[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H523-H526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION ACT OF 2004
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2696) to establish Institutes to demonstrate and promote the use
of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and
restore the health of fire-adapted forest and woodland ecosystems of
the interior West, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2696
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 ``Southwest Forest Health and
Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004''.
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) 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;
(9) 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;
(10) 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;
(11) sustaining the long-term ecological and economic
health of interior West forests and woodland, and their
associated human communities requires preventing severe
wildfires before the wildfires occur and permitting natural,
low-intensity ground fires;
(12) more natural fire regimes cannot be accomplished
without the reduction of excess fuels and thinning of
subdominant trees (which fuels and trees may be of commercial
value);
(13) 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) improve the ecological integrity and resilience of
these systems;
(E) reduce rehabilitation costs;
(F) reduce loss of critical habitat; and
(G) protect forests for future generations;
(14) although landscape scale restoration is needed to
effectively reverse degradation,
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scientific understanding of landscape scale treatments is
limited;
(15) rigorous, objective, understandable, and applied
scientific information is needed for--
(A) the design, implementation, monitoring, and adaptation
of landscape scale restoration treatments and improvement of
wildfire management;
(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,
monitor, and regularly update practical science-based forest
restoration treatments that will reduce the risk of severe
wildfires, and improve the health of dry forest and woodland
ecosystems in the interior West;
(2) to synthesize and adapt scientific findings from
conventional research programs to the implementation of
forest and woodland restoration on a landscape scale;
(3) to facilitate the transfer of interdisciplinary
knowledge required to understand the socioeconomic and
environmental impacts of wildfire on ecosystems and
landscapes;
(4) to require the Institutes established under this Act to
collaborate with Federal agencies--
(A) to use ecological restoration treatments to reverse
declining forest health and reduce the risk of severe
wildfires across the forest landscape; and
(B) to design, implement, monitor, and regularly revise
representative wildfire treatments based on the use of
adaptive ecosystem management;
(5) to assist land managers in--
(A) treating acres with restoration-based applications; and
(B) using 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--
(i) the National Fire Plan;
(ii) the report entitled ``Protecting People and Sustaining
Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems-A Cohesive Strategy''
(65 Fed. Reg. 67480); and
(iii) 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;
(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; and
(7) to assist Federal and non-Federal land managers in
providing information to the public on the role of fire and
fire management in dry forest and woodland ecosystems in the
interior West.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Adaptive ecosystem management.--
(A) Definition.--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--
(i) is based on scientific findings and the needs of
society;
(ii) treats management actions as experiments;
(iii) acknowledges the complexity of these systems and
scientific uncertainty; and
(iv) uses the resulting new knowledge to modify future
management methods and policy.
(B) Clarification.--This paragraph shall not define the
term ``adaptive ecosystem management'' for the purposes of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.).
(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) Dry forest and woodland ecosystem.--The term ``dry
forest and woodland ecosystem'' means an ecosystem that is
dominated by ponderosa pines and associated dry forest and
woodland types.
(4) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means an Institute
established under section 5(a).
(5) Interior west.--The term ``interior West'' means the
States of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and
Utah.
(6) 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.
(7) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means a process
undertaken to move an ecosystem or habitat toward--
(A) a sustainable structure of the ecosystem or habitat; or
(B) a condition that supports a natural complement of
species, natural function, or ecological process (such as a
low-intensity fire).
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service.
(9) 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.
(10) Stakeholder.--The term ``stakeholder'' means any
person interested in or affected by management of forest or
woodland ecosystems.
(11) Subdominant trees.--Are trees that occur underneath
the canopy or extend into the canopy but are smaller and less
vigorous than dominant trees.
(12) Overstocked stands.--Where the number of trees per
acre exceeds the natural carrying capacity of the site.
(13) Resilience.--The ability of a system to absorb
disturbance without being pushed into a different, possibly
less desirable stable state.
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 Institutes to promote the use of adaptive
ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and
restore the health of forest and woodland ecosystems, in the
interior West; and
(2) provide assistance to the Institutes to promote the use
of collaborative processes and 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--
(A) the State of Arizona, to be located at Northern Arizona
University;
(B) the State of New Mexico, to be located at New Mexico
Highlands University, while engaging the full resources of
the consortium of universities represented in the Institute
of Natural Resource Analysis and Management (INRAM); and
(C) the State of Colorado.
(c) Duties.--Each Institute shall--
(1) develop, conduct research on, transfer, promote, and
monitor restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction treatments
to reduce the risk of severe wildfires and improve the health
of dry forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior West;
(2) synthesize and adapt scientific findings from
conventional research to implement restoration-based
hazardous fuel reduction treatments on a landscape scale
using an adaptive ecosystem management framework;
(3) translate for and transfer to affected entities any
scientific and interdisciplinary knowledge about restoration-
based hazardous fuel reduction treatments;
(4) assist affected entities with the design of adaptive
management approaches (including monitoring) for the
implementation of restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction
treatments; and
(5) provide peer-reviewed annual reports.
(d) Qualifications.--Each Institute shall--
(1) develop and demonstrate capabilities in the natural,
physical, social, and policy sciences; and
(2) explicitly integrate those disciplines in the
performance of the duties listed in subsection (c).
(e) Cooperation.--Each Institute may cooperate with--
(1) researchers and cooperative extension programs at
colleges, community colleges, and universities in the States
of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado 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).
(f) Annual Work Plans.--As a condition of the receipt of
funds made available under this Act, for each fiscal year,
each Institute shall develop in consultation with 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.
(g) Establishment of Additional Institutes.--If after 2
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary finds that the Institute model established at the
locations named in subsection (b)(2) would be constructive
for other interior West States, the Secretary may establish 1
institute in each of those States.
SEC. 6. COOPERATION BETWEEN INSTITUTES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.
In carrying out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Interior--
(1) to the extent that funds are appropriated for the
purpose, shall provide financial and technical assistance to
the Institutes to carry out the duties of the Institutes
under section 5;
(2) shall encourage Federal agencies to use, on a
cooperative basis, information and expertise provided by the
Institutes;
(3) shall encourage cooperation and coordination between
Federal programs relating to--
(A) ecological restoration;
(B) wildfire risk reduction; and
(C) wildfire management technologies;
(4) notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, United States
Code, may--
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(A) enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, and
interagency personal agreements to carry out this Act; and
(B) carry out other transactions under this Act;
(5) may accept funds from other Federal agencies to
supplement or fully fund grants made, and contracts entered
into, by the Secretaries;
(6) 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;
(7) shall encourage professional education and public
information activities relating to the purposes of this Act;
and
(8) 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 the
Interior, shall complete and submit to the Committee on
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate 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 Institute are sufficient to achieve the
purposes of this Act, including--
(A) implementing active adaptive ecosystem management
practices at the landscape level;
(B) reducing unnecessary planning costs;
(C) avoiding duplicative and conflicting efforts;
(D) increasing public acceptance of active adaptive
ecosystem management practices; and
(E) achieving general satisfaction on the part of affected
entities;
(2) to determine the extent to which each Institute has
implemented its duties under section 5(c); and
(3) 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.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act $15,000,000 for each fiscal year.
(b) Limitation.--No funds made available under subsection
(a) shall be used to pay the costs of constructing any
facilities.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).
General Leave
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 2696, the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 2696 establishes institutes to demonstrate and promote the use
of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires and
restore the health of fire-adaptive forest and woodland ecosystems of
the interior West.
This legislation directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in
consultation with the Secretary of Interior, to establish the
Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, under
the leadership of Dr. Wally Covington, and similar institutes in New
Mexico and Colorado, with the purpose of supporting groups to assist in
the design and implementation of large-scale forest restoration
treatments.
Research has shown that large forest fires will continue unless large
scale action is taken. The treatment of our forests must begin with
solid, sound science to restore the balance of our unhealthy forests.
H.R. 2696 will facilitate this important research.
I urge adoption of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my commendation
to the gentleman from Arizona for his sponsorship of this proposed
bill; and, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2696 directs the Secretary of Agriculture
to establish three university-based institutes to conduct and promote
research to assist Federal land managers in the complicated process of
reducing risks of wildfires and improving forest health in the interior
West.
The bill specifically designates two universities to house
institutes, Northern Arizona University in Arizona and Highlands
University in New Mexico. The Secretary shall also designate a third
institute to be located in the State of Colorado. The bill authorizes
$15 million annually for these institutes, subject to appropriations.
{time} 1445
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the bill's sponsor, again the gentleman
from Arizona. I also want to recognize the contributions of the Members
on this side of the aisle, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall) and
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall). I thank them for their help,
their sponsorship and their support of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Udall).
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of H.R. 2696, the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act
of 2003. This is extremely important legislation, and I applaud the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) for his work on this issue. I also
thank the gentleman from American Samoa for his leadership on this
important issue.
Mr. Speaker, in my home State of New Mexico, we are experiencing a
very serious and prolonged drought. Not only does this further
exacerbate our water shortage as well as the difficulties faced by
agriculture and livestock communities, but it also makes for very
dangerous fire conditions as we approach spring and summer.
Unfortunately, the issue of fire prevention and suppression is
extremely controversial. That is why I believe it is important that our
country establish a science-based common-sense fire policy. This
bipartisan legislation before us today lays the groundwork for a
science-based strategy to combat wildfire in the West.
H.R. 2696 directs the Forest Service, in consultation with the
Department of the Interior, to establish institutes to promote the use
of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires and
restore the health of fire-adapted woodland in the West. The Agency
would be required to provide the institutes with financial and
technical assistance. Creating these institutions will create a solid
foundation for scientific knowledge and the ability to rapidly convert
new insights into technology and tools.
These institutes will also create common ground for environmental,
recreational, commercial, and governmental interests to work together
and end the gridlock that has often paralyzed forest management
initiatives.
Mr. Speaker, I am also extremely pleased the Forest Management
Institute in New Mexico will be centered at New Mexico Highlands
University, located in my congressional district. While being centered
at Highlands, however, the institute will engage the full resources of
the consortium of universities represented in the Institute of Natural
Resource Analysis and Management, INRAM. This includes the other New
Mexico education institutions of higher learning, such as New Mexico
State University, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, New Mexico
Highlands, Eastern New Mexico University, and Western New Mexico
University.
I would also like to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) as
well as the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman
from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) for their work on this provision in the
bill. It truly was a bipartisan effort.
Mr. Speaker, by passing this legislation and creating these
institutions we will provide much-needed assistance to land managers in
their ongoing efforts to decrease the severity of fires in our
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forests and restore woodland ecosystems. I urge my colleagues to
support passage of this important legislation.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume to again urge my colleagues to support this proposed bill.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
thank the gentleman from American Samoa for his leadership, and to add
that the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) truly played a major
role in the input and construction of this language, and I am grateful
to him for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Leach). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2696, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________