[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1646 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1646

  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to make cost-share and incentive payments for innovative 
 fuels management conservation practices, including prescribed grazing 
   management on private grazing land and practices that complement 
commensurate public land, to prevent the occurrence and spread of, and 
        damages caused by, wildfires fueled by invasive species.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2007

 Mr. Reid (for himself and Mr. Ensign) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to make cost-share and incentive payments for innovative 
 fuels management conservation practices, including prescribed grazing 
   management on private grazing land and practices that complement 
commensurate public land, to prevent the occurrence and spread of, and 
        damages caused by, wildfires fueled by invasive species.

    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 ``Wildfire Presuppression Fuels 
Management Pilot Program Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) private grazing land in the United States has 
        experienced dramatic increases in the levels of cheatgrass and 
        other invasive or noxious weed species following wildfires; and
            (2) to address the needs of private landowners with respect 
        to the protection and management of grazing land, the Secretary 
        of Agriculture should provide cost-share and incentive payments 
        to the landowners to develop fuels management plans and 
        practices and to promote activities--
                    (A) to protect areas of grazing land and wildlife 
                habitat that have not been negatively affected by 
                wildfire; and
                    (B) to manage the risks of wildfires that occur--
                            (i) on public land and rights-of-way from 
                        moving onto private grazing land; and
                            (ii) on private land from moving onto 
                        public land and right-of-way.

SEC. 3. FIRE PRESUPPRESSION CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa-2) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``2010'' and 
                inserting ``2012''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) a producer that develops a fuels management 
                conservation plan, approved by the Natural Resources 
                Conservation Service, and subsequently implements a 
                structural practice or a land management practice 
                relating to fire presuppression on private grazing land 
                as described in the approved conservation plan, shall 
                be eligible to receive cost-share payments and annual 
                incentive payments in accordance with subsection 
                (i).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Wildfire Presuppression Conservation Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2008 through 
        2012, the Secretary shall provide cost-share payments under 
        subsection (d) and annual incentive payments under subsection 
        (e) to producers that enter into contracts as described in 
        paragraph (2) for activities described in paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Term of contracts.--Notwithstanding subsection 
        (b)(2)(A), a contract entered into under this subsection shall 
        have a term of--
                    ``(A) not less than 5 years; and
                    ``(B) not more than 10 years.
            ``(3) Eligible activities.--In addition to grants under 
        section 1240H, the Secretary may provide cost-share payments 
        and incentive payments under this subsection to producers for 
        planning and carrying out innovative fuels management 
        conservation plans on private grazing land to help prevent the 
        occurrence and spread of, and damages caused by, wildfires 
        fueled by invasive or noxious weed species, including 
        activities relating to--
                    ``(A) managed fuel breaks along a boundary between 
                public and private land to reduce fuel load, 
                including--
                            ``(i) managed grazing practices and the 
                        technology required to implement such a 
                        practice; and
                            ``(ii) the use of brush strips or mosaic 
                        patches;
                    ``(B) restoration of fire-damage areas using 
                adapted plant material, with an emphasis on using 
                native and adapted grasses and forbs to vegetate or 
                revegetate the fire-damaged areas;
                    ``(C) projects that receive expanded conservation 
                innovation grants for technology transfer training 
                programs relating to fuels management techniques;
                    ``(D) protection or restoration of critical 
                wildlife habitat; and
                    ``(E) conservation practices designed to reduce and 
                manage high fuel loads associated with woody plant 
                species.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1240H(b) of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8(b)) is amended by striking paragraph 
(2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) implement projects or activities, such as--
                    ``(A) market systems for pollution reduction;
                    ``(B) innovative conservation practices, including 
                the storing of carbon in the soil; and
                    ``(C) innovative grazing management activities 
                described in section 1240B(i)(3); and''.
                                 <all>