The Obama administration will have to wait another year before Congress allows it to combine activities like forest thinning, road removal and stream restorations into one spending pot, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle indicated today.

But Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said the agency needs the authority to protect more communities and restore more forests at a time of shrinking budgets. He also emphasized an urgent need to extend the agency's stewardship contracting authority, which opens new funding opportunities for a variety of natural resources work.

Tidwell defended the agency's $4.86 billion fiscal 2013 budget -- a $16 million increase over current levels -- before the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, where he touted the administration's integrated resources restoration fund.

For a third year, the agency is requesting to shift funds from seven budget line activities, including hazardous fuels removal, removal of fish barriers, timber cuts and invasive species removal, into one program.

In December, Congress for the first time authorized $146.4 million to implement the fund as a pilot project in three regions. Tidwell said there is a "pressing need" for $793 million to expand the program nationwide.

"I'm looking for every way I can to create some additional efficiencies," Tidwell said, noting the challenges budget officials face in finding timely funding for a spectrum of watershed restoration activities.

The agency's fiscal 2013 integrated resources proposal would allow it to treat 2.6 million acres, provide 2.8 billion board feet of timber, decommission 2,028 miles of road and restore or enhance 2,750 miles of stream habitat, Tidwell said.

But subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said lawmakers need "proof of concept" before they agree to expand the program.

"I realize you haven't had sufficient time to implement the pilot," he said. "Nonetheless, we look forward to seeing real, tangible accomplishments in the near future."

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), the full Appropriations Committee's ranking member, said he has concerns with Tidwell's proposal to combine its legacy roads and trails program into the integrated fund.

Dicks said $278 million has been spent on the legacy program since it was established roughly four years ago, allowing the maintenance or obliteration of thousands of miles of obsolete roads and repairs to culverts. He said environmentalists in his district are concerned the program will get lost in the integrated fund.

"We want to see how they work," Dicks said of the pilot integration budget. "Why not wait until we see the results of these pilot projects?"

Tidwell said that the legacy program has been a "tremendous success" and that its consolidation would help increase efficiency.

Tidwell also warned it is critical for Congress to extend his authority to pursue stewardship contracts that allow the agency to use revenue from timber sales to fund restoration projects such as culvert removals or campground improvements. With authority expiring at the end of fiscal 2013, some timber firms and project designers appear hesitant to continue investing in the concept, Tidwell said.

"It's just essential that we continue to be able to use this," he said. "There are less appeals, very few lawsuits [and] strong, strong support for this concept."

Simpson said that he is a strong supporter of the program but that reauthorizing it has run into snags because of the House's rules. Tidwell said it may be because revenues from stewardship contracts -- while limited compared to the agency's overall timber revenues -- stay within the agency rather than going into the U.S. Treasury.

But Simpson appeared resolved to finding a way to extend the program. The Forest Service is requesting permanent reauthorization.

"I haven't talked to anybody who is opposed to this," Simpson said. "We ought to be able to get this done."

Tidwell also addressed other items in the new budget, including a $24 million request to begin to modernize the agency's aging air tanker fleet used to fight wildfires. The agency released its comprehensive strategy document for the fleet last week (E&ENews PM, Feb. 10).

Tidwell also conveyed the Obama administration's request that Congress reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program that for the past decade has compensated rural counties for declining timber revenues. The program expired last October and its reauthorization is fraught with political challenges (E&E Daily, Feb. 17).

Simpson said he also has concerns with the agency's proposed funding for grazing and how it will affect the Forest Service's ability to catch up on a permit backlog and respond to litigation.

In addition, he said he remains worried about the agency's recently completed planning rule that will govern management across 193 million acres of forests and grasslands. The rule has raised concerns with some in the ranching and timber community, in addition to some environmentalists and scientists. It has been cautiously embraced by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"If it ends up in court, which seems to be the pattern with every planning rule, we're back to the drawing board," Simpson said.