National Forest Management Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
National Forest Management Act - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to identify and report to Congress annually all lands in the National Forest System which either need to be reforested or are not growing at their best potential rate. Requires the Secretary to annually transmit to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to replant and otherwise treat an amount of land equal to the acreage to be cut over that year plus a sufficient portion of those lands currently in need of replanting or treatment so as to eliminate the backlog of lands in need of reforestation within eight years of the enactment of this Act. Requires the Secretary, subsequent to such eight-year period, to annually transmit to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to replant and treat lands being cut over and to maintain planned timber production on other lands within the National Forest System in order to prevent the development of a backlog larger than needed at the beginning of the fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to Congress on the amounts, types, and uses of herbicides and pesticides within the national forests, including the beneficial or adverse effects of such uses. Requires the Renewable Resource Assessment to include program recommendations which reflect specified policy objectives. Directs the Secretary to provide for public participation in the consideration of land and resource management plans for National Forest System lands. Requires the Secretary to assure that such plans are developed, maintained, and revised so as to (1) achieve specified goals of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, (2) be in accordance with specified guidelines and procedures, and (3) permit the application of silvicultural systems only in conformity with specified standards. Limits timber sales contracts, in lieu of specified findings, to ten years. Directs the Secretary to 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 growth and (2) utilization standards, methods of measurement, and harvesting practices for the removal of trees and other forest products designed to achieve optimum practical use of such materials. Authorizes the Secretary to require purchasers of dead, damaged, or down timber to make payments to be used to cover the cost of constructing necessary roads and the cost for Forest Service sale preparation and supervision of the harvesting of such timber. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on milling and other wood fiber fabrication facilities, their location, and technology to improve utilization of harvested trees and to reduce wasted wood fibers. Directs the Secretary to formulate and implement a process for estimating long-term costs and benefits to support the program evaluation requirements of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. Stipulates that, unless the necessity of permanent roads is set forth in the forest development road system plan, roads constructed on land of the National Forest System in connection with a timber contract or other lease or permit shall be designed with the goal of reestablishing vegatative cover on the roadway and other affected areas. Prohibits the return to the public domain of lands now or hereafter reserved or withdrawn from the public domain as national forests other than by Act of Congress. Abolishes the National Forest Reservation Commission and transfers the Commission's functions to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to implement an annual report of all land purchases and exchanges relating to the National Forest System. Directs the Secretary to sell trees and forest products found upon National Forest System lands in accordance with policies set forth in the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act. Increases to $10,000 in appraised value the maximum value of timber and cordwood which the Secretary may sell without advertisement. Directs the Secretary to take actions to obviate collusive practices in bidding for trees or other forest products from National Forest System lands.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 16, 1976. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 16, 1976: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 94th Congress (1975-76), 588 of the 21,097 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN JENRETTE (D-SC) introduced it on September 16, 1976. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 16, 1976, 18256 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 18256 days ago, on September 16, 1976.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 94th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1977 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers