Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 90 Part 2.djvu/1481

 PUBLIC LAW 94-588—OCT. 22, 1976

90 STAT. 2949

Public Law 94-588 94th Congress An Act To amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1Q74, and for other purposes.

Oct. 22, 19/6 [S. 3091]

Be It endcted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the '"'National Forest Management Act of 1976".

National Forest Management Act

FINDINGS

of 1976. 16 USC 1600 note.

SEC. 2. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources P l a n n i n g Act of 1974 (88 Stat. -t76; 16 U.S.C. 1601-1610) is amended by redesignating sections 2 through 11 as sections 3 through 12, respectively; and by a d d i n g a new section 2 as follows: " SEC. 2. FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 16 USC 1600. " (1) the management of the Nation's renewable resources is highly complex and the uses, demand for, and supply of the various resources are subject to change over t i m e; assessing the Nation's renewable resources, and developing and p r e p a r i n g a national renewable resource program, which is periodically reviewed and u p dated; " (3) to serve the national interest, the renewable resource program must be based on a comprehensive assessinent of present and anticipated uses, demand for, and supply of renewable resources from the Nation's public and private forests and rangelands, through analysis of environmental and economic impacts, coordination of multiple use and sustained yield opportunities as provided in the Multiple-L^se Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 215; 16 U.S.C. 528-531), and public participation in the development of the program; ,. " (4) the new knowledge derived from coordinated public and private research programs will promote a sound technical and ecological base for effective management, use, and protection of the Nation's renewable resources; " (5) inasmuch as the majority of the Nation's forests and range^ land is under private, State, and local governmental management and the Nation's major capacity to produce goods and services is based on these nonfederally managed renewable resources, the Federal Government should be a catalyst to encourage and assist these owners in the efficient long-term use and improvement of these lands and their renewable resources consistent with the principles of sustained yield and multiple use; " (6) the Forest Service, by virtue of its statutory authority for management of the National Forest System, research and cooperative programs, and its role as an agency in the Department of Agriculture, has both a responsibility and an opportunity to be a leader in assuring that the Nation maintains a natural resource conservation posture that will meet the requirements of our people in perpetuity; and
 * ' (2) the public interest is served by the Forest Service. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with other agencies,

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