PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-112.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Aug 2, 2017
Forest Management Improvement Act of 2017
This bill makes categorical exclusions, from requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to conduct environmental assessment and environmental impact statements, available to the Forest Service to conduct forest management activities on up to 10,000 acres of National Forest System land for each exclusion to:
create early seral habitat forests;
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
improve wildlife habitats;
commercially thin forest stands on suited timberlands; and
salvage trees that are dead and/or dying and were damaged by such events as wind, fire, or construction.
For a forest management activity, the Forest Service:
in an NEPA-prepared environmental impact statement, shall study, develop, and describe only the activity and the alternative of no action; and
in an NEPA-prepared environmental assessment, shall not be required to study, develop, and describe the alternative of no action.
The bill makes permanent the authority to designate, at state request, treatment areas in national forests that are experiencing an insect or disease epidemic.
The bill revises authorities for watershed restoration and protection services.
The Department of Agriculture shall establish a pilot arbitration program under which specified forest management projects challenged in a civil action may be designated for an alternative dispute resolution procedure instead of judicial review.
People & committees
Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] · R–SD
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-112.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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