[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 85 (Monday, June 24, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5959-S5963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Craig):
  S. 2672. A bill to provide opportunities for collaborative 
restoration projects on National Forest System and other public domain 
lands, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, today I am introducing legislation to 
authorize a coordinated, consistent, community-based program to restore 
and maintain the ecological integrity of degraded National Forest 
System and public lands watersheds. I am pleased to be introducing this 
legislation with Senator Craig. He has been a true champion for rural, 
natural resource-dependent communities.
  Two years ago, residents of Los Alamos were evacuated to escape the 
Cerro Grande fire. Many ultimately lost their homes. While the 
devastation that resulted from the fire will not soon be forgotten, 
this event also was

[[Page S5960]]

significant because it finally focused our attention on a problem that 
has been brewing for a long time, increasing fire risk due to the 
degraded condition of our national forests and public lands. 
Unfortunately, the problem continues as this year's fires continue to 
threaten numerous communities.
  Increasing threats to people and homes as a result of forest fires is 
only one symptom of the current condition of our national forests and 
public lands. Water quality, water flows, animal and plant habitats are 
all adversely affected. Moreover, the health of adjacent communities is 
at risk when our national forests and public lands are in a degraded 
condition. Restoration is desperately needed.
  Three years ago, I introduced the Community Forest Restoration Act, a 
bill to establish a cooperative forest restoration program in New 
Mexico to begin addressing this problem in a collaborative way. 
Ultimately, the legislation was enacted into law. Implementation has 
been very successful to date.
  Through my work on the Community Forest Restoration Act and other 
similar efforts, it has become clear to me that new and creative 
approaches to the management of our forests is critical to ensure a 
meaningful future for both our federal lands and the communities that 
depend on these lands. A major, multi-year investment in restoration 
work on our national forests and Federal lands is a critical component 
of achieving our desired result. Senator Craig and I, as well as other 
Members, have worked to secure increased funding for such an 
investment. The additional funding that Congress has approved for the 
last few years for hazardous fuels reduction near communities is one 
example of our success.
  However, an investment alone is not enough. An investment in our 
natural resources must occur in a way that benefits the rural 
communities located within and adjacent to our national forests and 
public lands. I grew up in Silver City, New Mexico, a forested 
community adjacent to the Gila National Forest. I learned firsthand 
that if the forest is in good shape, the community is in good shape.
  The Federal land managers need to respect local and traditional 
knowledge by including it in project planning. Community forestry 
represents a way to integrate local knowledge and science in order to 
make the best decisions about how to take care of the land.
  Communities are coming together to restore the ecological integrity 
and resiliency of our public lands. In New Mexico, groups such as Las 
Humanas Cooperative, the Truchas Land Grant, the Catron County Citizens 
Group, and the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps are working to restore 
watersheds and build a high-skill, high-wage workforce in rural 
communities. In the Pacific Northwest, groups such as Sustainable 
Northwest, Wallowa Resources, and Partners for a Sustainable Methow are 
seeking ways to increase the stewardship role of local communities in 
the maintenance and restoration of ecosystem integrity and 
biodiversity. In California, the Watershed Research & Training Center 
is striving tirelessly to include communities in the Forest Service's 
planning, restoration projects, and follow up monitoring of 
restoration. At the national level, American Forests and the National 
Network for Forest Practitioners are important partners that are 
seeking changes in policy to ensure that community benefits are an 
integral component of national forests and public land management.
  The legislation that Senator Craig and I are introducing today is 
meant to help facilitate these types of approaches nationwide. 
Communities cannot create collaboratively restore our national forests 
and public lands alone. The Federal government is an important partner 
in this effort and this legislation will provide much needed new 
authority and programs to assist communities.
  A few years ago, representatives from the Forest Service's Forest 
Product Laboratory visited my State to make recommendations on how to 
find new markets for products created from small trees that need to be 
removed to reduce fire threat. They noted that a lack of entrepreneurs 
and micro-businesses was a barrier to increasing the number of natural 
resource-based economic opportunities in rural communities. New Mexico 
needs these stimuli in the private sector, as do communities across the 
West, and this legislation will help create rural economies that depend 
on maintaining the ecological resiliency of the National Forest System 
and public lands.
  Finally, I want to emphasize that, because what we are talking about 
is new and in many ways untested, we all will need to closely monitor 
implementation. Everyone now agrees that past policies, such as 
systematically suppressing all wildfires, were misguided and 
contributed to the problems we face today. But how do we avoid 
repeating similar mistakes? Meaningful and open monitoring processes 
using ecological and social indicators will help to ensure that the 
right policies are in place for both the land and the communities.
  I would like to thank all of the individuals and groups who provided 
data, input, and comments on earlier drafts of this bill. Senator Craig 
and I sought to ensure that this bill was a comprehensive approach to 
the issue and we received a lot of assistance from many communities 
across the country in this endeavor.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill, as well as letters 
of support we have received for the bill, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows.

                                S. 2672

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

     SECION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Forest an 
     Public Lands Restoration Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to create a coordinated, consistent, community-based 
     program to restore and maintain the ecological integrity of 
     degraded National Forest System and public lands watersheds;
       (2) to ensure that restoration of degraded National Forest 
     System and public lands recognizes variation in forest type 
     and fire regimes, incorporates principles of community 
     forestry, local and traditional knowledge, and conservation 
     biology; and, where possible, uses the least intrusive 
     methods practicable;
       (3) to enable the Secretaries to assist small, rural 
     communities to increase their capacity to restore and 
     maintain the ecological integrity of surrounding National 
     Forest System and public lands, and to use the by-products of 
     such restoration in valued-added processing;
       (4) to require the Secretaries to monitor ecological, 
     social, and economic conditions based on explicit mechanisms 
     for accountability;
       (5) to authorize the Secretaries to expand partnerships and 
     to contract with non-profit organizations, conservation 
     groups, small and micro-businesses, cooperatives, non-Federal 
     conservation corps, and other parties to encourage them to 
     provide services or products that facilitate the restoration 
     of damaged lands; and
       (6) to improve communication and joint problem solving, 
     consistent with Federal and State environmental laws, among 
     individuals and groups who are interested in restoring the 
     diversity and productivity of watersheds.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act:
       (1) The term ``public lands'' has the meaning given such 
     term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
       (2) The term ``National Forest System'' has the meaning 
     given such term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 
     Renewable Resources Planning Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1609(a)).
       (3) The term ``Secretaries'' means the Secretary of 
     Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service 
     and the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director 
     of the Bureau of Land Management.
       (4) The term ``restore'' means to incorporate historic, 
     current, and new scientific information as it becomes 
     available, to reintroduce, maintain, or enhance the 
     characteristics, functions, and ecological processes of 
     healthy, properly functioning watersheds.
       (5) The term ``local'' means within the same region where 
     an associated restoration project, or projects, are 
     conducted.
       (6) The term ``micro-enterprise'' means a non-subsidiary 
     business or cooperative employing 5 or fewer people.
       (7) The term ``small enterprise'' means a non-subsidiary 
     business or cooperative employing between 6 and 150 people.
       (8) The term ``value-added processing'' means additional 
     processing of a product to increase its economic value and to 
     create additional jobs and benefits where the processing is 
     done.
       (9) The term ``low-impact equipment'' means the use of 
     equipment for restorative, maintenance, or extraction 
     purposes that minimizes or eliminates impacts to soils and 
     other resources.

[[Page S5961]]

       (10) The terms ``rural'' and ``rural area'' mean any area 
     other than a city or town that has a population of greater 
     than 50,000 inhabitants.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

       (a) Requirements.--The Secretaries shall jointly establish 
     a National Forest System and public lands collaborative 
     community-based restoration program. The purposes of the 
     program shall be:
       (1) to identify projects that will restore degraded 
     National Forest System and public lands; and
       (2) implement such projects in a collaborative way and in a 
     way that builds rural community capacity to restore and 
     maintain in perpetuity the health of the National Forest 
     System and other public lands.
       (b) Cooperation.--The Secretaries may enter into 
     cooperative agreements with willing tribal governments, State 
     and local governments, private and nonprofit entities and 
     landowners for protection, restoration, and enhancement of 
     fish and wildlife habitat, forests, and other resources on 
     the National Forest System and public lands.
       (c)(1) Monitoring.--The Secretaries shall establish a 
     multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process 
     in order to assess the cumulative accomplishments or adverse 
     impacts of projects implemented under this Act. The 
     Secretaries shall include any interested individual or 
     organization in the monitoring and evaluation process.
       (2) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United 
     States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the United 
     States House of Representatives detailing the information 
     gathered as a result of the multiparty monitoring and 
     evaluation. The report shall include an assessment on 
     whether, and to what extent, the projects funded pursuant to 
     this Act are meeting the purposes of the Act.
       (3) The Secretaries shall ensure that monitoring data is 
     collected and compiled in a way that the general public can 
     easily access. The Secretaries may collect the data using 
     cooperative agreements, grants, or contracts with small or 
     micro-enterprises, or Youth Conservation Corps work crews or 
     related partnerships with State, local, and other non-Federal 
     conservation corps.
       (d) The Secretaries shall hire additional outreach 
     specialists, grants and agreements specialists, and contract 
     specialists in order to implement this Act.

     SEC. 5. FOREST RESTORATION AND VALUE-ADDED CENTERS.

       (a) Establishment.--Subject to subsection (d), the 
     Secretaries shall provide cost-share grants, cooperative 
     agreements, or both to establish Restoration and Value-Added 
     Centers in order to improve the implementation of 
     collaborative, community-based restoration projects on 
     National Forest System or public lands.
       (b) Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-Added Centers 
     shall provide technical assistance to non-profit 
     organizations, existing small or micro-enterprises or 
     individuals interested in creating a natural-resource related 
     small or micro-enterprise in the following areas--
       (1) restoration, and
       (2) processing techniques for the byproducts of restoration 
     and value-added manufacturing.
       (c) Additional Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-
     Added Centers shall provide technical assistance in--
       (1) using the latest, independent peer reviewed, scientific 
     information and methodology to accomplish restoration and 
     ecosystem health objectives,
       (2) workforce training for value-added manufacturing and 
     restoration,
       (3) marketing and business support for conservation-based 
     small and micro-enterprises,
       (4) accessing urban markets for small and micro-enterprises 
     located in rural communities,
       (5) developing technology for restoration and the use of 
     products resulting from restoration,
       (6) accessing funding from government and non-government 
     sources, and
       (7) development of economic infrastructure including 
     collaborative planning, proposal development, and grant 
     writing where appropriate.
       (d) Locations.--The Secretaries shall ensure that at least 
     one Restoration and Value-Added Center is located within 
     Idaho New Mexico, Montana, northern California, and eastern 
     Oregon and that every Restoration and Value-Added Center is 
     easily accessible to rural communities that are adjacent to 
     or surrounded by National Forest System or other public lands 
     throughout the region.
       (1) The Secretaries may enter into partnerships and 
     cooperative agreements with other Federal agencies or other 
     organizations, including local non-profit organizations, 
     conservation groups, or community colleges in creating and 
     maintaining the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.
       (2) The appropriate Regional Forester and State Bureau of 
     Land Management Director will issue a request for proposals 
     to create a Restoration and Value-Added Center. The Regional 
     Forester and State Bureau of Land Management Director will 
     select a proposal with input from existing Resource and 
     Technical Advisory Committees where appropriate.
       (3) The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide cost-share 
     grants, cooperative agreements, or both equaling 75 percent 
     of each Restoration and Value-Added Center's operating costs, 
     including business planning, not to exceed $1 million 
     annually per center.
       (4) Within 30 days of approving a grant or cooperative 
     agreement to establish a Restoration and Value-Added Center, 
     the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the 
     Committee on Resources of the United States House of 
     Representatives and identify the recipient of the grant 
     award or cooperative agreement.
       (5) After a Restoration and Value-Added Center has operated 
     for five years, the Secretary of Agriculture shall assess the 
     center's performance and begin to reduce, by 25 percent 
     annually, the level of Federal funding for the center's 
     operating costs.
       (e) Report.--No later than five years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report 
     to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
     United States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the 
     United States House of Representatives, assessing the 
     Restoration and Value-Added Centers created pursuant to this 
     section. The report shall include--
       (1) descriptions of the organizations receiving assistance 
     from the centers, including their geographic and demographic 
     distribution,
       (2) a summary of the projects the technical assistance 
     recipients implemented, and
       (3) an estimate of the number of non-profit organizations, 
     small enterprises, micro-enterprises, or individuals assisted 
     by the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.

     SEC. 6. COMMUNITY-BASED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM AND PUBLIC 
                   LANDS RESTORATION.

       (a) Establishment.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and 
     notwithstanding federal procurement laws, the Federal Grant 
     and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 (31 U.S.C. 6301 et 
     seq.), and the Competition in Contracting Act, on an annual 
     basis, the Secretaries shall limit competition for special 
     salvage timber sales, timber sale contracts, service 
     contracts, construction contracts, supply contracts, 
     emergency equipment rental agreements, architectural and 
     engineering contracts, challenge cost-share agreements, 
     cooperative agreements, and participating agreements to 
     ensure that the percentage of the total dollar value 
     identified in paragraph (2), but not to exceed 50 percent in 
     any year, is awarded to--
       (A) natural-resource related small of micro-enterprises;
       (B) Youth Conservation Corps crews or related partnerships 
     with State, local and other non-Federal conservation corps;
       (C) any entity that will hire and train local people to 
     complete the service or timber sale contract;
       (D) any entity that will re-train non-local traditional 
     forest workers to complete the service or timber sale 
     contract; or
       (E) a local entity that meets the criteria to qualify for 
     the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program under 
     section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a).
       (2) In the first year beginning after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, the Secretaries shall ensure that 10 percent of 
     the total dollar value of contracts and agreements are 
     awarded pursuant to paragraph (1). In the second year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 
     ensure that 20 percent of the total dollar value of contracts 
     and agreements are awarded pursuant to paragraph (1). In 
     subsequent years, the percentage shall increase by 10 percent 
     each year.
       (b) Notice of National Forest System Plan.--At the 
     beginning of each fiscal year, each unit of the National 
     Forest System shall make its advanced acquisition plan 
     publicly available, including publishing it in a local 
     newspaper for a minimum of 15 working days.
       (c) Best Value Contracting.--In order to implement 
     projects, the Secretaries may select a source for performance 
     of a contract or agreement on a best value basis with 
     consideration of one or more of the following:
       (1) Understanding of the technical demands and complexity 
     of the work to be done.
       (2) Ability of the offeror to meet desired ecological 
     objectives of the project and the sensitivity of the 
     resources being treated.
       (3) The potential for benefit to local small and micro-
     enterprises.
       (4) The past performance and qualification by the 
     contractor with the type of work being done, the application 
     of low-impact equipment, and the ability of the contractor or 
     purchaser to meet desired ecological conditions.
       (5) The commitment of the contractor to training workers 
     for high wage and high skill jobs.
       (6) The commitment of the contractor to hiring highly 
     qualified workers and local residents.
       (d) Limitation.--The Secretaries shall ensure that the 
     Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Memorandum of 
     Understanding on the Small Business Set-Aside Programs shall 
     not be reduced below the Small Business Administration shares 
     prescribed in the Small Business Set-Aside Program as a 
     result of this Act.

     SEC. 7. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM RESEARCH AND TRAINING.

       (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
     shall establish a program of applied research using the 
     resources of Forest Service Research Station and the Forest 
     Product Laboratory. The purposes of the program shall be to--
       (i) identify restoration methods and treatments that 
     minimize impacts to the land,

[[Page S5962]]

     such as through the use of low-impact techniques and 
     equipment; and
       (2) test and develop value-added products created from the 
     by-products of restoration.
       (b) Dissemination of Research to Communities.--The 
     Secretary of Agriculture shall disseminate the applied 
     research to rural communities, including the Restoration and 
     Value-Added Centers, adjacent to or surrounded by National 
     Forest System or public lands. The Secretary of Agriculture 
     shall annually conduct training workshops and classes in such 
     communities to ensure that residents of such communities have 
     access to the information.
       (c) Cooperation.--In establishing the program required 
     pursuant to this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may 
     partner with nonprofit organizations or community colleges.
       (d) Monitoring.--In designing the multiparty monitoring and 
     evaluation process to assess the cumulative accomplishments 
     or adverse impacts of projects implemented under this Act 
     pursuant to section 4, the Secretaries shall use the 
     expertise of Forest Service Research Stations.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out this Act.
                                  ____



                                            Wallowa Resources,

                                    Enterprise, OR, June 20, 2002.
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     Hon. Larry Craig,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Bingaman and Craig: The Community Based 
     Forest and Public Lands Restoration Act that you are 
     introducing on Monday is yet another indication of your true 
     commitment to the health of rural communities and the 
     ecosystems in which they reside. I applaud your foresight 
     into the issues that forested communities are facing, not 
     only in the West, but also in the Nation as a whole.
       Wallowa Resources is a non-profit, community based 
     organization that is focused on blending the needs of the 
     land and community in an area where public land issues have 
     had an incredibly negative impact on the livelihoods of 
     people and the health of the resources. Our experience with 
     collaboration, the need to build community capacity, and the 
     benefit of performing adaptive management driven by 
     monitoring have highlighted the importance of legislation 
     that is focused on restoration of our public lands. It is 
     imperative that restoration be performed with the economic 
     and social well being of communities in mind. This 
     legislation is a vehicle to address many of the most 
     challenging concerns we face.
       Thank you again for your interest and commitment to 
     resource health and the well being of rural communities. If I 
     can be of assistance or provide additional information, 
     please feel free to contact me. I am eager to help in any way 
     possible.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Diane Snyder,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                                    Wallowa County


                                       Board of Commissioners,

                                   State of Oregon, June 21, 2002.
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     Hon. Larry Craig,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Bingaman and Craig: As an elected official in 
     Wallowa County, I struggle every day with the economic 
     realities for public land communities in the Northwest. We 
     continue to see high unemployment rates, high poverty levels, 
     decreasing school enrollment, changing demographics as 
     traditional employment opportunities dwindle. We are 
     fortunate here in Wallowa County to have had the foresight to 
     begin collaborative processes in the early 1990's with the 
     creation of the Wallowa County/Nez Perce Tribe Salmon 
     Recovery Plain.
       I am proud to tell you that the remaining citizens of 
     Wallowa County are resilient and have begun to embark on a 
     restoration-based economy. We long for the day that many 
     contractors will be active in the forest performing a myriad 
     of restoration activities, valued-added processing centers 
     will be buzzing with activity, and entrepreneurs will be 
     financially rewarded for innovation with small diameter wood. 
     We must retain the skilled workforce and their families and 
     we must ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit 
     economically for the work that they do.
       Introduction of the Community Based Forest and Public Lands 
     Restoration Act is a step toward reinvigorating rural 
     communities and restoring health to the ecosystems in which 
     they live. On behalf of my community and many, many others 
     across the nation, thank you for recognizing our needs and 
     working to address them.
       I urge you to forward this legislation as expeditiously as 
     you can and escort it through the appropriations process. 
     Adequate funding for this legislation is critical to its 
     success. If I can be of service in this endeavor, please feel 
     free to call upon me.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Mike Hayward,
     Chair.
                                  ____

                                        The Watershed Research and


                                              Training Center,

                                       Hayford, CA, June 20, 2002.
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     Hon. Larry Craig,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Bingaman and Craig: I am writing to express 
     our support for the bill you are introducing today, the 
     Community Based Forest and Public Lands Restoration Act. 
     There is a great need for stronger and more consistent annual 
     investment in programs that protect, restore, and maintain 
     public lands and resources. We applaud your bipartisan effort 
     to develop community-based programs to meet these objectives. 
     We are especially pleased with the focus on implementing 
     projects in a way that promotes collaboration, builds 
     community capacity, and establishes multi-party monitoring. 
     These emphases are consistent with the principles of 
     community-based forestry that we and our community partners 
     have developed over recent years.
       The Watershed Center has been working with USFS/BLM 
     partners for over 10 years to try to build the local 
     workforce for restoration on public lands. We are ecstatic 
     that you are providing congressional leadership for building 
     a new vision for community stewardship and a new reality for 
     forest restoration.
       We believe your bill is an excellent vehicle for addressing 
     some of the most challenging concerns facing resource 
     managers and resource-dependent communities in the United 
     States. Hazardous fuels build-up, insect-infestation, and the 
     degradation of fish and wildlife habitat are among key 
     concerns on the land. Collaborative projects involving 
     communities present promising means to address these problems 
     while building community capacity. The American public 
     depends on public and private organizations and the workers 
     in resource-dependent communities to do ever-more-critical 
     restoration work on our federal lands. The technical and 
     financial assistance, opportunities for partnerships, 
     innovative contracting mechanisms, program of applied 
     research, and monitoring activities in your bill are critical 
     to achieving the restoration and maintenance of our public 
     lands ecosystems and to sustaining the rural economies 
     dependent upon them.
       We stand ready to help provide information and education 
     regarding your bold and exciting effort.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Lynn Jungwirth,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

         American Forests, People Caring for Trees & Forests Since 
           1875,
                                    Washington, DC, June 20, 2002.
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     Hon. Larry Craig,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Bingaman and Craig: I am writing to express 
     our support for the bill you are introducing today, the 
     Community Based Forest and Public Lands Restoration Act. 
     There is a great need for stronger and more consistent annual 
     investment in programs that protect, restore, and maintain 
     public lands and resources. We applaud your bipartisan effort 
     to develop community-based programs to meet these objectives. 
     We are especially pleased with the focus on implementing 
     projects in a way that promotes collaboration, builds 
     community capacity, and establishes multi-party monitoring. 
     These emphases are consistent with the principles of 
     community-based forestry that we and our community partners 
     have developed over recent years.
       American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit 
     organization in the U.S. Since 1875, we have worked with 
     scientists, resource managers, policymakers, and citizens to 
     promote policies and programs that help people improve the 
     environment with trees and forests. We partner with public 
     and private organizations in communities around the country 
     providing technical information and resources to leverage 
     local actions.
       We believe your bill is an excellent vehicle for addressing 
     some of the most challenging concerns of facing resource 
     managers and resource-dependent communities in the United 
     States. Hazardous fuels build-up, insect infestation, and the 
     degradation of fish and wildlife habitat are among key 
     concerns on the land. Collaborative projects involving 
     communities present promising means to address these problems 
     while building community capacity. The American public 
     depends on public and private organizations and the workers 
     in resource-dependent communities to do ever-more-critical 
     restoration work on our federal lands. The technical and 
     financial assistance, opportunities for partnerships, 
     innovative contracting mechanisms, program of applied 
     research, and monitoring activities in your bill are critical 
     to achieving the restoration and maintenance of our public 
     lands ecosystems and to sustaining the rural economies 
     dependent upon them.
       We appreciate your leadership in calling attention to the 
     need to increase support for collaborative, community-based 
     restoration projects. If we can be of any assistance with 
     respect to your new bill, we stand ready to help.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Deborah Gangloff,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

  Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, today I am introducing legislation to 
authorize a community-based forestry program aimed at ensuring small 
businesses in small rural communities have the ability to participate 
in all land management programs that the Forest

[[Page S5963]]

Service and the Bureau of Land Management undertake through contract 
services. I am pleased to be introducing this legislation with Senator 
Bingaman. His persistence in working on this legislation is a testament 
to his interest in sound forest management that is good for the 
environment, as well as good for thousands of small rural communities.
  Senator Bingaman and I both understand that we have fundamental 
problems with the management of many of our public lands. We both have 
seen the devastation that catastrophic fires are imposing on our 
Western forests. Two years ago as a result of the Cerro Grande Fire 
that consumed portions of Los Alamos, New Mexico, many Americans had to 
face up to the deplorable forest health conditions and the devastating 
impacts of these catastrophic fires. The recent fires in Colorado, New 
Mexico and now Eastern Arizona are re-enforcing the message that we 
simply cannot stand back and ignore the deplorable health conditions in 
our public forests.
  While many in the West, including Senator Bingaman and myself, have 
long understood the challenge of poor forest health followed by these 
conflagrations, nothing focuses your attention like a community in your 
State consumed in a raging forest fire. As a result of this watershed 
event, Congress put together the funding for the National Fire Plan.
  Having grown up near Cascade, ID, I know that large forest fires are 
not new to our community. But when in the space of three years a third 
of two national forests were consumed in large intense fires, such as 
those that occurred on the Boise and Payette National Forest in 1994 
and 1996, you are forced to conclude something has gone haywire with 
our public land's management.
  For a number of years I watched the implementation of the Pacific 
Northwest Forest Plan. I watched to see if the community assistance 
funding would trickle down to the small communities and to the workers 
that were displaced as a result of the plan. Sadly, the evidence is 
that in the smaller more rural communities many of the displaced 
workers did not benefit from those programs.
  In 2000, with the help of Senator Bingaman, Senator Wyden and I 
introduced and passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act. This legislation includes provisions to empower 
rural communities to work with the federal land managers to undertake 
consensus-based projects designed to help meet the resource needs of 
the agency and to develop projects that will generate the economic 
activity so desperately needed in many of our small rural communities. 
In spite of our success Senator Bingaman and I knew that more had to be 
done.
  We understood that we needed to construct more opportunities for our 
Federal land managers to work cooperatively with the people living in 
these rural communities. We understood that we needed to change 
dynamics so the knowledge, logic and wisdom harbored within the citizen 
of these small rural communities could be tapped to improve our public 
lands.
  The legislation that we are introducing today will authorize the 
establishment of Restoration and Value-Added Centers designed to help 
small communities and business be better prepared to help our Federal 
land managers complete the forest management work that our forests so 
desperately need.
  When Congress directed the Forest Service, BLM and other land 
management agencies to develop the National Fire Management Plan, and 
then increased funding for fire prevention, suppression, and 
restoration activities, many of the proponents expected much of the 
work would be funneled to smaller communities to take advantage of the 
expertise that exists in these communities, as well as to help 
stabilize the economies of these areas. Sadly most of the Federal 
agency's funding and efforts have been consumed with fire fighting and 
by the looks of this fire season that is not going to improve any time 
soon. Very little restoration work to reduce the risk of intense fires 
before they occur has been undertaken. Thus, we have not seen 
sufficient efforts made to take advantage of the human resource located 
in these small rural communities.
  I believe the legislation Senator Bingaman and I are introducing 
today will help the Federal land managers take advantage of the local 
and traditional knowledge as well as take advantage of the under 
utilized woods workforces that have been put out of work over the last 
decade. This legislation will help small community and consensus-based 
groups who are eager to undertake work designed to improve our public 
lands. It will help our federal land managers reestablish a close 
working relationship with these communities and it will be very good 
for the public land.
  Like any new experimental program we have included a number of 
provisions that first are designed to phase into these new 
relationships and secondly, designed to ensure that the Restoration and 
Value-Added Centers will not become a long term financial burden to the 
American public. We have included provisions to shift away from federal 
financing and toward private funding sources five years after the 
opening of the centers. Additionally, we have included monitoring 
provisions so we can track these new programs and make corrections as 
needed.
  Finally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the coalition who 
helped to form and clarify the thinking of Senator Bingaman and myself 
as we developed this proposal. We held lengthy hearings to which many 
in the coalition traveled long distances to participate. They have been 
inspirational in their willingness to think outside the box and to work 
with our staff to refine this proposal.

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