
    (3) Until an amendment to or revision of a resource management plan 
based on an assessment is completed pursuant to paragraph (2), no 
management activity on Federal lands to which the plan applies shall be 
delayed or altered on the basis of the assessment.
    (4) No Federal official shall use an assessment or any documents 
prepared therefor, to regulate, or otherwise apply the assessment or 
documents to, non-Federal lands.
    (c) Applicability of Other Laws.--In accordance with the limited 
status provided in subsection (a) for an assessment prepared pursuant 
to section 119, each such assessment shall not be subject to section 
102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 4332(2)), and subsections (a) through (d) of section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536(a)-(d)).

SEC. 121. REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Reports of the Secretaries.--Each Secretary shall submit a 
report to the Committees of Congress on or before January 1 of the year 
following the date of enactment of this Act, and of each second year 
thereafter, on any assessment prepared pursuant to section 119, any 
implementations for Federal land management derived from such 
assessments, and any amendments to or revisions of resource management 
plans based on such assessments. Each report also shall contain an 
analysis by the Secretary of the benefits and detriments of such 
assessments and any recommendations of the Secretary for improving the 
content and application of such assessments.
    (b) GAO Reports.--The United States General Accounting Office shall 
prepare and submit to the Committees of Congress--
            (1) on or before the date three years after the date of 
        publication of each assessment prepared pursuant to section 
        119, a report on the assessment which shall contain--
                    (A) a review of the degree of protection for non-
                commodity resources on, and the level of goods and 
                services from, the Federal lands subject to the 
                assessment that are projected by the assessment;
                    (B) an evaluation of whether such resources were 
                protected and such goods and services were provided as 
                projected and, if not, the reasons therefore; and
                    (C) recommendations concerning changes to the 
                assessment or in management of the affected Federal 
                lands to provide more accurate projections of, or 
                better delivery of, resource protection and goods and 
                services on and from such lands; and
            (2) on or before the date seven years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, a report on the efficacy of assessments 
        conducted pursuant to section 119 in assisting the Agencies to 
        comply with the requirements of this Act and other applicable 
        law.

                     PART G--CHALLENGES TO PLANNING

SEC. 122. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS.

    (a) Appeals Regulations.--Each Secretary shall promulgate 
regulations to govern administrative appeals of decisions to approve 
resource management plans, and amendments to and revisions of such 
plans, and to approve or disapprove management activities for or on the 
Federal lands.
    (b) Appeals Requirements.--The regulations required by subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) provide that any person may bring an administrative 
        appeal of a decision to approve a resource management plan, or 
        an amendment to or revision of such a plan, or to approve, 
        disapprove, or otherwise take final action on a management 
        activity if he or she has submitted written comments during the 
        preparation of such plan, amendment, revision, or activity on 
        the issue or issues for which administrative review is sought: 
        Provided, That this paragraph shall not apply when either no 
        opportunity was accorded to the public to submit comments or 
        when no opportunity was available to raise such issue or issues 
        because such issue or issues were manifest only after the close 
        of the comment period or other demonstrated reason;
            (2) provide that an administrative appeal of a decision to 
        approve a resource management plan, or an amendment to or 
        revision of such a plan, may not challenge any analysis or 
        decision assigned to management activities pursuant to section 
        105(b)(2)(B) and an administrative appeal of a decision to 
        approve, disapprove, or otherwise take final action on a 
        management activity may not challenge any analysis or decision 
        assigned to resource management plans pursuant to section 
        105(b)(2)(A);
            (3) require that a person who seeks administrative review 
        of a resource management plan, or an amendment to or revision 
        of such a plan, on the basis of new information, law, or 
        regulation as defined in section 111(d) must petition for an 
        amendment or revision of the affected plan in accordance with 
        section 111;
            (4) establish deadlines after the final decision to adopt a 
        plan, amendment, or revision, or to approve, disapprove, or 
        take final action on an activity, by which any administrative 
        appeal, other than a petition pursuant to section 111, must be 
        filed: Provided, That such deadlines shall be not more than 120 
        days after a plan or revision decision, 90 days after an 
        amendment decision, and 45 days after an activity decision;
            (5) establish deadlines after the filing of administrative 
        appeals pursuant to paragraph (4) by which final decisions on 
        the appeals must be rendered: Provided, That such deadlines 
        shall be not more than 120 days after the date of filing of an 
        appeal of a plan or a revision, 90 days after the date of 
        filing of an appeal of an amendment, and 45 days after the date 
        of filing of an appeal of an activity: Provided further, That 
        the Secretary may extend the deadline for a specific appeal for 
        not more than 15 days by a written statement which provides the 
        reasons for such extension.
            (6) provide that, in the event of a failure to render a 
        final decision on an administrative appeal by the deadline 
        established pursuant to paragraph (5), the decision on which 
        the appeal is based is deemed to be a final agency action for 
        the purpose of chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.
            (7) provide that the Secretary shall consider and balance 
        the environmental and/or economic injury to any affected 
        persons in determining whether to issue a stay pending the 
        appeal or petition;
            (8) provide that no administrative stay shall extend 
        beyond, or be imposed after--
                    (A) the conclusion of the applicable period for 
                filing an administrative appeal established pursuant to 
                paragraph (4) if no appeal is timely filed;
                    (B) 30 days from the date of, or deadline 
                established pursuant to paragraph (5) for, a final 
                decision on an appeal of a resource management plan or 
an amendment to or revision of such a plan; and
                    (C) 15 days from the date of, or deadline 
                established pursuant to paragraph (5) for, a final 
                decision on an appeal of a management activity; and
            (9) establish categories of or criteria for management 
        activities which, because of emergency, time-sensitive, or 
        other exigent circumstances, shall not be eligible for 
        administrative appeals and for which lawsuits may be filed 
        immediately after the decisions to authorize such activities.
    (c) Repealer.--The regulations required of the Forest Service by 
this section and section 116 shall replace any regulations promulgated 
pursuant to section 322 of Public Law 102-381 (106 Stat. 1419-1420). 
Upon the effective date of the regulations of the Forest Service 
required by this section, such section 322 is repealed.

SEC. 123. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) Venues.--(1) Any suit to challenge a resource management plan, 
or an amendment to or a revision of such a plan, shall be filed in the 
United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the circuit in which are 
located the Federal lands to which the plan applies: Provided, That if 
the Federal lands to which a plan applies are located in more than one 
circuit, the suit shall be filed in the Court of Appeals for the 
circuit which contains the largest portion of such lands.
    (2) Any suit filed to challenge a management activity or decision 
to deny a petition for amendment to or revision of a resource 
management plan shall be filed in the United States district court for 
the district in which are located the Federal lands on which the 
activity would occur or to which the plan applies: Provided, That if 
the Federal lands to which the plan applies are located in more than 
one district, the suit shall be filed in the district court for the 
district which contains the largest portion of such lands.
    (b) Standing.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), any person (including 
a person that sustains economic injury as a direct or indirect result 
of the implementation of, or a violation of, this Act, the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq.), or the 
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
U.S.C. Sec. 1600 et seq.), or a regulation issued under any such Act by 
the United States or any agency or official of the United States) may--
            (A) to the full extent permitted by the Constitution 
        without regard to any prudential limitations, commence a civil 
        suit to--
                    (i) remedy any violation of any such Act or a 
                regulation issued under any such Act by the United 
                States or any agency or official of the United States; 
                or
                    (ii) challenge any such Act or a regulation issued 
                under any such Act or the implementation of the Act or 
                the regulation; and
            (B) intervene as a matter of right in any suit brought 
        under any such Act that threatens to cause injury to the person 
        or relates to any injury sustained by the person, which 
        intervenor shall have the same right to present argument as do 
        the parties to the suit and the right to participate in any 
        settlement discussions.
    (2) Standing to obtain judicial review of a resource management 
plan, an amendment to or a revision of such a plan, or a management 
activity shall be available only to persons who have--
            (A) participated in the preparation of such plan, 
        amendment, revision, or activity through the submission of 
        written comments on the issue or issues for which judicial 
        review is sought, unless an opportunity to submit such comments 
        was not provided to the public or no opportunity was available 
        to raise such issue or issues because such issue or issues were 
        manifest only after the close of the comment period or other 
        demonstrated reason.
            (B) raised such issue or issues in seeking, or demonstrated 
        that such issue or issues have been raised in, administrative 
        review pursuant to section 122 of such plan, amendment, 
        revision, or activity, other than an activity subject to 
        section 122(b)(9); and
            (C) exhausted the opportunities for administrative review 
        pursuant to section 122, except for an activity subject to 
        section 122(b)(9).
    (c) Deadlines.--(1) Any suit brought pursuant to this section must 
be filed not more than 90 days after the final decision on the 
administrative appeal of a resource management plan or an amendment to 
or a revision of such plan, and not more than 30 days after the 
decision to deny a petition for amendment to or revision of a resource 
management plan, the final decision on an administrative appeal of a 
management activity not subject to section 122(b)(9), or the decision 
to approve or disapprove a management activity subject to section 
122(b)(9).
    (2) Except as provided in subsection (d), the plan, amendment, 
revision, activity, or petition shall not be reviewable either directly 
or indirectly as part of any other decision concerning the Federal 
lands for compliance with any provision of law or regulation in 
existence at the conclusion of the applicable period established by 
paragraph (1).
    (d) Suits Based on New Information, Law, or Regulation.--A suit 
brought pursuant to this section shall not allege or rely upon new 
information, law, or regulation as defined in section 111(d) unless the 
party has petitioned the Secretary pursuant to section 111 and the 
Secretary has denied such petition or approved such petition and 
completed the amendment or revision process.
    (e) Administrative Record.--The record before the court in any suit 
brought pursuant to this section shall be limited to the administrative 
record and such additional written evidence as the court shall permit.
    (f) Other Citizen Suits.--Subsections (b)(1)(A) and (c) through (e) 
shall not apply to any suit brought under a provision authorizing 
citizen suits in any law not referred to in subsection (b)(1): 
Provided, That the deadline for filing any such suit shall be no later 
than 7 days after the conclusion of any period of advanced notice by 
such provision.

  TITLE II--COORDINATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

SEC. 201. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this title are to coordinate, and eliminate 
conflicting procedures of the Federal land management and other 
environmental laws; to assign clear responsibility for meeting the 
standards and requirements of such laws, and securing protection of the 
environment and resources, on the Federal lands; and to reduce the time 
and cost, and thereby improve the efficiency and effectiveness, in 
achieving such protection.

SEC. 202. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.

    (a) Resource Management Plan Analysis.--(1) In developing a 
resource management plan or a revision to such a plan, the Secretary 
shall prepare an environmental impact statement pursuant to section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 4332(2)(C)).
    (2) The environmental impact statement required by paragraph (1) 
shall analyze all matters in the resource management plan, including 
those assigned to resource management plans by or pursuant to 
subsections (a) and (b)(2)(A) of section 105, and contain all other 
analyses required to be included in environmental impact statements by 
this Act and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 4321, et seq.).
    (3) In developing an amendment to a resource management plan, the 
Secretary shall prepare either an environmental impact statement or an 
environmental assessment as may be required by section 102(2) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)). The 
statement or assessment shall contain all analyses required by this Act 
and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321, 
et seq.).
    (b) Management Activity Analysis.--(1) In planning a management 
activity on the Federal lands, other than an activity which the 
Secretary determines to be categorically excluded from the requirements 
of section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)), the Secretary shall prepare an environmental 
assessment pursuant to section 102(2)(E) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 4332(2)(E)) which shall be tiered to, and incorporate by reference 
the relevant analysis in, the environmental impact statement on the 
applicable resource management plan: Provided, That, if the Secretary, 
in the discretion of, and in accordance with regulations promulgated 
by, the Secretary, determines that the nature or scope of potential 
environmental consequences of a management activity is substantially 
different from or greater than the nature or scope of the consequences 
considered in the environmental impact statement on the applicable 
resource management plan, the environmental analysis document for the 
activity shall be an environmental impact statement pursuant to section 
102(2)(C) of such Act.
    (2) The environmental assessment or environmental impact statement 
required by paragraph (1) shall analyze the matters associated with the 
management activity which are assigned to management activities by or 
pursuant to section 105(b)(2)(B).

SEC. 203. WILDLIFE PROTECTION.

    (a) Endangered Species Act Analysis.--(1) In developing a resource 
management plan, an amendment to or revision of such a plan, or a 
management activity on the Federal lands, the Agency, on the basis of 
the best scientific and commercial data available, shall ensure, 
pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1536), that the plan, amendment, revision, or activity is not 
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any species determined 
to be endangered or threatened, or result in the destruction or adverse 
modification of habitat of such species designated as critical, 
pursuant to section 4 of such Act, except that the Agency, upon 
certification pursuant to paragraph (2), shall perform all functions in 
the processes established in subsections (a) through (c) of such 
section 7 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536 (a)-(c)) which are assigned by such 
subsections or implementing regulations to the Secretary of the 
Interior, as delegated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the 
Secretary of Commerce, as delegated to the National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    (2)(A) Each Agency may apply to the Director, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, to be certified to perform, pursuant to paragraph 
(1), all functions in the processes established in subsections (a) 
through (c) of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The 
application shall contain a detailed summary of the personnel and funds 
available to, and the procedures adopted by, the Agency to perform such 
functions.
    (B) The Director shall have 30 days from the date of submission to 
notify the Agency of any further information required by the Director 
to consider the application submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A).
    (C) The Director, in consultation with the Director of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, shall render a decision on an application 
submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) within 90 days of the receipt 
thereof or of the submission by the Agency of further information 
pursuant to subparagraph (B), whichever is later: Provided, That if the 
Director fails to render a decision by such date, the Agency shall be 
deemed certified to perform the functions described in subparagraph 
(A).
    (D) The decision of the Director on an application submitted 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall provide a detailed explanation of 
the reasons therefor and be published in the Federal Register.
    (E) The decision of the Director on an application submitted 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to subsections (a) 
through (c) of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and 
section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)).
    (F) If an application of an Agency to be certified pursuant to this 
paragraph is denied, the Agency may file a subsequent application or 
applications pursuant to subparagraph (A) at intervals of no less than 
one year each until such time as it receives certification.
    (b) Effect on Management Activities.--(1) Whenever a species is 
determined to be an endangered species or a threatened species, or 
critical habitat is designated, pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1533) and the species or habitat is 
located on Federal lands, the Agency with jurisdiction over such lands 
shall determine whether the procedure established by section 7(a)(2) of 
such Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536(a)(2)) and subsection (a) of this section 
is required on each resource management plan applicable to such lands 
within 90 days of the date of the determination or designation. Any 
amendment to or revision of a resource management plan resulting from 
the determination or designation that such procedure is required shall 
be completed within 12 months or 18 months, respectively, from the date 
of the determination or designation.
    (2) If the procedure prescribed by section 7(a)(2) of such Act and 
subsection (a) of this section is required on a resource management 
plan (or an amendment to or revision of the plan), the Agency 
implementing the plan may authorize, fund, or carry out any agency 
action that is consistent with the plan prior to completion of the 
procedure on the plan if the procedure prescribed by such section 
7(a)(2) and subsection (a) of this section concerning the same species 
or critical habitat is conducted on the action or if such procedure is 
not required on the action.

SEC. 204. WATER QUALITY PROTECTION.

    Any management activity on the Federal lands which constitutes a 
nonpoint source of water pollution, including, but not limited to, any 
activity associated with the harvesting and transporting of forest 
products, which is certified by the State in which such Federal lands 
are located to meet best management practices or the functional 
equivalent thereof shall be deemed to be in compliance with any 
applicable requirements arising from sections 208(b), 303(d), and 
319(b) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1288(b), 1313(d), 
and 1329(b)) and section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization 
Amendments of 1990 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1455b): Provided, That the Agency is 
not required to seek such certification for any management activity.

SEC. 205. AIR QUALITY PROTECTION.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 118(a) of the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7418), upon a finding by a forest supervisor of the 
Forest Service or a district manager of the Bureau of Land Management 
that a prescribed use of fire on Federal lands within the jurisdiction 
of such official would reduce the risk of greater emissions from a 
wildfire and will be conducted in a manner that minimizes impacts on 
air quality to the extent practicable, after an opportunity for review 
by the governor, such use shall be deemed to be in compliance with any 
applicable requirements of any State implementation plan under section 
110 of such Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7410), and any requirements imposed by 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under such Act.

SEC. 206. MEETINGS WITH USERS OF THE FEDERAL LANDS.

    To improve and coordinate the management of Federal lands, the 
Secretary may, in his discretion, meet to discuss matters of mutual 
concern with one or more: holders of or applicants for permits, leases, 
contracts, or other authorizations for use of the Federal lands; other 
persons who conduct activities on the Federal lands; and persons who 
own or manage lands adjacent to the Federal lands; or their 
representatives. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 
shall not apply to meetings with any such individuals under this 
section: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be deemed to 
affect the exemption from the Federal Advisory Committee Act provided 
for meetings with elected officers of State, local and tribal 
governments by section 204(b) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995 (2 U.S.C. Sec. 1534(b)).

   TITLE III--DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOBAL RENEWABLE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT

SEC. 301. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this title are to eliminate a level of Forest 
Service planning in accordance with section 104(a); to repeal the 
provisions of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974 concerning the Renewable Resource Assessment and Renewable 
Resource Program, which continually have been altered by other agencies 
and political appointees within the Executive Branch and routinely have 
been ignored by the Forest Service as a guide to the development of 
resource management plans and management activities; to provide for the 
preparation of a Global Renewable Resources Assessment; and to 
establish an independent National Council on Renewable Resources Policy 
to be responsible for the Assessment.

SEC. 302. GLOBAL RENEWABLE RESOURCES ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Assessment.--(1) In recognition of the vital importance of 
renewable resources of the forest, range, and other associated lands to 
national and international social, economic, and environmental well-
being, and of the necessity for a long term perspective in the use and 
conservation of such resources and lands, the National Council on 
Renewable Resources Policy established under section 303 shall prepare 
a Global Renewable Resources Assessment (hereinafter in this title 
referred to as the ``Assessment'').
    (2) The Assessment shall be prepared and submitted to the 
Committees of Congress not later than 5 years from the date of 
enactment of this Act and within each successive 5-year period 
thereafter.
    (b) Assessment Contents.--The Assessment shall include but not be 
limited to--
            (1) an analysis of present and anticipated national and 
        international uses of, demand for, and supply of the renewable 
        resources, with an emphasis on pertinent supply and demand and 
        price relationship trends;
            (2) an inventory of present and potential national and 
        international renewable resources, and an evaluation of 
        opportunities for improving the yield of tangible and 
        intangible goods and services from these resources, together 
        with estimates of investment costs and direct and indirect 
        returns to the various governments;
            (3) an analysis of the environmental constraints, and the 
        effects thereof, on production of the renewable resources in 
        the United States and in other countries;
            (4) an analysis of the extent to which the programs of 
        other countries for management of renewable resources ensure 
        sustainable use and production of such resource and the 
        sustainability of the ecosystems that provide such resources;
            (5) a description of national and international programs 
        and responsibilities in research on renewable resources and 
        management of public and private forest, range, and other 
        associated lands;
            (6) a discussion of important policy considerations, laws, 
        regulations, and other factors expected to influence and affect 
        significantly the use, ownership, and management of public and 
        private forest, range, and other associated lands; and
            (7) recommendations for administrative or legislative 
        changes or initiatives to be undertaken by the Agencies or 
        Congress.

SEC. 303. NATIONAL COUNCIL ON RENEWABLE RESOURCES POLICY.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a National Council 
on Renewable Resources Policy (hereinafter in this title referred to as 
the ``Council'') to perform the functions authorized in subsection (b).
    (b) Functions.--The functions of the Council shall be--
            (1) to prepare and submit to the committees of Congress the 
        Global Renewable Resources Assessment required by section 302;
            (2) from time to time during the 5-year periods between 
        each assessment, as it deems appropriate, to submit 
        recommendations for administrative changes or initiatives to 
        the agencies or legislative changes or initiatives to the 
        committees of Congress; and
            (3) to conduct such analyses as requested by the committees 
        of Congress or the agencies.
    (c) Membership; Chair.--(1) The Council shall be composed of 15 
members, including 5 members appointed by the President, 5 members 
appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and 5 members 
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
    (2) The Chair of the Council shall be selected from among its 
members.
    (d) Terms; Vacancies.--(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
(3), each member of the Council shall hold office for a term of 7 years 
and until a successor is appointed.
    (2) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the 
expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed 
shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.
    (3) The terms of the 5 members appointed by each official which 
first take office after the enactment of this Act shall expire as 
designated by the official at the time of the appointment, one at the 
end of 3 years, one at the end of 4 years, one at the end of 5 years, 
one at the end of 6 years, and one at the end of 7 years.
    (4) A vacancy in the Council shall not impair the right of the 
remaining members to perform the functions authorized in subsection 
(b).
    (e) Executive Director.--(1) The Council shall have an Executive 
Director, who shall be appointed (without regard to the provisions of 
title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service) by the Council and serve at the pleasure of the Council.
    (2) The Executive Director shall report to the Council and assume 
such duties as the Council may assign.
    (f) Compensation.--(1) The members of the Council who are not 
officers or employees of the United States, while attending 
conferences, hearings or meetings of the Council or while otherwise 
serving at the request of the Chair shall each be entitled to receive 
compensation at a rate not in excess of the maximum rate of pay for 
grade GS-18, as provided in the General Schedule under section 5332 of 
title 5, United States Code, including travel time, and while away from 
their homes or regular places of business shall each be reimbursed for 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence as 
authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons 
in Government service employed intermittently.
    (2) The Executive Director shall be paid at a rate of pay not in 
excess of the rate of pay for grade GS-18, as provided in the General 
Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code.
    (g) Contract Authority; Federal Agency Cooperation.--(1) In the 
performance of its functions, the Council is authorized to contract 
with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of 
Engineering (acting through the National Research Council), and other 
nongovernmental entities, for the investigation of matters within their 
competence.
    (2) The heads of the departments, agencies, and instrumentalities 
of the executive branch of the Federal Government shall cooperate with 
the Council in the performance of its functions, and shall furnish to 
the Council such information as the Council deems necessary to carry 
out its functions. To the maximum extent feasible, the Council shall 
avoid undertaking, and shall incorporate in the Assessment as 
warranted, survey, inventory, or data collection activities otherwise 
conducted or capable of being conducted by agencies of the executive 
branch of the Federal Government, including the Forest Inventory and 
Analysis prepared by the Forest Service.
    (3) Nothing in this title shall be deemed to diminish or otherwise 
restrict the authority and obligation of the Forest Service to conduct 
the Forest Inventory and Analysis and any other analyses authorized or 
required by law.
    (h) Appointment of Personnel.--In addition to authority to appoint 
personnel subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
governing appointments in the competitive service, and to pay such 
personnel in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and 
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 
and General Schedule pay rates, the Council shall have authority to 
enter into contracts with private or public organizations who may 
furnish the Council with such administrative and technical personnel as 
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. Personnel 
furnished by such organizations under this subsection are not, and 
shall not be considered to be, Federal employees for any purposes, but 
in the performance of their duties shall be guided by the standards 
which apply to employees of the legislative branches under rules 41 and 
43 of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.
    (i) Rules and Powers of the Council.--(1) The Council is authorized 
to establish such procedural and administrative rules as are necessary 
for the performance of its functions.
    (2) The Council, by one or more of its members or by such agents as 
it may designate, may conduct any hearing or other inquiry necessary or 
appropriate to its functions.
    (j) Transmittals of the Assessment, Budget Requests, and 
Legislative Recommendations.--(1) Whenever the Council submits any 
budget estimate or request to the President or the Office of Management 
and Budget, it shall transmit concurrently copies of that estimate or 
request to the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and House of 
Representatives.
    (2) Whenever the Council transmits the Assessment, analyses, or 
recommendations referred to in subsection (b) or any testimony or any 
comments on legislation to the Agencies, the President, or the Office 
of Management and Budget, it shall transmit concurrently copies thereof 
to the Committees of Congress. No officer or agency of the United 
States shall have any authority to require the Council to submit its 
Assessment, analyses, or recommendations referred to in subsection (b), 
or any testimony or any comments on legislation, to any officer or 
agency of the United States for approval, comments, or review prior to 
the submission of the Assessment, analyses, recommendations, testimony 
or comments to the Committees of Congress. In instances where the 
Council voluntarily seeks to obtain such comments or review of any 
officer or agency of the United States, the Council shall include a 
description of such action in the Assessment, analyses, 
recommendations, testimony, or comments which it transmits to the 
Congress.

SEC. 304. REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE FOREST AND RANGELAND 
              RENEWABLE RESOURCES PLANNING ACT.

    The following sections of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Planning Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1601 et seq.) (as 
redesignated by section 2 of, and otherwise amended by, the National 
Forest Management Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2949)) are amended--
            (1) in section 3--
                    (A) by deleting subsections (a), (b), and (c);
                    (B) in subsection (d)--
                            (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 
                        and (3) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), 
                        respectively;
                            (ii) in paragraph (1), redesignated as 
                        subsection (a) by clause (i), by deleting 
                        ``budget together with the annual report 
                        provided for under section 8(c) of this Act,'' 
                        and inserting ``budget,''; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (3), redesignated as 
                        subsection (c) by clause (i), by deleting 
                        ``subsection (d)'' and inserting ``section''; 
                        and
                    (C) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 
                (d);
            (2) by deleting section 4 in its entirety;
            (3) in section 5, by deleting ``As a part of the 
        Assessment, the'' and inserting ``The'';
            (4) in section 6--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by deleting ``As a part of 
                the Program provided for by section 3 of this Act, 
                the'' and inserting ``The''; and
                    (B) in subsection (g)(3), by deleting ``developed 
                to achieve the goals of the Program'';
            (5) in section 7, by deleting ``Assessment, resource 
        surveys, and Program'' and inserting ``resource surveys''; and
            (6) by deleting section 8 in its entirety.

                        TITLE IV--ADMINISTRATION

                           PART A--IN GENERAL

SEC. 401. CONFIRMATION OF THE CHIEF OF THE FOREST SERVICE.

    (a) Confirmation.--The Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, 
shall be headed by the Chief who shall be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. As an exercise of the 
rulemaking power of the Senate, any nomination of the Chief submitted 
to the Senate for confirmation, and referred to a committee, shall be 
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. No person may undertake 
the functions or exercise the authority of a Chief for more than 180 
days without the advice and consent of the Senate.
    (b) Qualifications.--In nominating a Chief for appointment pursuant 
to subsection (a), the President shall select a person who is 
exceptionally qualified for such position by virtue of--
            (1) possession of a degree in a scientific or engineering 
        discipline that is relevant to decisions concerning management 
        of the Federal lands;
            (2) for a period of not less than 5 years, having had 
        direct responsibility for, and possessed and exercised 
        authority to make decisions concerning, the management, or 
        research pertaining to the management, of Federal lands or 
        other lands administered for purposes that are not dissimilar 
        to the purposes for which Federal lands are managed; and
            (3) for a period of not less than 5 years, having 
        administered a program or office which has or had a number of 
        employees equal to or greater than the average number of full-
        time equivalent employees in national forest supervisors 
        offices of the Forest Service on or about the date of the 
        appointment.

SEC. 402. INTERAGENCY TRANSFER AND INTERCHANGE AUTHORITY.

    (a) Transfer and Interchange Authority.--To facilitate land 
management or achieve other authorized public purposes, the Secretary 
of the Interior, with respect to Federal lands described in section 
3(a)(4)(A) which are within or adjacent to Federal lands described in 
section 3(a)(4)(B), and the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B) which are within or 
adjacent to Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(A), are 
authorized to transfer to the other Secretary jurisdiction over lands 
not exceeding 5,000 acres in size or to interchange jurisdiction over 
lands not exceeding an aggregate of 10,000 acres per transaction.
    (b) Conditions.--(1) Transfers or interchanges made pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be without reimbursement or transfer of funds.
    (2) Lands transferred or interchanged pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall become a part of the Federal lands under the jurisdiction of, and 
managed in accordance with the laws pertaining to and regulations of, 
the Agency which receives the lands: Provided, That no special 
designation of, or special management direction applicable to, such 
lands provided by Act of Congress may be modified or removed except by 
another Act of Congress and no special designation of such lands in a 
resource management plan applicable to such lands prior to the transfer 
or interchange may be removed or altered except by amendment to or 
revision of the resource management plan applicable to such lands after 
the transfer or interchange.
    (3) The transfer or interchange of lands pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall be subject to valid existing rights.
    (c) Public Notice.--The Secretaries shall publish in the Federal 
Register at least 30 days prior to any transfer or interchange to be 
made pursuant to subsection (a) a notice of such transaction, together 
with a description of the resource management objectives or public 
interest to be served by such transaction.

SEC. 403. COMMERCIAL FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY FEES.

    (a) Authority.--(1) The Secretaries may permit the use of land and 
facilities on Federal lands for--
            (A) motion picture production;
            (B) television production;
            (C) soundtrack production;
            (D) the production of an advertisement using a prop or a 
        model; or
            (E) any similar commercial project.
    (2) The Secretary shall not permit a use of land or a facility 
described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that a proposed 
use--
            (A) is not appropriate; or
            (B) will impair the value or resources of the land or 
        facility.
    (b) Bonding and Insurance.--The Secretary may require a bond, 
insurance, or such other means as is necessary to protect the interests 
of the United States in connection with an activity conducted under a 
permit issued pursuant to subsection (a).
    (c) Fees.--(1) For any use of land or a facility on Federal lands 
authorized pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall assess--
            (A) a reimbursement fee as described in paragraph (2); and
            (B) a special use fee as described in paragraph (3).
    (2)(A) The Secretary shall require the payment of a reimbursement 
fee in an amount that is not less than the amount of any direct and 
indirect costs to the Government incurred--
            (i) in processing the application for a permit for a use of 
        land or facilities issued pursuant to subsection (a); and
            (ii) as a result of the use of land and facilities under 
        the permit, including any necessary costs of cleanup and 
        restoration.
    (B) An amount equal to the amount of a reimbursement fee collected 
under this subparagraph shall--
            (i) be retained by the Secretary; and
            (ii) be available for use by the Secretary, without further 
        Act of appropriation, in the unit of the Federal lands in which 
        the reimbursement fee is collected.
    (3)(A) To determine the amount of a special use fee, the Secretary 
shall establish a schedule of rates sufficient to provide a fair return 
to the Government, based on factors such as--
            (i) the number of people on site under the permit issued 
        pursuant to subsection (a);
            (ii) the duration of activities under the permit;
            (iii) the conduct of activities under the permit in any 
        area designated by a statute or regulation as a special use 
        area, including a wilderness or research natural area;
            (iv) the amount of equipment on site under the permit; and
            (v) any disruption of normal function on, or accessibility 
        to, the unit on Federal lands including temporary closure of 
        land or a facility to the public.
    (B) A special use fee under this paragraph shall be distributed as 
follows--
            (i) 80 percent shall be deposited in a special account in 
        the Treasury, and shall be available, without further Act of 
        appropriation, for use by the supervisors of units of Federal 
        land where the fee was collected; and
            (ii) 20 percent shall be deposited in a special account in 
        the Treasury, and shall be available, without further Act of 
        appropriation, for use by supervisors of units of Federal lands 
        in the Forest Service region or jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
        Land Management State Office where the fee was collected.
    (d) Fee Exceptions.--(1) The Secretary may waive a special use fee 
or charge a reduced special use fee if the activity for which the fee 
is charged provides clear educational or interpretive benefits for the 
public.
    (2) Nothing in this subsection affects the requirement that, in 
addition to fees under subsection (c), each individual entering a unit 
of the Federal lands for purposes described in subsection (a) shall pay 
any regular visitor entrance fee charged to visitors to the unit.
    (e) Regulations.--(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, each Secretary shall promulgate regulations that 
establish a schedule of rates for fees collected under subsection (c) 
based on factors listed in subsection (c)(3)(A).
    (2) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and periodically thereafter, each Secretary shall review and, as 
appropriate, revise the regulations promulgated under this subsection.
    (3) The prohibition on fees set forth in section 5.1(b)(1) of title 
43, Code of Federal Regulations, shall cease to apply beginning on the 
effective date of regulations promulgated under this subsection.
    (4) Nothing in this Act, other than paragraph (3), affects the 
regulations set forth in part 5 of title 43, Code of Federal 
Regulations.
    (f) Civil Penalty.--(1) A person that violates any regulation 
promulgated under subsection (e), or conducts or attempts to conduct an 
activity under subsection (a)(1) without obtaining a permit or paying a 
fee, shall be assessed a civil penalty--
            (A) for the first violation, in the amount that is equal to 
        twice the amount of the fees charged (or fees that would have 
        been charged) under subsection (c)(2);
            (B) for the second violation, in the amount that is equal 
        to 5 times the amount of the fees charged (or fees that would 
        have been charged) under subsection (c)(2); and
            (C) for the third and each subsequent violation, in the 
        amount that is equal to 10 times the amount of the fees charged 
        (or fees that would have been charged) under subsection (c)(2).
    (2) A person that violates this section or any regulation 
promulgated under subsection (e) shall be required to pay all costs of 
any proceedings instituted to enforce this section.
    (g) Effective Date.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 
section and the regulations promulgated under subsection (d) take 
effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (2) This section and the authority of the Secretary to promulgate 
regulations under subsection (e) take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 404. FOREST SERVICE VISITOR FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT DEMONSTRATION 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall implement a 
public/private venture demonstration program of not more than 15 
projects for purposes of evaluating the feasibility of utilizing non-
Federal funds to construct, rehabilitate, maintain, and operate 
federally owned visitor facilities (including resorts, campgrounds, and 
marinas) on Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B) and to 
conduct the requisite environmental analysis associated with those 
activities.
    (b) Authorization.--In accordance with the applicable resource 
management plans, the Secretary of Agriculture shall authorize 
individuals, corporations, public agencies, and nonprofit groups to 
construct, maintain, and operate new visitor facilities and 
rehabilitate, maintain, and operate existing visitor facilities on the 
Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B). The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall provide for competition in the selection of any 
concessionaire under this section to ensure the highest quality visitor 
services consistent with the best financial return to the Federal 
Government.
    (c) Term of Authorization and Depreciation.--(1) The term of each 
authorization provided pursuant to subsection (b) shall be based on the 
estimate by the Secretary of Agriculture of the time needed to allow 
the concessionaire to depreciate its capital investment, except that in 
no event shall the term of authorization exceed 30 years.
    (2) Any authorization provided pursuant to subsection (b) shall 
provide for the purchase by the Forest Service or succeeding 
concessionaire of any value in the authorized improvements attributable 
to the concessionaire's capital investment that is not fully 
depreciated--
            (A) upon termination of the authorization; or
            (B) upon revocation of the authorization for reasons in the 
        public interest.
    (3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), the underpreciated value of 
the improvements shall be determined by appraisal conducted by an 
independent third party approved by the Forest Service and paid for by 
the concessionaire.
    (d) Disposal of Existing Facilities.--(1) Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to sell at 
fair market value existing federally owned visitor facilities on 
Federal lands described in section 3(a)(4)(B) to a concessionaire 
authorized under this section, if the Secretary of Agriculture 
determines sale of the facilities is in the best interest of the 
Federal Government and if the concessionaire agrees that any 
construction, renovation, or improvement of such facilities will be 
consistent with applicable resource management plans and Federal and 
State laws.
    (2) The fair market value of the facilities referred to in 
paragraph (1) will be determined by appraisal conducted by an 
independent third party approved by the agency and paid for by the 
concessionaire.
    (e) Concession Fees.--(1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall charge 
and collect concession fees established by bid as a percentage of the 
concessionaire's gross revenue from authorized activities associated 
with the bid.
    (2) Funds collected in accordance with this subsection shall be 
deposited in a special account in the Treasury of the United States.
    (f) Authority To Use Funds.--(1) Funds deposited pursuant to 
subsection (e)(2) shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary 
of Agriculture without further appropriation, and shall remain 
available until expended for purpose of enhancing visitor services, 
including infrastructure at non-fee recreation facilities, facilities 
maintenance, project and program monitoring, interpretive programs, 
environmental analysis, and environmental restoration.
    (2) Five years before the termination of an authorization provided 
pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall require 
bonding from the concessionaire to ensure that federally owned 
facilities are in satisfactory condition for future use by the Federal 
Government or a successive concessionaire.
    (h) Report to Congress.--Within four years of the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the 
Committees of Congress a report evaluating the program established 
pursuant to this section and providing recommendations for permanent 
authority to undertake a public/private venture program.
    (i) Expiration of Authority.--This section shall expire at the end 
of 30 full fiscal years after the date of enactment of this Act, except 
that the authority to issue new authorizations under this section shall 
expire at the end of one full fiscal year after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (j) Relation to Other Laws.--Amounts collected under this 
subsection (e) shall not be taken into account for the purposes of the 
sixth paragraph under the heading of ``Forest Service'' of the Act of 
May 23, 1908 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 500); section 13 of the Act of March 1, 
1911 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 500); the Act of March 4, 1913 (16 U.S.C. 
Sec. 501); the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. Sec. 1012); the Acts of 
August 8, 1937 and of May 24, 1939 (43 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1181 et seq.); 
the Act of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. Sec. 869-4); chapter 69 of title 
31, United States Code; section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935 (16 
U.S.C. Sec. 715s); the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 
U.S.C. 460l-6a); and any other provision of law relating to revenue 
allocation.

SEC. 405. FEES FOR LINEAR RIGHT-OF-WAY.

    (a) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``linear 
rights-of-way'' means a right-of-way authorized by the Secretary--
            (1) under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. Sec. 1761) for a power line, 
        telephone line, fiberoptic communication line, ditch, canal, 
        road, trail, or pipeline; or
            (2) under the Act of February 25, 1920 (30 U.S.C. Sec. 185) 
        for an oil and gas pipeline.
    (b) Fees.--(1) Each Secretary shall charge and collect rental fees 
for linear rights-of-way based on the fair market value of the rights 
and privileges authorized, except where the linear rights-of-way are 
exempt from such fees under laws in existence on the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (2) Each Secretary may waive the application of paragraph (1) in 
accordance with applicable regulations.

SEC. 406. FEES FOR PROCESSING RECORDS REQUESTS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretaries may not 
waive or reduce any fee applicable to the processing of a request that 
exceeds $1,000, or of multiple requests from the same company, 
organization, or other entity, including any affiliates or members of 
the same company, organization or other entity, that exceed $1,000 
within a 6-month period, for records under section 1 of the Act of 
September 6, 1966, as amended (5 U.S.C. Sec. 552).

SEC. 407. OFF-BUDGET STUDY.

    Within twelve months from the date of enactment of this Act, the 
United States General Accounting Office shall conduct, and report to 
the Committees of Congress the results of, a study of the feasibility 
and likely effects of prohibiting any appropriations of funds to the 
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, except for activities of 
such agencies conducted on or related to non-Federal lands, and 
permitting such agencies to retain for their use, without further 
approval of, or appropriation by, Congress and without fiscal year 
limitation, all revenues collected from the Federal lands, with 
revenues from mineral activities on Federal lands described in section 
3(a)(4)(B) retained by the Forest Service, minus the funds necessary to 
make payments to State and local governments under other laws 
concerning the distribution of revenues derived from the Federal lands.

SEC. 408. EXEMPTION FROM STRICT LIABILITY FOR THE RECOVERY OF FIRE 
              SUPPRESSION COSTS.

    Section 504(h) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (43 U.S.C. Sec. 1764(h)) is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) No regulation shall impose liability without fault 
        for fire suppression costs with respect to a right-of-way 
        granted, issued, or renewed under this Act to or for a 
        nonprofit entity, including a nonprofit entity that uses such 
        right-of-way for the delivery of electricity to parties having 
        an equity interest in such entity.''.

                       PART B--NON-FEDERAL LANDS

SEC. 409. ACCESS TO ADJACENT OR INTERMINGLED NON-FEDERAL LANDS.

    (a) Deadlines.--(1) Each Secretary shall process any application 
for access over, upon, under, or through Federal lands within the 
jurisdiction of the Secretary to non-Federal land pursuant to section 
1323 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
Sec. 3210) within 180 days of receipt of a complete application.
    (2)(A) Each Secretary shall notify in writing an applicant for 
access in accordance with this section whether an application is 
complete within 15 days of receipt thereof.
    (B) If a Secretary finds an application for access in accordance 
with this section to be incomplete, the Secretary shall describe in 
detail in the notification required by subparagraph (A) what additional 
information is necessary to render the application complete.
    (3)(A) If an application for access in accordance with this section 
has not been fully processed by the deadline established in paragraph 
(1), the access shall be deemed approved as described in the 
application.
    (B) If the Secretary fails to notify an applicant for access in 
accordance with this section by the deadline established in paragraph 
(2)(A), the application shall be deemed complete.
    (b) Environmental Analysis and Requirements.--(1) The environmental 
analysis documents required by section 102(2) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)) and section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536) shall 
consider the environmental effects of the construction, maintenance, 
and use of the access across the Federal lands and shall not consider 
the use of the non-Federal lands to be accessed.
    (2) Any limitation or condition on the access which the Secretary 
is permitted to impose pursuant to section 1323 of the Alaska National 
Interests Lands Conservation Act shall limit or condition solely the 
construction, maintenance, or use of the access across the Federal 
lands and not the use of the non-Federal lands to be accessed.

SEC. 410. EXCHANGES OF FEDERAL LANDS FOR NON-FEDERAL LANDS.

    Section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. Sec. 1716) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)'' 
        and adding at the end thereof the following paragraphs:
    ``(2)(A) An environmental assessment shall be the document prepared 
for any exchange under this Act pursuant to section 102(2) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)). 
Such document shall not include any assessment of the future use or 
development of the land transferred out of Federal ownership, except 
for consideration of any plans or proposals for such land available to 
the Secretary concerned prior to publication of the environmental 
assessment.
    ``(B) For any land exchange required by an Act of Congress in which 
the specific lands or interests in lands to be exchanged are described, 
unless otherwise required by such Act, no documentation pursuant to 
section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)) shall be required.
    ``(C) Any procedure pursuant to section 7(a) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1536(a)) for an exchange under this 
Act shall be completed within 45 days after the date on which the 
procedure is initiated.
    ``(D) After completion of an exchange under this Act, the Secretary 
concerned shall not, except as otherwise provided by law or regulation, 
undertake or authorize any action on the non-Federal lands or interests 
in land acquired in the exchange until the Secretary has complied with 
section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 
section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 concerning such 
action, and completed any necessary amendment to or revision of the 
land use plan or land and resource management plan applicable to such 
land.
    ``(3) The Secretary concerned shall complete the processing of, and 
make a final decision on, any exchange under this Act within one year 
from the date of submission of the application for the exchange.
    ``(4) The non-Federal lands or interests in land to be included in 
any exchange under this Act shall be valued without the application of 
any Federal or State restriction concerning an environmental value or a 
resource the protection of which is considered by the Secretary 
concerned as a public benefit to be obtained by the exchange.
    ``(5) The Secretary concerned may employ competitive methods to 
dispose by exchange of Federal lands or interests in lands which are 
unique in character, which have values atypical of the general market, 
for which market data is limited, or for which competitive interest is 
demonstrated. The Secretary concerned is not obligated to select the 
highest value property offered in exchange for such Federal lands or 
interests and may reject any and all proposals for exchange.
    ``(6) the Secretary concerned may prequalify Federal lands or 
interests in lands for exchange as a means of preliminary 
identification of lands or interests suitable for disposal. For the 
purposes of this paragraph, the term `prequalify' means conducting the 
necessary assessments and inventories for Federal lands or interests 
with the recognition that such assessments and inventories may need to 
be updated or completed in greater detail to reflect changes occurring 
after the date on which the Secretary prequalified the lands or 
interests.
    ``(7) For Federal lands or interests in lands acquired by a State 
in exchange for school trust lands held by the State, the Secretary 
concerned, in lieu of conducting a cultural assessment under section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 470f) on 
such lands or interests prior to their transfer, may enter into an 
agreement with the State which provides for protection of 
archaeological resources and sites known or later discovered on such 
lands or interests to the maximum extent practicable under State law.
    ``(8) Existing exchange authorities of the Secretary of Agriculture 
may be used to exchange federally owned subsurface rights underlying 
non-Federal surface lands located within the boundaries of a unit of 
the National Forest System, or where the Federal subsurface rights were 
acquired under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 (7 U.S.C. 
Sec. Sec. 1010-1012) and are administered as part of the National 
Forest System. Any such exchange shall not conflict with any prior 
Federal sale or lease of subsurface resources as determined through 
consultation between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 
the Interior prior to any such exchange.
    ``(9)(A) Amounts received by the Secretary concerned under 
paragraph (1) shall be deposited in special funds established in the 
Treasury of the United States for the Bureau of Land Management and 
Forest Service, subject to subparagraph (B). Amounts in each fund, 
subject to appropriations, shall be available to the Secretary 
concerned for processing exchanges under this Act, including cash 
equalization.
    ``(B) Amounts in each fund referred to in subparagraph (A) may not 
exceed $12,000,000 at any time. Amounts received by the Secretary 
concerned under this section which, but for this subparagraph, would be 
added to each fund shall instead be covered into the Treasury of the 
United States as miscellaneous receipts.''; and
            (2) in subsection (h), by striking out ``$150,000'' and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``$500,000''.

                      PART C. THE FOREST RESOURCE

SEC. 411. TIMBER SALE PREPARATION USER FEE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
pilot program to charge and collect fees, at the time of the timber 
contract award, to cover the direct costs to the Department of 
Agriculture of timber sale preparation and harvest administration, 
including timber design, layout, and marking, on Federal lands 
described in section 3(a)(4)(B).
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to timber sale 
preparation and harvest administration costs for--
            (1) preparing an environmental analysis under section 
        102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2));
            (2) conducting timber sales for stewardship purposes under 
        section 347 of the Department of Interior and Related Agencies 
        Appropriations Act, 1999; and
            (3) conducting timber sales when the Secretary of 
        Agriculture determines that the fee would adversely affect the 
        marketability of the timber sale, or the ability of small 
        businesses (as defined in the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        Sec. Sec. 631 et seq.) to bid competitively on the timber sale.
    (c) Collection and Use of Funds.--(1) Fees collected under this 
section shall be deposited in a special fund in the Treasury of the 
United States.
    (2) Funds deposited in the Treasury of the United States in 
accordance with paragraph (1) shall be made available to the Secretary 
of Agriculture to the extent and in such amounts as provided in advance 
in appropriation Acts to remain available until expended to pay for the 
activities for which the fee is authorized.
    (d) Purchaser Election.--(1) A purchaser of a timber sale for which 
fees have been or will be charged pursuant to this section may elect to 
contract for any harvest administration activities subject to fees in 
lieu of payment of such fees.
    (2) A purchaser may not enter into a contract pursuant to paragraph 
(1) with any party other than a party selected by the purchaser from a 
list prepared by the Secretary of Agriculture of parties who the 
Secretary of Agriculture has determined are qualified to conduct the 
specific harvest administration activities subject to the contract.
    (3) The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare the list or lists 
necessary to implement paragraph (2) prior to charging or collecting 
any fees under this section.
    (e) Term.--The authority to charge fees under this section shall 
commence on the date of enactment of this Act and shall continue for a 
period of 8 full fiscal years thereafter.

SEC. 412. FOREST HEALTH CREDITS IN SALES OF FOREST PRODUCTS.

    (a) Authority To Issue Forest Health Credits.--(1) The Secretaries 
are authorized to require, as a condition of any specific salvage sale 
of forest products from the Federal lands or any sale of forest 
products constituting a forest health enhancement project pursuant to 
section 413, that the purchaser undertake a forest health management 
activity or activities as defined in subsection (j) which address 
effects of the operation of the sale or past sales of forest products 
or involve vegetation management within the area of the sale or the 
area in which such effects occur or occurred.
    (2) A condition described in paragraph (1) may be included in a 
contract of sale only when the Secretary determines that--
            (A) the land management objectives of the forest health 
        management activity or activities can be accomplished most 
        efficiently when performed as part of the sale contract; and
            (B) it is unlikely that the forest health management 
        activity or activities will be performed except under the 
        authority of subsection (a).
    (3) The original term of any sale contract with a condition 
described in paragraph (1) shall not exceed 3 years.
    (b) Financing and Supplemental Funding.--(1) Financing of the 
forest health management activity or activities in a contract for a 
sale under the authority of subsection (a) shall be accomplished by 
including provisions in the contract for amortization of the cost of 
such activity or activities through issuance of forest health credits 
to the purchaser which offset such cost against the purchaser's payment 
for the forest products materials.
    (2)(A) Appropriated funds may be used to assist the forest health 
management activity or activities in a contract for sale under the 
authority of subsection (a) if such funds are provided by the resource 
function or functions that directly benefit from the performance of the 
activity or activities and are available from the annual appropriation 
of such function or functions during the fiscal year in which the sale 
is offered.
    (B) The amount to be paid from appropriated funds for each forest 
health management activity shall be included in the prospectus, and 
published in the advertisement, for the sale.
    (c) Determining Forest Health Credits.--(1) Prior to the 
advertisement of a sale under the authority of subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall determine the amount of forest health credits to be 
allocated to each forest health management activity to be performed by 
the purchaser under the contract.
    (2) A description of the forest health management activity or 
activities to be performed by the purchaser, and the amount of forest 
health credits allocated to each activity, shall be included in the 
prospectus, and published in the advertisement, for the sale.
    (d) Changed Conditions.--The Secretary, with the concurrence of the 
purchaser of a sale under the authority of subsection (a), may alter 
the scope of work of a forest health management activity or activities, 
and the amount of forest health credits for the activity or activities, 
in the sale after award of the sale and prior to operation of the sale 
when warranted by a change in conditions.
    (e) Transfer of Forest Health Credits.--Each Secretary may permit 
the transfer of unused forest health credits from one sale under the 
authority of subsection (a) to another such sale held by the same 
purchaser if such other sale applies to Federal lands that are under 
the jurisdiction of such Secretary and located in the same State as the 
original sale.
    (f) Existing Procedures and Requirements.--Nothing in this section 
shall be deemed to require or authorize any alteration in the 
procedures or requirements for sales of forest products under section 
4(2) including the applicable provisions of the small business set-
aside program and procedures for calculating payments to counties of a 
portion of sale receipts.
    (g) Cost Considerations.--Sales under the authority of subsection 
(a) shall not be precluded because the costs of such sales are likely 
to exceed the revenues derived from such sales nor shall such sales be 
considered in any calculations concerning the revenue effects of forest 
products sales programs for the Federal lands or units thereof.
    (h) Monitoring and Report.--The Secretaries shall monitor the 
performance of contracts for sales issued under the authority of 
subsection (a) and, no later than the date 4 years from the date of 
enactment of this Act, shall submit a joint report to the Committees of 
Congress which assesses the effectiveness of such contracts, discusses 
whether continued use of such contracts is advisable, and offers any 
changes in the law or regulations governing, or in the administration 
of, such contracts which the Secretaries deem appropriate.
    (i) Termination of Authority.--(1) The authority to offer sales of 
forest products pursuant to this section shall terminate 5 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
    (2) Any contract for sale under the authority of subsection (a) 
that is issued prior to, and is in effect upon, the termination date 
established by paragraph (1) shall remain in effect under the terms of 
the contract for the duration of the contract.
    (j) Definition of Forest Health Management Activity.--For purposes 
of this section, the term ``forest health management activity'' means 
any thinning, salvage, forest stand improvement, reforestation, 
prescribed burning (including natural ignition) or other fuels 
management, insect or disease control, riparian or other habitat 
improvement, or other activity, the purpose of which is to--
            (1) arrest the decline in forest health and restore forest 
        health in the area in which the activity is to be undertaken to 
        a condition capable of supporting and sustaining the uses of 
        the area within the historic range of variability of such area 
        or as determined in the land management plan or plans 
        applicable to such area;
            (2) safeguard human life, property, and communities on and 
        near the Federal land, particularly in wildland/urban interface 
        areas;
            (3) protect the various forest resources of the Federal 
        lands placed at risk by adverse forest health conditions, 
        including air and water quality, wildlife, and recreation and 
        visual values;
            (4) restore, maintain, or enhance the integrity of 
        ecosystems, watersheds, and habitats damaged or placed at risk 
        by adverse forest health conditions; or
            (5) protect existing Federal investments in the forest 
        resources of the Federal lands, and future Federal, State, and 
        local revenues that otherwise would be forgone.

SEC. 413. SPECIAL FUNDS.

    (a) Bureau of Land Management.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
maintain a special fund established pursuant to Public Law 102-381, 
which shall be derived from the Federal share of all monies received 
from the salvage sales of forest products from all Federal lands 
described in section 3(a)(4)(A), and which shall be available, without 
further appropriation, for the purposes of planning and preparing 
salvage sales of forest products, the administration of salvage sales, 
and subsequent site preparation and reforestation, and forest health 
enhancement projects, including, but not limited to, prescribed burning 
(including natural ignition) or other fuels management, site 
preparation, tree planting, protection of seedlings from animals and 
other environmental elements, release from competing vegetation, and 
stand thinning. The Federal share of any revenues received from forest 
health enhancement projects shall be returned to the special fund and 
be made available for the purpose provided in this subsection.
    (b) Forest Service.--The Federal share of all monies received from 
the salvage sales of forest products from, and any other activities 
funded pursuant to this subsection on, Federal lands described in 
section 3(a)(4)(B) may be credited to the Forest Service Permanent 
Appropriations to be expended on such lands for: salvage sales of 
forest products; preparation of sales of forest products to replace 
sales lost to fire or other causes; preparation of sales of forest 
products to replace sales inventory on the shelf for any national 
forest to a level sufficient to maintain new sales availability equal 
to a rolling 5-year average of the total sales offerings; design, 
engineering, and supervision of construction of roads lost to fire or 
other causes associated with the sales programs described in this 
subsection; watershed assessment activities; and forest health 
enhancement projects, including, but not limited to prescribed burning 
(including natural ignition) or other fuels management, site 
preparation, tree planting, protection of seedlings from animals and 
other environmental elements, release from competing vegetation, and 
stand thinning.
    (c) Payments to Local Governments.--Revenues received from the 
salvage sales of forest products, and other activities, funded pursuant 
to this section shall be considered as money received for purposes of 
computing and distributing payments to State and local governments 
under other law concerning the distribution of revenues derived from 
forest resources from the affected Federal lands.

SEC. 414. PRIVATE CONTRACTORS.

    To conserve budgetary and personnel resources, each Secretary shall 
use to the maximum extent feasible private contractors, including 
contractors pursuant to the Jobs in the Woods Program, to prepare sales 
of forest products from the Federal lands under the Secretary's 
jurisdiction: Provided, That--
            (1) any work conducted by a contractor on a sale shall be 
        reviewed and approved by the Secretary before any decision on 
        the design of, conditions for, or approval or disapproval of 
        the sale may be made by the Secretary;
            (2) a contractor who worked on a sale may not submit 
        comments on, or otherwise participate in, any decision by the 
        Secretary on the design of, conditions for, or approval or 
        disapproval of the sale;
            (3) a contractor who conducted work on a sale, any entity 
        owned or controlled by the contractor, or any member of the 
        family of the contractor, may not bid on the sale or provide 
        any information to potential bidders and bidders on the sale 
        prior to award of the sale; and
            (4) any contracts issued pursuant to this section shall 
        comply with the requirements of the McNamara-O'Hara Service 
        Contract Act (11 U.S.C. Sec. 351(a)).

SEC. 415. TIMBER AND SPECIAL FOREST PRODUCTS.

    (a) Definition of Special Forest Product.--For purposes of this 
section, the term ``special forest product'' means any vegetation or 
other life form, that grows on Federal lands described in section 
3(a)(4)(B), excluding trees, animals, insects, or fish except as 
provided in regulations issued under this section by the Secretary of 
Agriculture.
    (b) Fair Market Value for Special Forest Products.--The Secretary 
of Agriculture shall charge and collect not less than the fair market 
value for special forest products harvested on Federal lands described 
in section 3(a)(4)(B). The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish 
appraisal methods and bidding procedures to ensure that the amounts 
collected for special forest products are not less than fair market 
value.
    (c) Fees.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall charge 
        and collect from persons who harvest special forest products 
        all costs to the Department of Agriculture associated with the 
        granting, modifying, or monitoring the authorization for 
harvest of the special forest products, including the costs of any 
environmental or other analysis.
            (2) Security.--The Secretary of Agriculture may require a 
        person that is assessed a fee under this subsection to provide 
        security to ensure that the Secretary of Agriculture receives 
        fees authorized under this subsection from such person.
    (d) Waiver.--The Secretary of Agriculture may waive the application 
of subsection (b) or subsection (c) pursuant to such regulations as the 
Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe.
    (e) Collection and Use of Funds.--(1) Funds collected in accordance 
with subsection (b) and subsection (c) shall be deposited into a 
special account in the Treasury of the United States.
    (2) Funds deposited into the special account in the Treasury in 
accordance with this section shall be available for expenditure by the 
Secretary of Agriculture, without further appropriation, and shall 
remain available until expended to pay for--
            (A) in the case of funds collected pursuant to subsection 
        (b), the costs of conducting inventories of special forest 
        products, monitoring and assessing the impacts of harvest 
        levels and methods, and for restoration activities, including 
        any necessary vegetation; and
            (B) in the case of fees collected pursuant to subsection 
        (c), the costs for which the fees were collected.
    (3) Amounts collected under subsection (b) and subsection (c) shall 
not be taken into account for the purposes of the sixth paragraph under 
the heading of ``Forest Service'' of the Act of May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 
Sec. 500); section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 500); 
the Act of March 4, 1913 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 501); the Act of July 22, 1937 
(7 U.S.C. Sec. 1012); the Acts of August 8, 1937 and of May 24, 1939 
(43 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1181 et seq.); the Act of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. 
Sec. 869-4); chapter 69 of title 31 United States Code; section 401 of 
the Act of June 15, 1935 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 715s); the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 460l-6a); and any other 
provision of law relating to revenue allocation.

                         TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 501. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 18 months from the date of enactment of this Act, 
each Secretary shall promulgate any regulations necessary to carry out 
the purposes and provisions of this Act.

SEC. 502. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated in the fiscal year in which 
this Act is enacted and each fiscal year for 10 fiscal years thereafter 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all other authorizations of 
appropriations for the management of Federal lands shall expire on the 
same date as the expiration of the appropriations authority of this 
section.

SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The provisions of this Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act. No decision or action required or authorized by 
this Act shall be delayed pending promulgation of any regulation to 
carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 504. SAVINGS CLAUSES.

    (a) O & C Lands Act.--Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, in 
the event of conflict with or inconsistency between this Act and the 
Acts of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. a-1181j) and 
May 24, 1939 (53 Stat. 753), the latter Acts shall prevail.
    (b) Land Use Rights and Authorizations.--Nothing in this Act shall 
be construed as--
            (1) terminating any valid lease, permit, patent, right-of-
        way, or other right of, or authorization for, use of the 
        Federal lands existing on the date of enactment of this Act; or
            (2) altering in any manner any Native American treaty 
        right.
    (c) Valid Existing Rights.--All actions taken by the Secretaries 
under this Act shall be subject to valid existing rights.

SEC. 505. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the application thereof is held 
invalid, the remainder of the Act, or any other application thereof, 
shall not be affected thereby.
                                 <all>