# The SALVAGE Act: What It Does

The SALVAGE Act makes it faster and easier for the government to remove dead and damaged trees from national forests and public lands after major disasters like wildfires, and to replant those areas. Right now, when the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management wants to do salvage work, they have to complete lengthy environmental reviews that can take months or even years. This bill dramatically speeds up that process by skipping some of these reviews for salvage operations and allowing the government to move forward much more quickly.

Here's how it works in practice: After a wildfire is contained on national forest land, the government has just 60 days to convert any existing timber sales in the burned area into salvage sales. For environmental reviews that do happen, the government must complete them within 60 days instead of the usual timeline. The bill also creates a fast-track public comment period where people get 30 days to comment, 15 days to file objections, and 15 days for the agency to respond—then the project automatically moves forward. The government can also skip environmental reviews entirely for salvage operations up to 10,000 acres if they follow stream protection rules and create a reforestation plan. Additionally, courts are prohibited from issuing restraining orders or injunctions to stop these projects, meaning legal challenges can't delay the work.

The bill does include some guardrails. Salvage operations can't happen in designated wilderness areas or on lands where timber harvesting is already prohibited by law. The work must still follow existing forest management plans and stream buffer protections, though regional forest officials can waive these requirements. The government also aims to replant at least 75 percent of burned lands within five years using money from timber sales to fund the reforestation work.

The practical effect is that after major fires, the government can remove burned timber and begin replanting much faster than current law allows, but environmental groups and others concerned about forest management have less time to review and challenge these decisions through the courts.

SALVAGE Act

Obernolte, Jay

Salvaging American Lumber Via Action with Greater Efficiency Act or the SALVAGE Act This bill provides for certain activities related to salvage operations and certain reforestation activities conducted on National Forest System lands or public lands. The bill categorically excludes salvage operations carried out by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior, on certain National Forest System lands or certain public lands, respectively, from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Each salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion may not contain treatment units that exceed a total of 10,000 acres. An environmental assessment for a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on National Forest System lands or public lands that are adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be completed within 60 days after the conclusion of the event. In the case of such reforestation activities USDA and Interior shall, to the maximum extent practicable, achieve reforestation of at least 75% of the impacted lands during the five-year period following the conclusion of the catastrophic event. No later than 60 days after a wildfire is contained on National Forest System lands, USDA shall convert any timber sales on lands impacted by such wildfire to salvage sales. No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any U.S. court respecting any decision to prepare or conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in response to a large-scale catastrophic event.