[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 25637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HEALTHY FORESTS RESTORATION ACT

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, 73 million acres of national forests are at 
unnaturally high risk of catastrophic wildfires because of unhealthy 
forest conditions. Efforts by the Forest Service to restore forest 
health and prevent catastrophic wildfires have been frustrated by 
requirements for detailed documentation, administrative appeals of 
proposed forest treatment projects, lawsuits and injunctions.
  The U.S. Forest Service recognizes that it must be able to move more 
quickly to achieve results on the ground. One of its reports, ``The 
Process Predicament--How Statutory, Regulatory, and Administrative 
Factors Affect National Forest Management, dated, June, 2002, cited a 
study conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration where 
it was estimated that planning and assessment consume 40 percent of 
total direct work at the national forest level, representing an 
expenditure of more than $250 million per year.
  We cannot continue to shuffle paper while our forests burn. Federal 
land management must address dangerous fuel loads and declining forest 
health before we can ever hope to stem the wildfires that have plagued 
Arizona and other parts of our country. H.R. 1904 allows the Federal 
land management agencies to take action in protecting forest health.
  It would streamline the administrative process by allowing the 
Federal land management agencies, in their preparation of environmental 
assessments or environmental impact statements, to describe a proposed 
action, an alternative of no action, and one additional action 
alternative if the additional alternative is proposed during scoping or 
the collaborative process and meets the purpose and need of the 
project.
  The legislation would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue 
interim final regulations which will serve as the sole means by which 
administrative review may be sought for authorized hazardous fuel 
reduction projects. It further directs that authorized hazardous fuel 
reduction projects be subject to judicial review only in U.S. District 
Court where the Federal land to be treated is located. It would 
encourage the court to expedite proceedings with the goal of rendering 
a decision as soon as practicable. It would further direct the court--
in its consideration of injunctive relief--to balance the short and 
long-term effects to the ecosystem of undertaking the project versus 
the short and long-term effects to the ecosystem of not undertaking the 
project.
  H.R. 1904 would authorize hazardous fuel reduction projects to 
protect wildland-urban interface areas, municipal watersheds or water 
supply systems, and areas where windthrow, blowdown, ice storm damage, 
or the existence of insects or disease poses a significant threat to 
ecosystems or forests or rangeland resources on Federal land or 
adjacent non-Federal land, or contain threatened and endangered species 
habitat.
  It outlines a path to unlock the gridlock that has precluded our 
Federal land managers from moving forward to protect our forest health.
  Unfortunately, it appears that even at this date, after the bill has 
been reported favorably from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry, and following lengthy bipartisan discussions, 
some Members of this Senate remain unwilling to move this vital 
legislation forward. If we fail to act, our communities and our forests 
will continue to be at risk from insect damage and fire that threatens 
our citizens and their homes and property.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for 
H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. I commend the chairman 
of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Thad Cochran, and his staff who 
have worked tirelessly since this legislation was reported out of 
Committee to reach a compromise with members on both sides of the aisle 
who have concerns about this legislation.
  In the South forest fires pale in comparison to forest fires of the 
West. In my home State of Georgia, we don't have a significant threat 
from fire in our forests because we receive adequate moisture 
throughout the year. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, my 
State experiences approximately 8 thousand fires each year damaging or 
destroying approximately 38,000 acres of forestland.
  However with 24.6 million acres of forestland in the State of 
Georgia, which is nearly two-thirds of my home State, major outbreaks 
of disease caused by pathogens and insects such as the southern pine 
beetle pose a significant threat to forests in the South. In 2002 
alone, damage caused by the southern pine beetle totaled over $150 
million.
  The forest community has waited long enough for comprehensive forest 
management legislation. It is time for the Senate to pass this 
legislation so that Americans have the tools to manage our Nation's 
forests--by putting out fires and by reducing disease and insect 
pressure. This act will help our Nation's forest to flourish for 
generations to come.

                          ____________________