[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1904 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 246
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1904
[Report No. 108-121]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2003
Received; read twice and referred to the Committees on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Reported by Mr. Cochran, with an amendment and an amendment to the
title
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction
projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management
lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other
at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect
watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health,
including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy
Forests Restoration Act of 2003''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED>Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
<DELETED>Sec. 2. Purpose.
<DELETED>TITLE I--HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LANDS
<DELETED>Sec. 101. Definitions.
<DELETED>Sec. 102. Authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects.
<DELETED>Sec. 103. Prioritization for communities and watersheds.
<DELETED>Sec. 104. Environmental analysis.
<DELETED>Sec. 105. Special Forest Service administrative review
process.
<DELETED>Sec. 106. Special requirements regarding judicial review of
authorized hazardous fuels reduction
projects.
<DELETED>Sec. 107. Injunctive relief for agency action to restore fire-
adapted forest or rangeland ecosystems.
<DELETED>Sec. 108. Rules of construction.
<DELETED>TITLE II--BIOMASS
<DELETED>Sec. 201. Findings.
<DELETED>Sec. 202. Definitions.
<DELETED>Sec. 203. Grants to improve the commercial value of forest
biomass for electric energy, useful heat,
transportation fuels, and petroleum-based
product substitutes.
<DELETED>Sec. 204. Reporting requirement.
<DELETED>TITLE III--WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
<DELETED>Sec. 301. Findings and purpose.
<DELETED>Sec. 302. Establishment of watershed forestry assistance
program.
<DELETED>TITLE IV--INSECT INFESTATIONS
<DELETED>Sec. 401. Definitions, findings, and purpose.
<DELETED>Sec. 402. Accelerated information gathering regarding bark
beetles, including Southern pine beetles,
hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borers,
red oak borers, and white oak borers.
<DELETED>Sec. 403. Applied silvicultural assessments.
<DELETED>Sec. 404. Relation to other laws.
<DELETED>Sec. 405. Authorization of appropriations.
<DELETED>TITLE V--HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM
<DELETED>Sec. 501. Establishment of healthy forests reserve program.
<DELETED>Sec. 502. Eligibility and enrollment of lands in program.
<DELETED>Sec. 503. Conservation plans.
<DELETED>Sec. 504. Financial assistance.
<DELETED>Sec. 505. Technical assistance.
<DELETED>Sec. 506. Safe harbor.
<DELETED>Sec. 507. Authorization of appropriations.
<DELETED>TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
<DELETED>Sec. 601. Forest stands inventory and monitoring program to
improve detection of and response to
environmental threats.
<DELETED>SEC. 2. PURPOSE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The purpose of this Act is--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to reduce the risks of damage to communities,
municipal water supplies, and some at-risk Federal lands from
catastrophic wildfires;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) to authorize grant programs to improve the
commercial value of forest biomass for electric energy, useful
heat, transportation fuels, petroleum-based product substitutes
and other commercial purposes;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and
address threats to forest and rangeland health, including
catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) to promote systematic information gathering to
address the impact of insect infestations on forest and
rangeland health;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) to improve the capacity to detect insect and
disease infestations at an early stage, particularly with
respect to hardwood forests; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) to protect, restore, and enhance degraded
forest ecosystem types in order to promote the recovery of
threatened and endangered species as well as improve biological
diversity and enhance carbon sequestration.</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE I--HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LANDS</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this title:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project.--The term ``authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project'' means a hazardous fuels reduction project described
in subsection (a) of section 102, subject to the remainder of
such section, that is planned and conducted using the process
authorized by section 104.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Condition class 2.--The term ``condition class
2'', with respect to an area of Federal lands, refers to the
condition class description developed by the Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station in the general technical report
entitled ``Development of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for
Wildland Fire and Fuel Management'' (RMRS-87), dated April
2000, under which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) fire regimes on the lands have been
moderately altered from their historical
range;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) there exists a moderate risk of losing
key ecosystem components from fire;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) fire frequencies have departed (either
increased or decreased) from historical frequencies by
one or more return interval, which results in moderate
changes to fire size, frequency, intensity, severity,
or landscape patterns; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) vegetation attributes have been
moderately altered from their historical
range.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Condition class 3.--The term ``condition class
3'', with respect to an area of Federal lands, refers to the
condition class description developed by the Rocky Mountain
Research Station in the general technical report referred to in
paragraph (2), under which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) fire regimes on the lands have been
significantly altered from their historical
range;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) there exists a high risk of losing key
ecosystem components from fire;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) fire frequencies have departed from
historical frequencies by multiple return intervals,
which results in dramatic changes to fire size,
frequency, intensity, severity, or landscape patterns;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) vegetation attributes have been
significantly altered from their historical
range.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Day.--The term ``day'' means a calendar day,
except that, if a deadline imposed by this title would expire
on a nonbusiness day, the deadline will be extended to the end
of the next business day.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Decision document.--The term ``decision
document'' means a decision notice or a record of decision, as
those terms are used in applicable regulations of the Council
on Environmental Quality and the Forest Service
Handbook.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands''
means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) National Forest System lands;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) public lands administered by the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of
Land Management.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) Hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction project'' refers to the measures
and methods described in the definition of ``appropriate
tools'' contained in the glossary of the Implementation
Plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) Implementation plan.--The term
``Implementation Plan'' means the Implementation Plan for the
10-year Comprehensive Strategy for a Collaborative Approach for
Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the
Environment, dated May 2002, which was developed pursuant to
the conference report for the Department of the Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (House Report 106-
646).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) Interface community and intermix community.--
The terms ``interface community'' and ``intermix community''
have the meanings given those terms on page 753 of volume 66 of
the Federal Register, as published on January 4,
2001.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) Municipal water supply system.--The term
``municipal water supply system'' means the reservoirs, canals,
ditches, flumes, laterals, pipes, pipelines, or other surface
facilities and systems constructed or installed for the
impoundment, storage, transportation, or distribution of
drinking water for a community.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary
concerned'' means the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to
National Forest System lands and the Secretary of the Interior
with respect to public lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management. Any reference in this title to the ``Secretary
concerned'', the ``Secretary of Agriculture'', or the
``Secretary of the Interior'' includes the designee of the
Secretary concerned.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (12) Threatened and endangered species habitat.--
The term ``threatened and endangered species habitat'' means
Federal lands identified in the listing decision or critical
habitat designation as habitat for a threatened species or an
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION
PROJECTS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Authorized Projects.--Subject to the remainder of this
section, the Secretary concerned may utilize the process authorized by
section 104 to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on
any of the following Federal lands:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Federal lands located in an interface
community or intermix community.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Federal lands located in such proximity to an
interface community or intermix community that there is a
significant risk that the spread of a fire disturbance event
from those lands would threaten human life and property in the
interface community or intermix community.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Condition class 3 or condition class 2 Federal
lands located in such proximity to a municipal water supply
system, or to a perennial stream feeding a municipal water
supply system, that a significant risk exists that a fire
disturbance event would have substantial adverse effects on the
water quality of the municipal water supply, including the risk
to water quality posed by erosion following such a fire
disturbance event.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Condition class 3 or condition class 2 Federal
lands identified by the Secretary concerned as an area where
windthrow or blowdown, or the existence or threat of disease or
insect infestation, pose a significant threat to forest or
rangeland health or adjacent private lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Federal lands not covered by paragraph (1),
(2), (3), or (4) that contain threatened and endangered species
habitat, but only if--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) natural fire regimes on such lands are
identified as being important for, or wildfire is
identified as a threat to, an endangered species, a
threatened species, or its habitat in a species
recovery plan prepared under section 4 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) or in a
decision document under such section determining a
species to be an endangered species or a threatened
species or designating critical habitat;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the project will provide enhanced
protection from catastrophic wildfire for the species
or its habitat; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the Secretary complies with any
applicable guidelines specified in the species recovery
plan prepared under the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Relation to Agency Plans.--An authorized hazardous
fuels reduction project shall be planned and conducted in a manner
consistent with the land and resource management plan or land use plan
applicable to the Federal lands covered by the project.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Acreage Limitation.--Not more than a total of
20,000,000 acres of Federal lands may be included in authorized
hazardous fuels reduction projects.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Exclusion of Certain Federal Lands.--The Secretary
concerned may not plan or conduct an authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project that would occur on any of the following Federal
lands:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) A component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Federal lands where, by Act of Congress or
Presidential proclamation, the removal of vegetation is
prohibited or restricted.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Wilderness Study Areas.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 103. PRIORITIZATION FOR COMMUNITIES AND
WATERSHEDS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> As provided for in the Implementation Plan, the Secretary
concerned shall give priority to authorized hazardous fuel reduction
projects that provide for the protection of communities and
watersheds.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 104. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this
title, the Secretary concerned shall plan and conduct authorized
hazardous fuels reduction projects in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) and any other
applicable laws. The Secretary concerned shall prepare an environmental
assessment or an environmental impact statement for each authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Discretionary Authority To Eliminate Alternatives.--In
the case of an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, the
Secretary concerned is not required to study, develop, or describe any
alternative to the proposed agency action in the environmental
assessment or environmental impact statement prepared for the proposed
agency action pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Public Notice and Meeting.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Public notice.--The Secretary concerned shall
provide notice of each authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project in accordance with applicable regulations and
administrative guidelines.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Public meeting.--During the planning stage of
each authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, the
Secretary concerned shall conduct a public meeting at an
appropriate location proximate to the administrative unit of
the Federal lands in which the authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project will be conducted. The Secretary concerned
shall provide advance notice of the date and time of the
meeting.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Public Collaboration.--In order to encourage
meaningful public participation in the identification and development
of authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects, the Secretary
concerned shall facilitate collaboration among governments and
interested persons during the formulation of each authorized fuels
reduction project in a manner consistent with the Implementation
Plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Environmental Analysis and Public Comment.--In
accordance with section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) and the applicable regulations and
administrative guidelines in effect on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary concerned shall provide an opportunity for
public input during the preparation of any environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement for proposed agency action for an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Decision Document.--The Secretary concerned shall sign
a decision document for each authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project and provide notice of the decision document.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (g) Project Monitoring.--As provided for in the
Implementation Plan, the Secretary concerned shall monitor the
implementation of authorized hazardous fuels reduction
projects.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 105. SPECIAL FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
PROCESS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Development of Administrative Process.--Not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall issue final regulations to establish an
administrative process that will serve as the sole means by which a
person described in subsection (b) can seek administrative redress
regarding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Eligible Persons.--To be eligible to participate in
the administrative process developed pursuant to subsection (a)
regarding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, a person
must have submitted specific and substantive written comments during
the preparation stage of that authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project. The Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that, during the
preparation stage of each authorized hazardous fuels reduction project,
notice and comment is provided in a manner sufficient to permit
interested persons a reasonable opportunity to satisfy the requirements
of this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Relation to Appeals Reform Act.--Section 322 of the
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note), does not apply to an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 106. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING JUDICIAL REVIEW OF
AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Filing Deadline.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Time limit established for filing.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to be timely, an
action in a court of the United States challenging an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project shall be filed in
the court before the end of the 15-day period beginning on the
date on which the Secretary concerned publishes, in the local
paper of record, notice of the final agency action regarding
the authorized hazardous fuels reduction project. This time
limitation supersedes any notice of intent to file suit
requirement or filing deadline otherwise applicable to a
challenge under any provision of law.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Waiver prohibited.--The Secretary concerned
may not agree to, and a district court may not grant, a waiver
of the requirements of this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Duration of Preliminary Injunction.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Duration; extension.--Any preliminary
injunction granted regarding an authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project shall be limited to 45 days. A court may
renew the preliminary injunction, taking into consideration the
goal expressed in subsection (c) for the expeditious resolution
of cases regarding authorized hazardous fuels reduction
projects.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Submission of information.--As part of a
request to renew a preliminary injunction granted regarding an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, the parties shall
present the court with an update on any changes that may have
occurred during the period of the injunction to the forest or
rangeland conditions that the authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project is intended to address.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Congressional notification.--In the event of
the renewal of a preliminary injunction regarding an authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project, the Secretary concerned
shall submit notice of the renewal to the Committee on
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Expeditious Completion of Judicial Review.--Congress
intends and encourages any court in which is filed a lawsuit or appeal
of a lawsuit concerning an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project
to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the proceedings in such
lawsuit or appeal with the goal of rendering a final determination on
jurisdiction, and if jurisdiction exists, a final determination on the
merits, within 100 days from the date the complaint or appeal is
filed.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 107. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR AGENCY ACTION TO RESTORE FIRE-
ADAPTED FOREST OR RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Covered Projects.--This section applies with respect
to a motion for an injunction in an action brought against the
Secretary concerned under section 703 of title 5, United States Code,
that involves an agency action on Federal lands, including an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, that is necessary to
restore a fire-adapted forest or rangeland system.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Injunctive Relief.--When considering a motion
described in subsection (a), in determining whether there would be harm
to the defendant from the injunction and whether the injunction would
be in the public interest, the court reviewing the agency action
shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) balance the impact to the ecosystem of the
short-term and long-term effects of undertaking the agency
action against the short-term and long-term effects of not
undertaking the agency action; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) give weight to a finding by the Secretary
concerned in the administrative record of the agency action
concerning the short-term and long-term effects of undertaking
the agency action and of not undertaking the agency action,
unless the court finds that the finding was arbitrary and
capricious.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 108. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Relation to Other Authority.--Nothing in this title
shall be construed to affect, or otherwise bias, the use by the
Secretary concerned of other statutory or administrative authorities to
plan or conduct a hazardous fuels reduction project on Federal lands,
including Federal lands identified in section 102(e), that is not
planned or conducted using the process authorized by section
104.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Relation to Legal Action.--Nothing in this title shall
be construed to prejudice or otherwise affect the consideration or
disposition of any legal action concerning the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule, part 294 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations,
as amended in the final rule and record of decision published in the
Federal Register on January 12, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244).</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE II--BIOMASS</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 201. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Thousands of communities in the United States,
many located near Federal lands, are at risk to wildfire.
Approximately 190,000,000 acres of land managed by the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are
at risk of catastrophic fire in the near future. The
accumulation of heavy forest and rangeland fuel loads continues
to increase as a result of disease, insect infestations, and
drought, further raising the risk of fire each year.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) In addition, more than 70,000,000 acres across
all land ownerships are at risk to higher than normal mortality
over the next 15 years from insect infestation and disease.
High levels of tree mortality from insects and disease result
in increased fire risk, loss of old growth, degraded watershed
conditions, and changes in species diversity and productivity,
as well as diminished fish and wildlife habitat and decreased
timber values.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Preventive treatments such as removing fuel
loading, ladder fuels, and hazard trees, planting proper
species mix and restoring and protecting early successional
habitat, and other specific restoration treatments designed to
reduce the susceptibility of forest and rangeland to insect
outbreaks, disease, and catastrophic fire present the greatest
opportunity for long-term forest and rangeland health by
creating a mosaic of species-mix and age distribution. Such
prevention treatments are widely acknowledged to be more
successful and cost effective than suppression treatments in
the case of insects, disease, and fire.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) The by-products of preventive treatment (wood,
brush, thinnings, chips, slash, and other hazardous fuels)
removed from forest and rangelands represent an abundant supply
of biomass for biomass-to-energy facilities and raw material
for business. There are currently few markets for the
extraordinary volumes of by-products being generated as a
result of the necessary large-scale preventive treatment
activities.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) The United States should--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) promote economic and entrepreneurial
opportunities in using by-products removed through
preventive treatment activities related to hazardous
fuels reduction, disease, and insect infestation;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) develop and expand markets for
traditionally underused wood and biomass as an outlet
for by-products of preventive treatment
activities.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this title:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Biomass.--The term ``biomass'' means trees and
woody plants, including limbs, tops, needles, and other woody
parts, and by-products of preventive treatment, such as wood,
brush, thinnings, chips, and slash, that are removed--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) to reduce hazardous fuels;
or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) to reduce the risk of or to contain
disease or insect infestation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has
the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b(e)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Person.--The term ``person'' includes--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) an individual;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) a community (as determined by the
Secretary concerned);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) an Indian tribe;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) a small business, micro-business, or a
corporation that is incorporated in the United States;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) a nonprofit organization.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Preferred community.--The term ``preferred
community'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) any town, township, municipality, or
other similar unit of local government (as determined
by the Secretary concerned) that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) has a population of not more
than 50,000 individuals; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the Secretary concerned, in
the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned,
determines contains or is located near land,
the condition of which is at significant risk
of catastrophic wildfire, disease, or insect
infestation or which suffers from disease or
insect infestation; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) any county that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) is not contained within a
metropolitan statistical area; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the Secretary concerned, in
the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned,
determines contains or is located near land,
the condition of which is at significant risk
of catastrophic wildfire, disease, or insect
infestation or which suffers from disease or
insect infestation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary
concerned'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the Secretary of Agriculture with
respect to National Forest System lands; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the Secretary of the Interior with
respect to Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the
Secretary of the Interior and Indian lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 203. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FOREST
BIOMASS FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY, USEFUL HEAT, TRANSPORTATION
FUELS, AND PETROLEUM-BASED PRODUCT SUBSTITUTES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Biomass Commercial Use Grant Program.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned may make
grants to any person that owns or operates a facility that uses
biomass as a raw material to produce electric energy, sensible
heat, transportation fuels, or substitutes for petroleum-based
products to offset the costs incurred to purchase biomass for
use by such facility.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Grant amounts.--A grant under this subsection
may not exceed $20 per green ton of biomass
delivered.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Monitoring of grant recipient activities.--As
a condition of a grant under this subsection, the grant
recipient shall keep such records as the Secretary concerned
may require to fully and correctly disclose the use of the
grant funds and all transactions involved in the purchase of
biomass. Upon notice by a representative of the Secretary
concerned, the grant recipient shall afford the representative
reasonable access to the facility that purchases or uses
biomass and an opportunity to examine the inventory and records
of the facility.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Value Added Grant Program.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned may make
grants to persons to offset the cost of projects to add value
to biomass. In making such grants, the Secretary concerned
shall give preference to persons in preferred
communities.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Selection.--The Secretary concerned shall
select a grant recipient under paragraph (1) after giving
consideration to the anticipated public benefits of the
project, opportunities for the creation or expansion of small
businesses and micro-businesses, and the potential for new job
creation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Grant amount.--A grant under this subsection
may not exceed $100,000.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Relation to Other Endangered Species and Riparian
Protections.--The Secretary concerned shall comply with applicable
endangered species and riparian protections in making grants under this
section. Projects funded using grant proceeds shall be required to
comply with such protections.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004
through 2008 to carry out this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Report Required.--Not later than October 1, 2010, the
Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Interior, shall submit to the Committee on Resources and the Committee
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the results
of the grant programs authorized by section 203.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Contents of Report.--The report shall include the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) An identification of the size, type, and the
use of biomass by persons that receive grants under section
203.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) The distance between the land from which the
biomass was removed and the facility that used the
biomass.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) The economic impacts, particularly new job
creation, resulting from the grants to and operation of the
eligible operations.</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE III--WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) There has been a dramatic shift in public
attitudes and perceptions about forest management, particularly
in the understanding and practice of sustainable forest
management.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) It is commonly recognized that the proper
stewardship of forest lands is essential to sustaining and
restoring the health of watersheds.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Forests can provide essential ecological
services in filtering pollutants, buffering important rivers
and estuaries, and minimizing flooding, which makes its
restoration worthy of special focus.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Strengthened education, technical assistance,
and financial assistance to nonindustrial private forest
landowners and communities, relating to the protection of
watershed health, is needed to realize the expectations of the
general public.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this title is to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) improve landowner and public understanding of
the connection between forest management and watershed
health;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) encourage landowners to maintain tree cover on
their property and to utilize tree plantings and vegetative
treatments as creative solutions to watershed problems
associated with varying land uses;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) enhance and complement forest management and
buffer utilization for watersheds, with an emphasis on urban
watersheds;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) establish new partnerships and collaborative
watershed approaches to forest management, stewardship, and
conservation;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) provide technical and financial assistance to
States to deliver a coordinated program that enhances State
forestry best-management practices programs, as well as
conserves and improves forested lands and potentially forested
lands through technical, financial, and educational assistance
to qualifying individuals and entities; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) maximize the proper management and
conservation of wetland forests and to assist in their
restoration as necessary.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT OF WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 is amended
by inserting after section 5 the following new section:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 6. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(a) General Authority and Purpose.--The Secretary,
acting through the Forest Service, may provide technical, financial,
and related assistance to State foresters and equivalent State
officials for the purpose of expanding State forest stewardship
capacities and activities through State forestry best-management
practices and other means at the State level to address watershed
issues on non-Federal forested lands and potentially forested
lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(b) Technical Assistance To Protect Water Quality.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in cooperation
with State foresters or equivalent State officials, shall
engage interested members of the public, including nonprofit
organizations and local watershed councils, to develop a
program of technical assistance to protect water quality, as
described in paragraph (2).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Purpose of program.--The program under this
subsection shall be designed--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) to build and strengthen watershed
partnerships that focus on forested landscapes at the
local, State, and regional levels;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) to provide State forestry best-
management practices and water quality technical
assistance directly to nonindustrial private forest
landowners;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) to provide technical guidance to
land managers and policy makers for water quality
protection through forest management;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) to complement State and local
efforts to protect water quality and provide enhanced
opportunities for consultation and cooperation among
Federal and State agencies charged with responsibility
for water and watershed management; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) to provide enhanced forest resource
data and support for improved implementation and
monitoring of State forestry best-management
practices.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Implementation.--The program of technical
assistance shall be implemented by State foresters or
equivalent State officials.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(c) Watershed Forestry Cost-Share Program.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a
watershed forestry cost-share program to be administered by the
Forest Service and implemented by State foresters or equivalent
State officials. Funds or other support provided under such
program shall be made available for State forestry best-
management practices programs and watershed forestry
projects.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Watershed forestry projects.--The State
forester or equivalent State official of a State, in
coordination with the State Forest Stewardship Coordinating
Committee established under section 19(b) for that State, shall
annually make awards to communities, nonprofit groups, and
nonindustrial private forest landowners under the program for
watershed forestry projects described in paragraph
(3).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Project elements and objectives.--A
watershed forestry project shall accomplish critical forest
stewardship, watershed protection, and restoration needs within
a State by demonstrating the value of trees and forests to
watershed health and condition through--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the use of trees as solutions to
water quality problems in urban and rural
areas;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) community-based planning,
involvement, and action through State, local and
nonprofit partnerships;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) application of and dissemination of
monitoring information on forestry best-management
practices relating to watershed forestry;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) watershed-scale forest management
activities and conservation planning; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) the restoration of wetland (as
defined by the States) and stream-side forests and the
establishment of riparian vegetative buffers.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Cost-sharing.--Funds provided under this
subsection for a watershed forestry project may not exceed 75
percent of the cost of the project. Other Federal funding
sources may be used to cover a portion of the remaining project
costs, but the total Federal share of the costs may not exceed
90 percent. The non-Federal share of the costs of a project may
be in the form of cash, services, or other in-kind
contributions.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Prioritization.--The State Forest
Stewardship Coordinating Committee for a State shall prioritize
watersheds in that State to target watershed forestry projects
funded under this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) Watershed forester.--Financial and technical
assistance shall be made available to the State Forester or
equivalent State official to create a State best-management
practice forester to lead statewide programs and coordinate
small watershed-level projects.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(d) Distribution.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall devote at
least 75 percent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year
pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection
(e) to the cost-share program under subsection (c) and the
remainder to the task of delivering technical assistance,
education, and planning on the ground through the State
Forester or equivalent State official.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Special considerations.--Distribution of
these funds by the Secretary among the States shall be made
only after giving appropriate consideration to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the acres of nonindustrial private
forestland and highly erodible land in each
State;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) each State's efforts to conserve
forests;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) the acres of forests in each State
that have been lost or degraded or where forests can
play a role in restoring watersheds; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) the number of nonindustrial private
forest landowners in each State.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE IV--INSECT INFESTATIONS</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this title:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Applied silvicultural assessment.--The term
``applied silvicultural assessment'' means any vegetative or
other treatment, for the purposes described in section 402,
including timber harvest, thinning, prescribed burning, and
pruning, as single treatment or any combination of these
treatments.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands''
means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) National Forest System lands;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) public lands administered by the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of
Land Management.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary
concerned'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Forest Service, with respect to National
Forest System lands; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through appropriate offices of the United States
Geological Survey, with respect to federally owned land
administered by the Secretary of the
Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) 1890 institutions.--The term ``1890
Institution'' means a college or university eligible to receive
funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.),
including Tuskegee University.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) High levels of tree mortality due to insect
infestation result in--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) increased fire risk;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) loss of old growth;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) loss of threatened and endangered
species;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) loss of species diversity;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) degraded watershed
conditions;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) increased potential for damage from
other agents of disturbance, including exotic, invasive
species; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (G) decreased timber values.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Bark beetles destroy hundreds of thousands of
acres of trees each year. In the West, over 21,000,000 acres
are at high risk of bark beetle infestation and in the South
over 57,000,000 acres are at risk across all land ownerships.
Severe drought conditions in many areas of the South and West
will increase risk of bark beetle infestations.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) The hemlock woolly adelgid is destroying
streamside forests throughout the mid-Atlantic and Appalachian
region, threatening water quality and sensitive aquatic
species, and posing a potential threat to valuable commercial
timber lands in Northern New England.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) The emerald ash borer is a nonnative, invasive
pest that has quickly become a major threat to hardwood forests
as a emerald ash borer infestation is almost always fatal to
the affected trees. This pest threatens to destroy over
692,000,000 ash trees in forests in Michigan and Ohio alone,
and between five and ten percent of urban street trees in the
Upper Midwest.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Epidemic populations of Southern pine beetle
are ravaging forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, and Virginia. In 2001, Florida and Kentucky
experienced 146 percent and 111 percent increases,
respectively, in beetle populations.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) These epidemic outbreaks of Southern pine
beetle have forced private landowners to harvest dead and dying
trees, in both rural areas and increasingly urbanized
settings.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) According to the Forest Service, recent
outbreaks of the red oak borer in Arkansas have been
unprecedented, with almost 800,000 acres infested at population
levels never seen before.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) Much of the damage from the red oak borer has
taken place in National forests, and the Federal response has
been inadequate to protect forest ecosystems and other
ecological and economic resources.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) Previous silvicultural assessments, while
useful and informative, have been limited in scale and scope of
application, and there has not been sufficient resources
available to adequately test a full array of individual and
combined applied silvicultural assessments.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) Only through the rigorous funding,
development, and assessment of potential applied silvicultural
assessments over specific time frames across an array of
environmental and climatic conditions can the most innovative
and cost effective management applications be determined that
will help reduce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to
attack by forest pests.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) Funding and implementation of an initiative
to combat forest pest infestations should not come at the
expense of supporting other programs and initiatives of the
Secretary concerned.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this title--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to require the Secretary concerned to develop
an accelerated basic and applied assessment program to combat
infestations by bark beetles, including Southern pine beetles,
hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers,
and white oak borers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) to enlist the assistance of universities and
forestry schools, including Land Grant Colleges and
Universities and 1890 Institutions, to carry out the program;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) to carry out applied silvicultural
assessments.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 402. ACCELERATED INFORMATION GATHERING REGARDING BARK
BEETLES, INCLUDING SOUTHERN PINE BEETLES, HEMLOCK WOOLLY
ADELGIDS, EMERALD ASH BORERS, RED OAK BORERS, AND WHITE
OAK BORERS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Information Gathering.--The Secretary concerned shall
establish, acting through the Forest Service and United States
Geological Survey, as appropriate, an accelerated program--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to plan, conduct, and promote comprehensive
and systematic information gathering on bark beetles, including
Southern pine beetles, hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald ash
borers, red oak borers, and white oak borers, including an
evaluation of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) infestation prevention and control
methods;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) effects of infestations on forest
ecosystems;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) restoration of the forest ecosystem
efforts;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) utilization options regarding infested
trees; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) models to predict the occurrence,
distribution, and impact of outbreaks of bark beetles,
including Southern pine beetles, hemlock woolly
adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, and white
oak borers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) to assist land managers in the development of
treatments and strategies to improve forest health and reduce
the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to severe infestations
of bark beetles, including Southern pine beetles, hemlock
woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, and white
oak borers on Federal lands and State and private lands;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) to disseminate the results of such information
gathering, treatments, and strategies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Cooperation and Assistance.--The Secretary concerned
shall establish and carry out the program in cooperation with
scientists from universities and forestry schools, State agencies, and
private and industrial land owners. The Secretary concerned shall
designate universities and forestry schools, including Land Grant
Colleges and Universities and 1890 Institutions, to assist in carrying
out the program.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 403. APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENTS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Assessment Efforts.--For information gathering
purposes, the Secretary concerned may conduct applied silvicultural
assessments on Federal lands that the Secretary concerned determines,
in the discretion of the Secretary concerned, is at risk of infestation
by, or is infested with, bark beetles, including Southern pine beetles,
hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, and white
oak borers. Any applied silvicultural assessments carried out under
this section shall be conducted on not more than 1,000 acres per
assessment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Limitations.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Exclusion of certain areas.--Subsection (a)
does not apply to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) a component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Federal lands where, by Act of
Congress or Presidential proclamation, the removal of
vegetation is restricted or prohibited; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) congressionally designated wilderness
study areas.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Certain treatment prohibited.--Subsection (a)
does not authorize the application of insecticides in municipal
watersheds and associated riparian areas.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Acreage limitation.--Applied silvicultural
assessments may be implemented on not more than 250,000 acres
using the authorities provided by this title.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Peer review.--Each applied silvicultural
assessment under this title, prior to being carried out, shall
be peer reviewed by scientific experts selected by the
Secretary concerned, which shall include non-Federal experts.
The Secretary concerned may use existing peer review processes
to the extent they comply with the preceding
sentence.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Public Notice and Comment.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Public notice.--The Secretary concerned shall
provide notice of each applied silvicultural assessment
proposed to be carried out under this section in accordance
with applicable regulations and administrative
guidelines.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Public comment.--During the planning stage of
each applied silvicultural assessment proposed to be carried
out under this section, the Secretary concerned shall provide
an opportunity for public input.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Categorical Exclusion.--Applied silvicultural
assessments carried out under this section are deemed to be
categorically excluded from further analysis under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The
Secretary concerned need not make any findings as to whether the
project, either individually or cumulatively, has a significant effect
on the environment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 404. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The authorities provided to the Secretary concerned by
this title are supplemental to their respective authorities provided in
any other law.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years
2004 through 2008 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
title.</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE V--HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE
PROGRAM.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish the healthy forests reserve program as a program within the
Forest Service for the purpose of protecting, restoring, and enhancing
degraded forest ecosystems to promote the recovery of threatened and
endangered species as well as improve biodiversity and enhance carbon
sequestration.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Cooperation.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry
out the healthy forests reserve program in cooperation with the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT OF LANDS IN
PROGRAM.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Eligible Lands.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall designate rare
forest ecosystems to be eligible for the healthy forests reserve
program. The following lands are eligible for enrollment in the healthy
forests reserve program:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Private lands whose enrollment will protect,
restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase the
likelihood of recovery of an endangered species or threatened
species in the wild.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Private lands whose enrollment will protect,
restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase the
likelihood of the recovery of an animal or plant species before
the species reaches threatened or endangered status, such as
candidate, State-listed species, rare, peripheral, and special
concern species.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Other Considerations.--In enrolling lands that satisfy
the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), the Secretary
of Agriculture shall give additional consideration to those lands whose
enrollment will also improve biological diversity and increase carbon
sequestration.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Enrollment by Willing Owners.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall enroll lands in the healthy forests reserve program
only with the consent of the owner of the lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Maximum Enrollment.--The total number of acres
enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program shall not exceed
1,000,000 acres.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Methods of Enrollment.--Lands may be enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program pursuant to a 10-year cost-share
agreement, a 30-year easement, or a permanent easement with buyback
option. The extent to which each enrollment method is used shall be
based on the approximate proportion of owner interest expressed in that
method in comparison to the other methods.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Enrollment Priority.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall give priority to the enrollment of lands that, in the sole
discretion of the Secretary, will provide the best opportunity to
resolve conflicts between the presence of an animal or plant species
referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) and otherwise
lawful land use activities.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 503. CONSERVATION PLANS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Plan Required.--Lands enrolled in the healthy forests
reserve program shall be subject to a conservation plan, to be
developed jointly by the land owner and the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service. The conservation plan shall include a description of
the land-use activities that are permissible on the enrolled
lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Involvement by Other Agencies and Organizations.--A
State fish and wildlife agency, State forestry agency, State
environmental quality agency, and other State conservation agencies and
nonprofit conservation organizations may assist in providing technical
or financial assistance, or both, for the development and
implementation of conservation plans.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Cost Effectiveness.--The conservation plan shall
maximize the environmental benefits per dollar expended.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 504. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Permanent Easement With Buyback Option.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Payment amount.--In the case of land enrolled
in the healthy forests reserve program using a permanent
easement with a buyback option, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall pay the owner of the land an amount equal to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the fair market value of the enrolled
land less the fair market value of the land encumbered
by the easement; plus</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices or the average cost of approved
practices, as established by the Secretary.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Buyback option.--Beginning on the 50th
anniversary of the enrollment of the land, and every 10th-year
thereafter, the owner shall be able to purchase the easement
back from the United States at a rate equal to the fair market
value of the easement plus the costs, adjusted for inflation,
of the approved conservation practices.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) 30-Year Easement.--In the case of land enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program using a 30-year easement, the Secretary
of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the land an amount equal to--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) 75 percent of the fair market value of the
land less the fair market value of the land encumbered by the
easement; plus</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) 75 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices or 75 percent of the average cost of
approved practices, as established by the Secretary.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) 10-Year Agreement.--In the case of land enrolled in
the healthy forests reserve program using a 10-year cost-share
agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the land
an amount equal to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) 75 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) 75 percent of the average cost of approved
practices, as established by the Secretary.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Acceptance of Contributions.--The Secretary of
Agriculture may accept and use contributions of non-Federal funds to
make payments under this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 505. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The Forest Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service shall provide landowners with technical assistance to comply
with the terms of agreements and easements under the healthy forests
reserve program and conservation plans.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 506. SAFE HARBOR.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In implementing the healthy forests reserve program, the
Secretary of the Interior shall provide safe harbor or similar
assurances, through section 7 or other authorities under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), consistent with the
implementing regulations of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, to landowners who enroll land in the healthy forests reserve
program when such enrollment will result in a net conservation benefit
for listed species.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> There are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008 to carry out this
title.</DELETED>
<DELETED>TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 601. FOREST STANDS INVENTORY AND MONITORING PROGRAM TO
IMPROVE DETECTION OF AND RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL
THREATS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry
out a comprehensive program to inventory, monitor, characterize,
assess, and identify forest stands (with emphasis on hardwood forest
stands) and potential forest stands--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in units of the National Forest System (other
than those units created from the public domain); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) on private forest land, with the consent of
the owner of the land.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Issues To Be Addressed.--In carrying out the program,
the Secretary shall address issues including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) early detection, identification, and
assessment of environmental threats (including insect, disease,
invasive species, fire, and weather-related risks and other
episodic events);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) loss or degradation of forests;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) degradation of the quality forest stands
caused by inadequate forest regeneration practices;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) quantification of carbon uptake rates;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) management practices that focus on preventing
further forest degradation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Early Warning System.--In carrying out the program,
the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive early warning system for
potential catastrophic environmental threats to forests to increase the
likelihood that forest managers will be able to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) isolate and treat a threat before the threat
gets out of control; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) prevent epidemics, such as the American
chestnut blight in the first half of the twentieth century,
that could be environmentally and economically devastating to
forests.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2004 through 2008.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LAND
Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects.
Sec. 103. Prioritization for communities and watersheds.
Sec. 104. Environmental analysis.
Sec. 105. Special Forest Service administrative review process.
Sec. 106. Special requirements regarding judicial review of authorized
hazardous fuels reduction projects.
Sec. 107. Standard for injunctive relief for agency action to restore
fire-adapted forest or rangeland
ecosystems.
Sec. 108. Effect of title.
TITLE II--BIOMASS
Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Definitions.
Sec. 203. Grants to improve commercial value of forest biomass for
electric energy, useful heat,
transportation fuels, compost, value-added
products, and petroleum-based product
substitutes.
Sec. 204. Reporting requirement.
Sec. 205. Improved biomass use research program.
Sec. 206. Rural revitalization through forestry.
TITLE III--WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 302. Watershed forestry assistance program.
Sec. 303. Tribal watershed forestry assistance.
TITLE IV--INSECT INFESTATIONS AND RELATED DISEASES
Sec. 401. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 402. Definitions.
Sec. 403. Accelerated information gathering regarding forest-damaging
insects.
Sec. 404. Applied silvicultural assessments.
Sec. 405. Relation to other laws.
Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE V--HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM
Sec. 501. Establishment of healthy forests reserve program.
Sec. 502. Eligibility and enrollment of lands in program.
Sec. 503. Restoration plans.
Sec. 504. Financial assistance.
Sec. 505. Technical assistance.
Sec. 506. Protections and measures
Sec. 507. Involvement by other agencies and organizations.
Sec. 508. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE VI--PUBLIC LAND CORPS
Sec. 601. Purposes.
Sec. 602. Definitions.
Sec. 603. Public Land Corps.
Sec. 604. Nondisplacement.
Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE VII--RURAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PROGRAM
Sec. 701. Purpose
Sec. 702. Definitions.
Sec. 703. Rural community forestry enterprise program.
TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 801. Forest inventory and management.
Sec. 802. Program for emergency treatment and reduction of nonnative
invasive plants.
Sec. 803. USDA National Agroforestry Center.
Sec. 804. Upland Hardwoods Research Center.
Sec. 805. Sense of Congress regarding enhanced community fire
protection.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to reduce the risks of damage to communities, municipal
water supplies, and certain at-risk Federal land from
catastrophic wildfires;
(2) to authorize grant programs to improve the commercial
value of forest biomass (that otherwise contributes to the risk
of catastrophic fire or insect or disease infestation) for
producing electric energy, useful heat, transportation fuels,
and petroleum-based product substitutes, and for other
commercial purposes;
(3) to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address
threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic
wildfire, across the landscape;
(4) to promote systematic gathering of information to
address the impact of insect and disease infestations and other
damaging agents on forest and rangeland health;
(5) to improve the capacity to detect insect and disease
infestations at an early stage, particularly with respect to
hardwood forests; and
(6) to protect, restore, and enhance forest ecosystem
components--
(A) to promote the recovery of threatened and
endangered species;
(B) to improve biological diversity; and
(C) to enhance productivity and carbon
sequestration.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
(A) land of the National Forest System (as defined
in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C 1609(a)))
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Chief of the Forest Service; and
(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C 1702)), the surface of which is administered by
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
TITLE I--HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LAND
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Authorized hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``authorized hazardous fuels reduction project'' means a
hazardous fuels reduction project on Federal land described in
section 102(a) conducted in accordance with sections 103 and
104.
(2) Condition class 2.--The term ``condition class 2'',
with respect to an area of Federal land, means the condition
class description developed by the Forest Service Rocky
Mountain Research Station in the general technical report
entitled ``Development of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for
Wildland Fire and Fuel Management'' (RMRS-87), dated April 2000
(including any subsequent revision to the report), under
which--
(A) fire regimes on the land have been moderately
altered from historical ranges;
(B) there exists a moderate risk of losing key
ecosystem components from fire;
(C) fire frequencies have increased or decreased
from historical frequencies by 1 or more return
intervals, resulting in moderate changes to--
(i) the size, frequency, intensity, or
severity of fires; or
(ii) landscape patterns; and
(D) vegetation attributes have been moderately
altered from the historical range of the attributes.
(3) Condition class 3.--The term ``condition class 3'',
with respect to an area of Federal land, means the condition
class description developed by the Rocky Mountain Research
Station in the general technical report referred to in
paragraph (2) (including any subsequent revision to the
report), under which--
(A) fire regimes on land have been significantly
altered from historical ranges;
(B) there exists a high risk of losing key
ecosystem components from fire;
(C) fire frequencies have departed from historical
frequencies by multiple return intervals, resulting in
dramatic changes to--
(i) the size, frequency, intensity, or
severity of fires; or
(ii) landscape patterns; and
(D) vegetation attributes have been significantly
altered from the historical range of the attributes.
(4) Day.--The term ``day'' means--
(A) a calendar day; or
(B) if a deadline imposed by this title would
expire on a nonbusiness day, the end of the next
business day.
(5) Decision document.--The term ``decision document''
means a decision notice or record of decision, as those terms
are used in applicable regulations of the Council on
Environmental Quality and the Forest Service Handbook.
(6) Hazardous fuels.--The term ``hazardous fuels'' means
vegetation (dead or alive) in the forest or rangeland ecosystem
that--
(A) is in excess of historic conditions or
management goals; and
(B) can cause wildfires.
(7) Hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction project'' means the measures and
methods described in the definition of ``appropriate tools''
contained in the glossary of the Implementation Plan.
(8) Implementation plan.--The term ``Implementation Plan''
means the Implementation Plan for the 10-year Comprehensive
Strategy for a Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland
Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment, dated May 2002,
which was developed pursuant to the Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-
291) (including any subsequent revision to the Plan).
(9) Interface community.--The term ``interface community''
has the meaning given the term in the notice published at 66
Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4, 2001) (including any subsequent
revision to the notice).
(10) Intermix community.--The term ``intermix community''
has the meaning given the term in the notice published at 66
Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4, 2001) (including any subsequent
revision to the notice).
(11) Municipal water supply system.--The term ``municipal
water supply system'' means the source watersheds, reservoirs,
canals, ditches, flumes, laterals, pipes, pipelines, and other
surface facilities and systems constructed or installed for the
collection, impoundment, storage, transportation, or
distribution of drinking water for a community.
(12) Resource management plan.--The term ``resource
management plan'' means--
(A) a land and resource management plan prepared
for 1 or more units of land of the National Forest
System described in section 3(1)(A) under section 6 of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); or
(B) a land use plan prepared for 1 or more units of
the public land described in section 3(1)(B) under
section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712).
(13) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
land of the National Forest System described in section
3(1)(A); and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public lands described in section 3(1)(B).
(14) Threatened and endangered species habitat.--The term
``threatened and endangered species habitat'' means Federal
land identified in--
(A) a determination that a species is an endangered
species or a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
(B) a designation of critical habitat of the
species under that Act; or
(C) a recovery plan prepared for the species under
that Act.
SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.
(a) Authorized Projects.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may conduct hazardous fuels
reduction projects on--
(A) Federal land located in an interface community
or intermix community;
(B) Federal land located in such proximity to an
interface community or intermix community that there is
a significant risk that the spread of a fire
disturbance event from that land would threaten human
life or property in proximity to or within the
interface community or intermix community;
(C) condition class 3 or condition class 2 Federal
land located in such proximity to a municipal
watershed, water supply system or a stream feeding a
municipal water supply system that a significant risk
exists that a fire disturbance event would have adverse
effects on the water quality of the municipal water
supply or the maintenance of the system, including the
risk to water quality posed by erosion following such a
fire disturbance event;
(D) condition class 3 or condition class 2 Federal
land on which windthrow or blowdown, ice storm damage,
or the existence or threat of disease or insect
infestation, poses a significant threat to an ecosystem
component, or forest or rangeland resource, on the
Federal land or adjacent private land;
(E) Federal land not covered by subparagraph (A),
(B), (C), or (D) that contains threatened and
endangered species habitat, if--
(i) natural fire regimes on that land are
identified as being important for, or wildfire
is identified as a threat to, an endangered
species, a threatened species, or habitat of an
endangered species or threatened species in a
species recovery plan prepared under section 4
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1533), or a notice published in the
Federal Register determining a species to be an
endangered species or a threatened species or
designating critical habitat;
(ii) the project will provide enhanced
protection from catastrophic wildfire for the
endangered species, threatened species, or
habitat of the endangered species or threatened
species; and
(iii) the Secretary complies with any
applicable guidelines specified in any recovery
plan described in clause (i).
(2) Classification.--The Secretary shall classify
appropriate land described in paragraph (1)(D) impacted by
windthrow or blowdown, ice storm damage, or the existence or
threat of disease or insect infestation as condition class 3 or
condition class 2 Federal land.
(b) Relation to Agency Plans.--An authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the
resource management plan applicable to the Federal land covered by the
project.
(c) Acreage Limitation.--Not more than a total of 20,000,000 acres
of Federal land may be included in authorized hazardous fuels reduction
projects.
(d) Exclusion of Certain Federal Land.--The Secretary may not
conduct an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project that would
occur on--
(1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System;
(2) Federal land on which, by Act of Congress or
Presidential proclamation, the removal of vegetation is
prohibited or restricted; or
(3) a Wilderness Study Area.
SEC. 103. PRIORITIZATION FOR COMMUNITIES AND WATERSHEDS.
As provided for in the Implementation Plan, the Secretary shall
give priority to authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects that
provide for the protection of communities and watersheds.
SEC. 104. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.
(a) Hazardous Fuels Reduction Projects.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this
title, the Secretary shall conduct authorized hazardous fuels
reduction projects in accordance with--
(A) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.); and
(B) other applicable laws.
(2) Environmental assessment or impact statement.--The
Secretary shall prepare an environmental assessment or an
environmental impact statement (pursuant to section 102(2) of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2))) for each authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project.
(b) Alternatives.--The Secretary is not required to study, develop,
or describe any alternative to the proposed agency action in the
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement prepared in
accordance with subsection (a)(2).
(c) Public Notice and Meeting.--
(1) Public notice.--The Secretary shall provide notice of
each authorized hazardous fuels reduction project in accordance
with applicable regulations and administrative guidelines.
(2) Public meeting.--During the preparation stage of each
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project, the Secretary
shall--
(A) conduct a public meeting at an appropriate
location proximate to the administrative unit of the
Federal land on which the authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project will be conducted; and
(B) provide advance notice of the location, date,
and time of the meeting.
(d) Public Collaboration.--In order to encourage meaningful public
participation during preparation of authorized hazardous fuels
reduction projects, the Secretary shall facilitate collaboration among
State and local governments and Indian tribes, and participation of
interested persons, during the preparation of each authorized fuels
reduction project in a manner consistent with the Implementation Plan.
(e) Environmental Analysis and Public Comment.--In accordance with
section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4332(2)) and the applicable regulations and administrative
guidelines, the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for public input
during the preparation of any environmental assessment or environmental
impact statement for an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project.
(f) Decision Document.--The Secretary shall sign a decision
document for authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects and provide
notice of the final agency actions.
(g) Project Monitoring.--In accordance with the Implementation
Plan, the Secretary shall monitor the implementation of authorized
hazardous fuels reduction projects.
SEC. 105. SPECIAL FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) Development of Administrative Review Process.--Not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall promulgate final regulations to establish an
administrative review process that will serve as the sole means by
which a person described in subsection (b) can seek administrative
review regarding a proposed hazardous fuels reduction project.
(b) Eligible Persons.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to participate in the
administrative review process established under subsection (a),
a person shall submit specific and substantive written comments
during the notice and comment stage of the authorized hazardous
fuels reduction project.
(2) Notice and comment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
ensure that, during the preparation stage of each authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project, notice and comment is
provided in a manner sufficient to permit interested persons a
reasonable opportunity to comply with this subsection.
(c) Relation to Appeals Reform Act.--Section 322 of the Department
of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public
Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note), does not apply to an authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project.
SEC. 106. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AUTHORIZED
HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.
(a) Filing Deadline.--
(1) Time limit established for filing.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, to be timely, an action in a court of
the United States challenging an authorized hazardous
fuels reduction project shall be filed in the court
before the end of the 15-day period beginning on the
date on which the Secretary provides notice of the
final agency action regarding the authorized hazardous
fuels reduction project.
(B) Applicability.--The time limitation under
subparagraph (A) supersedes any requirement regarding
notice of intent to file a lawsuit, or filing deadline,
otherwise applicable to an action challenging an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project under any
provision of law.
(2) Waiver prohibited.--The Secretary may not agree to, and
a court of the United States may not grant, a waiver of the
requirements of this subsection.
(b) Duration of Preliminary Injunction.--
(1) Duration; extension.--
(A) Duration.--Any preliminary injunction, or
injunction pending appeal, granted by a court of the
United States regarding an authorized hazardous fuels
reduction project shall be limited to 45 days.
(B) Extension.--A court may renew the preliminary
injunction or injunction pending appeal, taking into
consideration the goal expressed in subsection (c) for
the expeditious resolution of cases regarding
authorized hazardous fuels reduction projects.
(2) Submission of information.--As part of a request to
renew a preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal,
granted regarding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project, the parties involved shall present to the court a
description of any changes that may have occurred during the
period of the injunction to the forest or rangeland conditions
that the authorized hazardous fuels reduction project is
intended to address.
(3) Congressional notification.--In the event of the
renewal of a preliminary injunction, or injunction pending
appeal, regarding an authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project, the Secretary shall submit notice of the renewal to--
(A) the Committee on Resources and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate.
(c) Expeditious Completion of Judicial Review.--Congress intends
and encourages any court in which is filed an action challenging an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project to expedite, to the
maximum extent practicable, the proceedings in the lawsuit or
appeal with the goal of rendering, not later than 100 days after the
date on which the complaint or appeal is filed--
(1) a final determination on jurisdiction; and
(2) if jurisdiction exists, a final determination on the
merits.
SEC. 107. STANDARD FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR AGENCY ACTION TO RESTORE
FIRE-ADAPTED FOREST OR RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS.
If a civil action brought against the Secretary under section 703
of title 5, United States Code, involves an agency action on Federal
land on which the Secretary found that the agency action is necessary
to restore a fire-adapted forest or rangeland ecosystem (including an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project), the court reviewing the
agency action, in considering a request for a prohibitory or mandatory
injunction against the agency action, shall--
(1) balance the impact to the ecosystem likely affected by
the project of the short- and long-term effects of undertaking
the agency action against the short- and long-term effects of
not undertaking the agency action; and
(2) give weight to a finding by the Secretary in the
administrative record of the agency action concerning the
short- and long-term effects of undertaking the agency action
and of not undertaking the agency action, unless the court
finds that the finding was arbitrary and capricious.
SEC. 108. EFFECT OF TITLE.
(a) Relation to Other Authority.--Nothing in this title affects, or
otherwise biases, the use by the Secretary of other statutory or
administrative authority to conduct a hazardous fuels reduction project
on Federal land (including Federal land identified in section 102(d))
that is not conducted using the process authorized by section 104.
(b) Relation to Legal Action.--Nothing in this title prejudices or
otherwise affects the consideration or disposition of any legal action
concerning the Roadless Area Conservation Rule contained in part 294 of
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, and amended in the final rule
and record of decision published in the Federal Register on January 12,
2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244).
TITLE II--BIOMASS
SEC. 201. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1)(A) thousands of communities in the United States, many
located near Federal land, are at risk of wildfire;
(B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land managed by the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are
at risk of catastrophic fire in the near future; and
(C) the accumulation of heavy forest and rangeland fuel
loads continues to increase as a result of fire exclusion,
disease, insect infestations, and drought, further raising the
risk of fire each year;
(2)(A) more than 70,000,000 acres across all land
ownerships are at risk of higher than normal mortality during
the 15-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act because of insect infestation and disease; and
(B) high levels of tree mortality from insects and disease
result in--
(i) increased fire risk;
(ii) loss of older trees and old growth;
(iii) degraded watershed conditions;
(iv) changes in species diversity and productivity;
(v) diminished fish and wildlife habitat;
(vi) decreased timber values; and
(vii) increased threats to homes, businesses, and
community watersheds;
(3)(A) preventive treatments (such as reducing fuel loads,
crown density, ladder fuels, and hazard trees), planting proper
species mix, restoring and protecting early successional
habitat, and completing other specific restoration treatments
designed to reduce the susceptibility of forest and rangeland
to insect outbreaks, disease, and catastrophic fire present the
greatest opportunity for long-term forest and rangeland health,
maintenance, and enhancement by creating a mosaic of species-
mix and age distribution; and
(B) those vegetation management treatments are widely
acknowledged to be more successful and cost-effective than
suppression treatments in the case of insects, disease, and
fire;
(4)(A) the byproducts of vegetative management treatment
(such as trees, brush, thinnings, chips, slash, and other
hazardous fuels) removed from forest and rangeland represent an
abundant supply of--
(i) biomass for biomass-to-energy facilities; and
(ii) raw material for business; and
(B) there are currently few markets for the extraordinary
volumes of by-products being generated as a result of the
necessary large-scale preventive treatment activities; and
(5) the United States should--
(A) promote economic and entrepreneurial
opportunities in using by-products removed through
vegetation treatment activities relating to hazardous
fuels reduction, disease, and insect infestation;
(B) develop and expand markets for traditionally
underused wood and biomass as an outlet for by-products
of preventive treatment activities; and
(C) promote research and development to provide,
for the by-products, economically and environmentally
sound--
(i) management systems;
(ii) harvest and transport systems; and
(iii) utilization options.
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Biomass.--The term ``biomass'' means trees and woody
plants (including limbs, tops, needles, other woody parts, and
wood waste) and byproducts of preventive treatment (such as
wood, brush, thinnings, chips, and slash) that are removed--
(A) to reduce hazardous fuels;
(B) to reduce the risk of or to contain disease or
insect infestation; or
(C) to improve forest health and wildlife habitat
conditions.
(2) Person.--The term ``person'' includes--
(A) an individual;
(B) a community (as determined by the Secretary);
(C) an Indian tribe;
(D) a small business, microbusiness, or a
corporation that is incorporated in the United States;
and
(E) a nonprofit organization.
(3) Preferred community.--The term ``preferred community''
means--
(A) any town, township, municipality, Indian tribe,
or other similar unit of local government (as
determined by the Secretary) that--
(i) has a population of not more than
50,000 individuals; and
(ii) the Secretary, in the sole discretion
of the Secretary, determines contains or is
located near, or with a water supply system
that contains or is located near, land that--
(I) is at significant risk of
catastrophic wildfire, disease, or
insect infestation; or
(II) suffers from disease or insect
infestation; or
(B) any area or unincorporated area represented by
a nonprofit organization approved by the Secretary,
that--
(i) is not wholly contained within a
metropolitan statistical area; and
(ii) the Secretary, in the sole discretion
of the Secretary, determines contains or is
located near, or with a water supply system
that contains or is located near, land--
(I) the condition of which is at
significant risk of catastrophic
wildfire, disease, or insect
infestation; or
(II) that suffers from disease or
insect infestation.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System land; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of
the Interior (including land held in trust for the
benefit of an Indian tribe).
SEC. 203. GRANTS TO IMPROVE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FOREST BIOMASS FOR
ELECTRIC ENERGY, USEFUL HEAT, TRANSPORTATION FUELS,
COMPOST, VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS, AND PETROLEUM-BASED
PRODUCT SUBSTITUTES.
(a) Biomass Commercial Utilization Grant Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may make grants to any
person that owns or operates a facility that uses biomass as a
raw material to produce electric energy, sensible heat,
transportation fuels, substitutes for petroleum-based products,
wood-based products, pulp, or other commercial products to
offset the costs incurred to purchase biomass for use by the
facility.
(2) Grant amounts.--A grant under this subsection may not
exceed $20 per green ton of biomass delivered.
(3) Monitoring of grant recipient activities.--
(A) In general.--As a condition of a grant under
this subsection, the grant recipient shall keep such
records as the Secretary may require to fully and
correctly disclose the use of the grant funds and all
transactions involved in the purchase of biomass.
(B) Access.--On notice by a representative of the
Secretary, the grant recipient shall afford the
representative--
(i) reasonable access to the facility that
purchases or uses biomass; and
(ii) an opportunity to examine the
inventory and records of the facility.
(b) Value-Added Grant Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary--
(A) may make grants to persons to offset the cost
of projects to add value to biomass; and
(B) in making a grant under subparagraph (A), shall
give preference to persons in preferred communities.
(2) Selection.--The Secretary shall select a grant
recipient under paragraph (1)(A) after giving consideration
to--
(A) the anticipated public benefits of the project;
(B) opportunities for the creation or expansion of
small businesses and microbusinesses resulting from the
project; and
(C) the potential for new job creation as a result
of the project.
(3) Grant amount.--A grant under this subsection shall not
exceed $100,000.
(c) Relation to Other Endangered Species and Riparian
Protections.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall comply with applicable
endangered species and riparian protections in making grants
under this section.
(2) Projects.--Projects funded using grant proceeds shall
be required to comply with the protections.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through 2008.
SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than October 1, 2008, the Secretary
of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior,
shall submit to the Committee on Resources and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate a report describing the results of the grant
programs authorized by section 203.
(b) Contents of Report.--The report shall include--
(1) an identification of the source, size, type, and the
end-use of biomass by persons that receive grants under section
203;
(2) the haul costs incurred and the distance between the
land from which the biomass was removed and the facilities that
used the biomass;
(3) the economic impacts, particularly new job creation,
resulting from the grants to and operation of the eligible
operations; and
(4) the environmental effects of the activities described
in this section.
SEC. 205. IMPROVED BIOMASS USE RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) Uses of Grants, Contracts, and Assistance.--Section 307(d) of
the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note;
Public Law 106-224) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) research to integrate silviculture, harvesting,
product development, processing information, and economic
evaluation to provide the science, technology, and tools to
forest managers and community developers for use in evaluating
forest treatment and production alternatives, including--
``(A) to develop tools that would enable land
managers, locally or in a several-State region, to
estimate--
``(i) the cost to deliver varying
quantities of wood to a particular location;
and
``(ii) the amount that could be paid for
stumpage if delivered wood was used for a
specific mix of products;
``(B) to conduct research focused on developing
appropriate thinning systems and equipment designs that
are--
``(i) capable of being used on land without
significant adverse effects on the land;
``(ii) capable of handling large and varied
landscapes;
``(iii) adaptable to handling a wide
variety of tree sizes;
``(iv) inexpensive; and
``(v) adaptable to various terrains; and
``(C) to develop, test, and employ in the training
of forestry managers and community developers curricula
materials and training programs on matters described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B).''.
(b) Funding.--Section 310(b) of the Biomass Research and
Development Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note; Public Law 106-224) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``$49,000,000'' and inserting
``$54,000,000''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, of which not less than $5,000,000 shall be used
for each fiscal year to carry out section 307(d)(5)''.
SEC. 206. RURAL REVITALIZATION THROUGH FORESTRY.
Section 2371 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Rural Revitalization Technologies.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with
the State and Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit at the
Forest Products Laboratory, and in collaboration with eligible
institutions, may carry out a program--
``(A) to accelerate adoption of technologies using
biomass and small-diameter materials;
``(B) to create community-based enterprises through
marketing activities and demonstration projects; and
``(C) to establish small-scale business enterprises
to make use of biomass and small-diameter materials.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.''.
TITLE III--WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) there has been a dramatic shift in public attitudes and
perceptions about forest management, particularly in the
understanding and practice of sustainable forest management;
(2) it is commonly recognized that the proper stewardship
of forest land is essential to sustaining and restoring the
health of watersheds;
(3) forests can provide essential ecological services in
filtering pollutants, buffering important rivers and estuaries,
and minimizing flooding, which makes forest restoration worthy
of special focus; and
(4) strengthened education, technical assistance, and
financial assistance for nonindustrial private forest
landowners and communities, relating to the protection of
watershed health, is needed to realize the expectations of the
general public.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
(1) to improve landowner and public understanding of the
connection between forest management and watershed health;
(2) to encourage landowners to maintain tree cover on
property and to use tree plantings and vegetative treatments as
creative solutions to watershed problems associated with
varying land uses;
(3) to enhance and complement forest management and buffer
use for watersheds, with an emphasis on community watersheds;
(4) to establish new partnerships and collaborative
watershed approaches to forest management, stewardship, and
conservation;
(5) to provide technical and financial assistance to States
to deliver a coordinated program that enhances State forestry
best-management practices programs, and conserves and improves
forested land and potentially forested land, through technical,
financial, and educational assistance to qualifying individuals
and entities; and
(6) to maximize the proper management and conservation of
wetland forests and to assist in the restoration of those
forests.
SEC. 302. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 is amended by
inserting after section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2103a) the following:
``SEC. 6. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
``(a) Definition of Nonindustrial Private Forest Land.--In this
section, the term `nonindustrial private forest land' means rural land,
as determined by the Secretary, that--
``(1) has existing tree cover or that is suitable for
growing trees; and
``(2) is owned by any nonindustrial private individual,
group, association, corporation, or other private legal entity,
that has definitive decisionmaking authority over the land.
``(b) General Authority and Purpose.--The Secretary, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, may provide technical, financial, and
related assistance to State foresters, equivalent State officials, and
officials of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service for the purpose of expanding State forest stewardship
capacities and activities through State forestry best-management
practices and other means at the State level to address watershed
issues on non-Federal forested land and potentially forested land.
``(c) Technical Assistance To Protect Water Quality.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in cooperation with State
foresters, officials of the Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service, or equivalent State
officials, shall engage interested members of the public,
including nonprofit organizations and local watershed councils,
to develop a program of technical assistance to protect water
quality described in paragraph (2).
``(2) Purpose of program.--The program under this
subsection shall be designed--
``(A) to build and strengthen watershed
partnerships that focus on forested landscapes at the
State, regional, and local levels;
``(B) to provide State forestry best-management
practices and water quality technical assistance
directly to owners of nonindustrial private forest
land;
``(C) to provide technical guidance to land
managers and policymakers for water quality protection
through forest management;
``(D) to complement State and local efforts to
protect water quality and provide enhanced
opportunities for consultation and cooperation among
Federal and State agencies charged with responsibility
for water and watershed management; and
``(E) to provide enhanced forest resource data and
support for improved implementation and monitoring of
State forestry best-management practices.
``(3) Implementation.--The program of technical assistance
shall be implemented by State foresters or equivalent State
officials.
``(d) Watershed Forestry Cost-Share Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a
watershed forestry cost-share program--
``(A) which shall be--
``(i) administered by the Forest Service;
and
``(ii) implemented by State foresters or
equivalent State officials; and
``(B) under which funds or other support provided
shall be made available for State forestry best-
management practices programs and watershed forestry
projects.
``(2) Watershed forestry projects.--The State forester,
State Research, Education and Extension official, or equivalent
State official of a State, in coordination with the State
Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee established under
section 19(b) (or an equivalent committee) for that State,
shall make awards to communities, nonprofit groups, and owners
of nonindustrial private forest land under the program for
watershed forestry projects described in paragraph (3).
``(3) Project elements and objectives.--A watershed
forestry project shall accomplish critical forest stewardship,
watershed protection, and restoration needs within a State by
demonstrating the value of trees and forests to watershed
health and condition through--
``(A) the use of trees as solutions to water
quality problems in urban and rural areas;
``(B) community-based planning, involvement, and
action through State, local and nonprofit partnerships;
``(C) application of and dissemination of
monitoring information on forestry best-management
practices relating to watershed forestry;
``(D) watershed-scale forest management activities
and conservation planning; and
``(E)(i) the restoration of wetland (as defined by
the States) and stream-side forests; and
``(ii) the establishment of riparian vegetative
buffers.
``(4) Cost-sharing.--
``(A) Federal share.--
``(i) Funds under this subsection.--Funds
provided under this subsection for a watershed
forestry project may not exceed 75 percent of
the cost of the project.
``(ii) Other federal funds.--The percentage
of the cost of a project described in clause
(i) that is not covered by funds made available
under this subsection may be paid using other
Federal funding sources, except that the total
Federal share of the costs of the project may
not exceed 90 percent.
``(B) Form.--The non-Federal share of the costs of
a project may be provided in the form of cash,
services, or other in-kind contributions.
``(5) Prioritization.--The State Forest Stewardship
Coordinating Committee for a State, or equivalent State
committee, shall prioritize watersheds in that State to target
watershed forestry projects funded under this subsection.
``(6) Watershed forester.--Financial and technical
assistance shall be made available to the State Forester or
equivalent State official to create a State watershed or best-
management practice forester position to--
``(A) lead statewide programs; and
``(B) coordinate watershed-level projects.
``(e) Distribution.--
``(1) In general.--Of the funds made available for a fiscal
year under subsection (g), the Secretary shall use--
``(A) at least 75 percent of the funds to carry out
the cost-share program under subsection (d); and
``(B) the remainder of the funds to deliver
technical assistance, education, and planning, at the
local level, through the State Forester or equivalent
State official.
``(2) Special considerations.--Distribution of funds by the
Secretary among States under paragraph (1) shall be made only
after giving appropriate consideration to--
``(A) the acres of agricultural land, nonindustrial
private forest land, and highly erodible land in each
State;
``(B) the miles of riparian buffer needed;
``(C) the miles of impaired stream segments and
other impaired water bodies where forestry practices
can be used to restore or protect water resources;
``(D) the number of owners of nonindustrial private
forest land in each State; and
``(E) water quality cost savings that can be
achieved through forest watershed management.
``(f) Willing Owners.--
``(1) In general.--Participation of an owner of
nonindustrial private forest land in the watershed forestry
assistance program under this section is voluntary.
``(2) Written consent.--The watershed forestry assistance
program shall not be carried out on nonindustrial private
forest land without the written consent of the owner of, or
entity having definitive decisionmaking over, the nonindustrial
private forest land.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through 2008.''.
SEC. 303. TRIBAL WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary''), acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service, shall provide technical, financial, and related assistance to
Indian tribes for the purpose of expanding tribal stewardship
capacities and activities through tribal forestry best-management
practices and other means at the tribal level to address watershed
issues on land under the jurisdiction of or administered by the Indian
tribes.
(b) Technical Assistance To Protect Water Quality.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in cooperation with Indian
tribes, shall develop a program to provide technical assistance
to protect water quality, as described in paragraph (2).
(2) Purpose of program.--The program under this subsection
shall be designed--
(A) to build and strengthen watershed partnerships
that focus on forested landscapes at the State,
regional, tribal, and local levels;
(B) to provide tribal forestry best-management
practices and water quality technical assistance
directly to Indian tribes;
(C) to provide technical guidance to tribal land
managers and policy makers for water quality protection
through forest management;
(D) to complement tribal efforts to protect water
quality and provide enhanced opportunities for
consultation and cooperation among Federal agencies and
tribal entities charged with responsibility for water
and watershed management; and
(E) to provide enhanced forest resource data and
support for improved implementation and monitoring of
tribal forestry best-management practices.
(c) Watershed Forestry Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a watershed
forestry program to be administered by Indian tribes.
(2) Programs and projects.--Funds or other support provided
under the program shall be made available for tribal forestry
best-management practices programs and watershed forestry
projects.
(3) Annual awards.--The Secretary shall annually make
awards to Indian tribes to carry out this subsection.
(4) Project elements and objectives.--A watershed forestry
project shall accomplish critical forest stewardship, watershed
protection, and restoration needs within land under the
jurisdiction of or administered by an Indian tribe by
demonstrating the value of trees and forests to watershed
health and condition through--
(A) the use of trees as solutions to water quality
problems;
(B) application of and dissemination of monitoring
information on forestry best-management practices
relating to watershed forestry;
(C) watershed-scale forest management activities
and conservation planning;
(D) the restoration of wetland and stream-side
forests and the establishment of riparian vegetative
buffers; and
(E) tribal-based planning, involvement, and action
through State, tribal, local, and nonprofit
partnerships.
(5) Prioritization.--An Indian tribe that participates in
the program under this subsection shall prioritize watersheds
in land under the jurisdiction of or administered by the Indian
tribe to target watershed forestry projects funded under this
subsection.
(6) Watershed forester.--The Secretary may provide to
Indian tribes under this section financial and technical
assistance to establish a position of tribal forester to lead
tribal programs and coordinate small watershed-level projects.
(d) Distribution.--The Secretary shall devote--
(1) at least 75 percent of the funds made available for a
fiscal year under subsection (e) to the program under
subsection (c); and
(2) the remainder of the funds to deliver technical
assistance, education, and planning on the ground to Indian
tribes.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE IV--INSECT INFESTATIONS AND RELATED DISEASES
SEC. 401. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) high levels of tree mortality resulting from insect
infestation (including the interaction between insects and
diseases) may result in--
(A) increased fire risk;
(B) loss of old trees and old growth;
(C) loss of threatened and endangered species;
(D) loss of species diversity;
(E) degraded watershed conditions;
(F) increased potential for damage from other
agents of disturbance, including exotic, invasive
species; and
(G) decreased timber values;
(2)(A) forest-damaging insects destroy hundreds of
thousands of acres of trees each year;
(B) in the West, more than 21,000,000 acres are at high
risk of forest-damaging insect infestation, and in the South,
more than 57,000,000 acres are at risk across all land
ownerships; and
(C) severe drought conditions in many areas of the South
and West will increase the risk of forest-damaging insect
infestations;
(3) the hemlock woolly adelgid is--
(A) destroying streamside forests throughout the
mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions;
(B) threatening water quality and sensitive aquatic
species; and
(C) posing a potential threat to valuable
commercial timber land in northern New England;
(4)(A) the emerald ash borer is a nonnative, invasive pest
that has quickly become a major threat to hardwood forests
because an emerald ash borer infestation is almost always fatal
to affected trees; and
(B) the emerald ash borer pest threatens to destroy more
than 692,000,000 ash trees in forests in Michigan and Ohio
alone, and between 5 and 10 percent of urban street trees in
the Upper Midwest;
(5)(A) epidemic populations of Southern pine beetles are
ravaging forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, and Virginia; and
(B) in 2001, Florida and Kentucky experienced 146 percent
and 111 percent increases, respectively, in Southern pine
beetle populations;
(6) those epidemic outbreaks of Southern pine beetles have
forced private landowners to harvest dead and dying trees, in
rural areas and increasingly urbanized settings;
(7) according to the Forest Service, recent outbreaks of
the red oak borer in Arkansas and Missouri have been
unprecedented, with more than 1,000,000 acres infested at
population levels never seen before;
(8) much of the damage from the red oak borer has taken
place in national forests, and the Federal response has been
inadequate to protect forest ecosystems and other ecological
and economic resources;
(9)(A) previous silvicultural assessments, while useful and
informative, have been limited in scale and scope of
application; and
(B) there have not been sufficient resources available to
adequately test a full array of individual and combined applied
silvicultural assessments;
(10) only through the full funding, development, and
assessment of potential applied silvicultural assessments over
specific time frames across an array of environmental and
climatic conditions can the most innovative and cost effective
management applications be determined that will help reduce the
susceptibility of forest ecosystems to attack by forest pests;
(11)(A) often, there are significant interactions between
insects and diseases;
(B) many diseases (such as white pine blister rust, beech
bark disease, and many other diseases) can weaken trees and
forest stands and predispose trees and forest stands to insect
attack; and
(C) certain diseases are spread using insects as vectors
(including Dutch elm disease and pine pitch canker); and
(12) funding and implementation of an initiative to combat
forest pest infestations and associated diseases should not
come at the expense of supporting other programs and
initiatives of the Secretary.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
(1) to require the Secretary to develop an accelerated
basic and applied assessment program to combat infestations by
forest-damaging insects and associated diseases;
(2) to enlist the assistance of colleges and universities
(including forestry schools, land grant colleges and
universities, and 1890 Institutions), State agencies, and
private landowners to carry out the program; and
(3) to carry out applied silvicultural assessments.
SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Applied silvicultural assessment.--
(A) In general.--The term ``applied silvicultural
assessment'' means any vegetative or other treatment
carried out for a purpose described in section 403.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``applied silvicultural
assessment'' includes (but is not limited to) timber
harvesting, thinning, prescribed burning, pruning, and
any combination of those activities.
(2) 1890 institution.--
(A) In general.--The term ``1890 Institution''
means a college or university that is eligible to
receive funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (7
U.S.C. 321 et seq.).
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``1890 Institution''
includes Tuskegee University.
(3) Forest-damaging insect.--The term ``forest-damaging
insect'' means--
(A) a Southern pine beetle;
(B) a mountain pine beetle;
(C) a spruce bark beetle;
(D) a gypsy moth;
(E) a hemlock woolly adelgid;
(F) an emerald ash borer;
(G) a red oak borer;
(H) a white oak borer; and
(I) such other insects as may be identified by the
Secretary.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Forest Service, with respect to National Forest
System land; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through
appropriate offices of the United States Geological
Survey, with respect to federally owned land
administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 403. ACCELERATED INFORMATION GATHERING REGARDING FOREST-DAMAGING
INSECTS.
(a) Information Gathering.--The Secretary, acting through the
Forest Service and United States Geological Survey, as appropriate,
shall establish an accelerated program--
(1) to plan, conduct, and promote comprehensive and
systematic information gathering on forest-damaging insects and
associated diseases, including an evaluation of--
(A) infestation, prevention, and suppression
methods;
(B) effects of infestations and associated disease
interactions on forest ecosystems;
(C) restoration of forest ecosystem efforts;
(D) utilization options regarding infested trees;
and
(E) models to predict the occurrence, distribution,
and impact of outbreaks of forest-damaging insects and
associated diseases;
(2) to assist land managers in the development of
treatments and strategies to improve forest health and reduce
the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to severe infestations
of forest-damaging insects and associated diseases on Federal
land and State and private land; and
(3) to disseminate the results of the information
gathering, treatments, and strategies.
(b) Cooperation and Assistance.--The Secretary shall--
(1) establish and carry out the program in cooperation
with--
(A) scientists from colleges and universities
(including forestry schools, land grant colleges and
universities, and 1890 Institutions);
(B) Federal, State, and local agencies; and
(C) private and industrial landowners; and
(2) designate such colleges and universities to assist in
carrying out the program.
SEC. 404. APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENTS.
(a) Assessment Efforts.--For information gathering and research
purposes, the Secretary may conduct applied silvicultural assessments
on Federal land that the Secretary determines is at risk of infestation
by, or is infested with, forest-damaging insects.
(b) Limitations.--
(1) Exclusion of certain areas.--Subsection (a) does not
apply to--
(A) a component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System;
(B) any Federal land on which, by Act of Congress
or Presidential proclamation, the removal of vegetation
is restricted or prohibited;
(C) a congressionally-designated wilderness study
area; or
(D) an area in which activities under subsection
(a) would be inconsistent with the applicable land and
resource management plan.
(2) Certain treatment prohibited.--Nothing in subsection
(a) authorizes the application of insecticides in municipal
watersheds or associated riparian areas.
(3) Peer review.--
(A) In general.--Before being carried out, each
applied silvicultural assessment under this title shall
be peer reviewed by scientific experts selected by the
Secretary, which shall include non-Federal experts.
(B) Existing peer review processes.--The Secretary
may use existing peer review processes to the extent
the processes comply with subparagraph (A).
(c) Public Notice and Comment.--
(1) Public notice.--The Secretary shall provide notice of
each applied silvicultural assessment proposed to be carried
out under this section.
(2) Public comment.--The Secretary shall provide an
opportunity for public comment before carrying out an applied
silviculture assessment under this section.
(d) Categorical Exclusion.--
(1) In general.--Applied silvicultural assessment and
research treatments carried out under this section on not more
than 1,000 acres for an assessment or treatment may be
categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental
impact statement and environmental assessment under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
(2) Administration.--Applied silvicultural assessments and
research treatments categorically excluded under paragraph
(1)--
(A) shall not be carried out in an area that is
adjacent to another area that is categorically excluded
under paragraph (1) that is being treated with similar
methods; and
(B) shall be subject to the extraordinary
circumstances procedures established by the Secretary
pursuant to section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(3) Maximum categorical exclusion.--The total number of
acres categorically excluded under paragraph (1) shall not
exceed 250,000 acres.
(4) No additional findings required.--In accordance with
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not be required to make any
findings as to whether an applied silvicultural assessment
project, either individually or cumulatively, has a significant
effect on the environment.
SEC. 405. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
The authority provided to each Secretary under this title is
supplemental to, and not in lieu of, any authority provided to the
Secretaries under any other law.
SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this title for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE V--HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM
SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish
the healthy forests reserve program for the purpose of restoring and
enhancing forest ecosystems--
(1) to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered
species;
(2) to improve biodiversity; and
(3) to enhance carbon sequestration.
(b) Coordination.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out the
healthy forests reserve program in coordination with the Secretary of
the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce.
SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT OF LANDS IN PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, shall
describe and define forest ecosystems that are eligible for enrollment
in the healthy forests reserve program.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible for enrollment in the healthy
forests reserve program, land shall be--
(1) private land the enrollment of which will restore,
enhance, or otherwise measurably increase the likelihood of
recovery of a species listed as endangered or threatened under
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533); and
(2) private land the enrollment of which will restore,
enhance, or otherwise measurably improve the well-being of
species that--
(A) are not listed as endangered or threatened
under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1533); but
(B) are candidates for such listing, State-listed
species, or special concern species.
(c) Other Considerations.--In enrolling land that satisfies the
criteria under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall give
additional consideration to land the enrollment of which will--
(1) improve biological diversity; and
(2) increase carbon sequestration.
(d) Enrollment by Willing Owners.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall enroll land in the healthy forests reserve program only with the
consent of the owner of the land.
(e) Maximum Enrollment.--The total number of acres enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program shall not exceed 2,000,000 acres.
(f) Methods of Enrollment.--
(1) In general.--Land may be enrolled in the healthy
forests reserve program in accordance with--
(A) a 10-year cost-share agreement;
(B) a 30-year agreement; or
(C) a long-term easement with a buyback option.
(2) Proportion.--The extent to which each enrollment method
is used shall be based on the approximate proportion of owner
interest expressed in that method in comparison to the other
methods.
(g) Enrollment Priority.--
(1) Species.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall give
priority to the enrollment of land that provides the greatest
conservation benefit to--
(A) primarily, species listed as endangered or
threatened under section 4 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); and
(B) secondarily, species that--
(i) are not listed as endangered or
threatened under section 4 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); but
(ii) are candidates for such listing,
State-listed species, or special concern
species.
(2) Cost-effectiveness.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
also consider the cost-effectiveness of each agreement and
easement, and their associated restoration plans, so as to
maximize the environmental benefits per dollar expended.
SEC. 503. RESTORATION PLANS.
(a) In General.--Land enrolled in the healthy forests reserve
program shall be subject to a restoration plan, to be developed jointly
by the landowner and the Secretary of Agriculture.
(b) Practices.--The restoration plan shall require such restoration
practices as are necessary to restore and enhance habitat for--
(1) species listed as endangered or threatened under
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1533); and
(2) animal or plant species before the species reach
threatened or endangered status, such as candidate, State-
listed species, and special concern species.
SEC. 504. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) Long-Term Easement With Buyback Option.--
(1) Payment amount.--In the case of land enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program using a long-term easement
(with a minimum length of 99 years) with a buyback option, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the land an
amount equal to not less than 75 percent, nor more than 100
percent, of (as determined by the Secretary)--
(A) the fair market value of the enrolled land
during the period the land is subject to the easement,
less the fair market value of the land encumbered by
the easement; and
(B) the actual costs of the approved conservation
practices or the average cost of approved practices
carried out on the land during the period the land is
subject to the easement.
(2) Buy-back option.--In the case of land enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program using a long-term easement with
a buyback option, beginning on the date that is 50 years after
the date of enrollment of the land, and every 10 years
thereafter, the owner of the land shall be permitted to
purchase the easement back from the United States for an amount
equal to not more than (as determined by the Secretary)--
(A) the percentage of the fair market value the
owner received for the easement under paragraph (1);
and
(B) the costs, adjusted by the Secretary to reflect
changes in the Consumer Price Index for all-urban
consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, of the approved conservation practices
necessary for establishment of the easement.
(3) Funds.--All funds returned to the United States under
this subsection shall be used to carry out the healthy forests
reserve program.
(b) 30-Year Agreement.-- In the case of land enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program using a 30-year agreement, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the land an amount
equal to not more than (as determined by the Secretary)--
(1) 75 percent of the fair market value of the land, less
the fair market value of the land encumbered by the agreement;
and
(2) 75 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices or 75 percent of the average cost of
approved practices.
(c) 10-Year Agreement.--In the case of land enrolled in the healthy
forests reserve program using a 10-year cost-share agreement, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the land an amount
equal to not more than (as determined by the Secretary)--
(1) 50 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices; or
(2) 50 percent of the average cost of approved practices.
(d) Acceptance of Contributions.--The Secretary of Agriculture may
accept and use contributions of non-Federal funds to make payments
under this section.
SEC. 505. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide
landowners with technical assistance to assist the owners in complying
with the terms of plans (as included in agreements and easements) under
the healthy forests reserve program.
(b) Technical Service Providers.--The Secretary of Agriculture may
request the services of, and enter into cooperative agreements with,
individuals or entities certified as technical service providers under
section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842), to
assist the Secretary in providing technical assistance necessary to
develop and implement the healthy forests reserve program.
SEC. 506. PROTECTIONS AND MEASURES
(a) Protections.--In the case of a landowner that enrolls land in
the program and whose conservation activities result in a net
conservation benefit for listed, candidate, or other species, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall make available to the landowner safe
harbor or similar assurances and protection under--
(1) section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)); or
(2) section 10(a)(1) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)).
(b) Measures.--If protection under subsection (a) requires the
taking of measures that are in addition to the measures covered by the
applicable restoration plan agreed to under section 503, the cost of
the additional measures, as well as the cost of any permit, shall be
considered part of the restoration plan for purposes of financial
assistance under section 504.
SEC. 507. INVOLVEMENT BY OTHER AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS.
In carrying out this title, the Secretary of Agriculture may
consult with--
(1) nonindustrial private forest landowners;
(2) other Federal agencies;
(3) State fish and wildlife agencies;
(4) State forestry agencies;
(5) State environmental quality agencies;
(6) other State conservation agencies; and
(7) nonprofit conservation organizations.
SEC. 508. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title--
(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years
2005 through 2008.
TITLE VI--PUBLIC LAND CORPS
SEC. 601. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are--
(1) to carry out, in a cost-effective and efficient manner,
rehabilitation, enhancement, and beautification projects;
(2) to offer young people, ages 16 through 25, particularly
those who are at-risk or economically disadvantaged, the
opportunity to gain productive employment and exposure to the
world of work;
(3) to give those young people the opportunity to serve
their communities and their country; and
(4) to expand educational opportunities by rewarding
individuals who participate in the Public Land Corps with an
increased ability to pursue higher education or job training.
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Alaska native corporation.--The term ``Alaska Native
Corporation'' means a Regional Corporation or Village
Corporation, as defined in section 101(11) of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511(11)).
(2) Corps.--The term ``Corps'' means the Public Land Corps
established under section 603(a).
(3) Hawaiian home lands.--The term ``Hawaiian home lands''
means that term, within the meaning of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.).
(4) Indian lands.--The term ``Indian lands'' has the
meaning given the term in section 101 of the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511).
(5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior.
(6) Service and conservation corps.--The term ``service and
conservation corps'' means any organization established by a
State or local government, nonprofit organization, or Indian
tribe that--
(A) has a demonstrable capability to provide
productive work to individuals;
(B) gives participants a combination of work
experience, basic and life skills, education, training,
and support services; and
(C) provides participants with the opportunity to
develop citizenship values through service to their
communities and the United States.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) Guam;
(E) American Samoa;
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands;
(G) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(I) the Republic of Palau; and
(J) the United States Virgin Islands.
SEC. 603. PUBLIC LAND CORPS.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a Public Land Corps.
(b) Participants.--The Corps shall consist of individuals who are
enrolled as members of a service or conservation corps.
(c) Contracts or Agreements.--The Secretaries may enter into
contracts or cooperative agreements--
(1) directly with any service and conservation corps to
perform appropriate rehabilitation, enhancement, or
beautification projects; or
(2) with a department of natural resources, agriculture, or
forestry (or an equivalent department) of any State that has
entered into a contract or cooperative agreement with a service
and conservation corps to perform appropriate rehabilitation,
enhancement, or beautification projects.
(d) Projects.--
(1) In general.--The Secretaries may use the members of a
service and conservation corps to perform rehabilitation,
enhancement, or beautification projects authorized by law.
(2) Included land.--In addition to Federal and State lands,
the projects may be carried out on--
(A) Indian lands, with the approval of the
applicable Indian tribe;
(B) Hawaiian home lands, with the approval of the
relevant State agency in the State of Hawaii; and
(C) Alaska native lands, with the approval of the
applicable Alaska Native Corporation.
(e) Preference.--In carrying out this title, the Secretaries shall
give preference to projects that will--
(1) provide long-term benefits by reducing hazardous fuels
on Federal land;
(2) instill in members of the service and conservation
corps--
(A) a work ethic;
(B) a sense of personal responsibility; and
(C) a sense of public service;
(3) be labor intensive; and
(4) be planned and initiated promptly.
(f) Supportive Services.--The Secretaries may provide such services
as the Secretaries consider necessary to carry out this title.
(g) Technical Assistance.--To carry out this title, the Secretaries
shall provide technical assistance, oversight, monitoring, and
evaluation to--
(1) State Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture
(or equivalent agencies); and
(2) members of service and conservation corps.
SEC. 604. NONDISPLACEMENT.
The nondisplacement requirements of section 177(b) of the National
and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12637(b)) shall apply to
activities carried out by the Corps under this title.
SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE VII--RURAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PROGRAM
SEC. 701. PURPOSE
The purpose of this title is to assist in the economic
revitalization of rural forest resource-dependent communities through
incentives to promote investment in private enterprise and community
development by--
(1) the Department of Agriculture;
(2) the Department of the Interior;
(3) the Department of Commerce;
(4) the Small Business Administration;
(5) land grant colleges and universities; and
(6) 1890 Institutions.
SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) 1890 institution.--The term ``1890 Institution'' has
the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C.
7601).
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a unit of State or local government;
(B) an Indian tribe;
(C) a nonprofit organization;
(D) a small forest products business;
(E) a rural forest resource-dependent community;
(F) a land grant college or university; or
(G) an 1890 institution.
(3) Eligible project.--The term ``eligible project'' means
a project described in section 703 that will promote the
economic development in rural forest resource-dependent
communities based on--
(A) responsible forest stewardship;
(B) the production of sustainable forest products;
or
(C) the development of forest related tourism and
recreation activities.
(4) Forest products.--The term ``forest products'' means--
(A) logs;
(B) lumber;
(C) chips;
(D) small-diameter finished wood products;
(E) energy biomass;
(F) mulch; and
(G) any other material derived from forest
vegetation or individual trees or shrubs.
(5) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization that is--
(A) described in section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; and
(B) exempt from taxation under 501(a) of that Code.
(6) Program.--The term ``program'' means the rural
community forestry enterprise program established under section
703.
(7) Small forest products business.--The term ``small
forest products business'' means a small business concern (as
defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632)) that is classified under subsector 113 or code number
115310 of the North American Industrial Classification System.
(8) Rural forest resource-dependent community.--
(A) In general.--The term ``rural forest resource-
dependent community'' means a community located in a
rural area of the United States that is traditionally
dependent on forestry products as a primary source of
community infrastructure.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``rural forest resource-
dependent community'' includes a community described in
subparagraph (A) located in--
(i) the northern forest land of Maine;
(ii) New Hampshire;
(iii) New York;
(iv) Vermont;
(v) the Upper Peninsula of Michigan;
(vi) northern California;
(vii) eastern Oregon;
(viii) the Bitterrroot Valley of Montana;
(ix) the northern panhandle of Idaho; and
(x) other areas, as determined by the
Secretary.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
SEC. 703. RURAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within
the Forest Service a program to be known as the ``Rural
Community Forestry Enterprise Program''.
(2) Coordination.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall coordinate with--
(A) the Small Business Administration;
(B) the Economic Development Administration;
(C) land grant colleges and universities;
(D) 1890 institutions; and
(E) other agencies of the Department of Agriculture
that administer rural development programs.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the program are--
(1) to enhance technical and business management skills
training;
(2) to organize cooperatives and marketing programs;
(3) to establish and maintain timber worker skill pools;
(4) to establish and maintain forest product distribution
networks and collection centers;
(5) to facilitate technology transfer for processing small
diameter trees and brush into useful products;
(6) to develop, where support exists, a program to promote
science-based technology implementation and technology transfer
that expands the capacity for small forest product businesses
to work within market areas;
(7) to promote forest-related tourism and recreational
activities;
(8) to enhance the rural forest business infrastructure
needed to reduce hazardous fuels on public and private land;
and
(9) to carry out related programs and activities, as
determined by the Secretary.
(c) Forest Enterprise Centers.--The Secretary shall establish at
least 1 Forest Enterprise Center at each Research Station of the Forest
Service, to be located at a forest science laboratory--
(1) to carry out eligible projects; and
(2) to coordinate assistance provided to small forest
products businesses with--
(A) the Small Business Administration, including
the timber set-aside program carried out by the Small
Business Administration;
(B) the Rural Utilities Service, the Rural Housing
Service, and the Rural Business-Cooperative Service of
the Department of Agriculture; and
(C) the Economic Development Administration,
including the local technical assistance program of the
Economic Development Administration.
(d) Forest Enterprise Technical Assistance and Grant Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Forest
Enterprise Centers established under subsection (c), shall
establish a program to provide technical assistance and grants
to eligible entities to carry out eligible projects.
(2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall work with each Forest
Enterprise Center to develop appropriate program review and
prioritization criteria for each Research Station.
(3) Matching funds.--Grants under this section shall--
(A) not exceed 50 percent of the cost of an
eligible project; and
(B) be made on the condition that non-Federal
sources pay for the remainder of the cost of an
eligible project (including payment through in-kind
contributions of services or materials).
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 801. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
Section 17 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2101 note; Public Law 95313) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 17. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program using
geospatial and information management technologies (including remote
sensing imaging and decision support systems) to inventory, monitor,
characterize, assess, and identify forest stands and potential forest
stands (with emphasis on hardwood forest stands) on--
``(1) in units of the National Forest System; and
``(2) on private forest land, with the consent of the owner
of the land.
``(b) Means.--The Secretary shall carry out the program through the
use of--
``(1) remote sensing technology of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration and the United States Geological
Survey;
``(2) emerging geospatial capabilities in research
activities;
``(3) validating techniques using application
demonstrations; and
``(4) integration of results into pilot operational
systems.
``(c) Issues To Be Addressed.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall address issues including--
``(1) early detection, identification, and assessment of
environmental threats (including insect, disease, invasive
species, fire, acid deposition, and weather-related risks and
other episodic events);
``(2) loss or degradation of forests;
``(3) degradation of the quality forest stands caused by
inadequate forest regeneration practices;
``(4) quantification of carbon uptake rates; and
``(5) management practices that focus on preventing further
forest degradation.
``(d) Early Warning System.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall develop a comprehensive early warning system for
potential catastrophic environmental threats to forests to increase the
likelihood that forest managers will be able to--
``(1) isolate and treat a threat before the threat gets out
of control; and
``(2) prevent epidemics, such as the American chestnut
blight in the first half of the twentieth century, that could
be environmentally and economically devastating to forests.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through 2009.''.
SEC. 802. PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT AND REDUCTION OF NONNATIVE
INVASIVE PLANTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Interface community.--The term ``interface community''
has the meaning given the term in the notice published at 66
Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4, 2001) (including any subsequent
revision to the notice).
(2) Intermix community.--The term ``intermix community''
has the meaning given the term in the notice published at 66
Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4, 2001) (including any subsequent
revision to the notice).
(3) Plant.--The term ``plant'' includes--
(A) a tree;
(B) a shrub; and
(C) a vine.
(4) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program for
emergency treatment and reduction of nonnative invasive plants
established under subsection (b)(1).
(5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior,
acting jointly.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretaries shall establish a program
for emergency treatment and reduction of nonnative invasive
plants to provide to State and local governments and agencies,
conservation districts, tribal governments, and willing private
landowners grants for use in carrying out hazardous fuel reduction
projects to address threats of catastrophic fires that have been
determined by the Secretaries to pose a serious threat to--
(A) property;
(B) human life; or
(C) the ecological stability of an area.
(2) Coordination.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretaries shall coordinate with such Federal agencies, State
and local governments and agencies, and conservation districts
as are affected by projects under the program.
(c) Eligible Land.--A project under the program shall--
(1) be carried out only on land that is located--
(A) in an interface community or intermix
community; or
(B) in such proximity to an interface community or
intermix community as would pose a significant risk in
the event of the spread of a fire disturbance event
from the land (including a risk that would threaten
human life or property in proximity to or within the
interface community or intermix community), as
determined by the Secretaries;
(2) remove fuel loads determined by the Secretaries, a
State or local government, a tribal government, or a private
landowner to pose a serious threat to--
(A) property;
(B) human life; or
(C) the ecological stability of an area; and
(3) involve the removal of nonnative invasive plants.
(d) Use of Funds.--Funds made available for a project under the
program shall be used only for--
(1) the removal of plants or other potential fuels that
are--
(A) adjacent to or within the wildland urban
interface; or
(B) adjacent to a municipal watershed, river, or
water course;
(2) the removal of erosion structures that impede the
removal of nonnative plants; or
(3) the replanting of native vegetation to reduce the
reestablishment of nonnative invasive plants in a treatment
area.
(e) Revolving Fund.--
(1) In general.--In the case of a grant provided to a
willing owner to carry out a project on non-Federal land under
this section, the owner shall deposit into a revolving fund
established by the Secretaries any proceeds derived from the
sale of timber or biomass removed from the non-Federal land
under the project.
(2) Use.--The Secretaries shall use amounts in the
revolving fund to make additional grants under this section.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section, to
remain available until expended.
SEC. 803. USDA NATIONAL AGROFORESTRY CENTER.
(a) In General.--Section 1243 of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 1642 note; Public Law
101-624) is amended--
(1) by striking the section heading and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 1243. USDA NATIONAL AGROFORESTRY CENTER.'';
and
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``Semiarid'' and inserting ``USDA
National''; and
(B) by striking ``Semiarid'' and inserting ``USDA
National''.
(b) Program.--Section 1243(b) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 1642 note; Public Law
101-624) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``local governments, community
organizations, the Institute of Tropical Forestry and the
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry of the Forest Service,''
after ``entities,'';
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``on semiarid lands'';
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``from semiarid land'';
(4) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
``(4) collect information on the design, installation, and
function of forested riparian and upland buffers to--
``(A) protect water quality; and
``(B) manage water flow;'';
(5) in paragraphs (6) and (7), by striking ``on semiarid
lands'' each place it appears;
(6) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:
``(8) provide international leadership in the worldwide
development and exchange of agroforestry practices;'';
(7) in paragraph (9), by striking ``on semiarid lands'';
(8) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(9) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
``(12) quantify the carbon storage potential of
agroforestry practices such as--
``(A) windbreaks;
``(B) forested riparian buffers;
``(C) silvopasture timber and grazing systems; and
``(D) alley cropping; and
``(13) modify and adapt riparian forest buffer technology
used on agricultural land for use by communities to manage
stormwater runoff.''.
SEC. 804. UPLAND HARDWOODS RESEARCH CENTER.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an
Upland Hardwood Research Center.
(b) Location.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall locate the
Research Center in an area that, as determined by the Secretary of
Agriculture, would best use and study the upland hardwood resources of
the Ozark Mountains and the South.
(c) Duties.--The Upland Hardwood Research Center shall, in
conjunction with the Southern Forest Research Station of the Department
of Agriculture--
(1) provide the scientific basis for sustainable management
of southern upland hardwood forests, particularly in the Ozark
Mountains and associated mountain and upland forests; and
(2) conduct research in all areas to emphasize practical
application toward the use and preservation of upland hardwood
forests, particularly--
(A) the effects of pests and pathogens on upland
hardwoods;
(B) hardwood stand regeneration and reproductive
biology;
(C) upland hardwood stand management and forest
health;
(D) threatened, endangered, and sensitive aquatic
and terrestrial fauna;
(E) ecological processes and hardwood ecosystem
restoration; and
(F) education and outreach to nonindustrial private
forest landowners and associations.
(d) Research.--In carrying out the duties under subsection (c), the
Upland Hardwood Research Center shall--
(1) cooperate with the Center for Bottomland Hardwood
Research of the Southern Forest Research Station of the
Department of Agriculture, located in Stoneville, Mississippi;
and
(2) provide comprehensive research in the Mid-South region
of the United States, the Upland Forests Ecosystems Unit of the
Southern Forest Research Station of the Department of
Agriculture, located in Monticello, Arkansas.
(e) Participation of Private Landowners.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall encourage and facilitate the participation of private
landowners in the program under this section.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through 2008.
SEC. 805. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ENHANCED COMMUNITY FIRE
PROTECTION.
It is the sense of Congress to reaffirm the importance of enhanced
community fire protection program, as described in section 10A of the
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106c) (as added
by section 8003(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002 (Public Law 107-171; 116 Stat. 473)).
Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to improve the
capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of
the Interior to conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on
National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management
lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain
other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance
efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and
rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the
landscape, and for other purposes.''.
Calendar No. 246
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1904
[Report No. 108-121]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction
projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management
lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other
at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect
watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health,
including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 31 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the title