Collaborative forest landscape restoration program

(a)

Establishment

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting jointly, shall establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes in accordance with applicable law. (b)

Compliance with existing laws

All activities carried out under the program shall be carried out in compliance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.). (c)

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for nomination under subsection (d) for selection and funding under the program, a collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal shall— (1)be based on a landscape restoration strategy that— (A)is complete or substantially complete; (B)identifies and prioritizes ecological restoration treatments for a 10-year period across a landscape that is— (i)at least 50,000 acres; (ii)comprised primarily of forested covered Federal lands, but may also include other Federal, State, tribal, or private land; (iii)in need of active ecosystem restoration; and (iv)accessible by existing or proposed wood-processing infrastructure at an appropriate scale to use woody biomass and small-diameter wood removed in ecological restoration treatments; (C)incorporates— (i)the best available science and scientific application tools in ecological restoration strategies; and (ii)the requirements for old-growth maintenance, restoration, and management direction of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (f) and the requirements for large-tree retention of subsection (f) of section 102 of Public Law 108–148 (16 U.S.C. 6512); and (D)does not include the establishment of permanent roads; (2)be developed and implemented through a collaborative process that— (A)includes multiple interested persons representing diverse interests; (B)is transparent and nonexclusive or meets the requirements for a resource advisory committee under section 205 of Public Law 106–393 (16 U.S.C. 500 note); and (C)has an established record of successful planning and implementation of ecological restoration projects on covered Federal lands; (3)describe plans to— (A)use fire for ecological restoration and maintenance, where appropriate; (B)improve fish and wildlife habitat, including for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species; (C)maintain or improve water quality; (D)prevent, remediate, or control invasions of exotic species; (E)maintain or decommission roads; (F)use woody biomass and small-diameter trees produced from projects implementing the landscape restoration strategy; (G)report annually on performance, including through performance measures from the plan entitled the 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan and dated December 2006; (H)develop small business incubators and provide employment and training opportunities to people in rural communities, including contracts for monitoring activities, through— (i)local private, nonprofit, or cooperative entities; (ii)Youth Conservation Corps crews or related partnerships, with State, local, and non-profit youth groups; (iii)small or micro-businesses; or (iv)other entities that will hire or train a significant percentage of local people to complete such contracts; and (I)take into account any applicable community wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of Public Law 108–148 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); (4)analyze the anticipated cost savings resulting from— (A)reduced wildfire management costs; and (B)a decrease in the unit costs of implementing ecological restoration treatments over time; (5)estimate— (A)the annual Federal funding necessary to implement the proposal; and (B)the amount of new non-Federal investment for carrying out the proposal that would be leveraged by Federal funding for ecological restoration treatments; and (6)be subject to any other requirements that the Secretaries determines to be necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the program. (d)

Nomination Process

(1)

Submission

A collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal shall be submitted to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management for each State in which the covered Federal lands included in the proposal are located and to the Regional Forester for the Forest Service Region in which the covered Federal lands included in the proposal are located. (2)

Nomination

A State Director of the Bureau of Land Management or a Regional Forester may nominate collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals for selection by the Secretaries. (3)

Documentation

With respect to each collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal that is nominated under paragraph (2)— (A)the State Director of the Bureau of Land Management or Regional Forester making the nomination shall— (i)include a proposal to use Federal funds allocated to the State Director of the Bureau of Land Management or Regional Forester to fund those costs of planning and carrying out ecological restoration treatments on covered Federal lands consistent with the landscape restoration strategy that would not be covered by amounts transferred to the Secretaries from the Fund; and (ii)provide evidence that amounts proposed to be transferred to the Secretaries from the Fund during the first 2 years following selection would be used to carry out ecological restoration treatments consistent with the landscape restoration strategy during the same fiscal year in which the funds are transferred to the Secretaries; and (B)if the collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal includes activities that would be carried out on land that is not under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries, the State Director of the Bureau of Land Management or Regional Forester making the nomination shall provide evidence that the owner of the non-covered Federal land intends to participate in, and provide appropriate funding to carry out, the activities on the non-covered Federal land. (e)

Selection process

(1)

In general

After consulting with any scientific and technical advisory panels established under subsection (f), the Secretaries shall, subject to paragraph (2), select the best collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals that— (A)have been nominated under subsection (d)(2); and (B)meet the eligibility criteria established by subsection (c). (2)

Criteria

In selecting collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals under paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall give special consideration to— (A)the strength of the ecological case of the proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed restoration strategies; (B)the strength of the collaborative process; (C)whether the proposal would reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments as a result of the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees; (D)whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs; (E)the strength of the landscape restoration proposal and strategy; and (F)whether an appropriate level of non-Federal investment would be leveraged in carrying out the proposal. (3)

Limitation

The Secretaries may select not more than— (A)10 collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals to be funded during any fiscal year; and (B)2 collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals in any 1 region of the National Forest System to be funded during any fiscal year. (f)

Advisory panels

(1)

Scientific advisory panel

The Secretaries shall establish a scientific advisory panel comprised of not more than 12 experts in ecological forest restoration and fire ecology to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal that has been nominated under subsection (d)(2) and meets the eligibility criteria established by subsection (c) with respect to— (A)the strength of the ecological case of the proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed restoration strategies; and (B)whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs. (2)

Technical advisory panel

The Secretaries may establish a technical advisory panel comprised of experts in rural business development and the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal that has been nominated under subsection (d)(2) and meets the eligibility criteria established by subsection (c) with respect to whether the proposal is likely to reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments as a result of the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees and provide local economic benefit. (g)

Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund

(1)

Establishment

There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund, to be used to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of carrying out ecological restoration treatments on covered Federal lands for each collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal selected to be carried out under subsection (e), consisting of— (A)such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under paragraph (5); and (B)any interest earned on investment of amounts in the Fund under paragraph (3). (2)

Expenditures From Fund

On request by the Secretaries, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretaries such amounts as the Secretaries determines are necessary to carry out ecological restoration treatments under paragraph (1). (3)

Accounting and Reporting System

The Secretaries shall establish an accounting and reporting system for the Fund. (4)

Authorization of Appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2018, to remain available until expended. (h)

Program Implementation and Monitoring

(1)

Work Plan

Not later than 180 days after the date on which a collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal is selected to be carried out, the Secretaries shall create, in collaboration with the interested persons, an implementation work plan and budget to implement the collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal that includes— (A)a description of the manner in which the proposal would be implemented to achieve ecological and community economic benefit, including capacity building to accomplish restoration; (B)a business plan that addresses— (i)the anticipated unit treatment cost reductions over 10 years; (ii)the anticipated costs for infrastructure needed for the proposal; (iii)the projected sustainability of the supply of woody biomass and small-diameter trees removed in ecological restoration treatments; and (iv)the projected local economic benefits of the proposal; and (C)documentation of the non-Federal investment in the priority landscape, including the sources and uses of the investments. (2)

Project implementation

Amounts transferred to the Secretaries from the Fund shall be used to carry out ecological restoration treatments that are— (A)consistent with the landscape restoration proposal and strategy; and (B)identified through the collaborative process described in subsection (c)(2). (3)

Annual Report

The Secretaries, in collaboration with interested persons, shall prepare an annual report on the accomplishments of each selected collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal that includes— (A)a description of all acres (or other appropriate unit) treated and restored through projects implementing the landscape restoration strategy; (B)an evaluation of progress, including performance measures and how prior year evaluations have contributed to improved project performance; (C)a description of community benefits achieved, including any local economic benefits; (D)the results of the multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process under paragraph (4); and (E)a summary of the costs of— (i)treatments; and (ii)relevant fire management activities. (4)

Multiparty Monitoring

The Secretaries, in collaboration with interested persons, shall use a multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess the positive or negative ecological, social, and economic effects of each project implementing a selected collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal for not less than 15 years after project implementation commences. (i)

Report

Not later than 5 years after the first fiscal year in which funding is made available to carry out ecological restoration projects under the program, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretaries shall submit a report on the program, including an assessment of whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling the purposes of this Act, to— (1)the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; (2)the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (3)the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and (4)the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.