433 



this Act, is amended — 



(1) by striking out "section 2" and "section 3" 

 In the first sentence of subsection (a) and In- 

 serting in beu thereof "section 3" and "section 

 4", Respectively; 



(2) by striking out "section 3" In subsection 

 (c) and Inserting in lieu thereof "section 4"; 

 and 



(3) by striking out "section 3" in the first sen- 

 tence of subsection (d) and inserting in lieu 

 thereof "section 4". 



TIMBER SALES ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS 



Sec. 14. (a) For the purpose of achieving the 

 policies set forth in the Multiple-Use Sustained- 

 Yield Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528-531) 

 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- 

 sources Planning Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 476; 16 

 U.S.C. 1601-1610), the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 under such rules and regulations as he may pre- 

 scribe, may sell, at not less than appraised value, 

 trees, portions of trees, or forest products located 

 on National Forest System lands. 



(b) All advertised timber sales shall be desig- 

 nated on maps, and a prospectus shall be available 

 to the public and interested potential bidders. 



(c) The length and other terms of the contract 

 shall be designed to promote orderly harvesting 

 consistent with the principles set out in section 6 

 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

 Planning Act of 1974, as amended. Unless there is 

 a finding by the Secretary of Agriculture that 

 better utilization of the various forest resources 

 (consistent with the provisions of the Multiple-Use 

 Sustained-Yield Act of 1960) will result, sales con- 

 tracts shall be for a period not to exceed ten years : 

 Provided, That such period may be adjusted at the 

 discretion of the Secretary to provide additional 

 time due to time delays caused by an act of an 

 agent of the United States or by other circum- 

 stances beyond the control of the purchaser. The 

 Secretary shall require the purchaser to file as soon 

 as practicable after execution of a contract for any 

 advertised sale with a term of two years or more, 

 a plan of operation, which shall be subject to con- 

 currence by the Secretary. The Secretary shall not 

 extend any contract period with an original term 

 of two years or more unless he finds (A) that the 

 purchaser has diligently performed In accordance 

 with an approved plan of operation or (B) that the 

 substantial overriding public interest justifies the 

 extension. 



(d) The Secretary of Agriculture shall advertise 

 all sales unless he determines that extraordinary 

 conditions exist, as defined by regulation, or that 

 the appraised value of the sale is less than $10,000. 

 If, upon proper offering, no satisfactory bid is re- 

 ceived for a sale, or the bidder fails to complete the 

 purchase, the sale may be offered and sold without 

 further advertisement. 



(e) The Secretary of Agriculture shall take such 

 action as he may deem appropriate to obviate col- 

 lusive practices in bidding for trees, portions of 



trees, or forest products from National Forest Sys- 

 tem lands, including but not limited to — 



(1) establishing adequate monitoring systems 

 to promptly identify patterns of noncompetitive 

 bidding ; 



(2) requiring sealed bidding on all sales ex- 

 cept where the Secretary determines otherwise 

 by regulation; and 



(3) requiring that a report of instances of such 

 collusive practices or patterns of noncompetitive 

 bidding be submitted to the Attorney General of 

 the United States with any and all supporting 

 data. 



(f) The Secretary of Agriculture, under such 

 rules and regiilations as he may prescribe, is au- 

 thorized to dispose of, by sale or otherwise, trees, 

 portions of trees, or other forest products related 

 to research and demonstration projects. 



(g) Designation, marking when necessary, and 

 supervision of harvesting of trees, portions of trees, 

 or forest products shall be conducted by persons 

 employed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Such 

 persons shall have no personal interest in the pur- 

 chase or harvest of such product and not be directly 

 in the employment of the purchaser thereof. 



(h) The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop 

 utilization standards, methods of measurement, 

 and harvesting practices for the removal of trees, 

 portions of trees, or forest products to provide for 

 the optimum practical use of the wood material. 

 Such standards, methods, and practices shall re- 

 flect consideration of opportimities to promote 

 more effective wood utilization, regional conditions, 

 and species characteristics and shall be compatible 

 with multiple use resource management objectives 

 in the affected area. To accomplish the purpose of 

 this subsection in situations involving salvage of 

 insect-infested, dead, damaged, or down timber, 

 and to remove associated trees for stand improve- 

 ment, the Secretary is authorized to require the 

 purchasers of such timber to make monetary de- 

 posits, as a part of the payment for the timber, 

 to be deposited in a designated fund from which 

 sums are to be used to cover the cost to the United 

 States for design, engineering, and supervision of 

 the construction of needed roads and the cost for 

 Forest Service sale preparation and supervision of 

 the harvesting of such timber. Deposits of money 

 pursuant to this subsection are to be available imtil 

 expended to cover the cost to the United States of 

 accomplishing the purposes for which deposited: 

 Provided, That such deposits shall not be considered 

 as moneys received from the national forests with- 

 in the meaning of sections 500 and 501 of title 16, 

 United States Code: And provided further. That 

 sums found to be in excess of the cost of accom- 

 plishing the purposes for which deposited on any 

 national forest shall be transferred to miscellane- 

 ous receipts in the Treasury of the United States. 



(1) (1) For sales of timber which include a pro- 

 vision for purchaser credit for construction of per- 

 manent roads with an estimated cost in excess of 

 $20,000, the Secretary of Agriculture shall promul- 

 gate regulations requiring that the notice of sale 



