16 U.S.C. § 539d — National forest timber utilization program

(a) Tongass National Forest timber supply; satisfaction of certain market demands Subject to appropriations, other applicable law, and the National Forest Management Act of 1976, and except as subsection (d) provides, the Secretary must try to provide a supply of timber from the Tongass National Forest that (1) meets the yearly market demand for timber from that forest and (2) meets that forest's market demand for each planning cycle. This applies only to the extent consistent with providing for the multiple use and sustained yield of all renewable forest resources. (b) Insured and guaranteed loan program for purchasers of national forest materials in Alaska; authorization of appropriations (1) The Secretary must establish a special program of insured or guaranteed loans for purchasers of national forest materials in Alaska. The program helps those purchasers acquire equipment and put new technologies into effect that lead to using wood products that might otherwise not be used. The Secretary may issue regulations defining eligibility requirements for participating in the loan program and the terms and conditions of loans made under it. Unless this section or regulations made specifically for this loan program provide otherwise, the program must be carried out consistently with the other authorities available to the Secretary. (2) To carry out this special loan program, Congress authorized, beginning after fiscal year 1980, appropriations of $5,000,000 from National Forest Fund receipts. The money must be deposited in a special fund in the United States Treasury and remains available until it is spent. Repayments of principal and interest, and other recoveries on loans authorized by this section, must be credited to this fund and remain available until spent to carry out this section. (c) Study on increase of timber yields on national forest lands in Alaska; transmittal to Congress Within three years after December 2, 1980, the Secretary must prepare and send to the Senate and House of Representatives a study of opportunities to increase timber yields on national forest lands in Alaska. The opportunities must be consistent with the laws and regulations that apply to management of the National Forest System. (d) Identification of lands not suited for timber production; consideration of economic factors unnecessary All provisions of section 6(k) of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1604(k)) apply to the Tongass National Forest. However, the Secretary does not have to consider economic factors when identifying lands that are not suited for timber production. (e) Protection of riparian habitat; maintenance of buffer zones in Tongass National Forest; relocation of prior independent sale or released volume To protect riparian habitat, the Secretary must maintain a buffer zone at least 100 feet wide on each side of every Class I stream in the Tongass National Forest and on Class II streams that flow directly into a Class I stream. Commercial timber harvesting is prohibited within these zones, except for independent national forest timber sales already sold before March 1, 1990, or volume released before that date to the Alaska Pulp Corporation or the Ketchikan Pulp Company under long-term timber sale contracts numbered 12–11–010–1545 and A10fs–1042, respectively. If such a sale or released volume is inside the buffer zone, the Secretary must make every effort to move it to an area outside the buffer zone. On streams or parts of streams that are not protected by these buffer zones, the Secretary must use “best management practices,” as defined in the Region 10 Soil and Water Conservation handbook (FSH 2509.22), January 1990, to protect riparian habitat. This section does not define “best management practices” itself. For this subsection, “Class I streams” and “Class II streams” mean what those terms mean in the Region 10 Aquatic Habitat Management Handbook (FSH 2609.24), June 1986. This section does not define those terms itself. (f) Timber supply from Tongass National Forest for purchasers qualifying as “small business concerns” Subject to appropriations, this Act, and other applicable law, including the requirements of the National Forest Management Act of 1976, and to help ensure that the Small Business Administration timber sale program continues, the Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, must seek to provide a supply of timber from the Tongass National Forest to purchasers that qualify as “small business concerns” under the amended Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.). This must be done to the extent consistent with providing for the multiple use and sustained yield of all renewable forest resources.