[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24851-24855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09138]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 24851]]


                Executive Order 14072 of April 22, 2022

                
Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities, 
                and Local Economies

                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. Policy. Strengthening America's forests, 
                which are home to cherished expanses of mature and old-
                growth forests on Federal lands, is critical to the 
                health, prosperity, and resilience of our communities--
                particularly in light of the threat of catastrophic 
                wildfires. Forests provide clean air and water, sustain 
                the plant and animal life fundamental to combating the 
                global climate and biodiversity crises, and hold 
                special importance to Tribal Nations. We go to these 
                special places to hike, camp, hunt, fish, and engage in 
                recreation that revitalizes our souls and connects us 
                to history and nature. Many local economies thrive 
                because of these outdoor and forest management 
                activities, including in the sustainable forest product 
                sector.

                Globally, forests represent some of the most biodiverse 
                parts of our planet and play an irreplaceable role in 
                reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Terrestrial 
                carbon sinks absorb around 30 percent of the carbon 
                dioxide emitted by human activities each year. Here at 
                home, America's forests absorb more than 10 percent of 
                annual United States economy-wide greenhouse gas 
                emissions. Conserving old-growth and mature forests on 
                Federal lands while supporting and advancing climate-
                smart forestry and sustainable forest products is 
                critical to protecting these and other ecosystem 
                services provided by those forests.

                Despite their importance, the world's forests are 
                quickly disappearing; only a small fraction of the 
                world's mature and old-growth forests remains. Here at 
                home, the primary threats to forests, including mature 
                and old-growth forests, include climate impacts, 
                catastrophic wildfires, insect infestation, and 
                disease. We can and must take action to conserve, 
                restore, reforest, and manage our magnificent forests 
                here at home and, working closely with international 
                partners, throughout the world.

                It is the policy of my Administration, in consultation 
                with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, 
                as well as the private sector, nonprofit organizations, 
                labor unions, and the scientific community, to pursue 
                science-based, sustainable forest and land management; 
                conserve America's mature and old-growth forests on 
                Federal lands; invest in forest health and restoration; 
                support indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and 
                cultural and subsistence practices; honor Tribal treaty 
                rights; and deploy climate-smart forestry practices and 
                other nature-based solutions to improve the resilience 
                of our lands, waters, wildlife, and communities in the 
                face of increasing disturbances and chronic stress 
                arising from climate impacts. It is also the policy of 
                my Administration, as outlined in Conserving and 
                Restoring America the Beautiful, to support 
                collaborative, locally led conservation solutions.

                The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) I 
                signed into law provides generational investments in 
                ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction. As 
                we use this funding, we will seek opportunities, 
                consistent with the IIJA, to conserve our mature and 
                old-growth forests on Federal lands and restore the 
                health and vibrancy of our Nation's forests by reducing 
                the threat of catastrophic wildfires through ecological 
                treatments that create

[[Page 24852]]

                resilient forest conditions using active, science-based 
                forest management and prescribed fires; by 
                incorporating indigenous traditional ecological 
                knowledge; and by scaling up and optimizing climate-
                smart reforestation. My Administration also is 
                committed to doing its part to combat deforestation 
                around the world and to working with our international 
                partners toward sustainable management of the world's 
                lands, waters, and ocean.

                Sec. 2. Restoring and Conserving the Nation's Forests, 
                Including Mature and Old-Growth Forests. My 
                Administration will manage forests on Federal lands, 
                which include many mature and old-growth forests, to 
                promote their continued health and resilience; retain 
                and enhance carbon storage; conserve biodiversity; 
                mitigate the risk of wildfires; enhance climate 
                resilience; enable subsistence and cultural uses; 
                provide outdoor recreational opportunities; and promote 
                sustainable local economic development. Science-based 
                reforestation is one of the greatest opportunities both 
                globally and in the United States for the land sector 
                to contribute to climate and biodiversity goals. To 
                further conserve mature and old-growth forests and 
                foster long-term United States forest health through 
                climate-smart reforestation for the benefit of 
                Americans today and for generations to come, the 
                following actions shall be taken, in consultation with 
                State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments and 
                the public, and to the extent consistent with 
                applicable law:

                    (a) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
                of Agriculture (Secretaries)--the Federal Government's 
                primary land managers--shall continue to jointly pursue 
                wildfire mitigation strategies, which are already 
                driving important actions to confront a pressing threat 
                to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands: 
                catastrophic wildfires driven by decades of fire 
                exclusion and climate change.
                    (b) The Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, 
                and the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                National Forest System lands, shall, within 1 year of 
                the date of this order, define, identify, and complete 
                an inventory of old-growth and mature forests on 
                Federal lands, accounting for regional and ecological 
                variations, as appropriate, and shall make such 
                inventory publicly available.
                    (c) Following completion of the inventory, the 
                Secretaries shall:

(i) coordinate conservation and wildfire risk reduction activities, 
including consideration of climate-smart stewardship of mature and old-
growth forests, with other executive departments and agencies (agencies), 
States, Tribal Nations, and any private landowners who volunteer to 
participate;

(ii) analyze the threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands, 
including from wildfires and climate change; and

(iii) develop policies, with robust opportunity for public comment, to 
institutionalize climate-smart management and conservation strategies that 
address threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands.

                    (d) The Secretaries, in coordination with the heads 
                of other agencies as appropriate, shall within 1 year 
                of the date of this order:

(i) develop a Federal goal that charges agencies to meet agency-specific 
reforestation targets by 2030, including an assessment of reforestation 
opportunities on Federal lands and through existing Federal programs and 
partnerships;

(ii) develop, in collaboration with Federal, State, Tribal, and private-
sector partners, a climate-informed plan (building on existing efforts) to 
increase Federal cone and seed collection and to ensure seed and seedling 
nursery capacity is sufficient to meet anticipated reforestation demand; 
and

(iii) develop, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, with State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and with the private sector, 
nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and the scientific community, 
recommendations for community-led local and regional economic development 
opportunities to create and sustain jobs in the sustainable forest product 
sector, including innovative materials, and in outdoor recreation,

[[Page 24853]]

while supporting healthy, sustainably managed forests in timber 
communities.

                Sec. 3. Stopping International Deforestation. As 
                described in the Plan to Conserve Global Forests: 
                Critical Carbon Sinks, my Administration has committed 
                to deliver, by 2030, on collective global goals to end 
                natural forest loss and to restore at least an 
                additional 200 million hectares of forests and other 
                ecosystems, while showcasing new economic models that 
                reflect the services provided by critical ecosystems 
                around the world. The plan recognizes that conserving 
                and restoring global forest and peatland ecosystems, 
                particularly in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast 
                Asia, can provide significant global greenhouse gas 
                emissions mitigation, both by preventing the emissions 
                caused by deforestation and by increasing the amount of 
                carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere and stored 
                in soils and forest biomass. My Administration is also 
                committed to combating illegal logging and stopping 
                trade in illegally sourced wood products pursuant to 
                the Lacey Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq., and 
                to addressing the related importation of commodities 
                sourced from recently deforested land. To further 
                advance these commitments, conserve these critical 
                ecosystems, and address drivers of global 
                deforestation--including illegal forest clearing to 
                produce agricultural commodities--the following actions 
                shall be taken:

                    (a) within 1 year of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
                of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
                Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security (through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
                Border Protection), the Administrator of the Small 
                Business Administration, the Administrator of the 
                United States Agency for International Development, the 
                United States Trade Representative, and the Special 
                Presidential Envoy for Climate, shall submit a report 
                to the President evaluating options, including 
                recommendations for proposed legislation, for a whole-
                of-government approach to combating international 
                deforestation that includes:

(i) an analysis of the feasibility of limiting or removing specific 
commodities grown on lands deforested either illegally or after December 
31, 2020, from agricultural supply chains; and

(ii) an analysis of the potential for public-private partnerships with 
major agricultural commodity buyers, traders, financial institutions, and 
other actors to voluntarily reduce or eliminate the purchase of such 
commodities and incentivize sourcing of sustainably produced agricultural 
commodities.

                    (b) within 1 year of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of State, in coordination with other 
                appropriate agencies, shall submit a report to the 
                President on how agencies that engage in international 
                programming, assistance, finance, investment, trade, 
                and trade promotion, can, consistent with applicable 
                law, accomplish the following:

(i) incorporate the assessment of risk of deforestation and other land 
conversion into guidance on foreign assistance and investment programming 
related to infrastructure development, agriculture, settlements, land use 
planning or zoning, and energy siting and generation;

(ii) address deforestation and land conversion risk in new relevant trade 
agreements and seek to address such risks, where possible, in the 
implementation of existing trade agreements;

(iii) identify and engage in international processes and fora, as 
appropriate, to pursue approaches to combat deforestation and enhance 
sustainable land use opportunities in preparing climate, development, and 
finance strategies;

[[Page 24854]]

(iv) engage other major commodity-importing and commodity-producing 
countries to advance common interests in addressing commodity-driven 
deforestation; and

(v) assess options to direct foreign assistance and other agency programs 
and tools, as appropriate, to help threatened forest communities transition 
to an economically sustainable future, with special attention to the 
participation of and the critical role played by indigenous peoples and 
local communities and landholders in protecting and restoring forests and 
in reducing deforestation and forest degradation.

                Sec. 4. Deploying Nature-Based Solutions to Tackle 
                Climate Change and Enhance Resilience. Just as forest 
                conservation, restoration, and adaptation generate 
                broad benefits related to climate change and other 
                areas, other nature-based solutions can advance 
                multiple benefits. These solutions include actions that 
                protect coasts and critical marine ecosystems, reduce 
                flooding, moderate extreme heat, replenish groundwater 
                sources, capture and store carbon dioxide, conserve 
                biodiversity, and improve the productivity of 
                agricultural and forest lands to produce food and 
                fiber. To ensure that agencies pursue nature-based 
                solutions, to the extent consistent with applicable law 
                and supported by science, the following actions shall 
                be taken:

                    (a) The Chair of the Council on Environmental 
                Quality, the Director of the Office of Science and 
                Technology Policy, and the Assistant to the President 
                and National Climate Advisor shall, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of Defense (through the Assistant 
                Secretary of the Army for Civil Works), the Secretary 
                of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
                Secretary of Commerce (through the Administrator of the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the 
                Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the 
                Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security (through the 
                Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
                Agency), the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency, the Administrator of the Small 
                Business Administration, and the heads of other 
                agencies as appropriate, submit a report to the 
                National Climate Task Force to identify key 
                opportunities for greater deployment of nature-based 
                solutions across the Federal Government, including 
                through potential policy, guidance, and program 
                changes.
                    (b) The Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget shall issue guidance related to the valuation of 
                ecosystem and environmental services and natural assets 
                in Federal regulatory decision-making, consistent with 
                the efforts to modernize regulatory review required by 
                my Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2021 
                (Modernizing Regulatory Review).
                    (c) Implementation of the United States Global 
                Change Research Program shall include an assessment of 
                the condition of nature within the United States in a 
                report carrying out section 102 of the Global Change 
                Research Act of 1990, 15 U.S.C. 2932.

                Sec. 5. 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.

[[Page 24855]]

                    (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,

                    April 22, 2022.

[FR Doc. 2022-09138
Filed 4-26-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P