Bill > S849

This bill, titled the Permanent Stewardship Contracting Authority Act of 2013, amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to establish permanent authority for "stewardship contracting projects." These projects, managed by the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), allow these agencies to enter into agreements or contracts with private entities to perform services that achieve land management goals, such as road and trail maintenance, prescribed burning, vegetation removal to reduce fire hazards, watershed restoration, and controlling invasive weeds, while also meeting local community needs. The bill outlines that these contracts will be selected based on "best-value," can extend up to 10 years, and allow the value of timber or other forest products removed to offset the cost of the services. It also clarifies how receipts from these contracts can be used and specifies that certain existing laws, like the Knutson-Vanderberg Act, will not apply to these stewardship contracts, and establishes a multiparty monitoring and evaluation process for these projects, with annual reporting to Congress.