[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 830 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 830

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2003

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Forestry 
Program Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

SEC. 4. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED FORESTRY PROGRAM.

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

SEC. 5. WATERSHED FORESTRY RESEARCH PROGRAM.

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

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    Not later than December 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, the 
Coordinator shall submit to the Secretary a comprehensive report on 
activities carried out under the program.
                                 <all>