[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2593 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2593

To establish a program at the Forest Service and the Department of the 
 Interior to carry out collaborative ecological restoration treatments 
 for priority forest landscapes on public land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 5, 2008

 Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Domenici, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Allard, 
  Mr. Wyden, Mr. Salazar, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Craig, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. 
Crapo) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
            to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program at the Forest Service and the Department of the 
 Interior to carry out collaborative ecological restoration treatments 
 for priority forest landscapes on public land, 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 ``Forest Landscape Restoration Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to encourage the collaborative, science-
based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes through a 
process that--
            (1) encourages ecological, economic, and social 
        sustainability;
            (2) leverages local resources with national and private 
        resources;
            (3) facilitates the reduction of wildfire management costs, 
        including through reestablishing natural fire regimes and 
        reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire; and
            (4) demonstrates the degree to which--
                    (A) various ecological restoration techniques--
                            (i) achieve ecological health objectives; 
                        and
                            (ii) affect wildfire activity and 
                        management costs; and
                    (B) the use of forest restoration byproducts can 
                offset treatment costs while benefitting rural 
                economies and improving forest health.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Collaborative Forest 
        Landscape Restoration Fund established by section 4(f).
            (2) Plan.--The term ``Plan'' means the plan entitled the 
        ``10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan'' and 
        dated December 2006.
            (3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Collaborative 
        Forest Landscape Restoration Program established under section 
        4(a).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.

SEC. 4. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary 
of the Interior, 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) Eligibility Criteria.--To be eligible for nomination under 
subsection (c), 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 
                        National Forest System land, 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 (e) and the requirements for large-
                        tree retention of subsection (f) of section 102 
                        of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
                        (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 stakeholders representing 
                diverse interests;
                    (B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or
                    (ii) meets the requirements for a resource advisory 
                committee under section 205 of the Secure Rural Schools 
                and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 
                500 note; Public Law 106-393); and
                    (C) has an established record of successful 
                planning and implementation of ecological restoration 
                projects on National Forest System land;
            (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;
                    (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 
                the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (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 Secretary 
        determines to be necessary for the efficient and effective 
        administration of the program.
    (c) Nomination Process.--
            (1) Submission.--Collaborative forest landscape restoration 
        proposals shall be submitted to the appropriate Regional 
        Forester for consideration.
            (2) Nomination.--A Regional Forester may nominate 
        collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals for 
        selection by the Secretary.
            (3) Documentation.--With respect to each collaborative 
        forest landscape restoration proposal that is nominated under 
        paragraph (2)--
                    (A) the appropriate Regional Forester shall--
                            (i) include a proposal to use Federal funds 
                        allocated to the region to fund those costs of 
                        planning and carrying out ecological 
                        restoration treatments on National Forest land 
                        consistent with the landscape restoration 
                        strategy that would not be covered by amounts 
                        transferred to the Secretary from the Fund; and
                            (ii) provide evidence that amounts proposed 
                        to be transferred to the Secretary 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 Secretary;
                    (B) if actions under the jurisdiction of the 
                Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the nomination 
                shall require--
                            (i) the concurrence of the appropriate 
                        official of the Department of the Interior; and
                            (ii) a proposal to fund ecological 
                        restoration treatments consistent with the 
                        landscape restoration strategy that would be 
                        carried out by the Secretary of the Interior; 
                        and
                    (C) if actions on land not under the jurisdiction 
                of the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior are 
                proposed, the appropriate Regional Forester shall 
                provide evidence that the landowner intends to 
                participate in, and provide appropriate funding to 
                carry out, the actions.
    (d) Selection Process.--
            (1) In general.--After consulting with any scientific and 
        technical advisory panels established under subsection (e), the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 
        shall, subject to paragraph (2), select the best collaborative 
        forest landscape restoration proposals that--
                    (A) have been nominated under subsection (c)(2); 
                and
                    (B) meet the eligibility criteria established by 
                subsection (b).
            (2) Criteria.--In selecting collaborative forest landscape 
        restoration proposals under paragraph (1), the Secretary 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 Secretary may select not more than--
                    (A) 10 collaborative forest landscape restoration 
                proposals to be funded during any given year; and
                    (B) 2 collaborative forest landscape restoration 
                proposals in any 1 region of the National Forest System 
                to be funded during any given year.
    (e) Advisory Panels.--
            (1) Scientific advisory panel.--The Secretary 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 (c)(2) and 
        meets the eligibility criteria established by subsection (b) 
        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 Secretary 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 (c)(2) and 
        meets the eligibility criteria established by subsection (b) 
        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.
    (f) 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 National Forest System land for each 
        collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal selected to 
        be carried out under subsection (d), 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 Secretary, 
        the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to 
        the Secretary of Agriculture such amounts as the Secretary of 
        Agriculture determines are necessary to carry out ecological 
        restoration treatments under paragraph (1).
            (3) Investment of amounts.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, in the 
                judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, after 
                consulting with the Secretary, required to meet current 
                withdrawals.
                    (B) Interest-bearing obligations.--Investments may 
                be made only in interest-bearing obligations of the 
                United States.
                    (C) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose of 
                investments under subparagraph (A), obligations may be 
                acquired--
                            (i) on original issue at the issue price; 
                        or
                            (ii) by purchase of outstanding obligations 
                        at the market price.
                    (D) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired 
                by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the 
                Treasury at the market price.
                    (E) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the 
                proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any 
                obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 
                form a part of the Fund.
            (4) Accounting and reporting system.--The Secretary shall 
        establish an accounting and reporting system for the Fund.
            (5) 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.
    (g) 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 Secretary shall create, in 
        collaboration with the interested stakeholders, 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 
        Secretary 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 (b)(2).
            (3) Annual report.--Annually, the Secretary, in 
        collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior and interested 
        stakeholders, shall prepare a 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 Secretary shall, in 
        collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior and interested 
        stakeholders, 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.
    (h) 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 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 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.
                                 <all>