[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1964 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1964

     To establish the Highlands Stewardship Area in the States of 
  Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2003

 Mr. Frelinghuysen (for himself, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Hoeffel, 
 Mr. Israel, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
Payne, Mr. Shays, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. 
  Ferguson, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Holt, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. 
LoBiondo, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Saxton, and Mr. 
    Engel) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To establish the Highlands Stewardship Area in the States of 
  Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Highlands Stewardship Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds that--
            (1) the Highlands region is a geographic area that 
        encompasses more than 2,000,000 acres extending from eastern 
        Pennsylvania through the States of New Jersey and New York to 
        northwestern Connecticut;
            (2) the Highlands region is an environmentally unique area 
        that--
                    (A) provides clean drinking water to over 
                15,000,000 people in metropolitan areas in the States 
                of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;
                    (B) provides critical wildlife habitat, including 
                habitat for 247 threatened and endangered species;
                    (C) maintains an important historic connection to 
                early Native American culture, colonial settlement, the 
                American Revolution, and the Civil War;
                    (D) contains recreational resources for 14 million 
                visitors annually; and
                    (E) provides other significant ecological, natural, 
                tourism, recreational, educational, and economic 
                benefits;
            (3) an estimated 1 in 12 citizens of the United States live 
        within a 2-hour drive of the Highlands region;
            (4) more than 1,400,000 residents live in the Highlands 
        region;
            (5) the Highlands region forms a greenbelt adjacent to the 
        Philadelphia-New York City-Hartford urban corridor that offers 
        the opportunity to preserve natural and agricultural resources, 
        open spaces, recreational areas, and historic sites, while 
        encouraging sustainable economic growth and development in a 
        fiscally and environmentally sound manner;
            (6) continued population growth and land use patterns in 
        the Highlands region--
                    (A) reduce the availability and quality of water;
                    (B) reduce air quality;
                    (C) fragment the forests;
                    (D) destroy critical migration corridors and forest 
                habitat; and
                    (E) result in the loss of recreational 
                opportunities and scenic, historic, and cultural 
                resources;
            (7) the natural, agricultural, and cultural resources of 
        the Highlands region, in combination with the proximity of the 
        Highlands region to the largest metropolitan areas in the 
        United States, make the Highlands region nationally 
        significant;
            (8) the national significance of the Highlands region has 
        been documented in--
                    (A) the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional 
                Study conducted by the Forest Service in 1990;
                    (B) the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional 
                Study: 2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service;
                    (C) the bi-State Skylands Greenway Task Force 
                Report;
                    (D) the New Jersey State Development and 
                Redevelopment Plan;
                    (E) the New York State Open Space Conservation 
                Plan;
                    (F) the Connecticut Green Plan: Open Space 
                Acquisition FY 2001-2006;
                    (G) the open space plans of the State of 
                Pennsylvania; and
                    (H) other open space conservation plans for States 
                in the Highlands region;
            (9) the Highlands region includes or is adjacent to 
        numerous parcels of land owned by the Federal Government or 
        federally designated areas that protect, conserve, restore, 
        promote, or interpret resources of the Highlands region, 
        including--
                    (A) the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge;
                    (B) the Shawanagunk Grasslands Wildlife Refuge;
                    (C) the Morristown National Historical Park;
                    (D) the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Corridors;
                    (E) the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area;
                    (F) the Delaware River Basin;
                    (G) the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation 
                Area;
                    (H) the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational 
                River;
                    (I) the Appalachian National Scenic Trail;
                    (J) the United States Military Academy at West 
                Point, New York;
                    (K) the Highlands National Millenium Trail;
                    (L) the Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey;
                    (M) the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge;
                    (N) the proposed Crossroads of the Revolution 
                National Heritage Area;
                    (O) the proposed Musconetcong National Scenic and 
                Recreational River in New Jersey; and
                    (P) the Farmington River Wild and Scenic Area in 
                Connecticut;
            (10) it is in the interest of the United States to protect, 
        conserve, restore, promote, and interpret the resources of the 
        Highlands region for the residents of, and visitors to, the 
        Highlands region;
            (11) the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and 
        Pennsylvania, and units of local government in the Highlands 
        region have the primary responsibility for protecting, 
        conserving, preserving, restoring and promoting the resources 
        of the Highlands region; and
            (12) because of the longstanding Federal practice of 
        assisting States in creating, protecting, conserving, 
        preserving, restoring and interpreting areas of significant 
        natural and cultural importance, and the national significance 
        of the Highlands region, the Federal Government should, in 
        partnership with the Highlands States and units of local 
        government in the Highlands region, protect, restore, promote, 
        preserve, and interpret the natural, agricultural, historical, 
        and cultural resources of the Highlands region.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    (a)  Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to recognize the importance of the natural resources 
        and the heritage, history and national significance of the 
        Highlands region to the United States;
            (2) to assist the Highlands States, units of local 
        government, and private landowners in protecting, restoring, 
        preserving, interpreting, and promoting the natural, 
        agricultural, historical, cultural, and recreational resources 
        of the Highlands Stewardship Area;
            (3) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide 
        financial and technical assistance for projects that will 
        protect, restore, promote and interpret the natural, 
        agricultural, historic, cultural or recreational resources of 
        the Highlands region;
            (4) to authorize the Secretary of Interior to work in 
        partnership with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Highlands 
        States and to provide financial assistance to the Highlands 
        States to preserve and protect high priority conservation lands 
        in the Highlands region;
            (5) to coordinate with and assist the management entities 
        of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, the Wallkill 
        National Wildlife Refuge Area, the Morristown National Historic 
        Area, and other federally designated areas in the region in 
        carrying out any duties relating to protecting the natural 
        resources of the Highlands region.
    (b) Lack of Effect on Authority of Governments.--It is not the 
purpose of this Act and nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority of Federal, State or local 
governments to regulate any use of land, to grant powers of zoning or 
land use control to any entity established under this Act or to 
authorize any such entity to interfere with the rights of any person 
with respect to private property or with any local zoning ordinance or 
land use plan of any local unit of government in the Highlands 
Stewardship Area.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

     In this Act:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means 
        any Highlands State, unit of local government, public entity, 
        private entity, or private landowner in the Stewardship Area.
            (2) Highlands region.--The term ``Highlands region'' means 
        the region that encompasses more than 2,000,000 acres extending 
        from eastern Pennsylvania through the States of New Jersey and 
        New York to northwestern Connecticut.
            (3) Highlands state.--The term ``Highlands State'' means--
                    (A) the State of Connecticut;
                    (B) the State of New Jersey;
                    (C) the State of New York;
                    (D) the State of Pennsylvania; and
                    (E) any agency or department of any Highlands 
                state, including the Palisades Interstate Park 
                Commission, a duly authorized bi-state entity in New 
                York and New Jersey.
            (4) Non-federal entity.--The term ``non-Federal entity'' 
        means any Highlands state, or any agency or department of any 
        Highlands state with authority to own and manage land for 
        conservation purpose, including the Palisades Interstate Park 
        Commission.
            (5) Land conservation partnership project.--The term ``land 
        conservation partnership project'' means a project located in 
        an area identified as having high conservation value in the 
        U.S. Forest Service Study or Update or a State open space or 
        greenway plan in which a non-Federal entity acquires land or an 
        interest in land from a willing seller for the purpose of 
        permanently protecting, conserving, or preserving the natural, 
        forest, agricultural, recreational, historical, or cultural 
        resources of the Stewardship Area.
            (6) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
        Highlands Stewardship established under section 6(a).
            (7) Stewardship area.--The term ``Stewardship Area'' means 
        the Highlands Stewardship Area established under section 5(a).
            (8) Study.--The term ``study'' means the New York-New 
        Jersey Highlands Regional Study conducted by the Forest Service 
        in 1990.
            (9) Update.--The term ``update'' means the New York-New 
        Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 2002 Update conducted by the 
        Forest Service.
            (10) Work group.--The term ``Work Group'' means the 
        Highlands Stewardship Area Work Group established under section 
        6(c).

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF HIGHLANDS STEWARDSHIP AREA.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 
of the Interior shall establish the Highlands Stewardship Area in the 
Highlands region.
    (b) Consultation and Resource Analyses.--In establishing the 
Stewardship Area, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
Interior shall--
            (1) consult with appropriate officials of the Federal 
        Government, the Governors of the Highlands States and other 
        appropriate officials of the Highlands States, and units of 
        local government; and
            (2) utilize the study, the update, and relevant State 
        resource analyses.
    (c) Map.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a map depicting the 
        Stewardship Area.
            (2) Availability.--The map shall be on file and available 
        for public inspection at the appropriate offices of the 
        Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 6. OFFICE OF HIGHLANDS STEWARDSHIP AND WORK GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 
with the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and 
Environment, the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
and the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish within the 
Department of Agriculture the Office of Highlands Stewardship.
    (b) Duties.--
            (1) Advisory duties.--shall advise the Governors of the 
        Highlands States, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 
        Secretary of Interior on priorities for--
                    (A) projects carried out with financial or 
                technical assistance under this section;
                    (B) land conservation partnership projects carried 
                out under section 7;
                    (C) research relating to the Highlands regions; and
                    (D) policy and educational initiatives necessary to 
                implement the findings of the study and update.
            (2) Implementation duties.--The Office shall implement in 
        the Stewardship Area--
                    (A) the strategies of the study and update; and
                    (B) in consultation with the Highlands States, 
                other studies consistent with the purposes of this Act.
    (c) Highlands Stewardship Area Work Group.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        establish an advisory committee to be known as the ``Highlands 
        Stewardship Area Work Group'' to assist the Office in 
        implementing the strategies of the study and update referred to 
        in subsection (b).
            (2) Membership.--The Work Group shall be comprised of 
        members that represent various public and private interests 
        throughout the Stewardship Area, including private landowners, 
        and representatives of private land trusts, conservation 
        groups, drinking water purveyors, academic institutions, and 
        local governments, to be appointed by the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, in consultation with the Governors of the 
        Highlands States.
            (3) Duties.--The Work Group shall advise the Office, the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Interior on 
        priorities for--
                    (A) projects carried out with financial or 
                technical assistance under this section;
                    (B) land conservation partnership projects carried 
                out under section 7;
                    (C) research relating to the Highlands region; and
                    (D) policy and educational initiatives necessary to 
                implement the findings of the study and update.
    (d) Financial and Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Office may provide financial and 
        technical assistance to an eligible entity to carry out a 
        project consistent with the stewardship goals and conservation 
        strategies articulated in the study and update to protect, 
        restore, preserve, promote, or interpret the natural, 
        agricultural, historical, cultural, or recreational resources 
        of the Stewardship Area.
            (2) Priority.--In determining the priority for financial 
        and technical assistance under paragraph (1), the Office shall 
        consider the recommendations of the study and update.
            (3) Conditions.--
                    (A) In general.--The provision of financial 
                assistance under this subsection shall be subject to 
                the condition that the eligible entity enter into an 
                agreement with the Office that provides that if the 
                eligible entity converts, uses, or disposes of the 
                project for a purpose inconsistent with the purpose for 
                which the financial assistance was provided, as 
                determined by the Office, the United States shall be 
                entitled to reimbursement from the eligible entity in 
                an amount that is, as determined at the time of 
                conversion, use, or disposal, the greater of--
                            (i) the total amount of the financial 
                        assistance provided for the project by the 
                        Federal Government under this section; or
                            (ii) the amount by which the financial 
                        assistance has increased the value of the land 
                        on which the project is carried out.
                    (B) Cost-sharing requirement.--The Federal share of 
                the cost of carrying out a project under this 
                subsection shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 
                cost of the project.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this section 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2013, to remain 
available until expended.

SEC. 7. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--Annually, the Governors of the Highlands States, 
with input from pertinent units of local government, the public, the 
Office, and Work Group shall jointly identify land conservation 
projects that shall be proposed for federal financial assistance and 
submit them to the Secretary of the Interior.
    (b) The Secretary of Interior.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Office, the Work 
Group, and the Governors of the Highlands States, shall annually 
designate land conservation partnership projects that are eligible to 
receive financial assistance under this section.
    (c) Conditions.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible for financial assistance 
        under subsection (a), a non-Federal entity shall enter into an 
        agreement with the Secretary of the Interior that--
                    (A) identifies--
                            (i) the non-Federal entity that will own or 
                        hold and manage the land or interest in land; 
                        and
                            (ii) the source of funds to provide the 
                        non-Federal share under paragraph (2);
                    (B) describes the management objectives for the 
                land in question that will assure permanent protection 
                and use of the land for the purpose for which the 
                assistance was provided, as required by section 4(5);
                    (C) provides that if the non-Federal entity 
                converts, uses, or disposes of the project for a 
                purpose inconsistent with the purpose for which the 
                assistance was provided, as determined by the Secretary 
                of the Interior, the United States shall be authorized 
                to seek specific performance of the conditions of 
                financial assistance in accordance with subsection (b) 
                in Federal court and shall be entitled to reimbursement 
                from the non-Federal entity in an amount that is, as 
                determined at the time of conversion, use, or disposal, 
                the greater of--
                            (i) the total amount of the financial 
                        assistance provided for the project by the 
                        Federal Government under this section; or
                            (ii) the amount by which the financial 
                        assistance increased the value of the land or 
                        interest in land; and
                    (D) provides that use of the financial assistance 
                will be consistent with--
                            (i) the open space plan or greenway plan of 
                        the Highlands State in which the land 
                        conservation partnership project is being 
                        carried out; and
                            (ii) the findings and recommendations of 
                        the study and update.
            (2) Cost-sharing requirement.--The Federal share of the 
        cost of carrying out a land conservation partnership project 
        under this subsection shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 
        cost of the land conservation partnership project.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior from the general funds of 
the Treasury or the Land and Water Conservation Fund to carry out this 
section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2013, to 
remain available until expended.
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