Calendar No. 306
106TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
S. 1288
[Report No. 106–176]
A BILL
To provide incentives for collaborative forest restoration projects on National Forest System and other public lands in New Mexico, and for other purposes.
OCTOBER 6, 1999 Reported with an amendment
II
Calendar No. 306
106TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
S. 1288
[Report No. 106–176]
To provide incentives for collaborative forest restoration projects on National Forest System and other public lands in New Mexico, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE 28, 1999 Mr. BINGAMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources OCTOBER 6, 1999 Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
A BILL
To provide incentives for collaborative forest restoration projects on National Forest System and other public lands in New Mexico, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Forest
5 Restoration Act’’.
2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following: (1) Forest lands in New Mexico that are densely stocked with small diameter, even-aged trees can erupt in catastrophic wildfire that can endanger human lives and livelihoods. (2) Forest lands that are densely stocked with small diameter trees can reduce biodiversity and provide fewer benefits to human communities, wildlife, and watersheds. (3) Healthy and productive watersheds minimize the threat of catastrophic wildfire, provide abundant and diverse wildlife habitat, and produce a variety of timber and non-timber products including better quality water and increased water flows. (4) Restoration efforts are more successful when there is involvement from neighboring communities and better stewardship will evolve from more diverse involvement. (5) Designating demonstration restoration
projects through a collaborative approach may— (A) lead to the development of cost effective restoration activities; (B) empower diverse organizations to implement activities which value local and traditional knowledge;
3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 and (5) to encourage sustainable communities and sustainable forests through collaborative partnerships whose objectives are forest restoration.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
(C) build ownership and civic pride; and (D) ensure healthy, diverse, and productive forests and watersheds.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are— (1) to promote healthy watersheds and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, inset infestation, and disease in the forests in New Mexico; (2) to improve the functioning of forest ecosystems and enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity by reducing the unnaturally high number and density of small diameter trees on Federal, State, and tribal forest lands; (3) to improve communication and joint problem solving among individuals and groups who are interested in restoring the diversity and productivity of forested watersheds in New Mexico; (4) to promote the use of small diameter trees;
As used in this Act—
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4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service; and (2) the term ‘‘stakeholder’’ includes tribal governments, educational institutions, landowners, and other interested public and private entities.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
(a) The Secretary shall establish a cooperative forest
9 restoration program in New Mexico in order to provide 10 cost-share grants to stakeholders for experimental forest 11 restoration projects that are designed through a collabo12 rative process (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Collabo13 rative Forest Restoration Program’’). The Federal share 14 of an individual project cost shall not exceed eighty per15 cent of the total cost. 16 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to
17 receive funding under this Act, a project shall— 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (1) achieve one or more of the following objectives— (A) reducing the danger of catastrophic wildfire and re-introducing natural fire regimes on Federal, State, or tribal forest lands; (B) restoring healthy, biologically diverse, and productive watersheds on Federal, State, or tribal forest lands; or
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5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (C) improving the use of, or add value to, small diameter trees; (2) comply with all Federal and State environmental laws; (3) include a diverse and balanced group of stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, State, and tribal government representatives in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project; (4) incorporate current scientific forest restoration information; (5) include a multi-party assessment to report, upon project completion, on the impact and effectiveness of the project including improvements in local management skills and on the ground results; (6) create local employment or training opportunities within the context of accomplishing restoration objectives, that are consistent with the purposes of this Act, including summer youth jobs programs such as the Youth Conservation Corps where appropriate; (7) not exceed four years in length; (8) not cost more than $150,000 annually nor $450,000 total; (9) leverage Federal funding through in-kind or matching contributions; and
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6 1 2 3 4 5 (10) include an agreement by the stakeholders that they will attend an annual workshop with other groups that receive funding pursuant to this Act.
SEC. 6. SELECTION PROCESS.
(a) After consulting with the technical advisory panel
6 established in subsection (b), the Secretary shall select the 7 proposals that will receive funding through the Collabo8 rative Forest Restoration Program. 9 (b) The Secretary shall convene a technical advisory
10 panel to evaluate the proposals for forest restoration 11 grants and provide recommendations regarding which pro12 posals would best meet the objectives of the Collaborative 13 Forest Restoration Program. The technical advisory panel 14 shall consider current scientific forest restoration informa15 tion, the effect on long-term management, and seek to use 16 a consensus-based decision making process to develop such 17 recommendations. The panel shall be composed of 12 to 18 15 members, to be appointed by the Secretary as follows: 19 20 21 22 23 (1) A State Natural Resource official from the State of New Mexico. (2) At least two representatives from Federal land management agencies. (3) At least one tribal or pueblo representative.
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7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (4) At least one academic or other scientist, qualified to address issues of southwestern forest ecology. (5) Equal representation from— (A) conservation interests; (B) local communities; and (C) commodity interests.
SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION.
The Secretary shall establish a multi-party moni-
10 toring and evaluation process in order to assess the cumu11 lative accomplishments of the Collaborative Forest Res12 toration Program. The Secretary shall include any inter13 ested individual or organization in the monitoring and 14 evaluation process. 15 16
SEC. 8. REPORT.
No later than five years after the first fiscal year in
17 which funding is made available for this program, the Sec18 retary shall submit a report to the Committee on Energy 19 and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and 20 the Committee on Resources of the United States House 21 of Representatives. The report shall include an assessment 22 on whether, and to what extent, the projects funded pursu23 ant to this Act are meeting the purposes of the Collabo24 rative Forest Restoration Program.
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8 1 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Forest Res-
3 toration Act’’. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following: (1) A century of fire suppression, logging, and livestock grazing has altered the ecological balance of New Mexico’s forests. (2) Some forest lands in New Mexico contain an unnaturally high number of small diameter trees that are subject to large, high intensity wildfires that can endanger human lives, livelihoods, and ecological stability. (3) Forest lands that contain an unnaturally high number of small diameter trees have reduced biodiversity and provide fewer benefits to human communities, wildlife, and watersheds. (4) Healthy and productive watersheds minimize the threat of large, high intensity wildfires, provide abundant and diverse wildlife habitat, and produce a variety of timber and non-timber products including better quality water and increased water flows. (5) Restoration efforts are more successful when there is involvement from neighboring communities and better stewardship will evolve from more diverse involvement.
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9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (6) Designing demonstration restoration projects through a collaborative approach may— (A) lead to the development of cost effective restoration activities; (B) empower diverse organizations to implement activities which value local and traditional knowledge; (C) build ownership and civic pride; and (D) ensure healthy, diverse, and productive forests and watersheds.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are— (1) to promote healthy watersheds and reduce the threat of large, high intensity wildfires, insect infestation, and disease in the forests in New Mexico; (2) to improve the functioning of forest ecosystems and enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity by reducing the unnaturally high number and density of small diameter trees on Federal, Tribal, State, County, and Municipal forest lands; (3) to improve communication and joint problem solving among individuals and groups who are interested in restoring the diversity and productivity of forested watersheds in New Mexico;
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10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 (4) to improve the use of, or add value to, small diameter trees; (5) to encourage sustainable communities and sustainable forests through collaborative partnerships, whose objectives are forest restoration; and (6) to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate ecologically sound forest restoration techniques.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act— (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service; and (2) the term ‘‘stakeholder’’ includes: tribal governments, educational institutions, landowners, and other interested public and private entities.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
(a) The Secretary shall establish a cooperative forest
18 restoration program in New Mexico in order to provide 19 cost-share grants to stakeholders for experimental forest res20 toration projects that are designed through a collaborative 21 process (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Collaborative Forest 22 Restoration Program’’). The projects may be entirely on, 23 or on any combination of, Federal, Tribal, State, County, 24 or Municipal forest lands. The Federal share of an indi25 vidual project cost shall not exceed eighty percent of the
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11 1 total cost. The twenty percent matching may be in the form 2 of cash or in-kind contribution. 3 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to re-
4 ceive funding under this Act, a project shall— 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (1) address the following objectives— (A) reduce the threat of large, high intensity wildfires and the negative effects of excessive competition between trees by restoring ecosystem functions, structures, and species composition, including the reduction of non-native species populations; (B) re-establish fire regimes approximating those that shaped forest ecosystems prior to fire suppression; (C) preserve old and large trees; (D) replant trees in deforested areas if they exist in the proposed project area; and (E) improve the use of, or add value to, small diameter trees; (2) comply with all Federal and State environmental laws; (3) include a diverse and balanced group of stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, Tribal, State, County, and Municipal government representa-
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12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 tives in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project; (4) incorporate current scientific forest restoration information; and (5) include a multi-party assessment to— (A) identify both the existing ecological condition of the proposed project area and the desired future condition; and (B) report, upon project completion, on the positive or negative impact and effectiveness of the project including improvements in local management skills and on the ground results; (6) create local employment or training opportunities within the context of accomplishing restoration objectives, that are consistent with the purposes of this Act, including summer youth jobs programs such as the Youth Conservation Corps where appropriate; (7) not exceed four years in length; (8) not exceed a total annual cost of $150,000, with the Federal portion not exceeding $120,000 annually, nor exceed a total cost of $450,000 for the project, with the Federal portion of the total cost not exceeding $360,000; (9) leverage Federal funding through in-kind or matching contributions; and
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13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10) include an agreement by each stakeholder to attend an annual workshop with other stakeholders for the purpose of discussing the cooperative forest restoration program and projects implemented under this Act. The Secretary shall coordinate and fund the annual workshop. Stakeholders may use funding for projects authorized under this Act to pay for their travel and per diem expenses to attend the workshop.
SEC. 6. SELECTION PROCESS.
(a) After consulting with the technical advisory panel
11 established in subsection (b), the Secretary shall select the 12 proposals that will receive funding through the Collabo13 rative Forest Restoration Program. 14 (b) The Secretary shall convene a technical advisory
15 panel to evaluate the proposals for forest restoration grants 16 and provide recommendations regarding which proposals 17 would best meet the objectives of the Collaborative Forest 18 Restoration Program. The technical advisory panel shall 19 consider eligibility criteria established in section 5, the ef20 fect on long term management, and seek to use a consensus21 based decision making process to develop such recommenda22 tions. The panel shall be composed of 12 to 15 members, 23 to be appointed by the Secretary as follows: 24 25 (1) A State Natural Resource official from the State of New Mexico.
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14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (2) At least two representatives from Federal land management agencies. (3) At least one tribal or pueblo representative. (4) At least two independent scientists with experience in forest ecosystem restoration. (5) Equal representation from— (A) conservation interests; (B) local communities; and (C) commodity interests.
SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATON.
The Secretary shall establish a multi-party monitoring
12 and evaluation process in order to assess the cumulative 13 accomplishments or adverse impacts of the Collaborative 14 Forest Restoration Program. The Secretary shall include 15 any interested individual or organization in the monitoring 16 and evaluation process. The Secretary also shall conduct a 17 monitoring program to assess the short and long term eco18 logical effects of the restoration treatments, if any, or a 19 minimum of 15 years. 20 21
SEC. 8. REPORT.
No later than five years after the first fiscal year in
22 which funding is made available for this program, the Sec23 retary shall submit a report to the Committee on Energy 24 and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the 25 Committee on Resources of the United States House of Rep-
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15 1 resentatives. The report shall include an assessment on 2 whether, and to what extent, the projects funded pursuant 3 to this Act are meeting the purposes of the Collaborative 4 Forest Restoration Program.
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