H.R. 2936, Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017

Floor Situation

On Wednesday, November 1, 2017, the House will begin consideration of H.R. 2936, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017, under a rule. H.R. 2936 was introduced on June 20, 2017, by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and was referred to the Committee on Agriculture as well as the Committee on Natural Resources. The Committee on Natural Resources ordered the bill reported, as amended, by a vote of 23 to 12 on June 27, 2017, and the Committee on Agriculture ordered the bill reported, as amended, by voice vote, on October 4, 2017.

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Summary

H.R. 2936 expedites forest health projects  under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and improves forest management activities on public lands and and Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands. The bill simplifies environmental process requirements, reduces project planning times, and lowers the cost of implementing forest management projects while still ensuring robust protection of the environment through environmental review. In addition, the legislation rewards collaboration, provides for an alternative process to resolve litigation against forest projects, and streamlines bureaucratic processes, while modernizing the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act and empowering Resource Advisory Committees to bring diverse viewpoints together to solve national forest management problems.

Specifically, the legislation does the following:

Title I: Expedited Environmental Analysis and Availability of Categorical Exclusions to Expedite Forest Management Activities

Title I requires environmental assessments on proposed collaborative forest management activities to asses the benefits of a forest management product and weigh them against a “no action alternative”, taking into account the effects of no action on matters such as forest health, habitat diversity, the potential for increased wildfires, insect or disease infestation, timber production, as well as socioeconomic factors.

In addition, the Title addresses categorical exclusions (CE), which are categories of actions that are exempted from the requirements of an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement(EIS) due to their repetitive nature and the predictability of their limited environmental impact. The title authorizes CEs to address insect and disease infestation, reduce hazardous fuel loads, protect municipal water sources, improve critical habitat, increase water yield. The CEs are limited to 10,000 acres, some allow for up to 30,000 acres if the forest management activity is developed through a collaborative process. The Title also provides CEs for early successional forests, road side hazard mitigatoin, and activities to reduce the risk of wildfire.

Finally, Title I lays out general provisions for forest management activities, requiring forest projects to be in compliance with a Forest Plan, procedures for consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act, and clarifies that forest management activities considered non-discretionary federal actions.

Title II: Salvage and Reforestation in Response to Catastrophic Events

Title II requires environmental analyses for salvage operations be completed within two months and at least 75% of impacted areas be reforested within 5 years. Further, the Title prohibits courts from issuing restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, or injunctions pending appeal for activities related to salvage operations or reforestation activities in response to large-scale catastrophic events.

Title III: Forest Management Litigation

Title III directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to establish a pilot program to resolve lawsuits against a forest management activity utilizing binding arbitration.  The pilot would allow up to 10 disputes per USFS region to be settled through binding arbitration. Third parties would have 30 days after the arbitration was initiated to formally petition to participate in the arbitration.  The Secretaries are required to develop a list of 20 qualified individuals to serve as arbitrators.

Title IV: Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act Amendments

Title IV amends the Act to eliminate the “sorting yard” requirement and requires 50% of Title II funds to be spent on projects which include the sale of forest products. Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) functions and membership are extended through 2022. The Chief of the Forest Service is authorized to choose 10 RACs to retain revenue from projects to fund future projects that accomplish forest management objectives. The bill provides additional flexibility to counties by authorizing Title III Secure Rural Schools dollars for search and rescue, patrols, training, and equipment purchases, and the bill clarifies that funds made available to a county or political subdivision are prohibited from being used in lieu of or offset State funding for local schools, facilities, or educational purposes.

Title V: Stewardship End Result Contracting

Title V includes a provision that no longer requires the Forest Service to set aside money in the event a stewardship contract is cancelled and dictates the use of excess funds in instances where the value of forest products exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments.  The Title also allows the Forest Service to use funds to cover potential losses in capital expenditures by a contractor, and allows a contractor to request a stewardship contract to be amended to include fire liability provisions.

Title VI: Additional Funding Sources for Forest Management Activities

Title VI allows the Forest Service to use up to 25% of stewardship contracting revenues for planning projects, which though currently prohibited would allow current forest health projects to be leveraged to support additional forest health work. The Title also establishes the State-Supported Forest Management Fund which allows for a state or other entity to contribute funds to support the planning and implementation of forest management activities. The Title establishes parameters about how such funds shall be received, expended, and shared. The Fund is terminated in 2025.

Title VII: Tribal Forestry Participation and Protection

Title VII provides Federal land management agencies 120 days to respond to Tribal requests for  forest management activities and provide authority to Indian Tribes to conduct forest management activities on Federal lands where they have a Tribal interest. Tribes may contract to perform administrative, management, and other functions of programs under the Tribal Forest Protection Act.

Title VIII: Expediting Interagency Consultation

Title VIII dictates that the development, maintenance, amendment, or revision of a forest plan is not subject to NEPA, while maintaining that projects conducted under a forest plan are subject to NEPA review.  The title also includes the “Cottonwood fix” which clarifies that Section 7 consultations under the Endangered Species Act are not required after the approval of a forest plan, other than for projects conducted pursuant to the forest plan.

Title IX: Miscellaneous

Title IX includes a variety of provisions to address forest management, Oregon and California Railroad grant lands, Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands, and timber innovation.

Title X: Major Disaster for Wildfire on Federal Land

Title X provides a fix tot eh problem of fire borrowing and amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to define a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands and establishes the procedures for requesting a declaration. Further, this Title prohibits the transfer of funds between wildfire suppression accounts and other accounts not used to cover the cost of wildfire suppression operations, a process commonly referred to as “fire borrowing”.

Title XI: Disaster Relief and Wildlife Adjustment

Added by the Rules Committee Print, Title XI allows appropriations into the Wildfire Suppression Operations Account created in Title X to be eligible for funding under the Disaster Cap adjustment. Further, the Title addresses the calculation of the Disaster Cap to ensure sufficient funding is available to maintain current activities under the Disaster Relief Fund and support catastrophic wildfire suppression activities.

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Background

The Federal government is responsible for managing wildfires that begin on Federal lands—such as national forests or national parks—while the states are responsible for managing wildfires that originate on all other lands. The Federal government's wildfire management responsibilities—provided primarily through the USFS and Department of the Interior (DOI)—include prevention, detection, response, and recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may also provide disaster relief for certain nonfederal wildfires.[1] Today, more than 70,000 communities are located within or adjacent to forests and rangelands prone to wildfires.[2]

The most significant result of this diminished forest health is the significant increase in catastrophic wildfires in the past 15 years. These catastrophic wildfires have a significant negative impact on watershed health, wildlife habitat, property, and human life. In 2016 alone, a total of 4,312 structures were destroyed by wildfires, including 3,192 residences, 1,025 minor structures and 78 commercial structures. Most disturbing, agency data indicates that 349 lives have been lost to catastrophic wildfire in the last twenty years.[3]

The steep decline in timber harvests from federal forests contributes to the alarming increase in the size and intensity of catastrophic wildfires. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s, USFS typically harvested between 10 and 12 billion board feet of timber annually. Beginning in 1996, the average amount of timber harvested from federal forests fell to between 1.5 and 3.3 billion board feet. However, since 1996, the average annual number of acres burned due to catastrophic wildfire total over 6.2 million acres per year.[4]

Over 58 million acres of national forest are at high or very high risk of severe wildfire. The reason for the declining health and productivity of our federal forests is twofold: longer planning and bureaucratic review periods that result in increased time and cost for planning and executing forest management activities, and the chilling effect of unnecessary litigation on forest planning decisions.[5]

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Amendments

1. Rep. Schrader (D-OR) – This amendment strikes “produce timber” as a forest management activity designated for Categorical Exclusion.
2. Rep. Khanna (D-CA) – This amendment strikes Subtitle B of Title III, the Forest Management Activity Arbitration Pilot Program, from the bill.
3. Rep. O’Halleran (D-AZ) – This amendment strikes sections 801 and 903.
4. Rep. Cardenas (D-CA) – This amendment requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other relevant Departments, to conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility, safety and cost effectiveness of using unmanned aerial vehicles for the purposes of supporting wildfire reponse and suppression as well as forest restoration and management.
5. Rep. DeFazio (D-OR) – This amendment adds land exclusions to Sec. 913, including Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Wild and Scenic rivers Act, Wilderness Act, lands managed under the National Trails System.
6. Rep. LaMalfa (R-CA) – This amendment directs OPM to create a “wildland firefighter” occupational series.
7. Rep. Pearce (R-NM) – This amendment establishes a pilot program to demonstrate effective tools and techniques for safeguarding natural resources. 

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Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing the bill would cost $10 million over the 2017-2022 period, assuming appropriation of necessary amounts. Further, CBO estimates H.R. 2936 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

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Staff Contact

For questions or further information please contact Jake Vreeburg with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 2-1374.