[House Report 108-397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Rept. 108-397
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session Part 1
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SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION ACT OF 2003
_______
November 21, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2696]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2696) to establish Institutes to demonstrate and promote
the use of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of
wildfires, and restore the health of fire-adapted forest and
woodland ecosystems of the interior West, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend
that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire
Prevention Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) there is an increasing threat of wildfire to millions of
acres of forest land and rangeland throughout the United
States;
(2) forest land and rangeland are degraded as a direct
consequence of land management practices (including practices
to control and prevent wildfires and the failure to harvest
subdominant trees from overstocked stands that disrupt the
occurrence of frequent low-intensity fires that have
periodically removed flammable undergrowth;
(3) at least 39,000,000 acres of land of the National Forest
System in the interior West are at high risk of wildfire;
(4) an average of 95 percent of the expenditures by the
Forest Service for wildfire suppression during fiscal years
1990 through 1994 were made to suppress wildfires in the
interior West;
(5) the number, size, and severity of wildfires in the
interior West are increasing;
(6) of the timberland in National Forests in the States of
Arizona and New Mexico, 59 percent of such land in Arizona, and
56 percent of such land in New Mexico, has an average diameter
of 9 to 12 inches diameter at breast height;
(7) the population of the interior West grew twice as fast as
the national average during the 1990s;
(8) efforts to prioritize forests and communities for
wildfire risk reduction have been inconsistent and insufficient
and have resulted in funding to areas that are not prone to
severe wildfires;
(9) catastrophic wildfires--
(A) endanger homes and communities;
(B) damage and destroy watersheds and soils; and
(C) pose a serious threat to the habitat of
threatened and endangered species;
(10) a 1994 assessment of forest health in the interior West
estimated that only a 15- to 30-year window of opportunity
exists for effective management intervention before damage from
uncontrollable wildfire becomes widespread, with 8 years having
already elapsed since the assessment:
(11) following a catastrophic wildfire, degraded forests in
the interior West that have lost their resilience may not
return to their former grandeur;
(12) healthy forest and woodland ecosystems--
(A) reduce the risk of wildfire to forests and
communities;
(B) improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity;
(C) increase tree, grass, forb, and shrub
productivity;
(D) enhance watershed values;
(E) improve the environment; and
(F) provide a basis in some areas for economically
and environmentally sustainable uses;
(13) sustaining the long-term ecological and economic health
of interior West forests and woodland, and their associated
human communities requires preventing severe wildfires before
the wildfires occur and permitting natural, low-intensity
ground fires;
(14) more natural fire regimes cannot be accomplished without
the reduction of excess fuels and thinning of subdominant
trees. (which fuels and trees may be of commercial value);
(15) ecologically-based forest and woodland ecosystem
restoration on a landscape scale will--
(A) improve long-term community protection;
(B) minimize the need for wildfire suppression;
(C) improve resource values;
(D) improve the ecological integrity and resilience
of these systems;
(E) reduce rehabilitation costs;
(F) reduce loss of critical habitat; and
(G) protect forests for future generations;
(16) although the National Fire Plan, and the report entitled
``Protecting People and Sustaining Resources in Fire-Adapted
Ecosystems-A Cohesive Strategy'' (65 Fed. Reg. 67480),
advocated a shift in wildfire policy from suppression to
prevention (including restoration and hazardous fuels
reduction), Federal land managers are not dedicating sufficient
attention and financial resources to restoration activities
that simultaneously restore forest health and reduce the risk
of severe wildfire;
(17) although landscape scale restoration is needed to
effectively reverse degradation, scientific understanding of
landscape scale treatments is limited;
(18) the Federal wildfire research program is funded at
approximately \1/3\ of the amount that is required to address
emerging wildfire problems, resulting in the lack of a cohesive
strategy to address the threat of catastrophic wildfires; and
(19) rigorous, objective, understandable, and applied
scientific information is needed for--
(A) the design, implementation, monitoring and
adaptation of landscape scale restoration treatments
and improvement of wildfire management technology;
(B) the environmental review process; and
(C) affected entities that collaborate in the
development and implementation of wildfire treatment.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to enhance the capacity to develop, transfer, apply, and
monitor, and regularly update practical science-based forest
restoration treatments that will reduce the risk of severe
wildfires, and improve the health of dry forest and woodland
ecosystems in the interior West;
(2) to synthesize and adapt scientific findings from
conventional research programs to the implementation of forest
and woodland restoration on a landscape scale;
(3) to facilitate the transfer of interdisciplinary knowledge
required to understand the socioeconomic and environmental
impacts of wildfire on ecosystems and landscapes;
(4) to require the institutes established under this Act to
collaborate with Federal agencies--
(A) to use ecological restoration treatments to
reverse declining forest health and reduce the risk of
severe wildfires across the forest landscape;
(B) to ensure that sufficient funds are dedicated to
wildfire prevention activities, especially restoration
treatments; and
(C) to design, implement, monitor and regularly
revise wildfire treatments based on the use of adaptive
ecosystem management;
(5) to assist land managers in--
(A) treating acres with restoration-based
applications; and
(B) using new management technologies (including the
transfer of understandable information, assistance with
environmental review, and field and classroom training
and collaboration) to accomplish the goals identified
in--
(i) the National Fire Plan;
(ii) the report entitled ``Protecting People
and Sustaining Resources in Fire-Adapted
Ecosystems-A Cohesive Strategy'' (65 Fed. Reg.
67480); and
(iii) the report entitled ``10-Year
Comprehensive Strategy: A Collaborative
Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to
Communities and the Environment'' of the
Western Governors' Association;
(6) to provide technical assistance to collaborative efforts
by affected entities to develop, implement, and monitor
adaptive ecosystem management restoration treatments that are
ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially
responsible; and
(7) to assist Federal and non-Federal land managers in
providing information to the public on the role of fire and
fire management in dry forest and woodland ecosystems in the
interior West.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Adaptive ecosystem management.--The term ``adaptive
ecosystem management'' means a natural resource management
process under which planning, implementation, monitoring,
research, evaluation, and incorporation of new knowledge are
combined into a management approach that is--
(A) based on scientific findings and the needs of
society;
(B) treats management actions as experiments;
(C) acknowledges the complexity of these systems and
scientific uncertainty; and
(D) uses the resulting new knowledge to modify future
management methods and policy.
(2) Affected entities.--The term ``affected entities''
includes--
(A) land managers;
(B) stakeholders;
(C) concerned citizens; and
(D) the States of the interior West, including
political subdivisions of the States.
(3) Dry forest and woodland ecosystem.--The term ``dry forest
and woodland ecosystem'' means an ecosystem that is dominated
by ponderosa pines and associated dry forest and woodland
types.
(4) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means an Institute
established under section 5(a).
(5) Interior west.--The term ``interior West'' means the
States of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and
Utah.
(6) Land manager.--
(A) In general.--The term ``land manager'' means a
person or entity that practices or guides natural
resource management.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``land manager'' includes a
Federal, State, local, or tribal land management
agency.
(7) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means a process
undertaken to return an ecosystem or habitat toward--
(A) the original structure of the ecosystem or
habitat; or
(B) a condition that supports a natural complement of
species, natural function, or ecological process (such
as a low intensity fire).
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
(9) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the
Chief of the Forest Service; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior.
(10) Stakeholder.--The term ``stakeholder'' means any person
interested in or affected by management of forest or woodland
ecosystems.
(11) Subdominant trees.--Are trees that occur underneath the
canopy or extend into the canopy but are smaller and less
vigorous than dominant trees.
(12) Overstocked stands.--Where the number of trees per acre
exceeds the natural carrying capacity of the site.
(13) Resilience.--The ability of a system to absorb
disturbance without being pushed into a different, possibly
less desirable stable state.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Interior, shall--
(1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, establish 3 Institutes to promote the use of adaptive
ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and
restore the health of forest and woodland ecosystems, in the
interior West; and
(2) provide assistance to the Institutes to promote the use
of collaborative processes and adaptive ecosystem management in
accordance with paragraph (1).
(b) Location.--
(1) Existing institutes.--The Secretary may designate an
institute in existence on the date of enactment of this Act to
serve as an Institute established under this Act.
(2) States.--Of the Institutes established under this Act,
the Secretary shall establish 1 Institute in each of--
(A) the State of Arizona, to be located at Northern
Arizona University;
(B) the State of New Mexico; and
(C) the State of Colorado.
(c) Duties.--Each Institute shall--
(1) develop, conduct research on, transfer, promote, and
monitor restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction treatments
to reduce the risk of severe wildfires and improve the health
of dry forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior West;
(2) synthesize and adapt scientific findings from
conventional research to implement restoration-based hazardous
fuel reduction treatments on a landscape scale using an
adaptive ecosystem management framework;
(3) translate for and transfer to affected entities any
scientific and interdisciplinary knowledge about restoration-
based hazardous fuel reduction treatments;
(4) assist affected entities with the design of adaptive
management approaches (including monitoring) for the
implementation of restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction
treatments; and
(5) provide peer-reviewed annual reports.
(d) Qualifications.--Each Institute shall--
(1) develop and demonstrate capabilities in the natural,
physical, social, and policy sciences; and
(2) explicitly integrate those disciplines in the performance
of the duties listed in subsection (c).
(e) Cooperation.--Each Institute may cooperate with--
(1) researchers and cooperative extension programs at
colleges, community colleges, and universities in the States of
Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado that have a demonstrated
capability to conduct research described in subsection (c); and
(2) other organizations and entities in the interior West
(such as the Western Governors' Association).
(f) Annual Work Plans.--As a condition of the receipt of funds made
available under this Act, for each fiscal year, each Institute shall
develop in consultation with the Secretary, for review by the
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, an
annual work plan that includes assurances, satisfactory to the
Secretaries, that the proposed work of the Institute will serve the
informational needs of affected entities.
SEC. 6. COOPERATION BETWEEN INSTITUTES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.
In carrying out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) to the extent that funds are appropriated for the
purpose, shall provide financial and technical assistance to
the Institutes to carry out the duties of the Institutes under
section 5;
(2) shall encourage Federal agencies to use, on a cooperative
basis, information and expertise provided by the Institutes;
(3) shall encourage cooperation and coordination between
Federal programs relating to--
(A) ecological restoration;
(B) wildfire risk reduction; and
(C) wildfire management technologies;
(4) notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, United States
Code, may--
(A) enter into contracts, cooperative agreements,
interagency personal agreements to carry out this Act;
and
(B) carry out other transactions under this Act;
(5) may accept funds from other Federal agencies to
supplement or fully fund grants made, and contracts entered
into, by the Secretaries;
(6) may support a program of internships for qualified
individuals at the undergraduate and graduate levels to carry
out the educational and training objectives of this Act;
(7) shall encourage professional education and public
information activities relating to the purposes of this Act;
and
(8) may promulgate such regulations as the Secretaries
determine are necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Interior, shall complete and submit
to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed evaluation of the
programs and activities of each Institute--
(1) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
research, communication tools, and information transfer
activities of each Institute are sufficient to achieve the
purposes of this Act, including--
(A) implementing active adaptive ecosystem management
practices at the landscape level;
(B) reducing unnecessary planning costs;
(C) avoiding duplicative and conflicting efforts;
(D) increasing public acceptance of active adaptive
ecosystem management practices; and
(E) achieving general satisfaction on the part of
affected entities; and
(2) to determine the extent to which each Institute has
implemented its duties under section 5(c);
(3) to determine whether continued provision of Federal
assistance to each Institute is warranted.
(b) Termination of Assistance.--If, as a result of an evaluation
under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary
of the Interior, determines that an Institute does not qualify for
further Federal assistance under this Act, the Institute shall receive
no further Federal assistance under this Act until such time as the
qualifications of the Institute are reestablished to the satisfaction
of the Secretaries.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $15,000,000 for each fiscal year.
(b) Limitation.--No funds made available under subsection (a) shall
be used to pay the costs of constructing any facilities.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2696 is to establish Institutes to
demonstrate and promote the use of adaptive ecosystem
management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the
health of fire-adapted forest and woodland ecosystems from the
interior West.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Research shows that the trend towards large, severe and
frequent forest fires will continue without large-scale action.
Seventy-three million acres in the Intermountain West are
vulnerable to catastrophic fire. Intense fires of this
magnitude are symptoms of unhealthy forests. Many forest fuel
reduction treatments fail to restore unhealthy forests and
therefore will not provide effective, long-term protection
against unnatural wildfire.
Forest restoration and fuel reduction treatments should be
applied at the scale required to reduce unnatural wildfires.
The quality of treatments must be improved to accomplish long-
term fire risk reduction and fix the underlying problem of
degraded forest health. To achieve the quality of treatments
required to reverse the trend in unnatural wildfires,
treatments must start with solid science and be developed to
meet the practical needs of managers. H.R. 2696 would
facilitate this research.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2696 was introduced on July 10, 2003, by Congressman
Rick Renzi (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources and additionally to the Committee on Agriculture.
Within the Committee on Resources, the bill was referred to the
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On September 24,
2003, the Full Committee met to consider the legislation. The
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health was discharged from
further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Mr.
Renzi offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute
incorporating changes recommended by the U.S. Forest Service
and the Minority Members of the Committee clarifying
definitions and intent. The amendment was adopted by unanimous
consent. The bill as amended was then ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to establish Institutes to
demonstrate and promote the use of adaptive ecosystem
management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the
health of fire-adapted forest and woodland ecosystems from the
interior West.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 30, 2003.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2696, the
Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2003.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll and Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2696--Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2003
Summary: H.R. 2696 would authorize the appropriation of $15
million a year for the Secretary of Agriculture to establish
and provide assistance to three research institutes. Those
institutes would develop strategies to reduce the risk of
wildfires and enhance the health of forests in certain western
states. CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost $4
million in 2004 and $72 million over the 2004-2008 period,
assuming appropriation of the specified amounts. The bill would
not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 2696 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. The bill would authorize federal funds to
establish and fund research institutes that could be located at
state universities in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Participation by these states would be voluntary.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 2696 will be enacted near the
start of fiscal year 2004 and that authorized amounts will be
provided as specified in the bill. Estimates of outlays are
based on historical spending patterns for similar activities.
The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 2696 is shown in the
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within
budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level................................................ 15 15 15 15 15
Estimated Outlays.................................................. 4 11 20 20 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 2696
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. The bill would authorize federal funds to
establish and fund institutes that could be located at state
universities in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Participation by these states would be voluntary:
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll and
Deborah Reis; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments:
Marjorie Miller; and Impact on the Private Sector: Cecil
McPherson.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committeee on Resources,
Washington, DC, October 9, 2003.
Hon. Sherwood Boehlert,
Chairman, Committee on Science,
House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman: I request your assistance in expediting
the consideration of H.R. 2696, the Southwest Forest Health and
Wildfire Prevention Act, authored by our colleague Rick Renzi.
He introduced the bill on July 10, 2003, when it was referred
to the Committee on Resources and additionally to the Committee
on Agriculture. The Committee on Resources ordered the bill
favorably reported with amendments on September 24, 2003, by
unanimous consent. I have forwarded a copy of this reported
text to your staff. Based on discussions with the
Parliamentarian, I agree that the Committee on Science would
receive a sequential referral of this bill.
Because of the limited number of days remaining in the
first session of the 108th Congress and the importance of this
bill to the wildfire-ravaged Western United States, I ask you
not to exercise your right to a sequential referral of the bill
so that it can be scheduled before adjournment. Of course, by
agreeing to this request, you are not waiving jurisdiction over
the bill, nor is this action to be construed as a precedent for
other, similar legislation. In addition, I would support a
request from the Committee on Science to be represented on any
conference on H.R. 2696 or a companion Senate bill, should one
become necessary. Finally, I would include this letter and any
response you might have in the Committee on Resources bill
report on H.R. 2696.
Thank you for your consideration of my request and the
cooperation shown by you and Michael Bloomquist of your
Committee staff.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman.
------
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Science,
Washington, DC, October 14, 2003.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your October 9, 2003
letter concerning H.R. 2696, the Southwest Forest Health and
Wildfire Prevention Act. As you state in your letter, the
Parliamentarian agreed that the Committee on Science would
receive a sequential referral of this bill.
Recognizing your wish that the House of Representatives
consider the bill as soon as possible, I will not exercise the
Committee's right to a referral of H.R. 2696. Of course,
waiving the Committee's right to a referral in this case does
not waive the Committee's jurisdiction over any provision in
H.R. 2696 or similar provisions in other bills.
I appreciate and accept your offer to support a request
from the Committee on Science to be represented on any
conference on H.R. 2696 or a companion bill, should one become
necessary. Further, please include a copy of our exchange of
letters on this matter in the Committee Report on H.R. 2696 and
the Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R.
2696.
Thank you for your consideration regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Sherwood L. Boehlert,
Chairman.
------
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Resources,
Washington, DC, November 21, 2003.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I request your assistance in expediting
the consideration of H.R. 2696, the Southwest Forest Health and
Wildfire Prevention Act, authored by our colleague Rick Renzi.
Mr. Renzi introduced the bill on July 10, 2003, when it was
referred to the Committee on Resources and additionally to the
Committee on Agriculture. The Committee on Resources ordered
the bill favorably reported with amendments on September 24,
2003, by unanimous consent. I have forwarded a copy of this
reported text to your staff. I understand that there were some
initial questions regarding some of the bill language but that
our staffs have been able to work out a text which addresses
your concerns. It would be my intention to ask that this text
be scheduled for Floor consideration.
Because of the limited number of days remaining in the
first session of the 108th Congress and the importance of this
bill to the wildfire-ravaged Western United States, I ask you
not to insist on your additional referral of the bill and allow
the Committee on Agriculture to be discharged so that H.R. 2696
can be voted on before adjournment. Of course, by agreeing to
this request, you are not waiving jurisdiction over the bill,
nor is this action to be construed as a precedent for other,
similar legislation. In addition, I would support a request
from the Committee on Agriculture to be represented on any
conference on H.R. 2696 or a companion Senate bill, should one
become necessary. Finally, I would include this letter and any
response you might have in the Committee on Resources bill
report on H.R. 2696.
Thank you for your consideration of my request. I
appreciate our continued excellent working relationship on
healthy forest issues and look forward to working with you to
see H.R. 2696 enacted soon.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman.
------
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, November 21, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for forwarding a copy of the
reported text of H.R. 2696 to my office. As you have noted, our
committee has been able to come to an agreement about the text
of this legislation. Mr. Renzi is the author of H.R. 2696,
which establishes Institutes to demonstrate and promote the use
of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of
wildfires, and restore the health of fire-adapted forest and
woodland ecosystems of the interior West.
As you are aware, the Committee on Agriculture received an
additional referral of this legislation on those provisions of
H.R. 2696 that fall within this Committee's jurisdiction.
However, after conferring with Chairman Gutknecht of the
Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition,
and Forestry, I will be glad to waive further consideration of
this measure so as to allow its timely consideration by the
entire House of Representatives during this remainder of this
legislative year.
This action is not intended to waive this Committee's
jurisdiction over this matter for all purposes, and in the
event a conference with the Senate is requested in this matter,
I would ask you to support the Committee on Agriculture request
to be represented.
Thank you very much for your courtesy in this matter and I
look forward to continued cooperation between our Committees as
well deal with these issues in the future.
Sincerely,
Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman.