,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hfhb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #g1 #bjbf,mr4   
,downing introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
codify the categorical exclusion        
proposed in the ,national ,environmental
 ,policy ,act ,implementing ,procedures 
for the ,bureau of ,land ,management    
related to salvage harvesting published 
on ,april #f1 #bjbf1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,accelerating       
,forest ,management ,act4  #b4          
,codification of categorical exclusion  
7a7 ,in general ,salvage harvesting     
activities described in subsection 7b7  
are a category of actions hereby        
designated as being categorically       
excluded from the preparation of an     
environmental assessment or an          
environmental impact statement under    
section #ajb of the ,national           
,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi    

7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb74  7b7 ,salvage    
harvesting activities designated for    
categorical exclusions  7#a7 ,in general
 ,the salvage harvesting activities     
designated under this section for       
categorical exclusion are-- 7,a7 covered
 actions with respect to dead or dying  
trees resulting from fire1 insects1     
disease1 drought1 or other disturbances 
within treatment areas--  7i7 not to    
exceed #a1jjj acres where the           
disturbance affects #c1jjj acres of     
,bureau-managed lands or less2 and  7ii7
 not to exceed the lesser of #e1jjj     
acres or #a_/c of the disturbance area  
where the disturbance exceeds #c1jjj    
acres of ,bureau-managed lands2 and     
7,b7 carried out in conformance with    
applicable land use planning decisions4 
7#b7 ,limitations ,in addition to the   
covered actions under paragraph 7#a71   
salvage harvesting activities to which  
the categorical exclusion applies under 
this section--  7,a7 may include        
construction of up to #a mile of new    

permanent road to facilitate covered    
actions1 provided that all segments     
conform to applicable land use planning 
decisions with route-specific           
designations disclosed where travel     
management planning has been completed2 
7,b7 may include maintenance and        
renovation of existing roads as needed2 
7,c7 may include construction of        
temporary roads not to exceed a ratio of
 #b4be miles per #a1jjj acres of harvest
 area as needed1 provided that the      
temporary roads-- 7i7 are not part of   
the permanent transportation system of  
the ,bureau2  7ii7 are designed to      
standards appropriate for their intended
 use 7safety1 erosion control1          
sedimentation prevention1 and resource  
protection72  7iii7 are not needed for  
long-term resource management2 and  7iv7
 are decommissioned and stabilized after
 use to minimize erosion and protect    
water quality2 and  7,d7 require the    
disclosure of design features1 in       
documentation of finding that an action 

is excluded pursuant to the use of this 
categorical exclusion1 that address the 
following resource considerations       
consistent with applicable land use plan
 decisions1 or1 where no plan           
requirements apply1 specify how the     
following resource considerations are   
addressed3 7i7 ,snag and downed         
wood--amount to be created or retained4 
7ii7 ,erosion control--specifications or
 measures 7e4g41 water bars1 dispersed  
slash74  7iii7 ,soil                    
compaction--criteria for avoidance1     
minimization1 or remediation4  7iv7     
,logging systems--types and scope of    
constraints 7e4g41 seasonal1 location1  
extent1 etc474  7v7 ,seasonal           
operations--purpose and extent of       
operating restrictions4  7vi7 ,invasive 
species--measures to prevent or limit   
spread4  7vii7 ,riparian areas--buffer  
widths and_/or operating restrictions4  
7viii7 ,prescribed fire--operating      
constraints for underburning or pile    
burning4  7ix7 ,temporary               

roads--decommissioning standards4  7c7  
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,bureau ,the term ,bureau means the     
,bureau of ,land ,management4  7#b7     
,covered actions ,the term covered      
actions means the one or more of the    
following actions3 7,a7 ,cutting1       
yarding1 and removal of dead or dying   
trees4  7,b7 ,cutting1 yarding1 and     
removal of live trees needed for        
operations1 landings1 skid trails1 or   
road clearing4  7,c7 ,chipping_/grinding
 or removal of residual slash4  7,d7    
,jackpot burning1 pile burning1 and     
underburning4  7,e7 ,seeding or planting
 necessary to accelerate native species 
re-establishment4  7#c7 ,dying tree ,the
 term dying tree means a standing tree  
severely damaged by disturbance 7such as
 fire1 wind1 insects1 disease1 drought7 
and1 in the judgment of a forestry      
professional or someone technically     
trained for the work1 is likely to die  
within two years4  7#d7 ,permanent road 
,the term permanent road means a road   

constructed or reconstructed for use1 as
 part of the permanent transportation   
system of the ,bureau4  7#e7 ,temporary 
road ,the term temporary road means a   
road authorized by contract1 permit1    
lease1 written authorization1 or        
emergency operation1 not added to the   
permanent system1 and decommissioned    
after use4  #c4 ,extension of ,forest   
,ecosystem ,health and ,recovery ,fund  
,title ,i of the ,department of the     
,interior1 ,environment1 and ,related   
,agencies ,appropriations ,act1 #bjaj   
7,public ,law #aaa-hh7 is amended in the
 text under the heading ,,forest        
,,ecosystem ,,health ,,and ,,recovery   
,,fund by striking #bjbj each place it  
appears and inserting #bjcc4