§6554 Applied Silvicultural Assessments

Summary

The Secretary may carry out applied silvicultural assessments on Federal land when that land is at risk of, or already has, insects that damage forests. These assessments cannot happen in parts of the National Wilderness Preservation System, on Federal land where law or a Presidential proclamation bars removing plants, in congressionally‑designated wilderness study areas, or where such work would clash with the land and resource management plan. The use of insecticides is not allowed in municipal watersheds or their nearby stream areas. Each assessment must be reviewed beforehand by scientific experts chosen by the Secretary, and those experts must include non‑Federal scientists. The Secretary must give notice and allow public comment before starting an assessment. Treatments tied to these assessments that cover no more than 1,000 acres each may be excluded from formal NEPA impact documents. Such excluded areas cannot border another excluded area that is being treated the same way, must follow the Secretary’s extraordinary‑circumstances rules under 40 C.F.R. §1508.4, and the total acreage excluded this way cannot exceed 250,000 acres. The Secretary is not required to make findings about whether an excluded project has a significant environmental effect.