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 consideration has been given to the 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." (16 U.S.C. 1604) NATIONAL PARTICIPATION Sec. 7. Section 8 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended- (a) by striking out "sixty" in the second sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof the word "ninety"; and by striking out "sixty-day period" in the third sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof "ninety-day period"; and (b) by adding a new sentence at the end of subsection (c) as follows: "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 management." (16 U.S.C. 1606) TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Sec. 8. Section 10 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended by inserting "(a) immediately before the words "The Congress" and inserting at the end thereof new subsections (b) and (c) as follows: "(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 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". (16 U.S.C. 1608) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM Sec. 9. Section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: "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." (16 U.S.C. 1609) RENEWABLE RESOURCES Sec. 10. Section 12 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended by striking out the period at the end of that section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "and on the date of enactment of any legislation amendatory or supplementary thereto." (16 U.S.C. 1610) Sec. 11. LIMITATIONS ON TIMBER REMOVAL; PUBLIC The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end thereof new sections 13 through 16 as follows: "Sec. 13. Limitations on Timber Removal.--(a) The 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 quantity 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 determing 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 timber that would otherwise be sold under the plan or, if not feasible, sell such timber over and above the plan volume. (16 U.S.C. 1611) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND ADVISORY BOARDS "Sec. 14. Public Participation and Advisory Boards.--(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." (16 U.S.C. 1612) "Sec. 15. Regulations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall prescribe such regulations as he determines necessary and desirable to carry out the provisions of this Act. U.S.C. 1613) (16 "Sec. 16. 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." (16 U.S.C. 1614) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREST AND Sec. 12. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 is amended as follows: (a) Section 6(a), as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended by striking out "section 3" and inserting in lieu thereof "section 4". (16 U.S.C. 1604) (b) Section 8, as redesignated by section 2 of this Act, is amended- (1) by striking out "section 2" and "section 3" in the first sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof "section 3" and "section 4", respectively; (2) by striking out "section 3" in subsection (c) and inserting in lieu thereof "section 4"; and (3) by striking out "section 3" in the first sentence of subsection (d) and inserting in lieu thereof "section 4". (16 U.S.C. 1606) AMENDMENT TO THE ORGANIC ACT Sec. 13. The twelfth undesignated paragraph under the heading "SURVEYING THE PUBLIC LANDS" in the Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 35, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 476), is hereby repealed. (16 U.S.C. 476) TIMBER SALES ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS Sec. 14. (a) For the purpose of achieving the policies set forth in the Multiple-Use, Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528-531) and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 U.S.c. 1601-1610), the Secretary of Agriculture, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, may sell, at not less than appraised value, trees, portions of trees, or forest products located on National Forest System lands. (b) All advertised timber sales shall be designated on maps, and a prospectus shall be available to the public and interested potential bidders. (c) The length and other terms of the contract shall be designed to promote orderly harvesting consistent with the principles set out in section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended. Unless there is a finding by the Secretary of Agriculture that better utilization of the various forest resources (consistent with the provisions of the Multiple-Use, Sustained-Yield Act of 1960) will result, sales contracts shall be for a period not to exceed ten years: Provided, That such period may be adjusted at the discretion of the Secretary to provide additional time due to time delays caused by an act of an agent of the United States or by other circumstances beyond the control of the purchaser. The Secretary shall require the purchaser to file as soon as practicable after execution of a contract for any advertised sale with a term of two years or more, a plan of operation, which shall be subject to concurrence by the Secretary. Secretary shall not extend any contract period with an original term of two years or more unless he finds (A) that the purchaser has diligently performed in accordance with an approved plan of operation or (B) that the substantial overriding public interest justifies the extension. The (d) The Secretary of Agriculture shall advertise all sales unless he determines that extraordinary conditions exist, as defined by regulation, or that the appraised value of the sale is less than $10,000. If, upon proper offering, no satisfactory bid is received for a sale, or the bidder fails to complete the purchase, the sale may be offered and sold without further advertisement. (e) (1) In the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from National Forest System lands (hereinafter referred to in this subsection as "national forest materials"), the Secretary of Agriculture shall select the bidding method or methods which- (A) insure open and fair competition; (B) insure that the Federal Government receive not less than the appraised value as required by subsection (a) of this section; (C) consider the economic stability of communities whose economies are dependent on such national forest materials, or achieve such other objectives as the Secretary deems necessary; and |