S 1033 A bill to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for stewardship contracting projects, and for other purposes

About S.1033

A bill to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for stewardship contracting projects, and for other purposes. This bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to authorize the Forest Service to enter into stewardship contracting projects with private persons or other public entities to perform services to achieve land management goals for the National Forest System that meet local and rural community needs. The bill states that the land management goals of a project may include:

• (1) road and trail maintenance or obliteration to restore or maintain water quality;
• (2) soil productivity, habitat for wildlife and fisheries, or other resource values;
• (3) setting of prescribed fires to improve the composition, structure, condition, and health of stands or to improve wildlife habitat;
• (4) removing vegetation or other activities to promote healthy forest stands, reduce fire hazards, or achieve other land management objectives;
• (5) watershed restoration and maintenance;
• (6) restoration and maintenance of wildlife and fish; or
• (7) control of noxious and exotic weeds and reestablishing native plant species

The Forest Service shall establish and participate in a multiparty monitoring and evaluation process that assesses the projects conducted pursuant to this bill.