Forest Landscape Restoration Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes.
Sets forth provisions concerning the eligibility criteria for, and nomination and selection of, collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals for carrying out such treatments.
Requires the Secretary to establish a scientific advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal with respect to: (1) the strength of the ecological case of the proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed restoration strategies; and (2) whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs.
Authorizes the Secretary to establish a technical advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal with respect to whether the proposal is likely to reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments resulting from the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees and to provide local economic benefit.
Establishes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Fund, to be used for paying up to 50% of the cost of carrying out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected.
Requires: (1) creation of implementation work plans and budgets to implement proposals; (2) submission of annual reports on the accomplishments of selected proposals; (3) use of a multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess the ecological, social, and economic effects of projects implementing proposals; and (4) submission of reports every five years on the Program.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5263 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5263
To encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of
priority forest landscapes on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service through a joint
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2008
Mr. Grijalva introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of
priority forest landscapes on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service through a joint
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Forest Landscape Restoration Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to encourage the collaborative, science-
based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes through a
process that--
(1) encourages ecological, economic, and social
sustainability;
(2) leverages local resources with national and private
resources;
(3) facilitates the reduction of wildfire management costs,
including through reestablishing natural fire regimes and
reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire; and
(4) demonstrates the degree to which--
(A) various ecological restoration techniques--
(i) achieve ecological health objectives;
and
(ii) affect wildfire activity and
management costs; and
(B) the use of forest restoration byproducts can
offset treatment costs while benefitting rural
economies and improving forest health.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered federal lands.--The term ``covered Federal
lands'' means Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Land Management and National Forest System lands.
(2) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Collaborative Forest
Landscape Restoration Fund established by section 4(g).
(3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration Program established under section
4(a).
(4) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture,
acting jointly.
SEC. 4. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting jointly, shall establish a Collaborative Forest
Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration
treatments for priority forest landscapes in accordance with applicable
law.
(b) Compliance With Existing Laws.--All activities carried out
under the program shall be carried out in compliance with section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.).
(c) Eligibility Criteria.--To be eligible for nomination under
subsection (d) for selection and funding under the program, a
collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal shall--
(1) be based on a landscape restoration strategy that--
(A) is complete or substantially complete;
(B) identifies and prioritizes ecological
restoration treatments for a 10-year period across a
landscape that is--
(i) at least 50,000 acres;
(ii) comprised primarily of forested
covered Federal lands, but may also include
other Federal, State, tribal, or private land;
(iii) in need of active ecosystem
restoration; and
(iv) accessible by existing or proposed
wood-processing infrastructure at an
appropriate scale to use woody biomass and
small-diameter wood removed in ecological
restoration treatments;
(C) incorporates--
(i) the best available science and
scientific application tools in ecological
restoration strategies; and
(ii) the requirements for old-growth
maintenance, restoration, and management
direction of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of
subsection (f) and the requirements for large-
tree retention of subsection (f) of section 102
of Public Law 108-148 (16 U.S.C. 6512); and
(D) does not include the establishment of permanent
roads;
(2) be developed and implemented through a collaborative
process that--
(A) includes multiple interested persons
representing diverse interests;
(B) is transparent and nonexclusive or meets the
requirements for a resource advisory committee under
section 205 of Public Law 106-393 (16 U.S.C. 500 note);
and
(C) has an established record of successful
planning and implementation of ecological restoration
projects on covered Federal lands;
(3) describe plans to--
(A) use fire for ecological restoration and
maintenance, where appropriate;
(B) improve fish and wildlife habitat, including
for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species;
(C) maintain or improve water quality;
(D) prevent, remediate, or control invasions of
exotic species;
(E) maintain or decommission roads;
(F) use woody biomass and small-diameter trees
produced from projects implementing the landscape
restoration strategy;
(G) report annually on performance, including
through performance measures from the plan entitled the
``10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan''
and dated December 2006;
(H) develop small business incubators and provide
employment and training opportunities to people in
rural communities, including contracts for monitoring
activities, through--
(i) local private, nonprofit, or
cooperative entities;
(ii) Youth Conservation Corps crews or
related partnerships, with State, local, and
non-profit youth groups;
(iii) small or micro-businesses; or
(iv) other entities that will hire or train
a significant percentage of local people to
complete such contracts; and
(I) take into account any applicable community
wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of
Public Law 108-148 (16 U.S.C. 6511));
(4) analyze the anticipated cost savings resulting from--
(A) reduced wildfire management costs; and
(B) a decrease in the unit costs of implementing
ecological restoration treatments over time;
(5) estimate--
(A) the annual Federal funding necessary to
implement the proposal; and
(B) the amount of new non-Federal investment for
carrying out the proposal that would be leveraged by
Federal funding for ecological restoration treatments;
and
(6) be subject to any other requirements that the
Secretaries determines to be necessary for the efficient and
effective administration of the program.
(d) Nomination Process.--
(1) Submission.--A collaborative forest landscape
restoration proposal shall be submitted to the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management for each State in which the covered
Federal lands included in the proposal are located and to the
Regional Forester for the Forest Service Region in which the
covered Federal lands included in the proposal are located.
(2) Nomination.--A State Director of the Bureau of Land
Management or a Regional Forester may nominate collaborative
forest landscape restoration proposals for selection by the
Secretaries.
(3) Documentation.--With respect to each collaborative
forest landscape restoration proposal that is nominated under
paragraph (2)--
(A) the State Director of the Bureau of Land
Management or Regional Forester making the nomination
shall--
(i) include a proposal to use Federal funds
allocated to the State Director of the Bureau
of Land Management or Regional Forester to fund
those costs of planning and carrying out
ecological restoration treatments on covered
Federal lands consistent with the landscape
restoration strategy that would not be covered
by amounts transferred to the Secretaries from
the Fund; and
(ii) provide evidence that amounts proposed
to be transferred to the Secretaries from the
Fund during the first 2 years following
selection would be used to carry out ecological
restoration treatments consistent with the
landscape restoration strategy during the same
fiscal year in which the funds are transferred
to the Secretaries; and
(B) if the collaborative forest landscape
restoration proposal includes activities that would be
carried out on land that is not under the jurisdiction
of the Secretaries, the State Director of the Bureau of
Land Management or Regional Forester making the
nomination shall provide evidence that the owner of the
non-covered Federal land intends to participate in, and
provide appropriate funding to carry out, the
activities on the non-covered Federal land.
(e) Selection Process.--
(1) In general.--After consulting with any scientific and
technical advisory panels established under subsection (f), the
Secretaries shall, subject to paragraph (2), select the best
collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals that--
(A) have been nominated under subsection (d)(2);
and
(B) meet the eligibility criteria established by
subsection (c).
(2) Criteria.--In selecting collaborative forest landscape
restoration proposals under paragraph (1), the Secretaries
shall give special consideration to--
(A) the strength of the ecological case of the
proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed
restoration strategies;
(B) the strength of the collaborative process;
(C) whether the proposal would reduce the relative
costs of carrying out treatments as a result of the use
of woody biomass and small-diameter trees;
(D) whether the proposal is likely to achieve
reductions in long-term wildfire management costs;
(E) the strength of the landscape restoration
proposal and strategy; and
(F) whether an appropriate level of non-Federal
investment would be leveraged in carrying out the
proposal.
(3) Limitation.--The Secretaries may select not more than--
(A) 10 collaborative forest landscape restoration
proposals to be funded during any fiscal year; and
(B) 2 collaborative forest landscape restoration
proposals in any 1 region of the National Forest System
to be funded during any fiscal year.
(f) Advisory Panels.--
(1) Scientific advisory panel.--The Secretaries shall
establish a scientific advisory panel comprised of not more
than 12 experts in ecological forest restoration and fire
ecology to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any
proposal that has been nominated under subsection (d)(2) and
meets the eligibility criteria established by subsection (c)
with respect to--
(A) the strength of the ecological case of the
proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed
restoration strategies; and
(B) whether the proposal is likely to achieve
reductions in long-term wildfire management costs.
(2) Technical advisory panel.--The Secretaries may
establish a technical advisory panel comprised of experts in
rural business development and the use of woody biomass and
small-diameter trees to evaluate, and provide recommendations
on, any proposal that has been nominated under subsection
(d)(2) and meets the eligibility criteria established by
subsection (c) with respect to whether the proposal is likely
to reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments as a
result of the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees and
provide local economic benefit.
(g) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a fund, to be known as the ``Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration Fund'', to be used to pay up to 50
percent of the cost of carrying out ecological restoration
treatments on covered Federal lands for each collaborative
forest landscape restoration proposal selected to be carried
out under subsection (e), consisting of--
(A) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund
under paragraph (5); and
(B) any interest earned on investment of amounts in
the Fund under paragraph (3).
(2) Expenditures from fund.--On request by the Secretaries,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to
the Secretaries such amounts as the Secretaries determines are
necessary to carry out ecological restoration treatments under
paragraph (1).
(3) Accounting and reporting system.--The Secretaries shall
establish an accounting and reporting system for the Fund.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Fund $40,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018, to remain available until expended.
(h) Program Implementation and Monitoring.--
(1) Work plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which a collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal is
selected to be carried out, the Secretaries shall create, in
collaboration with the interested persons, an implementation
work plan and budget to implement the collaborative forest
landscape restoration proposal that includes--
(A) a description of the manner in which the
proposal would be implemented to achieve ecological and
community economic benefit, including capacity building
to accomplish restoration;
(B) a business plan that addresses--
(i) the anticipated unit treatment cost
reductions over 10 years;
(ii) the anticipated costs for
infrastructure needed for the proposal;
(iii) the projected sustainability of the
supply of woody biomass and small-diameter
trees removed in ecological restoration
treatments; and
(iv) the projected local economic benefits
of the proposal; and
(C) documentation of the non-Federal investment in
the priority landscape, including the sources and uses
of the investments.
(2) Project implementation.--Amounts transferred to the
Secretaries from the Fund shall be used to carry out ecological
restoration treatments that are--
(A) consistent with the landscape restoration
proposal and strategy; and
(B) identified through the collaborative process
described in subsection (c)(2).
(3) Annual report.--The Secretaries, in collaboration with
interested persons, shall prepare an annual report on the
accomplishments of each selected collaborative forest landscape
restoration proposal that includes--
(A) a description of all acres (or other
appropriate unit) treated and restored through projects
implementing the landscape restoration strategy;
(B) an evaluation of progress, including
performance measures and how prior year evaluations
have contributed to improved project performance;
(C) a description of community benefits achieved,
including any local economic benefits;
(D) the results of the multiparty monitoring,
evaluation, and accountability process under paragraph
(4); and
(E) a summary of the costs of--
(i) treatments; and
(ii) relevant fire management activities.
(4) Multiparty monitoring.--The Secretaries, in
collaboration with interested persons, shall use a multiparty
monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess
the positive or negative ecological, social, and economic
effects of each project implementing a selected collaborative
forest landscape restoration proposal for not less than 15
years after project implementation commences.
(i) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the first fiscal year in
which funding is made available to carry out ecological restoration
projects under the program, and every 5 years thereafter, the
Secretaries shall submit a report on the program, including an
assessment of whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling
the purposes of this Act, to--
(1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E136)
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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