[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3023 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3023

   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to 
   expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect 
    forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 1, 2002

Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Mr. Warner, and Ms. Mikulski) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to 
   expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect 
    forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Forestry 
Program Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) trees and forests are critical to the long-term health 
        and proper functioning of the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake 
        Bay watershed;
            (2) the Chesapeake Bay States lost 350,000 acres of forest 
        land between 1987 and 1997, or nearly 100 acres per day; and
            (3) the Forest Service has a vital role to play in 
        assisting States, local governments, and nonprofit 
        organizations of the Chesapeake Bay in carrying out forest 
        conservation, restoration, and stewardship projects and 
        activities.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore 
        and protect forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
            (2) to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the 
        Chesapeake Bay Agreement.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay 
        Agreement'' means the formal, voluntary agreements--
                    (A) executed to achieve the goal of restoring and 
                protecting the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the living 
                resources of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and
                    (B) signed by the Council.
            (2) Chesapeake bay state.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay 
        State'' means each of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New 
        Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia and the 
        District of Columbia.
            (3) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Chesapeake Bay 
        Executive Council.
            (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the program designated under section 4(b)(1).
            (5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed forestry program established under section 4(a).
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service 
        and the Director appointed under section 4(b)(1).

SEC. 4. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED FORESTRY PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a Chesapeake Bay 
watershed forestry program under which the Secretary shall make grants 
and provide technical assistance to eligible entities to restore and 
protect forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including grants and 
assistance--
            (1) to promote forest conservation and stewardship efforts 
        in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed;
            (2) to manage National Forest System land in the Chesapeake 
        Bay watershed in a manner that enhances the land;
            (3) to assist in developing and carrying out large-scale 
        projects and partnerships in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
            (4) to conduct research, assessment, and planning 
        activities to restore and protect forest land in the Chesapeake 
        Bay watershed;
            (5) to develop communication and education resources to 
        enhance public understanding of the value of forests in the 
        Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
            (6) to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the 
        Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
    (b) Office; Director.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
                    (A) establish an office within the Forest Service 
                to carry out the program; and
                    (B) designate an employee of the Forest Service as 
                Director of the program.
            (2) Duties.--As part of the program, the Director, in 
        cooperation with the Secretary, shall--
                    (A) carry out a small grants and technical 
                assistance program to restore and protect forests in 
                the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                    (B) enter into partnerships to carry out forest 
                restoration and protection activities at a watershed 
                scale using the resources and programs of the Forest 
                Service; and
                    (C) employ a sufficient number of individuals to--
                            (i) represent the Forest Service in water 
                        quality and land stewardship deliberations of 
                        the Chesapeake Bay program; and
                            (ii) support and collaborate with a 
                        forestry work group in planning and 
                        implementing program activities.
    (c) State Watershed Foresters.--Funds made available under section 
6(a) may be used by a Chesapeake Bay State to hire a State watershed 
forester to carry out activities and coordinate watershed-level 
projects relating to the program.
    (d) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive assistance under 
the program, an entity shall be--
            (1) a Chesapeake Bay State;
            (2) a political subdivision of a Chesapeake Bay State;
            (3) an organization operating in the Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed that is described in section 501(c) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 
        501(a) of that Code; or
            (4) any other person in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that 
        the Secretary determines to be eligible.
    (e) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
        eligible entities under the program to pay the Federal share of 
        the cost of carrying out projects to restore and protect 
        forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
            (2) Federal share.--The Federal share of a grant made under 
        the program shall not exceed 75 percent, as determined by the 
        Secretary.
            (3) Types of projects.--The Secretary may make a grant to 
        an eligible entity for any project in the Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed that--
                    (A) improves habitat and water quality through the 
                establishment, protection, or stewardship of riparian 
                or wetland forests;
                    (B) builds the capacity of State and local 
                organizations to implement conservation, restoration, 
                and stewardship actions;
                    (C) develops and implements watershed management 
                plans that address forest conservation and restoration 
                activities;
                    (D) provides outreach and assistance to private 
                landowners and communities to restore or protect 
                watersheds through the enhancement of forests;
                    (E) develops and implements communication, 
                education, or technology transfer programs that broaden 
                public understanding of the value of trees and forests 
                in sustaining and restoring watershed health;
                    (F) coordinates and implements watershed 
                partnerships, such as the Potomac Watershed Partnership 
                or Revitalizing Baltimore, that--
                            (i) focus on the restoration or protection 
                        of forest land; or
                            (ii) focus urban and rural forest programs 
                        of the Forest Service on restoring or 
                        protecting forests at a large-watershed scale;
                    (G) provides enhanced forest resource data to 
                support watershed management;
                    (H) enhances upland forest health to reduce risks 
                to watershed function and water quality; or
                    (I) conducts inventory assessment or monitoring 
                activities to support indicators of environmental 
                change associated with projects carried out under the 
                program.
    (f) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Council, shall conduct a study of urban and rural forests in 
        the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including--
                    (A) an assessment of the extent and location of 
                forest loss and fragmentation in the Chesapeake Bay 
                watershed;
                    (B) an identification of critical forest land 
                within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that should be 
                restored and protected; and
                    (C) recommendations on ways in which to expand 
                restoration, protection, and stewardship activities to 
                achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after amounts are first 
        made available under section 6(a), the Secretary shall submit 
        to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 
        the Senate a report that describes the results of the study, 
        including recommendations for--
                    (A) management actions; and
                    (B) further inventory, assessment, or research.

SEC. 5. WATERSHED FORESTRY RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the Council, 
shall establish a watershed forestry research program for the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    (b) Administration.--In carrying out the program established under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
            (1) use a combination of applied research, modeling, 
        demonstration projects, implementation standards, strategies 
        for adaptive management, training, and education to meet the 
        needs of the residents of the Chesapeake Bay States for 
        managing forests in urban, developing, and rural areas;
            (2) solicit input from local managers, Federal, State, and 
        private researchers, and state-of-the-art technology to answer 
        critical watershed forestry questions related to air and water 
        quality, social and economic implications, environmental 
        change, and other watershed forestry issues in urban and rural 
        areas; and
            (3) coordinate with the Chesapeake Bay Program Scientific 
        and Technical Advisory Committee and universities in the 
        Chesapeake Bay States to ensure that Forest service research--
                    (A) addresses issues in the Chesapeake Bay 
                Agreement; and
                    (B) supports modeling and informational needs of 
                the Chesapeake Bay program.
    (c) Watershed Forestry Research Strategy.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 
collaboration with the Northeast Forest Research Station and the 
Southern Forest Research Station, shall submit to Congress a 
coordinated strategy to address Chesapeake Bay watershed goals relating 
to--
            (1) urban forestry; and
            (2) the health and stewardship of watershed forests.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program 
$3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2010, of which--
            (1) not more than $500,000 shall be used to conduct the 
        study required under section 4(f); and
            (2) not more than $1,000,000 of the amounts appropriated 
        for a fiscal year, shall be used to carry out the watershed 
        forestry research program under section 5.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    Not later than December 1, 2004, and biennially thereafter, the 
Director shall submit to the Secretary a comprehensive report on 
activities carried out under the program.
                                 <all>