[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2709 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2709

To provide for the reforestation of appropriate forest cover on forest 
      land derived from the public domain, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 21, 2004

   Mr. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the reforestation of appropriate forest cover on forest 
      land derived from the public domain, 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 ``National Reforestation Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the forest land derived from the public domain should 
        be maintained in appropriate forest cover with species of 
        trees, degree of stocking, rate of growth, and conditions of 
        stand designed to secure the maximum benefits of multiple use 
        sustained yield management;
            (2) recent intense or stand replacing wildfires and other 
        natural disasters, including drought and insect infestations, 
        have destroyed forest ecosystems and eliminated sources of tree 
        seed for desired species, which has delayed or precluded the 
        reestablishment of appropriate forest cover on millions of 
        acres of forest land derived from the public domain;
            (3) reforestation treatments on forest land derived from 
        the public domain after a wildfire or nonfire natural 
        disturbance event restore appropriate forest cover, which 
        provides multiple renewable resource benefits, including--
                    (A) protecting soil and water resources;
                    (B) providing habitat for wildlife and fish 
                populations;
                    (C) contributing to aesthetics;
                    (D) enhancing the recreational experience;
                    (E) providing a source of wood fiber for domestic 
                use; and
                    (F) ensuring the health and resiliency of affected 
                ecosystems for present and future generations;
            (4) post-fire and natural disaster reforestation needs 
        should be accomplished quickly and in accordance with 
        applicable forest land management plans to achieve desired 
        forest conditions at the least cost to other renewable 
        resources values, such as--
                    (A) the loss of wildlife habitat;
                    (B) soil erosion; and
                    (C) water quality degradation;
            (5) greater resources are needed to meet reforestation 
        needs on forest land derived from the public domain because 
        of--
                    (A) damage from wildfire, disease, and insect 
                infestation; and
                    (B) declining revenues; and
            (6) reforestation needs represent over 5 years of 
        reforestation work at current levels of reforestation, with a 
        backlog of needs accumulating each year.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) provide increased funding for the reforestation of 
        appropriate forest cover on forest land derived from the public 
        domain; and
            (2) promote timely reforestation treatment.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.

     Section 303(b)(2) of Public Law 96-451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a(b)(2)) is 
amended by striking ``$30,000,000'' and inserting ``$90,000,000''.

SEC. 4. OBLIGATIONS FROM TRUST FUND.

    Section 303(d) of Public Law 96-451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a(d)) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting 
        appropriately;
            (2) by striking the ``The Secretary of Agriculture'' and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Reforestation and timber stand improvements.--The 
        Secretary of Agriculture'';
            (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as designated by 
        paragraph (2)) the following:
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                    ``(A) Appropriate forest cover.--The term 
                `appropriate forest cover' means the species of trees, 
                the degree of stocking, the rate of growth, and the 
                conditions of a stand designed to secure the maximum 
                benefits of multiple use sustained yield management.
                    ``(B) Moderate fire intensity area.--The term 
                `moderate fire intensity area' means a burned area, 
                with respect to which the Secretary of Agriculture has 
                determined that--
                            ``(i) factors indicate a high intensity 
                        burn has occurred on less than 40 percent of 
                        the burned area; and
                            ``(ii) the burned area may--
                                    ``(I) be a potential flood source;
                                    ``(II) contain water-repellent 
                                soils; or
                                    ``(III) yield abnormally high 
                                overland runoff.
                    ``(C) High fire intensity area.--The term `high 
                fire intensity area' means a burned area, with respect 
                to which the Secretary of Agriculture has determined 
                that--
                            ``(i) the factors indicate a high-intensity 
                        burn has occurred on 40 percent or more of the 
                        burned area; and
                            ``(ii) the burned area is a potential flood 
                        source.
                    ``(D) Nonfire natural disturbance event.--The term 
                `nonfire natural disturbance event' means an event that 
                the Secretary of Agriculture has determined--
                            ``(i) is a result of insect or disease 
                        infestation, storm damage, or other natural 
                        occurrences; and
                            ``(ii) requires reforestation treatment to 
                        restore appropriate forest cover.''.
            (4) in paragraph (2) (as designated by paragraph (2))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A) (as redesignated by 
                paragraph (1))--
                            (i) by inserting ``, subject to 
                        subparagraph (B),'' after ``reforestation''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) (as 
                redesignated by paragraph (1)) as subparagraph (C); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) (as 
                redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:
                    ``(B) reforestation treatment to restore 
                appropriate forest cover on forest land derived from 
                the public domain that is capable of growing trees and 
                that is a moderate fire intensity area or high fire 
                intensity area or that has been severely affected by a 
                nonfire natural disturbance event, if--
                            ``(i) the need for the reforestation 
                        treatment is identified in the report submitted 
                        to Congress under section 3(e)(1) of the Forest 
                        and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
                        of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)(1)); and
                            ``(ii) the reforestation treatment occurs 
                        within 5 years of--
                                    ``(I) if there is no harvest 
                                activity following the wildfire or the 
                                nonfire natural disturbance event, a 
                                wildfire or a nonfire natural 
                                disturbance event;
                                    ``(II) if a regeneration harvest is 
                                the final cut in a stand in a disturbed 
                                area, the regeneration harvest; or
                                    ``(III) if a salvage harvest is the 
                                final cut in a stand in a disturbed 
                                area, the salvage harvest; and''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Colleges and universities.--In addition to amounts 
        authorized under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Agriculture 
        may obligate up to 10 percent of the sums the Secretary expends 
        annually from the Trust Fund to supplement expenditures of the 
        Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements with 
        colleges and universities (including forestry schools, land 
        grant colleges and universities, 1890 Institutions, and 
        Tuskegee University) to conduct research to promote or enhance 
        reforestation.''.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

    Section 3 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (2) by redesignating the second subsection (d) as 
        subsection (e).
                                 <all>