[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6420 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6420

 To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to establish 
  within the Mount Hood National Forest in the State of Oregon Indian 
        Treaty Resources Emphasis Zones, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2023

Mr. Blumenauer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to establish 
  within the Mount Hood National Forest in the State of Oregon Indian 
        Treaty Resources Emphasis Zones, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wy'East Tribal Resources Restoration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. INDIAN TREATY RESOURCES EMPHASIS ZONES, MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL 
              FOREST.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title I of the Omnibus Public Land 
Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11; 123 Stat. 1007) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1208. INDIAN TREATY RESOURCES EMPHASIS ZONES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) National forest.--The term `National Forest' means 
        the Mount Hood National Forest in the State.
            ``(2) Reservation.--The term `Reservation' means the 
        reservation of the Tribe.
            ``(3) Traditional ecological knowledge.--The term 
        `traditional ecological knowledge' means a body of 
        observations, oral and written knowledge, practices, and 
        beliefs that--
                    ``(A) promotes environmental sustainability and the 
                responsible stewardship of natural resources through 
                relationships between humans and environmental systems;
                    ``(B) is applied to phenomena across biological, 
                physical, cultural, and spiritual systems;
                    ``(C) has evolved over millennia, continues to 
                evolve, and includes insights based on evidence 
                acquired through direct contact with the environment 
                and long-term experiences, as well as extensive 
                observations, lessons, and skills passed from 
                generation to generation; and
                    ``(D) is owned by Indigenous people, including 
                Tribal Nations, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, 
                Native Hawaiians, and other Indigenous people.
            ``(4) Treaty.--The term `Treaty' means the Treaty between 
        the United States and the confederated tribes and bands of 
        Indians in Middle Oregon, concluded at Wasco June 25, 1855 (12 
        Stat. 963).
            ``(5) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Confederated 
        Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
            ``(6) Zone.--The term `Zone' means an Indian Treaty 
        Resources Emphasis Zone established under subsection (b)(1).
    ``(b) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established within the area of 
        the National Forest described in paragraph (3) 1 or more zones, 
        each of which shall be known as an `Indian Treaty Resources 
        Emphasis Zone', consisting of any area within the National 
        Forest with respect to which the Tribe and the Secretary enter 
        into a memorandum of understanding under subsection (c)(1) to 
        protect and enhance Treaty resources or to protect the 
        Reservation from wildfire.
            ``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of a Zone are--
                    ``(A) to meet the trust responsibility of the 
                United States in protecting the exercise of off-
                Reservation Treaty rights reserved by the Treaty in the 
                National Forest;
                    ``(B) to ensure that land and resource management 
                priorities in the Zone maintain and enhance resources, 
                activities, and access reserved by the Treaty;
                    ``(C) to protect Treaty rights and resources and 
                the Reservation from wildfire, drought, and insect and 
                disease outbreaks in the National Forest in line with 
                the best available science, including traditional 
                ecological knowledge;
                    ``(D) to recognize and integrate traditional 
                ecological knowledge as an important part of the best 
                available science that is used in forest and resource 
                management areas within the Zone;
                    ``(E) to improve the technical understanding of 
                Forest Service employees in the National Forest with 
                respect to the trust responsibilities of the Federal 
                Government (including the application of those 
                responsibilities to ongoing forest management processes 
                and practices);
                    ``(F) to enable a co-management strategy between 
                the Forest Service and the Tribe; and
                    ``(G) to conserve other values within the Zone, 
                including ecological, scenic, geological, climate, and 
                indigenous cultural values.
            ``(3) Scope.--This section shall apply to any area within 
        the boundaries of the National Forest in which the Tribe 
        retains Treaty rights.
    ``(c) Management Strategy.--
            ``(1) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
        shall seek to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 
        Tribe--
                    ``(A) in addition to the Tribal consultation 
                process, to better fulfill the trust relationship 
                between the United States and the Tribe by ensuring 
                that the Forest Service includes the Tribe in the land 
                and resource management decision-making process in a 
                Zone to mitigate against adverse effects on Treaty 
                rights and management of the resources on which the 
                Treaty rights depend; and
                    ``(B) to cooperatively develop a management 
                strategy for the 1 or more Zones, including guiding 
                documents for the management of the National Forest and 
                ecosystems for Treaty rights and resources within the 
                Zones.
            ``(2) Requirements.--A memorandum of understanding entered 
        into under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) include an assessment of wildfire risk to--
                            ``(i) the Reservation from the National 
                        Forest; and
                            ``(ii) Treaty and cultural resources within 
                        the National Forest;
                    ``(B) provide that forest restoration and 
                management planning within a Zone includes, and is 
                guided by, reserved Treaty rights, and the resources on 
                which the Treaty rights depend;
                    ``(C) include requirements that no temporary or 
                permanent road shall be constructed within a Zone, 
                except as necessary--
                            ``(i) to meet the requirements for the 
                        administration of a Zone;
                            ``(ii) to protect public health and safety;
                            ``(iii) to respond to an emergency; or
                            ``(iv) for the control of fire, insects, or 
                        diseases, subject to such terms and conditions 
                        as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; 
                        and
                    ``(D) to the maximum extent practicable, to meet 
                the purposes of this section, provide for the retention 
                of large trees, as appropriate for the historic forest 
                structure or promotion of fire-resilient stands.
            ``(3) Road maintenance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to appropriations, the 
                Secretary shall maintain existing roads determined by 
                the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, to be 
                necessary for authorized existing uses and the 
                administration of a Zone.
                    ``(B) Inclusion in memorandum of understanding.--
                The requirement under this paragraph shall--
                            ``(i) not expire; and
                            ``(ii) be included in any memorandum of 
                        understanding entered into under paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all 
        public land within a Zone, and all land and interests in land 
        acquired by the United States within a Zone, shall be withdrawn 
        from--
                    ``(A) all forms of entry, appropriation, or 
                disposal under the public land laws;
                    ``(B) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
                laws; and
                    ``(C) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 
                materials, and geothermal leasing laws.
            ``(5) Deadlines.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) not later than the date that is 1 year after 
                the date of enactment of this section, ratify a 
                memorandum of understanding under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) not later than the date that is 3 years after 
                the date of enactment of this section, complete a 
                management strategy for the 1 or more Zones.
    ``(d) Requirements for Implementation.--In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
            ``(1) use all existing authorities available to the 
        Secretary, including, as applicable--
                    ``(A) the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 
                (Public Law 108-278; 118 Stat. 868);
                    ``(B) the good neighbor authority under section 
                8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a);
                    ``(C) title XXVI of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 
                (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
                    ``(D) the stewardship end result contracting 
                authority under section 604 of the Healthy Forests 
                Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c);
                    ``(E) section 102 of the Indian Self-Determination 
                and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5321); and
                    ``(F) the authority to enter into contracts with 
                the Tribe to expedite projects, on request by the 
                Tribe, under section 8703 of the Agriculture 
                Improvement Act of 2018 (25 U.S.C. 3115b);
            ``(2) develop a programmatic analysis for the management 
        strategy for the 1 or more Zones under the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
            ``(3) pursue a programmatic biological assessment to 
        implement the actions analyzed under paragraph (2) under 
        section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
        1536); and
            ``(4) ensure compliance with all applicable laws and 
        regulations.
    ``(e) Review of MOU.--Not later than 5 years after the date on 
which a memorandum of understanding is entered into under subsection 
(c)(1), and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the 
Secretary shall, in coordination with the Tribe, review the 
accomplishments of the memorandum of understanding to determine if the 
memorandum of understanding shall be extended or modified.
    ``(f) Funding Agreement.--The Secretary shall develop a funding 
agreement with the Tribe, including the use of appropriated funding, to 
ensure that the Tribe, in partnership with the Forest Service, has the 
capacity to participate in designing, implementing, and monitoring 
projects within a Zone.
    ``(g) Monitoring.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into an 
        agreement with the Tribe under which the Tribe may, at the 
        discretion of the Tribe--
                    ``(A) review and provide comments on any land 
                management prescriptions developed by the Secretary for 
                a Zone;
                    ``(B) monitor--
                            ``(i) the long-term effectiveness of 
                        restoration and management treatments of 
                        actions carried out in a Zone; and
                            ``(ii) any other action or lack of action 
                        that is detrimental to the purposes of a Zone; 
                        and
                    ``(C) share any other information with the Forest 
                Service that the Tribe determines to be necessary to 
                further the purposes of a Zone.
    ``(h) Management of Cultural Foods Obligations.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the management plan described in 
        section 1207(c) has not been developed and implemented as of 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) complete a management plan in accordance with 
                that section not later than 180 days after the date of 
                enactment of this section; or
                    ``(B) enter into a contract with the Tribe to draft 
                a management plan described in that section pursuant to 
                the authority of the Secretary under the Indian Self-
                Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
                5301 et seq.).
            ``(2) Definition of cultural foods.--For purposes of the 
        management plan described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
        consult with the Tribe to define the term `cultural foods'.
            ``(3) Inclusion.--The management plan described in 
        paragraph (1) may be included in the management strategy for 
        the 1 or more Zones developed under subsection (c).
    ``(i) Land and Resource Management Plan.--Any revisions or 
amendments to the land and resource management plan applicable to the 
National Forest under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.) shall--
            ``(1) be made in consultation with the Tribe and other 
        Indian Tribes with historical or legal interests in the 
        National Forest;
            ``(2) be consistent with the management strategy for the 1 
        or more Zones; and
            ``(3) within the 1 or more Zones, protect Treaty rights and 
        allow management of the resources on which the Treaty rights 
        depend.
    ``(j) Effect.--Nothing in this section--
            ``(1) enlarges, establishes, or diminishes the current or 
        future rights of any Indian Tribe, including--
                    ``(A) the exercise of hunting, fishing, gathering, 
                and pasturing of livestock rights in usual and 
                accustomed areas; or
                    ``(B) Indian hunting, fishing, or gathering 
                activities conducted under an agreement with the State;
            ``(2) provides any Indian Tribe with exclusive use of any 
        area within the National Forest; or
            ``(3) limits the Secretary from entering into a separate 
        agreement with other Indian Tribes with treaty rights or a 
        recognized legal interest in the National Forest.
    ``(k) Funding.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,500,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
            ``(2) Authority to use other funds.--Subject to the 
        availability of funds, and based on priorities for the National 
        Forest, the Secretary may use existing funds of the Forest 
        Service and Forest Service program revenue generated from 
        forest restoration activities to carry out the management 
        strategy for the 1 or more Zones, in line with the purposes 
        laid out in subsection(b)(2).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Omnibus 
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11; 123 Stat. 991) 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1207 the 
following:

``Sec. 1208. Indian Treaty Resources Emphasis Zones.''.
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