[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S4558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Reed):
  S. 941. A bill to amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 
1978 to establish a program to provide assistance to States and 
nonprofit organizations to preserve suburban forest land and open space 
and contain suburban sprawl; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the people of Maine have always been 
faithful stewards of the forest because we understand its tremendous 
value to our economy and to our way of life. From the vast tracts of 
undeveloped land in the north to the small woodlots in the south, 
forest land helps shape the character of our entire State.
  While our commitment to stewardship has preserved the forest for 
generations, there is a threat to Maine's working landscape that 
requires a fresh approach. This threat is suburban sprawl, which has 
already consumed tens of thousands of acres of forest land in southern 
Maine. Sprawl occurs because the economic value of forest or farm land 
cannot compete with the value of developed land.
  Sprawl threatens our environment and our quality of life. It destroys 
ecosystems, increasing the risk of flooding and other environmental 
hazards. It burdens the infrastructure of the affected communities, 
increases traffic on neighborhood streets, and wastes taxpayer money. 
It leads to the fragmentation of woodlots, reducing the economic 
viability of the remaining working forests.
  No State is immune from the dangers of sprawl. For example, the 
Virginia State Forester says that since 1992, Virginia has lost 54,000 
acres of forest land per year to other uses.
  The Southeastern Michigan Council of Government reported that 
southeastern Michigan saw a 17 percent increase in developed land 
between 1990 and 2000.
  In my State of Maine alone, suburban sprawl has already consumed tens 
of thousands of acres of forest and farm land. The problem is 
particularly acute in southern Maine where an 108 percent increase in 
urbanized land over the past two decades has resulted in the labeling 
of greater Portland as the ``sprawl capital of the Northeast.''
  I am particularly alarmed by the amount of working forest and farm 
land and open space in southern and coastal Maine that have given way 
to strip malls and cul-de-sacs. Once these forests, farms, and meadows 
are lost to development, they are lost forever.
  Maine is trying to respond to this challenge. The people of Maine 
continue to contribute their time and money to preserve important lands 
and to support our State's 88 land trusts. It is time for the Federal 
Government to support these State and community-based efforts.
  For these reasons, I am introducing the Suburban and Community 
Forestry and Open Space Program Act. This legislation, which was 
drafted with the advice of land owners and conservation groups, 
establishes a $50 million grant program within the U.S. Forest Service 
to support locally driven land conservation projects that preserve 
working forests. Local government and nonprofit organizations could 
compete for funds to purchase land or access to land to protect working 
landscapes threatened by development.
  Projects funded under this initiative must be targeted at lands 
located in parts of the country that are threatened by sprawl. In 
addition, this legislation requires that Federal grant funds be matched 
dollar-for-dollar by state, local, or private resources.
  This is a market-driven program that relies upon market forces rather 
than government regulations to achieve its objectives. Rather than 
preserving our working forests, farmland and open spaces by zoning or 
other government regulation, at the expense of the landowner, with this 
program we will provide the resources to allow a landowner who wishes 
to keep his or her land as a working woodlot to do so.
  My legislation also protects the rights of property owners with the 
inclusion of a ``willing-seller'' provision, which requires the consent 
of a landowner if a parcel of land is to participate in the program.
  The $50 million that would be authorized by my bill would help 
achieve a number of stewardship objectives: First, this bill would help 
prevent forest fragmentation and preserve working forests, helping to 
maintain the supply of timber that fuels Maine's most significant 
industry.
  Second, these resources would be a valuable tool for communities that 
are struggling to manage growth and prevent sprawl.
  Understanding land ownership issues in other parts of the nation, I 
have included a geographic limitation in this bill. This limitation 
would exempt any state where the Federal Government owns twenty-five 
percent or more of that State's land from the Suburban and Community 
Forestry and Open Space Program. With the twenty-five percent 
limitation, a figure used in previous bills, the twelve States with the 
highest percentage of federally owned land would not be eligible to 
participate in this new program. Those States, however, who are 
struggling most with the loss of working landscapes would be authorized 
to receive Federal assistance in their efforts to combat sprawl.
  Currently, if the town of Gorham, ME, or another community trying to 
cope with the effects of sprawl turned to the Federal Government for 
assistance, none would be found. My bill will change that by making the 
Federal Government an active partner in preserving forest and farm land 
and managing sprawl, while leaving decision-making at the state and 
local level where it belongs.
  In 2002, this legislation was included in the forestry title of the 
Senate approved version of the Farm Bill. Unfortunately, the forestry 
title was stripped out of the Farm Bill conference report. Again, in 
2003, this legislation passed the Senate. This time, during 
consideration of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act.
  Unfortunately, this provision was removed from the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act conference report. This new Congress provides us a 
further opportunity to consider this legislation and ultimately have 
this bill enacted.
  There is great working being done on the local level to protect 
working landscapes for the next generation. By enacting the Suburban 
and Community Forestry and Open Space Act, Congress can provide an 
additional avenue of support for these conservation initiatives, help 
prevent sprawl, and help sustain the vitality of natural resource-based 
industries.
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