431 



ering revisions of the regulations. The views of the 

 committees shall be included in the public infor- 

 mation supplied when the regulations are proposed 

 for adoption. 



"(2) Clerical and technical assistance, as may 

 be necessary to discharge the duties of the com- 

 mittee, 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 compen- 

 sation 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 instru- 

 ments currently in existence shall be revised as 

 soon as practicable to be made consistent with 

 such plans. When land management plans are re- 

 vised, resource plans and permits, contracts, a»d 

 other instruments, when necessary, shall be re- 

 vised 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. 



"(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 pur- 

 suant 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 ex- 

 tent 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 im- 

 suitable 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 pro- 

 duction at least every 10 years and shall return 

 these lands to timber production whenever he de- 

 termines that conditions have changed so that they 

 have become suitable for timber production. 

 " (1) The Secretary shall— 



"(1) formulate and implement, as soon as 

 practicable, a process for estimating long-terms 

 costs and benefits to support the program evalu- 

 ation requirements of this Act. This process shall 

 include requirements to provide information on 

 a representative sample basis of estimated ex- 

 penditures associated with the reforestation, 

 timber stand improvement, and sale of timber 



from the National Forest System, and shall pro- 

 vide 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 expendi- 

 tures for such timber as determined by the above 

 cost process; and 

 "(m) 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 culmi- 

 nation of mean annual increment of growth (cal- 

 culated 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 im- 

 provement 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 har- 

 vest of particular species of trees in management 

 units after consideration has been given to the 

 multiple uses of the forest including, but not lim- 

 ited to, recreation, wildlife habitat, and range 

 and after completion of public participation 

 processes utilizing the procedures of subsection 

 (d) of this section.". 



NATIONAL PARTICIPATION 



Sec 7. Section 8 of the Forest and Rangeland 

 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as re- 

 designated by section 2 of this Act, is amended — 



(a) by striking out "sixty" in the second sen- 

 tence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu 

 thereof the word "ninety"; and by striking out 

 "sixty-day period" in the third sentence of sub- 

 section (a) and inserting in lieu thereof "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, sig- 

 nificant findings, and how these findings will be 

 applied in National Forest System management.". 



TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 



Sec 8. Section 10 of the Forest and Rangeland 

 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as re- 

 designated 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: 



