Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74

4. FOREST AND RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES
PLANNING ACT OF 1974
[As Amended Through Public Law 106–580, Dec. 31, 2000]

4–1
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74

4. FOREST AND RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES
PLANNING ACT OF 1974
(Public Law 93–378; Approved August 17, 1974)
AN ACT To provide for the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, to protect,
develop, and enhance the productivity and other values of certain of the Nation’s
lands and resources, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That ø16 U.S.C.
1600 note¿ this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974’’.
SEC. 2. ø16 U.S.C. 1600¿ FINDINGS.—The Congress finds
that—
(1) the management of the Nation’s renewable resources is
highly complex and the uses, demand for, and supply of the
various resources are subject to change over time;
(2) the public interest is served by the Forest Service,
Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with other agencies,
assessing the Nation’s renewable resources, and developing
and preparing a national renewable resource program which is
periodically reviewed and updated;
(3) to serve the national interest, the renewable resource
program must be based on a comprehensive assessment of
present and anticipated uses, demand for, and supply of renewable resources from the Nation’s public and private forests and
rangelands, through analysis of environmental and economic
impacts, coordination of multiple use and sustained yield
opportunities as provided in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield
Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528–531), and public participation in the development of the program;
(4) the new knowledge derived from coordinated public and
private research programs will promote a sound technical and
ecological base for effective management, use, and protection of
the Nation’s renewable resources;
(5) inasmuch as the majority of the Nation’s forests and
rangeland is under private, State, and local governmental
management and the Nation’s major capacity to produce goods
and services is based on these nonfederally managed renewable resources, the Federal Government should be a catalyst to
encourage and assist these owners in the efficient long-term
use and improvement of these lands and their renewable resources consistent with the principles of sustained yield multiple use;
(6) the Forest Service, by virtue of its statutory authority
for management of the National Forest System, research and
cooperative programs, and its role as an agency in the Depart4–3
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 3

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–4

ment of Agriculture, has both a responsibility and an opportunity to be a leader in assuring that the Nation maintains a
natural resource conservation posture that will meet the
requirements of our people in perpetuity; and
(7) recycled timber product materials are as much a part
of our renewable forest resources as are the trees from which
they originally came, and in order to extend our timber and
timber fiber resources and reduce pressures for timber production from Federal lands, the Forest Service should expand its
research in the use of recycled and waste timber product materials, develop techniques for the substitution of these secondary materials for primary materials, and promote and
encourage the use of recycled timber product materials.
SEC. 3. ø16 U.S.C. 1601¿ RENEWABLE RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.—(a) In recognition of the vital importance of America’s
renewable resources of the forest, range, and other associated lands
to the Nation’s social and economic well-being, and of the necessity
for a long term perspective in planning and undertaking related
national renewable resource programs administered by the Forest
Service, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a Renewable Resource Assessment (hereinafter called the ‘‘Assessment’’). The
Assessment shall be prepared not later than December 31, 1975,
and shall be undated during 1979 and each tenth year thereafter,
and shall include but not be limited to—
(1) an analysis of present and anticipated uses, demand
for, and supply of the renewable resources, with consideration
of the international resource situation, and an emphasis of pertinent supply and demand and price relationship trends;
(2) an inventory, based on information developed by the
Forest Service and other ‘‘Federal agencies, of present and
potential renewable resources, and an evaluation of opportunities for improving their yield of tangible and intangible goods
and services, together with estimates of investment costs and
direct and indirect returns to the Federal Government;
(3) a description of Forest Service programs and responsibilities in research, cooperative programs and management of
the National Forest System, their interrelationships, and the
relationship of these programs and responsibilities to public
and private activities;
(4) a discussion of important policy considerations, laws,
regulations, and other factors expected to influence and affect
significantly the use, ownership, and management of forest,
range, and other associated lands;
(5) an analysis of the potential effects of global climate
change on the condition of renewable resources on the forests
and rangelands of the United States; and
(6) an analysis of the rural and urban forestry opportunities to mitigate the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide and
reduce the risk of global climate change, 1
(b) [Omitted-Amendment]
1 Note regarding paragraph (6): The comma should be a period. See P.L. 101–624, sec.
2408(a)(3), 104 Stat. 4061.

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–5

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 3

(c) 1 The Secretary shall report in the 1979 and subsequent
Assessments on:
(1) the additional fiber potential in the National Forest
System including, but not restricted to, forest mortality,
growth, salvage potential, potential increased forest products
sales, economic constraints, alternate markets, contract considerations, and other multiple use considerations;
(2) the potential for increased utilization of forest and
wood product wastes in the National Forest System and on
other lands, and or urban wood wastes and wood product recycling, including recommendations to the Congress for actions
which would lead to increased utilization of materials now
being wasted both in the forests and in manufactured products;
and
(3) the milling and other wood fiber product fabrication
facilities and their location in the United States, noting the
public and private forested areas that supply such facilities, assessing the degree of utilization into product form of harvested
trees by such facilities, and setting forth the technology appropriate to the facilities to improve utilization either individually
or in aggregate units of harvested trees and to reduce wasted
wood fibers. The Secretary shall set forth a program to encourage the adoption by these facilities of these technologies for improving wood fiber utilization.
(d) 2 In developing the reports required under subsection (c) of
this section, the Secretary shall provide opportunity for public
involvement and shall consult with other interested governmental
departments and agencies.
(d) 3 (1) It is the policy of the Congress that all forested lands
in the National Forest System shall be maintained in appropriate
forest cover with species of trees, degree of stocking, rate of growth,
and conditions of stand designed to secure the maximum benefits
of multiple use sustained yield management in accordance with
land management plans. Accordingly, the Secretary is directed to
identify and report to the Congress annually at the time of submission of the President’s budget together with the annual report provided for under section 8(c) of this Act, beginning with submission
of the President’s budget for fiscal year 1978, the amount and location by forests and States and by productivity class, where practicable, of all lands in the National Forest System where objectives
of land management plans indicate the need to reforest areas that
have been cut-over or otherwise denuded or deforested, and all
lands with stands of trees that are not growing at their best potential rate of growth. All national forest lands treated from year to
year shall be examined after the first and third growing seasons
and certified by the Secretary in the report provided for under this
subsection as to stocking rate, growth rate in relation to potential
and other pertinent measures. Any lands not certified as satisfactory shall be returned to the backlog and scheduled for prompt
1 Subsection

(c) is 16 U.S.C. 1601(b).
(d) is 16 U.S.C. 1601(c)
3 So in law. See P.L. 94–588, secs. 3 and 4, 90 Stat. 2950, which added two subsection (d)’s.
2 Subsection

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 4

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–6

treatment. The level and types of treatment shall be those which
secure the most effective mix of multiple use benefits.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9 of this Act, the
Secretary shall annually for eight years following the enactment of
this subsection, transmit to the Congress in the manner provided
in this subsection an estimate of the sums necessary to be appropriated, in addition to the funds available from other sources, to replant and otherwise treat an acreage equal to the acreage to be cut
over that year, plus a sufficient portion of the backlog of lands
found to be in need of treatment to eliminate the backlog within
the eight-year period. After such eight-year period, the Secretary
shall transmit annually to the Congress an estimate of the sums
necessary to replant and otherwise treat all lands being cut over
and maintain planned timber production on all other forested lands
in the National Forest System so as to prevent the development of
a backlog of needed work larger than the needed work at the beginning of the fiscal year. The Secretary’s estimate of sums necessary,
in addition to the sums available under other authorities, for
accomplishment of the reforestation and other treatment of National Forest System lands under this section shall be provided annually for inclusion in the President’s budget and shall also be
transmitted to the Speaker of the House and the President of the
Senate together with the annual report provided for under section
8(c) of this Act at the time of submission of the President’s budget
to the Congress beginning with the budget for fiscal year 1978. The
sums estimated as necessary for reforestation and other treatment
shall include moneys needed to secure seed, grow seedlings, prepare sites, plant trees, thin, remove deleterious growth and underbrush, build fence to exclude livestock and adverse wildlife from
regeneration areas and otherwise establish and improve forests to
secure planned production of trees and other multiple use values.
(3) Effective for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1977, and
each fiscal year thereafter, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of reforesting and treating lands in the National Forest System $200,000,000 annually to meet requirements
of this subsection (d). All sums appropriated for the purposes of
this subsection shall be available until expended.
(e) The Secretary shall submit an annual report to the Congress on the amounts, types, and uses of herbicides and pesticides
used in the National Forest System, including the beneficial or adverse effects of such uses.
SEC. 4. ø16 U.S.C. 1602¿ RENEWABLE RESOURCE PROGRAM.—
In order to provide for periodic review of programs for management
and administration of the National Forest System, for research, for
cooperative State and private Forest Service programs, and for conduct of other Forest Service activities in relation to the findings of
the Assessment, the Secretary of Agriculture, utilizing information
available to the Forest Service and other agencies within the
Department of Agriculture, including data prepared pursuant to
section 302 of the Rural Development Act of 1972, shall prepare
and transmit to the President a recommended Renewable Resource
Program (hereinafter called the ‘‘Program’’). The Program transmitted to the President may include alternatives, and shall provide
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–7

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 5

in appropriate detail for protection, management, and development
of the National Forest System, including forest development roads
and trails; for cooperative Forest Service programs; and for research. The Program shall be developed in accordance with principles set forth in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of June 12,
1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528–531), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347). The
Program shall be prepared not later than December 31, 1975, to
cover the four-year period beginning October 1, 1976, and at least
each of the four fiscal decades next following such period, and shall
be updated no later than during the first half of the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, and the first half of each fifth fiscal year
thereafter to cover at least each of the four fiscal decades beginning
next after such updating. The Program shall include, but not be
limited to—
(1) an inventory of specific needs and opportunities for
both public and private program investments. The inventory
shall differentiate between activities which are of a capital nature and those which are of an operational nature;
(2) specific identification of Program outputs, results
anticipated, and benefits associated with investments in such
a manner that the anticipated costs can be directly compared
with the total related benefits and direct and indirect returns
to the Federal Government;
(3) a discussion of priorities for accomplishment of inventoried Program opportunities, with specified costs, outputs, results, and benefits;
(4) a detailed study of personnel requirements as needed
to implement and monitor existing and ongoing programs; and
(5) Program recommendations which—
(A) evaluate objectives for the major Forest Service
programs in order that multiple-use and sustained-yield
relationships among and within the renewable resources
can be determined;
(B) explain the opportunities for owners of forests and
rangeland to participate in programs to improve and enhance the condition of the land and the renewable resource
products therefrom;
(C) recognize the fundamental need to protect and,
where appropriate, improve the quality of soil, water, and
air resources;
(D) state national goals that recognize the interrelationships between and interdependence within the
renewable resources;
(E) evaluate the impact of the export and import of
raw logs upon domestic timber supplies and prices; and
(F) account for the effects of global climate change on
forest and rangeland conditions, including potential effects
on the geographic ranges of species, and on forest and
rangeland products.
SEC. 5. ø16 U.S.C. 1603¿ NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM RESOURCE
INVENTORIES.—As a part of the Assessment, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and maintain on a continuing basis a comFebruary 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 6

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–8

prehensive and appropriately detailed inventory of all National
Forest System lands and renewable resources. This inventory shall
be kept current so as to reflect changes in conditions and identify
new and emerging resources and values.
SEC. 6. ø16 U.S.C. 1604¿ NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM RESOURCE
PLANNING.—(a) As a part of the Program provided for by section
4 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop, maintain,
and, as appropriate, revise land and resource management plans
for units of the National Forest System, coordinated with the land
and resource management planning processes of State and local
governments and other Federal agencies.
(b) In the development and maintenance of land management
plans for use on units of the National Forest System, the Secretary
shall use a systematic interdisciplinary approach to achieve integrated consideration of physical, biological, economic, and other
sciences.
(c) 1 The Secretary shall begin to incorporate the standards and
guidelines required by this section in plans for units of the National Forest System as soon as practicable after enactment of this
subsection and shall attempt to complete such incorporation for all
such units by no later than September 30, 1985. The Secretary
shall report to the Congress on the progress of such incorporation
in the annual report required by section 8(c) of this Act. Until such
time as a unit of the National Forest System is managed under
plans developed in accordance with this Act, the management of
such unit may continue under existing land and resource management plans.
(d) The Secretary shall provide for public participation in the
development, review, and revision of land management plans including, but not limited to, making the plans or revisions available
to the public at convenient locations in the vicinity of the affected
unit for a period of at least three months before final adoption, during which period the Secretary shall publicize and hold public
meetings or comparable processes at locations that foster public
participation in the review of such plans or revisions.
(e) In developing, maintaining, and revising plans for units of
the National Forest System pursuant to this section, the Secretary
shall assure that such plans—
(1) provide for multiple use and sustained yield of the
products and services obtained therefrom in accordance with
the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, and, in particular, include coordination of outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish, and wilderness; and
1 Section 312 of Public Law 101–121 (103 Stat. 743; 16 U.S.C. 1604 note) provides as follows:
‘‘SEC. 312. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are to continue to complete as
expeditiously as possible development of their respective Forest Land and Resource Management Plans to meet all applicable statutory requirements. Notwithstanding the date in section
6(c) of the NFMA (16 U.S.C. 1600), the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management
under separate authority, may continue the management of lands within their jurisdiction under
existing land and resource management plans pending the completion of new plans. Nothing
shall limit judicial review of particular activities on these lands: Provided, however, That there
shall be no challenges to any existing plan on the sole basis that the plan in its entirety is outdated, or in the case of the Bureau of Land Management, solely on the basis that the plan does
not incorporate information available subsequent to the completion of the existing plan: Provided further, That any and all particular activities to be carried out under existing plans may
nevertheless be challenged.

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–9

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 6

(2) determine forest management systems, harvesting levels, and procedures in the light of all of the uses set forth in
subsection (c)(1), the definition of the terms ‘‘multiple use’’ and
‘‘sustained yield’’ as provided in the Multiple-Use SustainedYield Act of 1960, and the availability of lands and their suitability for resources management.
(f) Plans developed in accordance with this section shall—
(1) form one integrated plan for each unit of the National
Forest System, incorporating in one document or one set of
documents, available to the public at convenient locations, all
of the features required by this section;
(2) be embodies in appropriate written material, including
maps and other descriptive documents, reflecting proposed and
possible actions, including the planned timber sale program
and the proportion of probable methods of timber harvest
within the unit necessary to fulfill the plan;
(3) be prepared by an interdisciplinary team. Each team
shall prepare its plan based on inventories of the applicable resources of the forest;
(4) be amended in any manner whatsoever after final
adoption after public notice, and, if such amendment would result in a significant change in such plan, in accordance with
the provisions of subsections (e) and (f) of this section and public involvement comparable to that required by subsection (d)
of this section; and
(5) be revised (A) from time to time when the Secretary
finds conditions in a unit have significantly changed, but at
least every fifteen years, and (B) in accordance with the provisions of subsections (e) and (f) of this section and public
involvement comparable to that required by subsection (d) of
this section.
(g) As soon as practicable, but not later than two years after
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall in accordance
with the procedures set forth in section 553 of title 5, United States
Code promulgate regulations, under the principles of the MultipleUse Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, that set out the process for the
development and revision of the land management plans, and the
guidelines and standards prescribed by this subsection. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to—
(1) specifying procedures to insure that land management
plans are prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, including, but not limited to, direction on when and for what plans an environmental impact
statement required under section 102(2)(C) of that Act shall be
prepared;
(2) specifying guidelines which—
(A) require the identification of the suitability of lands
for resource management;
(B) provide for obtaining inventory data on the various
renewable resources, and soil and water, including pertinent maps, graphic material, and explanatory aids; and
(C) provide for methods to identify special conditions
or situations involving hazards to the various resources
and their relationship to alternative activities:
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 6

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–10

(3) specifying guidelines for land management plans developed to achieve the goals of the Program which—
(A) insure consideration of the economic and environmental aspects of various systems of renewable resource
management, including the related systems of silviculture
and protection of forest resources, to provide for outdoor
recreation (including wilderness), range, timber, watershed, wildlife, and and fish;
(B) provide for diversity of plant and animal communities based on the suitability and capability of the specific
land area in order to meet overall multiple-use objectives,
and within the multiple-use objectives of a land management plan adopted pursuant to this section, provide, where
appropriate, to the degree practicable, for steps to be taken
to preserve the diversity of tree species similar to that existing in the region controlled by the plan;
(C) insure research on and (based on continuous monitoring and assessment in the field) evaluation of the effects
of each management system to the end that it will not
produce substantial and permanent impairment of the productivity of the land;
(D) permit increases in harvest levels based on intensified management practices, such as reforestation,
thinning, and tree improvement if (i) such practices justify
increasing the harvests in accordance with the MultipleUse Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, and (ii) such harvest levels are decreased at the end of each planning period if
such practices cannot be successfully implemented or
funds are not received to permit such practices to continue
substantially as planned;
(E) insure that timber will be harvested from National
Forest System lands only where—
(i) soil, slope, or other watersheld conditions will
not be irreversibly damaged;
(ii) there is assurance that such lands can be adequately restocked within five years after harvest;
(iii) protection is provided for streams,
streambanks, shorelines, lakes, wetlands, and other
bodies of water from detrimental changes in water
temperatures, blockages of water courses, and deposits
of sediment, where harvests are likely to seriously and
adversely affect water conditions or fish habitat; and
(iv) the harvesting system to be used is not selected primarily because it will give the greatest dollar
return or the greatest unit output of timber; and
(F) insure that clearcutting, seed tree cutting,
shelterwood cutting, and other cuts designed to regenerate
an evenaged stand of timber will be used as a cutting
method on National Forest System lands only where—
(i) for clearcutting, it is determined to be the optimum method, and for other such cuts it is determined
to be appropriate, to meet the objectives and requirements of the relevant land management plan;
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–11

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 6

(ii) the interdisciplinary review as determined by
the Secretary has been completed and the potential
environmental, biological, esthetic, engineering, and
economic impacts on each advertised sale area have
been assessed, as well as the consistency of the sale
with the multiple use of the general area;
(iii) cut blocks, patches, or strips are shaped and
blended to the extent practicable with the natural terrain;
(iv) there are established according to geographic
areas, forest types, or other suitable classifications the
maximum size limits for areas to be cut in one harvest
operation, including provision to exceed the established limits after appropriate public notice and review by the responsible Forest Service officer one level
above the Forest Service officer who normally would
approve the harvest proposal: Provided, That such
limits shall not apply to the size of areas harvested as
a result of natural catastrophic conditions such as fire,
insect and disease attack, or windstorm; and
(v) such cuts are carried out in a manner consistent with the protection of soil, watersheld, fish,
wildlife, recreation, and esthetic resources, and the
regeneration of the timber resource.
(h)(1) In carrying out the purposes of subsection (g) of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall appoint a committee of scientists who are not officers or employees of the Forest Service. The
committee shall provide scientific and technical advice and counsel
on proposed guidelines and procedures to assure that an effective
interdiscipinary approach is proposed and adopted. The committee
shall terminate upon promulgation of the regulations, but the Secretary may, from time to time, appoint similar committees when
considering revisions of the regulations. The views of the committees shall be included in the public information supplied when the
regulations are proposed for adoption.
(2) Clerical and technical assistance, as may be necessary to
discharge the duties of the committee, shall be provided from the
personnel of the Department of Agriculture.
(3) While attending meetings of the committee, the members
shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate of $100 per
diem, including traveltime, and while away from their homes or
regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section
5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government
service employed intermittently.
(i) Resource plans and permits, contracts, and other instruments for the use and occupancy of National Forest System lands
shall be consistent with the land management plans. Those resource plans and permits, contracts, and other such instruments
currently in existence shall be revised as soon as practicable to be
made consistent with such plans. When land management plans
are revised, resource plans and permits, contracts, and other instruments, when necessary, shall be revised as soon as practicable.
Any revision in present or future permits, contracts, and other inFebruary 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 6

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–12

struments made pursuant to this section shall be subject to valid
existing rights.
(j) Land management plans and revisions shall become effective thirty days after completion of public participation and publication of notification by the Secretary as required under section
6(d) of this Act.
(k) In developing land management plans pursuant to this Act,
the Secretary shall identify lands within the management area
which are not suited for timber production, considering physical,
economic, and other pertinent factors to the extent feasible, as
determined by the Secretary, and shall assure that, except for salvage sales or sales necessitated to protect other multiple-use, values, no timber harvesting shall occur on such lands for a period of
10 years. Lands once identified as unsuitable for timber production
shall continue to be treated for reforestation purposes, particularly
with regard to the protection of other multiple-use values. The Secretary shall review his decision to classified these lands as not
suited for timber production as least every 10 years and shall return these lands to timber production whenever he determines that
conditions have changed so that they have become suitable for timber production.
(l) The Secretary shall—
(1) formulate and implement, as soon as practicable, a
process for estimating long-terms 1 costs and benefits to support the program evaluation requirements of this Act. This
process shall include requirements to provide information on a
representative sample basis of estimated expenditures associated with the reforestation, timber stand improvement, and
sale of timber from the National Forest System, and shall provide a comparison of these expenditures to the return to the
Government resulting from the sale of timber; and
(2) include a summary of data and findings resulting from
these estimates as a part of the annual report required pursuant to section 8(c) of this Act, including an identification on a
representative sample basis of those advertised timber sales
made below the estimated expenditures for such timber as
determined by the above cost process; and
(m) The Secretary shall establish—
(1) standards to insure that, prior to harvest, stands of
trees throughout the National Forest System shall generally
have reached the culmination of mean annual increment of
growth (calculated on the basis of cubic measurement or other
methods of calculation at the discretion of the Secretary): Provided: That these standards shall not preclude the use of sound
silvicultural practices, such as thinning or other stand
improvement measures: Provided further, That these standards
shall not preclude the Secretary from salvage or sanitation
harvesting of timber stands which are substantially damaged
by fire, windthrow or other catastrophe, or which are in imminent danger from insect or disease attack; and
(2) exceptions to these standards for the harvest of particular species of trees in management units after consider1 Note

regarding subsection (l). Probably should be ‘‘long-term’’.

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–13

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 8

ation has been given to be multiple uses of the forest including,
but not limited to, recreation, wildlife habitat, and range and
after completion of public participation processes utilizing the
procedures of subsection (d) of this section.
SEC. 7.
NING.—The

ø16 U.S.C. 1605¿ COOPERATION IN RESOURCE PLANSecretary of Agriculture may utilize the Assessment,
resource surveys, and Program prepared pursuant to this Act to assist States and other organizations in proposing the planning for
the protection, use, and management of renewable resources on
non-Federal land.
SEC. 8. ø16 U.S.C. 1606¿ NATIONAL PARTICIPATION.—(a) On
the date Congress first convenes in 1976 and thereafter following
each updating of the Assessment and the Program, the President
shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
the President of the Senate, when Congress convenes, the Assessment as set forth in section 3 of this Act and the Program as set
forth in section 4 of this Act, together with a detailed Statement
of Policy intended to be used in framing budget requests by that
Administration for Forest Service activities for the five- or ten-year
program period beginning during the term of such Congress for
such further action deemed appropriate by the Congress. Following
the transmission of such Assessment, Program, and Statement of
Policy, the President shall, subject to other actions of the Congress,
carry out programs already established by law in accordance with
such Statement of Policy or any subsequent amendment or modification thereof approved by the Congress, unless, before the end
of the first period of ninety calendar days of continuous session of
Congress after the date on which the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House are recipients of the transmission of such
Assessment, Program, and Statement of Policy, either House
adopts a resolution reported by the appropriate committee of jurisdiction disapproving the Statement of Policy. For the purpose of
this subsection, the continuity of a session shall be deemed to be
broken only by an adjournment since die, and the days on which
either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more
than three days to a day certain shall be excluded in the computation of the ninety-day period. Notwithstanding any other provision
of this Act, Congress may revise or modify the Statement of Policy
transmitted by the President, and the revised or modified Statement of Policy shall be used in framing budget requests.
(b) Commending with the fiscal budget for the year ending
September 30, 1977, requests presented by the President to the
Congress governing Forest Service activities shall express in qualitative and quantitative terms the extent to which the programs
and policies projected under the budget meet the policies approved
by the Congress in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
In any case in which such budget so presented recommends a
course which fails to meet the policies so established, the President
shall specifically set forth the reason or reasons for requesting the
Congress to approve the lesser programs or policies presented.
Amounts appropriated to carry out the policies approved in accordance with subsection (a) of this section shall be expended in accordFebruary 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 9

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–14

ance with the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
of 1974, Public Law 93–344.
(c) For the purpose of providing information that will aid Congress in its oversight responsibilities and improve the accountability of agency expenditures and activities, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare an annual report which evaluates the component elements of the Program required to be prepared by section
4 of this Act which shall be furnished to the Congress at the time
of submission of the annual fiscal budget commencing with the
third fiscal year after the enactment of their Act. With regard to
the research component of the program, the report shall include,
but not be limited to, a description of the status of major research
programs, significant findings, and how these findings will be applied in National Forest System and in cooperative State and private Forest Service programs. With regard to the cooperative forestry assistance part of the Program, the report shall include, but
not be limited to, a description of the status, accomplishments,
needs, and work backlogs for the programs and activities conducted
under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978.
(d) These annual evaluation reports shall set forth progress in
implementing the Program required to be prepared by section 4 of
this Act, together with accomplishments of the Program as they relate to the objectives of the Assessment. Objectives should be set
forth in qualitative and quantitative terms and accomplishments
should be reported accordingly. The report shall contain appropriate measurements of pertinent costs and benefits. The evaluation shall assess the balance between economic factors and environmental quality factors. Program benefits shall include, but not be
limited to, environmental quality factors such as esthetics, public
access, wildlife habitat, recreational and wilderness use, and economic factors such as the excess of cost savings over the value of
foregone benefits and the rate of return on renewable resources.
(e) The reports shall indicate plans for implementing corrective
action and recommendations for new legislation where warranted.
(f) The reports shall be structured for Congress in concise summary form with necessary detailed data in appendices.
SEC. 9. ø16 U.S.C. 1607¿ NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM PROGRAM
ELEMENTS.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall take such action as
will assure that the development and administration of the renewable resources of the National Forest System are in full accord with
the concepts for multiple use and sustained yield of products and
services as set forth in the Multiple-Uses Sustained-Yield Act of
1960. To further these concepts, the Congress hereby sets the year
2000 as the target year when the renewable resources of the National Forest System shall be in an operating posture whereby all
backlogs of needed treatment for their restoration shall be reduced
to a current basis and the major portion of planned intensive multiple-use sustained-yield management procedures shall be installed
and operating on an environmentally-sound basis. The annual
budget shall contain requests for funds for an orderly program to
eliminate such backlogs: Provided, That when the Secretary finds
that (1) the backlog of areas that will benefit by such treatment
has been eliminated. (2) the cost of treating the remainder of such
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–15

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 11

area exceeds the economic and environmental benefits to be secured from their treatment, or (3) the total supplies of the renewable resources of the United States are adequate to meet the future
needs of the American people, the budget request for these elements of restoration may be adjusted accordingly.
SEC. 10. ø16 U.S.C. 1608¿ TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.—(a) The
Congress declares that the installation of a proper system or transportation to service the National Forest System, as is provided for
in Public Law 88–657, the Act of October 13, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 532–
538), shall be carried forward in time to meet anticipated needs on
an economical and environmentally sound basis, and the method
chosen for financing the construction and maintenance of the transportation system should be such as to enhance local, regional, and
national benefits 1, except that the financing of forest development
roads as authorized by clause (2) of section 4 of the Act of October
13, 1964, shall be deemed ‘‘budget authority’’ and ‘‘budget outlays’’
as those are defined in section 3(a) of the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and shall be effective for
any fiscal year only in the manner required for new spending authority as specified by section 401(a) of that Act.
(b) Unless the necessity for a permanent road is set forth in
the forest development road system plan, any road constructed on
land of the National Forest System in connection with a timber
contract or other permit or lease shall be designed with the goal
of reestablishing vegetative cover on the roadway and areas where
the vegetative cover has been disturbed by the construction of the
road, within ten years after the termination of the contract, permit,
or lease either through artificial or natural means. Such action
shall be taken unless it is later determined that the road is needed
for use as a part of the National Forest Transportation System.
(c) Roads constructed on National Forest System lands shall be
designed to standards appropriate for the intended uses, considering safety, cost of transportation, and impacts on land and resources.
SEC. 11. ø16
FINED.—Congress

U.S.C. 1609¿ (a) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM DEdeclares that the National Forest System consists of units of federally owned forest, range, and related lands
throughout the United States and its territories, united into a
nationally significant system dedicated to the long-term benefit for
present and future generations, and that it is the purpose of this
section to include all such areas into one integral system. The ‘‘National Forest System’’ shall include all national forest lands reserved or withdrawn from the public domain of the United States,
all national forest lands acquired through purchase, exchange,
donation, or other means, the national grasslands and land utilization projects administered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones
1 The paragraph under the heading ‘‘CONSTRUCTION AND LAND ACQUISITION’’ in title II of Public
Law 97–100, approved December 23, 1981 (95 Stat. 1405), sought to amend this section by striking all after ‘‘benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘: Provided, That limitations on the level of obligations for
construction of forest roads by timber purchasers shall be established in annual appropriation
Acts.’’ However, the amendment was mistakenly drafted to section 9 rather than section 10 of
this Act. This section was originally section 9 until redesignated by section 2 of Public Law 94–
588 (90 Stat. 2949). Consequently, the amendment could not be executed.

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
Sec. 12

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

4–16

Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C. 1010–1012), and other
lands, waters, or interests therein which are administered by the
Forest Service or are designated for administration through the
Forest Service as a part of the system. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 34; 16 U.S.C. 473), no
land now or hereafter reserved or withdrawn from the public domain as national forests pursuant to the Act of March 3, 1891 (26
Stat. 1103; 16 U.S.C. 471), or any act supplementary to and
amendatory thereof, shall be returned to the public domain except
by an act of Congress.
(b) The on-the-ground held offices, field supervisory offices, and
regional offices of the Forest Service shall be so situated as to provide the optimum level of convenient, useful services to the public,
giving priority to the maintenance and location of facilities in rural
areas and towns near the national forest and Forest Service program locations in accordance with the standards in section 901(b)
of the Act of November 30, 1970 (84 Stat. 1383), as amended.
SEC. 12. ø16 U.S.C. 1610¿ RENEWABLE RESOURCES.—In carrying out this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall utilizes information and data available from other Federal, State, and private
organizations and shall avoid duplication and overlap of resource
assessment and program planning efforts of other Federal agencies.
The term ‘‘renewable resources’’ shall be construed to involve those
matters within the scope of responsibilities and authorities of the
Forest Service on the date of this Act and on the date of enactment
of any legislation amendatory or supplementary thereto.
SEC. 13. ø16 U.S.C. 1611¿ LIMITATIONS ON TIMBER REMOVAL.—
(a) Secretary of Agriculture shall limit the sale of timber from each
national forest to a quantity equal to or less than a quantity which
can be removed from such forest annually in perpetuity on a sustained-yield basis: Provided, That, in order to meet overall multiple-use objectives, the Secretary may establish an allowable sale
quantity for any decade which departs from the projected long-term
average sale quantity that would otherwise be established: Provided further, That any such planned departure must be consistent
with the multiple-use management objectives of the land management plan. Plans for variations in the allowable sale quantity must
be made with public participation as required by section 6(d) of this
Act. In addition, within any decade, the Secretary may sell a quantity in excess of the annual allowable sale quantity established pursuant to this section in the case of any national forest so long as
the average sale quantities of timber from such national forest over
the decade covered by the plan do not exceed such quantity limitation. In those cases where a forest has less than two hundred thousand acres of commercial forest land, the Secretary may use two
or more forests for purposes of determining the sustained yield.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prohibit the
Secretary from salvage or sanitation harvesting of timber stands
which are substantially damaged by fire, windthrow, or other
catastrophe, or which are in imminent danger from insect or disease attack. The Secretary may either substitute such timber for
February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)

F:\COMP\FORESTS\RANGE74
4–17

FOREST & RANGELAND RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Sec. 16

timber that would otherwise be sold under the plan or, if not feasible, sell such timber over and above the plan volume.
SEC. 14. ø16 U.S.C. 1612¿ PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND ADVIBOARDS.—(a) In exercising his authorities under this Act and
other laws applicable to the Forest Service, the Secretary, by regulation, shall establish procedures, including public hearings where
appropriate, to give the Federal, State, and local governments and
the public adequate notice and an opportunity to comment upon
the formulation of standards, criteria, and guidelines applicable to
Forest Service programs.
(b) In providing for public participation in the planning for and
management of the National Forest System, the Secretary, pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (86 Stat. 770) and other
applicable law, shall establish and consult such advisory boards as
he deems necessary to secure full information and advice on the
execution of his responsibilities. The membership of such boards
shall be representative of a cross section of groups interested in the
planning for and management of the National Forest System and
the various types of use and enjoyment of the lands thereof.
SORY

SEC. 15. ø16 U.S.C. 1613¿ REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of
Agriculture shall prescribe such regulations as he determines necessary and desirable to carry out the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 16. ø16 U.S.C. 1614¿ SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of
this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances
is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and of the
application of such provision to other persons and circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.

February 8, 2001 (2:18 PM)