What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior to work together with affected communities when managing forests on federal land. The bill aims to make forest management activities more efficient and compatible across National Forest System lands while achieving multiple environmental benefits.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior; county supervisors and county commissioners; state, local and tribal governments; local fire departments; volunteer groups; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and communities near National Forest System lands.
Key Provisions
- The Secretary must coordinate with affected parties when conducting forest management activities to increase efficiency and ensure management practices work well together (Sec. 2(a))
- Forest management activities must achieve multiple environmental benefits including reducing forest fuels, maintaining biological diversity, improving wetland and water quality, and increasing forest resilience to changing water temperature and precipitation (Sec. 2(b)(1))
- Fuel reduction projects up to 10,000 acres (with no more than 3,000 acres of mechanical thinning) can skip lengthy environmental review if developed with affected parties and local government representatives and consistent with the forest plan (Sec. 2(d))
- The Secretary can enter into contracts and agreements with qualified organizations to provide fuel reduction, erosion control, reforestation and similar activities on federal and non-federal land (Sec. 2(e))
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, federal agencies must involve local governments and community groups in forest management planning before starting projects. Forest management projects designed to reduce forest fuels would be able to move forward faster by skipping certain environmental review processes if they meet specific size and planning requirements.
Important Definitions
Forest Management Activity: A project or activity carried out on National Forest System land that follows the forest plan for that land.
Stream Environment Zone: An area whose biological and physical characteristics exist because of surface water or groundwater.
Secretary Concerned: The Secretary of Agriculture (for National Forest System land) or the Secretary of the Interior (for public lands).
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 188
To direct the Secretary concerned to coordinate with impacted parties when
conducting a forest management activity, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 9, 2023
Mr. MCCLINTOCK (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. MOYLAN, Mr. STAUBER,
and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the Secretary concerned to coordinate with im-
pacted parties when conducting a forest management
activity, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Proven Forest Man-
4
agement Act of 2022’’.
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•HR 188 IH
SEC. 2. FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR NATIONAL
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FOREST SYSTEM LAND.
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(a) COORDINATION.—In conducting a forest manage-
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ment activity on National Forest System land, the Sec-
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retary concerned shall, as appropriate, coordinate with im-
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pacted parties to increase efficiency and maximize the
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compatibility of management practices across National
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Forest System land.
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(b) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
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graph (2), in conducting a forest management activ-
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ity on National Forest System land, the Secretary
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concerned shall conduct such activity in a manner
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that attains multiple ecosystem benefits, including—
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(A) reducing forest fuels;
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(B) maintaining biological diversity;
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(C) improving wetland and water quality,
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including in Stream Environment Zones; and
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(D) increasing resilience to changing water
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temperature and precipitation.
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(2) EXCEPTION
FOR
COST.—Paragraph (1)
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shall not apply if the Secretary concerned deter-
22
mines that the costs associated with attaining mul-
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tiple ecosystem benefits are excessive.
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(c) GROUND DISTURBANCE.—Consistent with appli-
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cable Federal law and the forest plan developed for the
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•HR 188 IH
relevant National Forest System land, the Secretary con-
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cerned shall—
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(1) establish any post-program ground condi-
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tion criteria for a ground disturbance caused by a
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forest management activity required by such plan;
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and
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(2) provide for monitoring to ascertain the at-
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tainment of relevant post-program conditions.
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(d) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR
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CERTAIN FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—A forest
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management activity conducted on National Forest Sys-
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tem land for the purpose of reducing forest fuels is cat-
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egorically excluded from the requirements of the National
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Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
14
seq.) if the forest management activity—
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(1) notwithstanding section 423 of the Depart-
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ment of the Interior, Environment, and Related
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Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 (division E of
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Public Law 111–8; 123 Stat. 748), does not exceed
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10,000 acres, including not more than 3,000 acres
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of mechanical thinning;
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(2) is developed—
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(A) in coordination with impacted parties,
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specifically including representatives of local
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•HR 188 IH
governments, such as county supervisors or
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county commissioners; and
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(B) in consultation with other interested
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entities; and
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(3) is consistent with the forest plan developed
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for the relevant National Forest System land.
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(e) COOPERATIVE
AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary
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concerned, in conjunction with land adjustment programs,
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may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with
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a qualified entity to provide for fuel reduction, erosion
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control, reforestation, Stream Environment Zone restora-
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tion, and similar management activities on Federal land
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and non-Federal land within the programs.
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(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) INTERESTED ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘inter-
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ested entities’’ includes—
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(A) the Administrator of the National Oce-
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anic and Atmospheric Administration;
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(B) State, local, and Tribal governments;
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(C) local fire departments; and
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(D) other relevant volunteer groups.
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(2) FOREST
MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITY.—The
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term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project
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or activity carried out by the Secretary concerned on
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•HR 188 IH
National Forest System land and consistent with the
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forest plan covering such land.
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(3) NATIONAL
FOREST
SYSTEM.—The term
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‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given
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that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range-
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land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
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U.S.C. 1609(a)).
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(4) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’
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has the meaning given that term in section 103 of
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the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
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1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that the term in-
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cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or-
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egon and California Railroad Grant lands.
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(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
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retary concerned’’ means—
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(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
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spect to National Forest System land; and
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(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
18
spect to public lands.
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(6) STREAM ENVIRONMENT ZONE.—The term
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‘‘Stream Environment Zone’’ means an area that
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generally owes the biological and physical character-
22
istics of the area to the presence of surface water or
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groundwater.
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Æ
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