National Forest Management Act - 16 USC 1600-1614

National Forest Management Act of 1976

National Forest Management Act Of 1976
*Sec. 1. Title
*Sec. 2. Findings
*Sec. 3. Reports on Fiber Potential, Wood Utilization by Mills, Wood
Wastes and Wood Product Recycling
*Sec. 4. Reforestation
*Sec. 5. Renewable Resource Program
*Sec. 6. National Forest System Resource Planning
*Sec. 7. National Participation
*Sec. 8 Transportation System
*Sec. 9. National Forest System
*Sec. 10. Renewable Resources
*Sec. 11, 13. Limitations on Timber Removal
*Sec. 14. Public Participation and Advisory Boards
*Sec. 15, 16. Regulations and Severability
*Sec. 12. Conforming Amendments to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources
Planning Act of 1974
*Sec. 13. Amendment to the Organic Act.
*Sec. 14. Timber Sales on National Forest System Lands
*Sec. 15. Validation of Timber Sales Contracts
*Sec. 16. Payments to States for Schools and Roads
*Sec. 17. Acquisition of National Forest System Lands
*Sec. 18. Amendment to the Knutson-Vandenberg Act
*Sec. 19. Amendment to the Act of June 12, 1960
*Sec. 20. Plan for Control of Dutch Elm Disease
*Sec. 21. Severability
-----------------------------------------------------------------------* Act of October 22, 1976 (P.O. 94-588, 90 Stat. 2949, as amended; 16
U.S.C.
* 472A, 476, 500, 513-516, 518, 521b, 528(note), 576B, 594-2(note),
1600(note), 1601(note), 1600-1602, 1604, 1606, 1608-1614)
Title
Sec. 1. This Act may be cited as the "National Forest Management Act of 1976". (16 U.S.C. 1600(note))
Findings
Sec. 2. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 U.S.C. 16011610) is amended by redesignating sections 2 through 11 as sections 3 through 12, respectively; and by
adding a new section 2 as follows:
Sec. 2. 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 and 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

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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 and 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 Department 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."
(16 U.S.C. 1600)
Reports On Fiber Potential, Wood Utilization By Mills, Wood Wastes And Wood
Product Recycling
Sec. 3. Section 3 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as redesigned by
section 2 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subsection (c) as follows:
(c) 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 Systems
and on other lands, and of urban wood wastes and wood product recycling, including recommendations to
the Congress for actions which would lead to increased utilization of material 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 harvest 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) In developing the reports required under subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary shall provide
opportunity for public involvement and consult with other interested governmental departments and
agencies." (16 U.S.C. 1601)

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Reforestation
Sec. 4. Section 3 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 of new subsections (d) and (e) as follows:
"(d)(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 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 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 appropriate, 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 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 growing forests to secure planned production of
trees and other multiple 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 (16 U.S.C. 1601)
Renewable Resource Program
Sect. 5. Section 4 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 word "and" at the end of paragraph (3); striking out the
word "satisfy" and inserting in lieu thereof "implement and monitor" in paragraph (4); striking out the
period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and the word "and"; and by
adding a new paragraph (5) as follows:
"(5) Program recommendations which-

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"(A) evaluated objectives for the major Forest Service programs in order that multiple-use and sustainedyield 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; and
"(E) evaluate the impact of the export and import of raw logs upon domestic timber supplies and prices". (16
U.S.C. 1602)
National Forest System Resource Planning
Sec. 6. Section 6 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 new subsections (c) through (m) as follows:
"(c) 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 timber, watershed,
wildlife and fish, and wilderness; and
"(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, Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, and the availability of lands and their suitability for resource
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 embodied 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;

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"(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 Multiple-Use, 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 alternate activities;
"(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 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
Multiple-Use, 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 watershed conditions will not not be irreversibly damaged;

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"(ii) there is assurance that such lands can be adequately restocked within five years after harvest;
"(iii) protection is provided for streams, stream-banks, 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
and even-aged 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;
"(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, watershed, 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 interdisciplinary approach is proposed and adopted. The committee shall terminate upon
promulgation 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 travel time, 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 instruments made pursuant to this section shall be subject to
valid existing rights.

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"(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 classify these lands as not suited for timber production at
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-term 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
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 of "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)

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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 construction 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)
Limitations On Timber Removal; Public Participation And Advisory Boards;
Regulations; Severability
Sec. 11. 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 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

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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. (16 U.S.C. 1613)
"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 Rangeland Renewable Resources
Planning Act of 1974
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.

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(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.
The 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.
(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
(D) are consistent with the objectives of this Act and other Federal statutes.
The Secretary shall select or alter the bidding method or methods as he determines necessary to achieve the
objectives stated in clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D) of this paragraph.
(2) In those instances when the Secretary selects oral auction as the bidding method for the sale of any
national forest materials, he shall require that all prospective purchasers submit written sealed qualifying
bids. Only prospective purchasers whose written sealed qualifying bids are equal to or in excess of the
appraised value of such national forest materials may participate in the oral bidding process.
(3) The Secretary shall monitor bidding patterns involved in the sale of national forest materials. If the
Secretary has a reasonable belief that collusive bidding practices may be occurring, then(A) he shall report any such instances of possible collusive bidding or suspected collusive bidding practices
to the Attorney General of the United States with any and all supporting data;
(B) he may alter the bidding methods used within the affected area; and
(C) he shall take such other action as he deems necessary to eliminate such practices with the affected area.
(f) The Secretary of Agriculture, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, is authorized to
dispose of, by sale or otherwise, trees, portions of trees, or other forest products related to research and
demonstration projects.

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(g) Designation, marking when necessary, and supervision of harvesting of trees, portions of trees, or forest
products shall be conducted by persons employed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Such persons shall have no
personal interest in the purchase or harvest of such products and shall not be directly or indirectly in the
employment of the purchaser thereof.
(h) The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop utilization standards, methods of measurement, and
harvesting practices for the removal of trees, portions of trees, or forest products to provide for the optimum
practical use of the wood material. Such standards, methods, and practices shall reflect consideration of
opportunities to promote more effective wood utilization, regional conditions, and species characteristics
and shall be compatible with multiple use resource management objectives in the affected area. To
accomplish the purpose of this subsection in situations involving salvage of insect-infested, dead, damaged,
or down timber, and to remove associated trees for stand improvement, the Secretary is authorized to
require the purchaser of such timber to make monetary deposits, as a part of the payment for the timber, to
be deposited in a designated fund from which sums are to be used, to cover the cost to the United States for
design, engineering, and supervision of the construction of needed roads and the cost for Forest Service sale
preparation and supervision of the harvesting of such timber. Deposits of money pursuant to this subsection
are to be available until expended to cover the cost to the United States of accomplishing the purposes for
which deposited: Provided, That such deposits shall not be considered as moneys received from the national
forests within the meaning of sections 500 and 501 of title 16, United States Code: And provided further,
That sums found to be in excess of the cost of accomplishing the purposes for which deposited on any
national forest shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury of the United States.
(1) For sales of timber which include a provision for purchaser credit for construction of permanent roads
with an estimated cost in excess of $20,000, the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate regulations
requiring that the notice of sale afford timber purchasers qualifying as "small business concerns" under the
Small Business Act, as amended, and the regulations issued thereunder, an estimate of the cost and right,
when submitting a bid, to elect that the Secretary build the proposed road: Provided, That the provision of
this subsection shall not apply to sales of timber on National Forest System lands in the State of Alaska.
If the purchaser makes such an election, the price subsequently paid for the timber shall include all of the
estimated cost of the road. In the notice of sale, the Secretary of Agriculture shall set a date when such road
shall be completed which shall be applicable to either construction by the purchaser or the Secretary,
depending on the election. To accomplish requested work, the Secretary is authorized to use from any
receipts from the sale of timber a sum equal to the estimate for timber purchaser credits, and such additional
sums as may be appropriated for the construction of roads, such funds to be available until expended, to
construct a road that meets the standards specified in the notice of sale. The provisions of this subsection
shall become effective on October 1, 1976. (16 U.S.C. 472a)
Validation Of Timber Sales Contracts
Sec. 15. (a) Timber sales made pursuant to the Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 35, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 476),
prior to the date of enactment of this section shall not be invalid if the timber was sold in accord with Forest
Service silvicultural practices and sales procedures in effect at the time of the sale, subject to the provisions
of subsection (b) of this section. (16 U.S.C. 476(note))
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture is directed, in developing five-year operating plans under the provisions of
existing fifty-year timber sales contracts in Alaska, to revise such contracts to make them consistent with the
guidelines and standards provided for in the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974, as amended, and to reflect such revisions in the contract price of timber. Any such action shall not be
inconsistent with valid contract rights approved by the final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction. (16 U.S.C. 1601(note))
Payments To States For Schools And Roads
Sec. 16. The sixth paragraph under the heading "FOREST SERVICE" in the Act of May 23, 1908, as
amended, and section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911, as amended (35 Stat. 260, 36 Stat. 963, as amended; 16
U.S.C. 500), are each amended by adding at the end thereof, respectively, the following new sentence:

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"Beginning October 1, 1976, the term 'moneys received' shall include all collections under the Act of June 9,
1930, and all amounts earned or allowed any purchaser of national forest timber and other forest products
within such State as purchaser credits, for the construction of roads on the National Forest Transportation
System within such national forests or parts thereof in connection with any Forest Service timber sales
contract. The Secretary of Agriculture shall, from time to time as he goes through his process of developing
the budget revenue estimates, make available to the States his current projections of revenues and payments
estimated to be made under the Act of May 23, 1908, as amended, or any other special Acts making
payments in lieu of taxes, for their use for local budget planning purposes." (16 U.S.C. 500)
Acquisition Of National Forest System Lands
Sec. 17. (a) The Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 961), as amended (16 U.S.C. 480, 500, 513-517, 517a, 518, 519,
521, 552, 563), is amended as follows:
(1) Section 4, as amended, is repealed, and all function of the National Forest Reservation Commission are
transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture. (16 U.S.C. 513)
(2) Section 5 is repealed. (16 U.S.C. 513)
(3) Section 6 is amended to read as follows: "The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed
to examine, locate, and purchase such forested, cut-over, or denuded lands within the watersheds of
navigable streams as in his judgment may be necessary to the regulation of the flow of navigable streams or
the production of timber. No deed or other instrument of conveyance of lands referred to herein shall be
accepted or approved by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act until the legislature of the State in which
the land lies shall have consented to the acquisition of such land by the United States for the purpose of
preserving the navigability of navigable streams." (16 U.S.C. 515)
(4) Section 7, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "When the public interests will be benefited
thereby, the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to accept on behalf of the United
States title to any lands within the exterior boundaries of national forests which, in his opinion, are chiefly
valuable for the purposes of this Act, and in exchange therefore to convey by deed not to exceed an equal
value of such national forest land in the same State, or he may authorize the grantor to cut and remove an
equal value of timber within such national forest in the same State, the values in each case to be determined
by him: Provided, That before any such exchange is effected notice of the contemplated exchange reciting the
lands involved shall be published once each week for four successive weeks in some newspaper of general
circulation in the county or counties in which may be situated the lands to be accepted, and in some like
newspaper published in any county in which may be situated any lands or timber to be given in such
exchange. Timber laws and regulations relating to such national forests, and under the direction and
supervision and in accordance with the requirements of the Secretary of Agriculture shall, upon acceptance,
become parts of the national forests within whose exterior boundaries they are located, and be subjected to
all provisions of this Act." (16 U.S.C. 516)
(5) Section 9, as amended, is amended by striking out the following language in the first sentence: "the
National Forest Reservation Commission and". (16 U.S.C. 518)
(6) Section 14, as amended, is repealed. (16 U.S.C. 514)
(b) For purposes of providing information that will aid the Congress in its oversight responsibilities and
improve the accountability of expenditures for the acquisition of forest land, the Secretary of Agriculture
may not hereafter enter into any land purchase or exchange relating to the National Forest System of
$25,000 or more for the types of lands which have been heretofore approved by the National Forest
Reservation Commission until after 30 days from the date upon which a detailed report of the facts
concerning such proposed purchase or transfer is submitted to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of
the Senate or such earlier time as may be approved by both such committees. Such report shall contain at
least the following:
(1) guidelines utilized by the Secretary in determining that the land should be acquired;

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(2) the location and size of the land;
(3) the purchase price of the land and the criteria used by the Secretary in determining such price; and
(4) the person from whom the land is being acquired. (16 U.S.C. 521b)
Amendment To The Knutson-Vandenberg Act
Sec. 18. Section 3 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (46 Stat. 527; 16 U.S.C. 576b), is amended(a) by striking out the word "or" immediately before "(3)" in the first sentence thereof; and
(b) by striking out in the first sentence thereof the colon preceding the proviso and all that follows down
through "three years" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ", or (4) protecting and improving the
future productivity of the renewable resources of the forest land on such sale area, including sale area
improvement operations, maintenance and construction, reforestation and wildlife habitat management".
(16 U.S.C. 576b)
Amendment To The Act Of June 12, 1960
Sec. 19. The Act of June 12, 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528-531), is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following new section:
"Sec. 5. This Act may be cited as the 'Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960'." (16 U.S.C. 528(note))
Plan For Control Of Dutch Elm Disease
Sec. 20. The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with officials of both the State and political
subdivisions thereof, shall conduct a study of the incidence of Dutch elm disease and evaluate methods of
controlling the spread of such disease. The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the President and both
Houses of the Congress on or before March 1, 1977, a report which includes(1) the results of such study;
(2) plans for further research into the control of Dutch elm disease; and
(3) an action plan which includes a program of outreach and public information about the disease, and
recommendations for controlling the spread of the disease (16 U.S.C. 594-2(note))
Severability
Sec. 21. 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. 1600(note))