[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 65643-65645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23115]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 201 / Friday, October 16, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 65643]]
Executive Order 13955 of October 13, 2020
Establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency
Council
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. As I declared in Executive Order
13855 of December 21, 2018 (Promoting Active Management
of America's Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal
Lands To Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk),
it is the policy of the United States to promote
healthy and resilient forests, rangelands, and other
Federal lands by actively managing them through
partnerships with States, tribes, communities, non-
profit organizations, and the private sector.
Our Nation is home to hundreds of millions of acres of
Federal, State, tribal, and private forests and
woodlands, which produce tremendous positive economic
and environmental effects throughout our country.
Recreational and educational visits to National Forests
make substantial contributions to our Nation's physical
and emotional health as well as to our gross domestic
product, all while supporting thousands of full- and
part-time jobs. Our Nation's forests and woodlands
provide valuable environmental benefits as well,
including by serving as wildlife habitats and
supporting air and water quality for all Americans.
Forests and woodlands sequester atmospheric carbon, and
according to the Forest Service, 180 million people in
over 68,000 communities rely on our Nation's forested
watersheds to capture and filter their drinking water.
These facts demonstrate how our Nation has taken
advantage of the tremendous economic and environmental
benefits associated with tree growth and forestation.
By advancing Federal policies conducive to these
practices, under my leadership, the United States has
promoted greater use of nature-based solutions to
address global challenges.
On January 21, 2020, I announced that to further
protect the environment, the United States would be
joining the World Economic Forum's One Trillion Trees
initiative (Initiative), an ambitious global effort to
grow and conserve one trillion trees worldwide by 2030.
Following through on my commitment, and given the
expansive footprint of our Federal forests and
woodlands, this order initiates the formation of the
United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council to
further the Federal Government's contribution to the
global effort.
Sec. 2. United States One Trillion Trees Interagency
Council. There is hereby established a United States
One Trillion Trees Interagency Council (Council). The
Council shall be charged with developing, coordinating,
and promoting Federal Government interactions with the
Initiative with respect to tree growing, restoration,
and conservation, and with coordinating with key
stakeholders to help advance the Initiative. The
Council shall remain independent from the Initiative.
The Council shall be co-chaired by the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, or by their
designees (Co-Chairs). The Assistant to the President
for Economic Policy and the Assistant to the President
and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination, or
their designees, shall serve as Vice Chairs.
(a) Membership. In addition to the Co-Chairs and
Vice Chairs, the Council shall consist of the following
officials or their designees:
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(i) the Secretary of State;
(ii) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(iii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iv) the Secretary of Commerce;
(v) the Secretary of Labor;
(vi) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(vii) the Secretary of Transportation;
(viii) the Secretary of Energy;
(ix) the Secretary of Education;
(x) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xii) the Senior Advisor to the President;
(xiii) the Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Economic
Initiatives and Entrepreneurship;
(xiv) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(xv) the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality;
(xvi) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xvii) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development;
(xviii) the Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental
Affairs;
(xix) the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works); and
(xx) the heads of such other executive departments and Federal land
management agencies (agencies) and offices as the President, Co-Chairs, or
Vice Chairs may, from time to time, designate or invite, as appropriate.
(b) Administration. The Co-Chairs, in consultation
with the Vice Chairs, shall convene meetings of the
Council and direct its work. The Co-Chairs shall keep
the Council apprised of all Federal efforts related to
the subject of this order. The Co-Chairs and members of
the Council shall also coordinate with the Vice Chairs
on communications with the Initiative and related
parties regarding any Federal Government interactions
with the Initiative.
Sec. 3. Agency Roles and Responsibilities. All members
of the Council who are heads of agencies shall:
(a) include Council-related activities within their
respective strategic planning processes; and
(b) provide to the Co-Chairs, Vice Chairs, and the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
pursuant to the Council protocol established under
section 4(e) of this order, regular progress reports on
their respective agencies' activities, if any, relating
to the growth, restoration, and conservation of trees.
Sec. 4. Council Mission and Functions. The mission of
the Council shall be to promote an increase in Federal
Government activities and other national efforts that
further the Initiative by growing, restoring, and
conserving trees. The Council shall:
(a) develop and implement a strategy that includes
a methodology that the Federal Government will use to
track and measure any Federal activities related to the
Initiative, specifically with respect to trees grown,
restored, and conserved;
(b) identify statutory, regulatory, and other
limitations that inhibit the Federal Government from
taking additional actions in furtherance of the
Initiative, and recommend potential administrative and
legislative actions to remedy such limitations;
[[Page 65645]]
(c) identify opportunities to use existing
authorities and existing or future authorized and
appropriated funds to promote efforts to protect and
restore trees, and to promote the active management of
existing Federal lands to facilitate growth,
restoration, and conservation of trees;
(d) inform State, local, and tribal officials of
Federal efforts to protect, grow, and actively manage
forests and woodlands on Federal lands; and
(e) establish a protocol for the submission by
members of the Council who are heads of agencies of
regular progress reports to the Co-Chairs, Vice Chairs,
and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
on the activities, if any, of these members' respective
agencies relating to the growth, restoration, and
conservation of trees.
Sec. 5. Termination. The Council shall terminate on
December 31, 2030.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 13, 2020.
[FR Doc. 2020-23115
Filed 10-15-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P