§6591c Stewardship End Result Contracting Projects

Summary

The Chief is the head of the Forest Service. The Director is the head of the Bureau of Land Management. They may make stewardship contracts or agreements with private people or other public or private groups to do work on national forests and public lands that helps local and rural communities. Projects can cover many land goals, such as road and trail work to protect water, soil and wildlife habitat, prescribed burns to improve forest health, removing vegetation to lower fire risk, watershed work, fish and wildlife restoration, and weed control with native plant re‑establishment. Contractors are picked on a best‑value basis. Contracts can be treated as property sales if the Secretary chooses. Contracts may follow normal procurement rules but may run longer than 5 years and up to 10 years. The value of timber or other forest products removed can be used to offset the cost of services, using proper appraisal methods and units like per acre when appropriate. Money collected can be a secondary objective, kept by the agencies, and spent at the project site or another site without more appropriation. Payments and services under these projects are not treated as National Forest System or public lands receipts, and the Knutson‑Vanderberg Act does not apply. The Chief and Director can require performance and payment bonds under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and can take deposits to cover removal costs even if timber was not harvested. If the timber value offset is more than the cost of improvements, the excess can pay debts from cancelled contracts or fund other stewardship projects. They may obligate funds in stages. At least 30 days before signing a multiyear contract with a cancellation ceiling above $25,000,000, they must notify the Senate Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committees on Natural Resources and on Agriculture, explaining the ceiling amounts, reasons, budget gaps, and financial risk; a copy must go to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget within 14 days after that notice. Within 90 days after February 7, 2014, the Chief had to add fire‑liability terms like those in Forest Service integrated resource timber contracts (Forest Service contract 2400–13, part H, section H.4) and timber sale contracts under section 472a. The agencies must set up multiparty monitoring with tribes, agencies, and other groups, and must report to the named congressional committees starting 1 year after February 7, 2014 and every year after on status, results, and local community roles.