[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 150 (Tuesday, November 19, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11641-S11643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WILDFIRE PREVENTION ACT OF 2002

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 652, S. 2670.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by 
title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2670) to establish Institutes to conduct 
     research on the prevention of, and restoration from, 
     wildfires in forest and woodland ecosystems of the interior 
     West.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill 
which had been reported from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources with an amendment, as follows:
  [Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part shown in 
italic.]

                                S. 2670

       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 Prevention Act of 
     2002''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) there is an increasing threat of wildfire to millions 
     of acres of forest land and rangeland throughout the United 
     States;
       (2) forest land and rangeland are degraded as a direct 
     consequence of land management practices (including practices 
     to control and prevent wildfires and the failure to harvest 
     subdominant trees from overstocked stands) that disrupt the 
     occurrence of frequent low-intensity fires that have 
     periodically removed flammable undergrowth;
       (3) at least 39,000,000 acres of land of the National 
     Forest System in the interior West are at high risk of 
     wildfire;
       (4) an average of 95 percent of the expenditures by the 
     Forest Service for wildfire suppression during fiscal years 
     1990 through 1994 were made to suppress wildfires in the 
     interior West;
       (5) the number, size, and severity of wildfires in the 
     interior West are increasing;
       (6) of the timberland in National Forests in the States of 
     Arizona and New Mexico, 59 percent of such land in Arizona, 
     and 56 percent of such land in New Mexico, has an average 
     diameter of 9 to 12 inches diameter at breast height;
       (7) the population of the interior West grew twice as fast 
     as the national average during the 1990s;
       (8) efforts to prioritize forests and communities for 
     wildfire risk reduction have been inconsistent and 
     insufficient and have resulted in funding to areas that are 
     not prone to severe wildfires;
       (9) catastrophic wildfires--
       (A) endanger homes and communities;
       (B) damage and destroy watersheds and soils; and
       (C) pose a serious threat to the habitat of threatened and 
     endangered species;
       (10) a 1994 assessment of forest health in the interior 
     West estimated that only a 15- to 30-year window of 
     opportunity exists for effective management intervention 
     before damage from uncontrollable wildfire becomes 
     widespread, with 8 years having already elapsed since the 
     assessment;
       (11) following a catastrophic wildfire, certain forests in 
     the interior West do not return to their former grandeur;
       (12) healthy forest and woodland ecosystems--
       (A) reduce the risk of wildfire to forests and communities;
       (B) improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity;
       (C) increase tree, grass, forb, and shrub productivity;
       (D) enhance watershed values;
       (E) improve the environment; and
       (F) provide a basis in some areas for economically and 
     environmentally sustainable uses;
       (13) sustaining the long-term ecological and economic 
     health of interior West forests and woodland, and their 
     dependent human communities, requires preventing severe 
     wildfires before the wildfires occur and permitting natural, 
     low-intensity ground fires;
       (14) more natural fire regimes cannot be accomplished 
     without the reduction of excess fuels and thinning of 
     subdorminant trees (which fuels and trees may be of 
     commercial value);
       (15) ecologically-based forest and woodland ecosystem 
     restoration on a landscape scale will--
       (A) improve long-term community protection;
       (B) minimize the need for wildfire suppression;
       (C) improve resource values;
       (D) reduce rehabilitation costs;
       (E) reduce loss of critical habitat; and
       (F) protect forests for future generations;
       (16) although the National Fire Plan, and the report 
     entitled ``Protecting People and Sustaining Resources in 
     Fire-Adapted Ecosystems--A Cohesive Strategy'' (65 Fed. Reg. 
     67480), advocate a shift in wildfire policy from suppression 
     to prevention (including restoration and hazardous fuels 
     reduction), Federal land managers are not dedicating 
     sufficient attention and financial resources to restoration 
     activities that simultaneously restore forest health and 
     reduce the risk of severe wildfire;
       (17) although landscape scale restoration is needed to 
     effectively reverse degradation, scientific understanding of 
     landscape scale treatments is limited;
       (18) the Federal wildfire research program is funded at 
     approximately \1/3\ of the amount that is required to address 
     emerging wildfire problems, resulting in the lack of a 
     cohesive strategy to address the threat of catastrophic 
     wildfires; and
       (19) rigorous, understandable, and applied scientific 
     information is needed for--

[[Page S11642]]

       (A) the design, implementation, and adaptation of landscape 
     scale restoration treatments and improvement of wildfire 
     management technology;
       (B) the environmental review process; and
       (C) affected entities that collaborate in the development 
     and implementation of wildfire treatment.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to enhance the capacity to develop, transfer, apply, 
     and monitor practical science-based forest restoration 
     treatments that will reduce the risk of severe wildfires, and 
     improve forest and woodland health, in the interior West;
       (2) to develop the practical scientific knowledge required 
     to implement forest and woodland restoration on a landscape 
     scale;
       (3) to develop the interdisciplinary knowledge required to 
     understand the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of 
     wildfire control on ecosystems and landscapes;
       (4) to require Federal agencies--
       (A) to use ecological restoration treatments to reverse 
     declining forest health and reduce the risk of severe 
     wildfires across the forest landscape;
       (B) to ensure that sufficient funds are dedicated to 
     wildlife prevention activities, including restoration 
     treatments; and
       (C) to monitor and use wildfire treatments based on the use 
     of adaptive ecosystem management;
       (5) to develop, transfer, and assist land managers in 
     treating acres with restoration-based treatments and use new 
     management technologies (including the transfer of 
     understandable information, assistance with environmental 
     review, and field and classroom training and collaboration) 
     to accomplish the goals identified in--
       (A) the National Fire Plan;
       (B) the report entitled ``Protecting People and Sustaining 
     Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems--A Cohesive Strategy'' 
     (65 Fed. Reg. 67480); and
       (C) the report entitled ``10-Year Comprehensive Strategy: A 
     Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to 
     Communities and the Environment'' of the Western Governors' 
     Association; and
       (6) to provide technical assistance to collaborative 
     efforts by affected entities to develop, implement, and 
     monitor adaptive ecosystem management restoration treatments 
     that are ecologically sound, economically viable, and 
     socially responsible.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Adaptive ecosystem management.--The term ``adaptive 
     ecosystem management'' means a natural resource management 
     process under which planning, implementation, monitoring, 
     research, evaluation, and incorporation of new knowledge are 
     combined into a management approach that is--
       (A) based on scientific findings and the needs of society; 
     and
       (B) used to modify future management methods and policy.
       (2) Affected entities.--The term ``affected entities'' 
     includes--
       (A) land managers;
       (B) stakeholders;
       (C) concerned citizens; and
       (D) the States of the interior West, including political 
     subdivisions of the States.
       (3) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means an Institute 
     established under section 5(a).
       (4) Interior west.--The term ``interior West'' means the 
     States of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and 
     Utah.
       (5) Land manager.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``land manager'' means a person 
     or entity that practices or guides natural resource 
     management.
       (B) Inclusions.--The term ``land manager'' includes a 
     Federal, State, local, or tribal land management agency.
       (6) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means a process 
     undertaken to return an ecosystem or habitat toward--
       (A) the original condition of the ecosystem or habitat; or
       (B) a condition that supports a related species, natural 
     function, or ecological process (including a low intensity 
     fire).
       (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
     Service.
       (8) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
       (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 
     of the Forest Service; and
       (B) the Secretary of the Interior.
       (9) Stakeholder.--The term ``stakeholder'' means any person 
     interested in or affected by management of forest or woodland 
     ecosystems.
       (10) States.--The term ``States'' means--
       (A) the [State of Arizona] State of Arizona at Northern 
     Arizona University;
       (B) the State of New Mexico; and
       (C) the State of Colorado.

     SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of the Interior, shall--
       (1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, establish 3 Institutes to promote the use of 
     adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of 
     wildfires, and improve the health of forest and woodland 
     ecosystems, in the interior West; and
       (2) provide assistance to the Institutes to promote the use 
     of adaptive ecosystem management in accordance with paragraph 
     (1).
       (b) Location.--
       (1) Existing institutes.--The Secretary may designate an 
     institute in existence on the date of enactment of this Act 
     to serve as an Institute established under this Act.
       (2) States.--Of the Institutes established under this Act, 
     the Secretary shall establish 1 Institute in each of the 
     States of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
       (c) Duties.--Each Institute shall--
       (1) plan, conduct, or promote research on the use of 
     adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of 
     wildfires, and improve the health of forest and woodland 
     ecosystems, in the interior West, including--
       (A) research that assists in providing information on the 
     use of adaptive ecosystem management practices to affected 
     entities; and
       (B) research that will be useful in the development and 
     implementation of practical, science-based, ecological 
     restoration treatments for forest and woodland ecosystems 
     affected by wildfires; and
       (2) provide the results of research described in paragraph 
     (1) to affected entities.
       (d) Cooperation.--To increase and accelerate efforts to 
     restore forest ecosystem health and abate unnatural and 
     unwanted wildfires in the interior West, each Institute shall 
     cooperate with--
       (1) researchers at colleges and universities in the States 
     that have a demonstrated capability to conduct research 
     described in subsection (c); and
       (2) other organizations and entities in the interior West 
     (such as the Western Governors' Association).
       (e) Annual Work Plans.--As a condition of the receipt of 
     funds made available under this Act, for each fiscal year, 
     each Institute shall submit to the Secretary, for review by 
     the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
     Interior, an annual work plan that includes assurances, 
     satisfactory to the Secretaries, that the proposed work of 
     the Institute will serve the informational needs of affected 
     entities.

     SEC. 6. COOPERATION BETWEEN INSTITUTES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.

       In carrying out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of the Interior--
       (1) shall ensure that adequate financial and technical 
     assistance is provided to the Institutes to enable the 
     Institutes to carry out the purposes of the Institutes under 
     section 5, including prevention activities and ecological 
     restoration for wildfires and affected ecosystems;
       (2) shall use information and expertise provided by the 
     Institutes;
       (3) shall encourage Federal agencies to use, on a 
     cooperative basis, information and expertise provided by the 
     Institutes;
       (4) shall encourage cooperation and coordination between 
     Federal programs relating to--
       (A) ecological restoration;
       (B) wildfire risk reduction; and
       (C) wildfire management technologies;
       (5) notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, United States 
     Code, may--
       (A) enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, 
     interagency personal agreements to carry out this Act; and
       (B) carry out other transactions under this Act;
       (6) may accept funds from other Federal agencies to 
     supplement or fully fund grants made, and contracts entered 
     into, by the Secretaries;
       (7) may support a program of internships for qualified 
     individuals at the undergraduate and graduate levels to carry 
     out the educational and training objectives of this Act;
       (8) shall encourage professional education and public 
     information activities relating to the purposes of this Act; 
     and
       (9) may promulgate such regulations as the Secretaries 
     determine are necessary to carry out this Act.

     SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the 
     Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Interior, 
     shall complete and submit to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress a detailed evaluation of the programs and activities 
     of each Institute--
       (1) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the 
     research, communication tools, and information transfer 
     activities of each Institutes meet the needs of affected 
     entities; and
       (2) to determine whether continued provision of Federal 
     assistance to each Institute is warranted.
       (b) Termination of Assistance.--If, as a result of an 
     evaluation under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, determines 
     that an Institute does not qualify for further Federal 
     assistance under this Act, the Institute shall receive no 
     further Federal assistance under this Act until such time as 
     the qualifications of the Institute are reestablished to the 
     satisfaction of the Secretaries.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act $15,000,000 for each fiscal year.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-
reported amendment be agreed and the motion to reconsider be laid on 
the

[[Page S11643]]

table. Senator Bingaman has a substitute amendment at the desk. I ask 
unanimous consent that the amendment be considered and agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid on the table; that the bill, as amended, 
be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table; that there be no intervening action or debate, and any 
statements related thereto be printed in the Record.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4976) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The bill (S. 2670), as amended, was read the third time and passed.

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