NATIONAL TIMBER SUPPLY ACT TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1969 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOIL CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m., in room 324, Old Senate Office Building, Senator Everett B. Jordan of North Carolina presiding. Present: Senators Jordan and Bellmon. Senator JORDAN. The subcommittee will please come to order. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The subcommittee is holding hearings today on S. 1832, a bill to provide for the more efficient development and improved management of national forest commercial timberlands, to establish a high-timber-yield fund, and for other purposes. Under this bill uncommitted receipts from the sale of timber and forest products from the national forests during the period July 1, 1969, through June 30, 1994, would be deposited in a high-timber-yield fund, to be withdrawn only by appropriation and then to be available until expended for increasing timber yields in the national forests from which the fund was derived. Any money in the fund not appropriated within 2 fiscal years following the fiscal year in which it was credited to the fund would be transferred to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. The Department of Agriculture has suggested that action on S. 1832 be delayed until the President's Task Force on Lumber has made its recommendations, but if this is not done that consideration be given to a substitute prepared by the Department. Another version of the bill is contained in a House committee print of H.R. 12025 and the committee also has before it an amendment to be proposed by the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Brooke) and three amendments to be proposed by the Senator from Utah (Mr. Bennett). Copies of the bill, the Department reports, the Department substitute, the committee print of H.R. 12025, and the amendments just mentioned will be inserted in the record at this point. (The documents are as follows:) [S. 1832, 91st Cong., first sess.] A BILL To provide for the more efficient development and improved management of national forest commercial timberlands, to establish a high-timber-yield fund, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "National Timber Supply Act of 1969". STATEMENT OF FINDINGS SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds that it is necessary to increase substantially the timber yield from national forest commercial timberlands in order to increase the supply of wood products which are needed to meet increasing national demands, including the demand for home construction. The Congress further finds that it is necessary to provide a reliable and adequate source of funds required to increase timber yield rates on such national forest commercial timberlands. DEFINITION SEC. 3. As used in this Act the term "commercial timberlands" includes timberlands classed as commercial in the Forest Survey conducted under the Act of May 22, 1928, as amended (16 U.S.C. 581-581-i) and which are not withdrawn or reserved from commercial timber production. HIGH TIMBER YIELD FUND SEC. 4. There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a high timber yield fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund". Except as hereinafter provided, during the period beginning July 1, 1969, and ending June 30, 1994, there shall be credited to the fund all receipt from the sale of timber and other forest products from the national forests. The foregoing shall not be construed as amending or repealing any provision of law that authorizes and directs that income from the sale of timber and other forest products from national forests be used for a specific purpose. Such income shall continue to be utilized for the purposes so specified by law and shall not be deposited into the hightimber-yield fund. APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 5. Moneys credited to the fund shall be available for expenditure for the purposes of this Act only when appropriated therefor. Such moneys as may be appropriated shall be available until expended. Any money credited to the fund and not subsequently authorized for expenditure by the Congress within two fiscal years following the fiscal year in which such money was credited to the fund shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. ALLOCATION OF MONEY IN THE FUND SEC. 6. Moneys appropriated from the fund shall, unless otherwise allocated for the purposes of this section in the appropriation Act making them available, be allocated in each fiscal year for expenditure in each national forest in substantially the same proportion as the amount of money contributed to the fund from such national forest in the immediately preceding two fiscal years bears to the total amount of money contributed to the fund from all the national forests in such preceding two fiscal years. Money allocated to any national forest under this section shall be used only for increasing timber yield in such national forest by(1) obtaining regeneration at the earliest practical date after harvesting, and for reforesting unsatisfactorily stocked high site lands; (2) precommercial thinning to control spacing or stand composition; (3) semicommercial thinning both to control spacing or stand composition and to produce material with commercial value in excess of the additional costs required for its harvesting and processing; (4) pruning, if justified by a subsequent reduction in age at which the trees become marketable; (5) preparation, including marking, for thinning, salvage, and understoryremoval sales; (6) road construction in advance of planned harvest cutting to standards necessary for facilitating thinning, salvage, and understory-removal sales; (7) fertilization; (8) development and procurement of seed or stock with superior growth characteristics; and (9) such other timber production improvement practices as the Secretary of Agriculture deems appropriate. IMPLEMENTATION SEC. 7. The Secretary of Agriculture shall immediately establish programs to carry out the policy and purposes of this Act and shall specifically (1) develop into optimum timber productivity as soon as possible the national forest commercial timberlands; and (2) revise the allowable annual harvesting rates in national forests to take into account (A) rotation ages appropriate for conversion technology and anticipated market requirements at the expected time of harvest, (B) the need for and benefits from use of high level current harvest rate options available within sustained yield limitations, and (C) increased timber yields which will result from application of the measures authorized by section 6 of this Act. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, June 27, 1969. Hon. ALLEN J. ELLENDER, Chairman, Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: As requested in your letter of April 21, 1969, this is our report on S. 1832, which would be known as the National Timber Supply Act of 1969. The purpose of S. 1832 would be to increase the timber yield from National Forest commercial timber lands. In order to provide a reliable and adequate source of funds the High-Timber-Yield-Fund would be established from July 1, 1969, to June 30, 1994. All uncommitted receipts, from the sale of timber and other forest product from the National Forests would go into the fund to be available when appropriated. Appropriations, unless otherwise provided in the appropriations Act, would be allocated for expenditure in the National Forests from which the moneys were derived and would be used only for increasing timber yield by practice described in the bill. The Secretary would be directed to develop into optimum timber productivity as soon as possible the National Forest commercial timber lands. He would also be directed to revise immediately the allowable annual harvest rates on such lands taking into consideration among other things the increased timber yields which would result from the application of the authorized forestry measures. We agree and embrace the idea that the national timber supply needs to be developed and increased. We endorse completely the principle of responding to this urgent need for greater supplies of lumber and other timber products. These are the types of concerns that led the President to establish the Ad Hoc Task Force on Lumber to study the supply-demand situation in the lumber and plywood industry. Enactment of S. 1832 at this time would be premature in that the President's Task Force is scheduled to make recommendations for the solution of the longrun timber supply-demand problem later this year. It would be desirable to await the outcome of the review and the evaluation of the Task Force's recommendations before legislative action is taken. With reference, however, to S. 1832, it focuses only on the National Forest commercial forest lands. These comprise 97 million acres or 19 percent of the 510 million acres of commercial forest land in the United States. Efforts to increase timber yields on the National Forests must take into account the fact that these lands cannot be managed solely for optimum timber productivity. The range, water, fish and wildlife, recreation and other renewable resources of the National Forests must be managed to serve a variety of needs under principles of multiple use and sustained yield as set forth in the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528-531). Any legislation to provide for increasing the timber yield should so recognize. Potentially there are distinct problems and disadvantages in earmarking receipts for specific purposes. If the Forest Service receives substantial amounts of its overall funding through earmarking for timber programs there could be difficulty financing other National Forest development programs that are just as vital. However, should the Committee decide to favor legislation at this time we would recommend consideration of the attached substitute draft bill in lieu of S. 1832. Some of the principal features of this substitute are (1) it would be known as the National Forest Timber Supply Act of 1969; (2) it would give full recognition to the multiple use-sustained yield concept; (3) it would avoid the intolerable imbalance which would result from allocation of funds to the National Forests from which the money was derived due to the fact that much of the development work is needed on National Forests that are now producing low receipts; and (4) it would continue to base the rate of timber cutting on sound conservation practices as they are actually accomplished on the land. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely, CLIFFORD M. HARDIN, A BILL To provide for the more efficient development and improved management of national forest commercial forest land, to establish a high timber yield fund, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "National Forest Timber Supply Act of 1969". STATEMENT OF FINDINGS SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds that in order to meet increasing national demands for lumber and other wood products, including that needed for home construction, it is necessary to increase substantially the timber yield from the commercial forest land of the nation including that in the national forests; that, through intensified development and management such land is capable of producing a substantially increased yield; that the national forests are the source of a substantial part of the present and future supply of timber within the policy of the Congress stated in the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act approved June 12, 1960 (74 Stat. 215); that increased annual harvests from national forest commercial forest land may be permitted under sound conservation principles on the basis of short range accomplishments so long as long range goals are assured; and that to accomplish increased annual harvests it is necessary to provide a reliable and adequate source of funds. DEFINITION SEC. 3. As used in this Act the term "commercial forest land" means forest land which is producing or is capable of producing crops of industrial wood and not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation. HIGH TIMBER YIELD FUND SEC. 4. There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a high timber yield fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund". Except as hereinafter provided, beginning July 1, 1969, there shall be credited to the fund all receipts from the sale of timber and other forest products from the national forests; Provided, however, That the foregoing shall not modify or repeal any provision of law that authorizes and directs that deposits in connection with or receipts from the sale of timber and other forest products from national forests be used for a specific purpose, and such deposits and receipts shall continue to be utilized for the purposes so specified by law and shall not be deposited into the high timber yield fund. APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 5. Moneys credited to the fund shall be available for expenditure for the purposes of this Act only when appropriated therefor. Such moneys as may be appropriated shall be available until expended. Any money credited to the fund and not subsequently authorized for expenditure by the Congress within two fiscal years following the fiscal year in which such money was credited to the fund shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL FOREST COMMERCIAL FOREST LAND SEC. 6. Moneys appropriated from the fund shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for more efficient development and improved management of the national forest commercial forest land and thereby, among other things, to increase the timber yield therefrom by (1) obtaining regeneration at the earliest practicable date after harvesting and reforesting unsatisfactorily stocked lands; (2) thinning and other cultural measures, including salvage, to improve the quantity and quality of yield; (3) fertilization; (4) development, production, and procurement of seed or stock with superior growth capabilities or characteristics; (5) timber sale administration and timber management planning; and (6) such other timber management and production improvement practices as the Secretary of Agriculture deems appropriate. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Hon. ALLEN J. ELLENDER, Chairman, Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This will supplement the report we sent to you on June 27, 1967, on S. 1832 which would become the National Timber Supply Act of 1969. There should have been added to the statement as to the advice of the Bureau of the Budget, that the Bureau reccrimends that action on legislation such as S. 1832 be deferred until after the President's Task Force has had an opportunity to make its report. The Erreau is also concerned, in a time of necessary budgetary restraint, about the stantial additional outlays which could result from enactment of such legislation and is further concerned about the budgetary inflexibility that would result from adoption of the earmarking proposed in the legislation. Sincerely, J. PHIL CAMPBELL, [S. 1832, 91st Cong., first sess.] (Amdmt. No. 51) AMENDMENTS Intended to be proposed by Mr. BENNETT to S. 1832, a bill to provide for the more efficient development and improved management of national forest commercial timberlands, to establish a high-timber-yield fund, and for other purposes, viz: On page 3, line 11, strike out "SEC. 6. Moneys" and insert in lieu thereof the following: "SEC. 6. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section,". On page 4, between lines 19 and 20, insert the following: "(b) Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture determines that any amount of the funds allocated to any national forest under subsection (a) of this section is in excess to the needs of such national forest under this Act, he may reallocate such amount for use in another national forest if he determines that the allocations to such other national forest under subsection (a) of this section are inadequate to meet the expense of increasing timber yields in such other national forest." [S. 1832, 91st Cong., first sess.] (Amdmt. No. 52) AMENDMENT Intended to be proposed by Mr. BENNETT to S. 1832, a bill to provide for the more efficient development and improved management of national forest commercial timberlands, to establish a high-timber-yield fund, and for other purposes, viz: At the end of the bill add the following: |