State National Forest Management Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 633 To authorize States to select and acquire certain National Forest System lands to be managed and operated by the State for timber production and for other purposes under the laws of the State, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize States to select and acquire certain National Forest System lands to be managed and operated by the State for timber production and for other purposes under the laws of the State, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘State National Forest Management Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 633 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. State selection of eligible portions of the National Forest System for ac- quisition and management. Sec. 4. Transition provisions during the exchange-transition period. Sec. 5. Transition provisions outside the transition period. Sec. 6. Miscellaneous duties of the parties and other provisions relating to the transfer. Sec. 7. Conditions on changes to land management plans regarding manage- ment of young-growth stands. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) The term ‘‘Commissioner’’ means the head 5 of the Department of Natural Resources of a State 6 or comparable State agency. 7 (2) The term ‘‘eligible portions of the National 8 Forest System’’ means all right, title, and interest of 9 the United States in and to the surface and sub- 10 surface lands and real property (including structures 11 and facilities owned by the Forest Service) included 12 as part of the National Forest System in a State. 13 The term does not include Conservation System 14 Units (as that term is defined in the Alaska Na- 15 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act) and areas 16 or national memorials protected by an Act of Con- 17 gress. 18 (3) The term ‘‘Federal obligation’’— 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 633 IH (A) means any obligation or duty of the 1 Forest Service arising out of any lease, permit, 2 license, contract, and other legal instruments 3 issued by or with the Forest Service relating to 4 eligible portions of the National Forest System; 5 and 6 (B) does not include any obligation with 7 respect to a Federal law, regulation, or policy. 8 (4) The term ‘‘forest operations’’ means the de- 9 velopment of forest operating plans for eligible por- 10 tions of the National Forest System acquired by a 11 State, including the conduct of inventories of timber 12 resources and the engineering of necessary access 13 needed necessary for timber management and re- 14 lated management activities. 15 (5) The term ‘‘patent date’’ means the last day 16 of the selection-transition period. 17 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 18 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the For- 19 est Service. 20 (7) The term ‘‘selection date’’ means the date 21 on which a State elects to acquire eligible portions 22 of the National Forest System and notifies the Sec- 23 retary of such election under section 3(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 633 IH (8) The term ‘‘selection-transition period’’ 1 means the period beginning on the selection date 2 and ending no more than one year thereafter, on the 3 patent date. 4 (9) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 5 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 6 (10) The term ‘‘State forest practices law’’ 7 means a forest practices law applicable to State or 8 privately owned forest land in a State, including es- 9 tablished silvicultural best management practices or 10 other regulations for forest management practices 11 related to clean water, soil quality, wildlife or forest 12 health. 13 (11) The term ‘‘State obligation’’ means any 14 obligation or duty of the State arising out of any 15 lease, permit, license, contract and other legal in- 16 struments issued by or with the State relating to the 17 selected lands under this Act. 18 SEC. 3. STATE SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE PORTIONS OF THE 19 NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM FOR ACQUISI- 20 TION AND MANAGEMENT. 21 (a) SELECTION AUTHORIZED; CONVEYANCE RE- 22 QUIRED.—During the 10-year period beginning on the 23 date of the enactment of this Act, if a State elects pursu- 24 ant to subsection (b) to select and acquire eligible portions 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 633 IH of the National Forest System in that State under the 1 terms and conditions of this Act and notifies the Secretary 2 of such selection, then the Secretary shall convey the eligi- 3 ble portions of the National Forest System so selected to 4 the State in accordance with subsection (d). All convey- 5 ances shall be subject to valid existing rights. 6 (b) FORM OF ELECTION.—The election by a State 7 to select and acquire eligible portions of the National For- 8 est System in that State pursuant to subsection (a) shall 9 be executed in the form of a bill enacted into law by the 10 legislature of that State. Such a law shall provide, at a 11 minimum, the following: 12 (1) That the State elects to acquire eligible por- 13 tions of the National Forest System in that State— 14 (A) pursuant to purchase for fair-market 15 value; 16 (B) in exchange for State lands of equal 17 value; 18 (C) in satisfaction of land selection rights 19 pursuant to the law by which the State was ad- 20 mitted to the Union; or 21 (D) any combination of the preceding 22 paragraphs. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 633 IH (2) Identifies the eligible portions of the Na- 1 tional Forest System to be acquired and the method 2 by which the State will acquire the land. 3 (3) Acceptance by the State that acquisition of 4 the identified eligible portions of the National Forest 5 System is subject to valid existing rights. 6 (4) Acceptance by the State of the procedures 7 specified in this Act and the transition provisions of 8 this Act. 9 (5) In the case of the State of Alaska, accept- 10 ance by the State of the rights and obligations of the 11 United States under the Alaska Native Claims Set- 12 tlement Act with respect to acquired lands, rights in 13 such lands, and use of lands acquired by that State 14 shall not be infringed by that State. 15 (6) Specification that up to 50 percent of the 16 annual harvest of timber from eligible portions of 17 the National Forest System to be acquired shall be 18 offered in at least 10-year contracts, and timber 19 sales shall, to the maximum extent practicable, pro- 20 vide sufficient volume to meet the needs of all wood 21 processing operations existing in that State as of the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, and forest oper- 23 ations shall be performed in compliance with the 24 State forest practices law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 633 IH (7) Acceptance by the State that eligible por- 1 tions of the National Forest System open to mineral 2 entry under the general mining laws of the United 3 States shall remain open to mineral entry under 4 State law unless subsequently changed by a State 5 mineral closing order. 6 (c) MULTIPLE STATE LAWS; ACREAGE LIMITA- 7 TION.—During the selection period specified in subsection 8 (a), a State may enact more than one law to select and 9 acquire eligible portions of the National Forest System in 10 that State, except that the total quantity of National For- 11 est System land acquired by the State under this Act may 12 not exceed 2,000,000 acres. 13 (d) PROCEDURE.—Beginning on the selection date 14 for a State’s acquisition of eligible portions of the National 15 Forest System in that State, the Secretary shall prepare 16 patents conveying the National Forest System lands se- 17 lected by the State and shall convey such patents to the 18 State on the patent date. The duty of the Secretary to 19 prepare and convey such patents under this Act shall be 20 purely ministerial and conveyance of the patent on the 21 patent date shall not be withheld or conditioned by any 22 other provision of law except as provided herein. The 23 United States Supreme Court shall have exclusive jurisdic- 24 tion to issue such writs and compel such actions as may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 633 IH be necessary to accomplish the conveyance made under 1 this Act. 2 (e) OTHER PROPERTY.—Beginning on the selection 3 date for a State’s acquisition of eligible portions of the 4 National Forest System in that State, in addition to other 5 conveyances made under this Act, the Secretary shall con- 6 vey the right and title to and interest of the United States 7 in all other types of property (including real and personal 8 property) used for purposes of operating, administering, 9 and managing the acquired National Forest System land 10 in that State. Such property shall be transferred on the 11 patent date and include only that property which is owned 12 by the United States and used by the Forest Service pri- 13 marily on the eligible portions of the National Forest Sys- 14 tem selected by the State. 15 (f) OTHER USES.—Beginning on the selection date 16 and concurrent with the selection and conveyance of the 17 National Forest System lands and property under this 18 Act, the Secretary shall transfer all existing special use 19 permits related to the acquired National Forest System 20 lands and property to the State. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 633 IH SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROVISIONS DURING THE EXCHANGE- 1 TRANSITION PERIOD. 2 (a) EXISTING OBLIGATIONS OF THE UNITED 3 STATES.—The United States shall remain obligated for all 4 Federal obligations incurred prior to the patent date. 5 (b) EMPLOYEES.—During the selection-transition pe- 6 riod, to the extent practicable, the State shall interview 7 each person employed by the Forest Service on the date 8 of the enactment of this Act whose employment is made 9 redundant by this Act for purposes of reemployment by 10 the State in a comparable job within the new State admin- 11 istrative system for the National Forest System lands ac- 12 quired by the State under this Act. Employees who do not 13 secure employment with the State shall have the option 14 of placement in an equivalent position available within the 15 Federal Government. 16 (c) MANAGEMENT PENDING CONVEYANCE.—During 17 the selection-transition period and until the patent date, 18 except as provided otherwise under this Act, eligible por- 19 tions of the National Forest System not yet patented to 20 the State under this Act shall be administered and man- 21 aged under applicable Federal law and land management 22 plans. 23 (d) TRANSFER OF CERTAIN RECEIPTS.—Receipts 24 from all rentals or sales occurring on eligible portions of 25 the National Forest System selected by a State during the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 633 IH selection-transition period shall be kept in escrow and 1 transferred to the State on the patent date. 2 SEC. 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS OUTSIDE THE TRANSI- 3 TION PERIOD. 4 (a) MANAGEMENT OF SELECTED LANDS.—Begin- 5 ning on the patent date, eligible portions of the National 6 Forest System conveyed to a State under this Act shall 7 be administered and managed primarily for timber pro- 8 duction pursuant to the State forest practices law, except 9 as otherwise provided in this Act for the period provided 10 by this Act. 11 (b) LAND DESIGNATIONS.—Land use designations in 12 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act for eligible 13 portions of the National Forest System conveyed to a 14 State under this Act under the applicable land manage- 15 ment plan shall continue in effect until the patent date. 16 (c) SUBSISTENCE USE AFTER THE SELECTION 17 DATE.—In the case of eligible portions of the National 18 Forest System in the State of Alaska, the Secretary of 19 the Interior shall retain continuing authority to manage 20 subsistence uses of fish and wildlife on National Forest 21 System lands conveyed under this Act until the patent 22 date. 23 (d) ACCESS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:32 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H633.IH H633 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 633 IH (1) EASEMENTS.—The Secretary, in accordance 1 with the applicable forest transportation plan for a 2 unit of the National Forest System and any trans- 3 portation plan of the State, shall provide access in 4 the form of easements across lands owned by the 5 United States to and from eligible portions of the 6 National Forest System conveyed to the State. The 7 duty of the Secretary to deliver patents for such 8 easements shall be purely ministerial and shall not 9 be withheld or conditioned by any other provision of 10 law. The Secretary shall enter into agreements with 11 the Commissioner for the purpose of sharing the 12 costs of common use roads. 13 (2) STATE DUTY.—Following the patent date, a 14 State shall issue easements to the United States for 15 reasonable access across acquired eligible portions of 16 the National Forest System in the manner provided 17 in paragraph (1). 18 (e) MINING CLAIMS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal mining claims lo- 20 cated pursuant to the General Mining Law of 1872 21 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) on e [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]