[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4611-S4612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS:
  S. 1131. 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 has helped to 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 
eco-systems, 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. 
Sprawl causes the unnecessary fragmentation of open space that reduces 
the economic viability of the remaining working forests.
  In the State of Maine, 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 has 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 help support these State and community-based efforts.
  For these reasons, I have introduced 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 would 
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, 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 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 that land ownership issues differ 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 25 
percent or more of that State's land from the Suburban and Community 
Forestry and Open Space Program. With the 25 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

[[Page S4612]]

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.

  Third, the bill would help to preserve open space and family farms. 
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.
  The Suburban and Community Forestry and Open Space Program Act has 
had a successful history in the Senate. 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. And 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 and the reauthorization of the Farm Bill provide an excellent 
opportunity to enact this important legislation.
  There is great work 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.
                                 ______