Findings and Purpose.

Sec. 402. Findings and Purpose. (a) Findings.—Congress finds that—(1) the Robert Fire and Wedge Fire of 2003 caused extensive resource damage in the Flathead National Forest;(2) the fires of 2000 caused extensive resource damage on the Kootenai National Forest and implementation of rehabilitation and recovery projects developed by the agency for the Forest is critical;(3) the environmental planning and analysis to restore areas affected by the Robert Fire and Wedge Fire will be completed through a collaborative community process;(4) the rehabilitation of burned areas needs to be completed in a timely manner in order to reduce the long-term environmental impacts; and (5) wildlife and watershed resource values will be maintained in areas affected by the Robert Fire and Wedge Fire while exempting the rehabilitation effort from certain applications of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA).117 STAT. 1319(b) The purpose of this title is to accomplish in a collaborative environment, the planning and rehabilitation of the Robert Fire and Wedge Fire and to ensure timely implementation of recovery and rehabilitation projects on the Kootenai National Forest.