[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7817-S7818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
  S. 1646. A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make cost-share and incentive payments for 
innovative fuels management conservation practices, including 
prescribed grazing management on private grazing land and practices 
that complement commensurate public land, to prevent the occurrence and 
spread of, and damages caused by, wildfires fueled by invasive species; 
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. REID, Mr. President, today my colleague from Nevada, Senator 
Ensign and I, are introducing The Wildfire Presuppression Fuels 
Management Act of 2007. This bill establishes a USDA conservation 
program that helps to prevent the occurrence, spread of, and damages 
caused by wildfire to rangeland.
  Since 1999, approximately 5.8 million acres of Nevada rangeland has 
been destroyed by wildfire, 3 million of which burned in 2005 and 2006. 
According to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, prior to the 1980's 
burned lands averaged less than 25,000 acres per year. Nevada's current 
acres burned per year have now climbed to 24 times that to 600,000 
acres burned per year.
  This legislation would allow private land owners to receive annual 
incentive payments for implementing innovative conservation practices 
on rangeland that is vulnerable to wildfire or has suffered the 
consequences of wildfire. Conservation efforts funded through this 
program would protect unburned areas rich in plant diversity and high 
resources from the threat of wildfire and restore areas impacted by 
wildfire and degraded by invasive weeds through reseeding and 
establishment of native plants.
  By creating incentives for private ranchers to manage strips of land 
that border public lands, we are acknowledging the importance of 
private land in restoring rangeland health, acknowledging the costs 
involved to producers and their businesses and equally important, 
encouraging partnerships between private land and public lands in our 
efforts to prevent wildfires and improve the environment.
  Nevada, along with other Western States, is facing unprecedented 
threats to the environmental health of its rangeland. Working hand in 
hand, wildfires and invasive species, such as cheat grass and red 
brome, are destroying native ecosystems, such as sagebrush habitat, and 
severely compromising the value of rangeland for livestock production.
  According to USDA's Pacific Northwest Research Station more than 50 
percent of existing sagebrush habitat has been invaded by cheat grass. 
That is more than 10 million acres. They predict that cheat grass will 
displace existing sagebrush and other native plants in much of Nevada 
over the next 30 years. That is why this bill has the support and 
endorsement of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, The Nevada 
Association of Counties, and the Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife. They 
understand the importance and economic value of healthy rangeland and 
welcome opportunities to partner with the Federal Government on finding 
solutions to these problems.
  This program is one small step forward in addressing these important 
issues. I intend to work to see this legislation included in the farm 
bill being considered by Congress this year. It is one step forward in 
addressing the conservation and environmental concerns of Nevada and 
the Great Basin.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and a letter of 
support be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1646

       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 Presuppression 
     Fuels Management Pilot Program Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) private grazing land in the United States has 
     experienced dramatic increases in the levels of cheatgrass 
     and other invasive or noxious weed species following 
     wildfires; and
       (2) to address the needs of private landowners with respect 
     to the protection and management of grazing land, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture should provide cost-share and 
     incentive payments to the landowners to develop fuels 
     management plans and practices and to promote activities--
       (A) to protect areas of grazing land and wildlife habitat 
     that have not been negatively affected by wildfire; and
       (B) to manage the risks of wildfires that occur--
       (i) on public land and rights-of-way from moving onto 
     private grazing land; and
       (ii) on private land from moving onto public land and 
     right-of-way.

     SEC. 3. FIRE PRESUPPRESSION CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 
     1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``2010'' and inserting 
     ``2012''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) a producer that develops a fuels management 
     conservation plan, approved by the Natural Resources 
     Conservation Service, and subsequently implements a 
     structural practice or a land management practice relating to 
     fire presuppression on private grazing land as described in 
     the approved conservation plan, shall be eligible to receive 
     cost-share payments and annual incentive payments in 
     accordance with subsection (i).''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) Wildfire Presuppression Conservation Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2008 through 
     2012, the Secretary shall provide cost-share payments under 
     subsection (d) and annual incentive payments under subsection 
     (e) to producers that enter into contracts as described in 
     paragraph (2) for activities described in paragraph (3).
       ``(2) Term of contracts.--Notwithstanding subsection 
     (b)(2)(A), a contract entered into under this subsection 
     shall have a term of--
       ``(A) not less than 5 years; and
       ``(B) not more than 10 years.
       ``(3) Eligible activities.--In addition to grants under 
     section 1240H, the Secretary may provide cost-share payments 
     and incentive payments under this subsection to producers for 
     planning and carrying out innovative fuels management 
     conservation plans on private grazing land to help prevent 
     the occurrence and spread of, and damages caused by, 
     wildfires fueled by invasive or noxious weed species, 
     including activities relating to--
       ``(A) managed fuel breaks along a boundary between public 
     and private land to reduce fuel load, including--
       ``(i) managed grazing practices and the technology required 
     to implement such a practice; and
       ``(ii) the use of brush strips or mosaic patches;
       ``(B) restoration of fire-damage areas using adapted plant 
     material, with an emphasis on using native and adapted 
     grasses and forbs to vegetate or revegetate the fire-damaged 
     areas;
       ``(C) projects that receive expanded conservation 
     innovation grants for technology transfer training programs 
     relating to fuels management techniques;
       ``(D) protection or restoration of critical wildlife 
     habitat; and
       ``(E) conservation practices designed to reduce and manage 
     high fuel loads associated with woody plant species.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1240H(b) of the Food 
     Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8(b)) is amended by 
     striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) implement projects or activities, such as--
       ``(A) market systems for pollution reduction;
       ``(B) innovative conservation practices, including the 
     storing of carbon in the soil; and
       ``(C) innovative grazing management activities described in 
     section 1240B(i)(3); and''.
                                  ____



                               Nevada Cattleman's Association,

                                                    June 18, 2007.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Reid: The Nevada Cattlemen's Association (NCA) 
     represents public and private land ranchers throughout 
     Nevada. We seek to create a stable business climate for our 
     members in which they can run environmentally sustainable and 
     economically viable operations.
       Over the past several years fire has played a large role in 
     the Great Basin. As you know, the State of Nevada can be a 
     harsh environment for those who work the land. Cattlemen are 
     susceptible to wildfire on public and private grazing lands. 
     When fire moves

[[Page S7818]]

     through rangelands across the west vegetation communities 
     change from shrub dominated, to annual cheatgrass dominated 
     landscapes. Not only do the vegetation communities change, 
     but the fire cycle increase, habitat for wildlife is 
     decreased, and forage for both domestic livestock and 
     wildlife is greatly reduced throughout the grazing year.
       Reducing fuels before the fire season using prescriptive 
     grazing, brush thinning, green strips, and spring grazing on 
     already cheatgrass dominated areas will help reduce the 
     catastrophic fires that have moved through Nevada over the 
     past few summers. The Nevada Cattlemen's Association would 
     like to Thank You for realizing working on landscapes before 
     the fires start is the best method not only for the landscape 
     but for Ranchers across the state. Fire not only hurts the 
     rancher during the fire, but for the years after when the 
     federal land is closed off. Your recognition of the role that 
     fire plays in these lives of rural Nevadans is greatly 
     appreciated. We hope that you continue to support pre-fire 
     management by ranchers and the federal land agencies. Your 
     support on a national level shows your constituents that you 
     care, and sets a national precedence that fire management 
     should happen just as much before the fire bums as after. We 
     Thank You for your support of pre-suppression fuels reduction 
     on both public and private ground. Your recent legislation 
     shows strong support for ranchers and the landscape they 
     utilize.
       The Nevada Cattlemen's Association works to protect 
     ranchers and the landscapes they help to manage. Please help 
     that tradition, value, and future continue.
           Best Regards,
                                                Boyd M. Spratling,
     President.

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