§6554 Applied silvicultural assessments

Summary

The Secretary may carry out applied silvicultural assessments on Federal land that is at risk of, or already has, insects that damage forests. These assessments are for research and information. They do not apply to four kinds of places: parts of the National Wilderness Preservation System; Federal lands where Congress or the President has limited or banned cutting vegetation; congressionally‑designated wilderness study areas; or places where the work would conflict with the land’s management plan. The work may not include spraying insecticides in municipal watersheds or nearby riparian areas. Before any assessment happens, it must be reviewed by scientific experts chosen by the Secretary, including non‑Federal experts, and the public must get notice and a chance to comment. Research treatments of up to 1,000 acres each can be left out of the paperwork for environmental impact statements and environmental assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Such excluded projects cannot be next to another excluded area being treated the same way, must follow the “extraordinary circumstances” rules at 40 C.F.R. 1508.4, and the total excluded acres may not exceed 250,000 acres. For those excluded projects, the Secretary does not have to make findings about significant environmental effects.