16 USC 7303 - Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

Collapse to view only § 7303. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

§ 7301. Purpose
§ 7302. Definitions
§ 7303. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
§ 7304. Authorization of appropriations

§ 7301. PurposeThe purpose of this chapter 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 and watershed health objectives; and

(ii) affect wildfire activity and management costs; and

(B) the use of forest restoration byproducts can offset treatment costs while benefitting local rural economies and improving forest health.

(Pub. L. 111–11, title IV, § 4001, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1141.)

§ 7302. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) Fund

(2) Program

(3) Proposal

(4) Secretary

(5) Strategy

(Pub. L. 111–11, title IV, § 4002, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1141.)

§ 7303. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

(a) In generalThe Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes in accordance with—

(1) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

(2) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and

(3) any other applicable law.

(b) Eligibility criteriaTo be eligible for nomination under subsection (c), 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 within a landscape that is—

(i) at least 50,000 acres;

(ii) comprised primarily of forested National Forest System land, but may also include land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or 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;

(D) fully maintains, or contributes toward the restoration of, the structure and composition of old growth stands according to the pre-fire suppression old growth conditions characteristic of the forest type, taking into account the contribution of the stand to landscape fire adaptation and watershed health and retaining the large trees contributing to old growth structure;

(E) would carry out any forest restoration treatments that reduce hazardous fuels by—

(i) focusing on small diameter trees, thinning, strategic fuel breaks, and fire use to modify fire behavior, as measured by the projected reduction of uncharacteristically severe wildfire effects for the forest type (such as adverse soil impacts, tree mortality or other impacts); and

(ii) maximizing the retention of large trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to the extent that the trees promote fire-resilient stands; and

(F)

(i) does not include the establishment of permanent roads; and

(ii) would commit funding to decommission all temporary roads constructed to carry out the strategy;

(2) be developed and implemented through a collaborative process that—

(A) includes multiple interested persons representing diverse interests; and

(B)

(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or

(ii) meets the requirements for a resource advisory committee under subsections (c) through (f) of section 7125 of this title; 1

1 See References in Text note below.

(3) describe plans to—

(A) reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire, including through the use of fire for ecological restoration and maintenance and reestablishing natural fire regimes, where appropriate;

(B) improve fish and wildlife habitat, including for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species;

(D) prevent, remediate, or control invasions of exotic species;

(E) maintain, decommission, and rehabilitate roads and trails;

(F) use woody biomass and small-diameter trees produced from projects implementing the 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; and

(H) take into account any applicable community wildfire protection plan;

(4) analyze any anticipated cost savings, including those 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;

(6) describe the collaborative process through which the proposal was developed, including a description of—

(A) participation by or consultation with State, local, and Tribal governments; and

(B) any established record of successful collaborative planning and implementation of ecological restoration projects on National Forest System land and other land included in the proposal by the collaborators; and

(7) benefit local economies by providing local employment or training opportunities through contracts, grants, or agreements for restoration planning, design, implementation, or monitoring with—

(A) local private, nonprofit, or cooperative entities;

(B) Youth Conservation Corps crews or related partnerships, with State, local, and non-profit youth groups;

(D) other entities that will hire or train local people to complete such contracts, grants, or agreements; and

(8) be subject to any other requirements that the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, determines to be necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the program.

(1) SubmissionA proposal shall be submitted to—

(A) the appropriate Regional Forester; and

(B) if actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the appropriate—

(i) State Director of the Bureau of Land Management;

(ii) Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or

(iii) other official of the Department of the Interior.

(2) Nomination

(A) In general

(B) ConcurrenceAny proposal nominated by the Regional Forester that proposes actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior shall include the concurrence of the appropriate—

(i) State Director of the Bureau of Land Management;

(ii) Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or

(iii) other official of the Department of the Interior.

(3) DocumentationWith respect to each proposal that is nominated under paragraph (2)—

(A) the appropriate Regional Forester shall—

(i) include a plan to use Federal funds allocated to the region to fund those costs of planning and carrying out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land, consistent with the strategy, that would not be covered by amounts transferred to the Secretary from the Fund; and

(ii) provide evidence that amounts proposed to be transferred to the Secretary from the Fund during the first 2 fiscal years following selection would be used to carry out ecological restoration treatments consistent with the strategy during the same fiscal year in which the funds are transferred to the Secretary;

(B) if actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the nomination shall include a plan to fund such actions, consistent with the strategy, by the appropriate—

(i) State Director of the Bureau of Land Management;

(ii) Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or

(iii) other official of the Department of the Interior; and

(C) if actions on land not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the appropriate Regional Forester shall provide evidence that the landowner intends to participate in, and provide appropriate funding to carry out, the actions.

(d) Selection process

(1) In generalAfter consulting with the advisory panel established under subsection (e), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall, subject to paragraph (2), select the best proposals that—

(A) have been nominated under subsection (c)(2); and

(B) meet the eligibility criteria established by subsection (b).

(2) CriteriaIn selecting proposals under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give special consideration to—

(A) the strength of the proposal and strategy;

(B) the strength of the ecological case of the proposal and the proposed ecological restoration strategies;

(D) whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs;

(E) whether the proposal would reduce the relative costs of carrying out ecological restoration treatments as a result of the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees; and

(F) whether an appropriate level of non-Federal investment would be leveraged in carrying out the proposal.

(3) LimitationThe Secretary may select not more than—

(A) 10 proposals to be funded during any fiscal year;

(B) 2 proposals in any 1 region of the National Forest System to be funded during any fiscal year; and

(4) Waiver

(A) In general

(B) LimitationThe extension described in subparagraph (A)—

(i) shall be for the shortest period of time practicable to complete implementation of the proposal, as determined by the Secretary; and

(ii) shall not exceed 10 years.

(e) Advisory panel

(1) In general

(2) Representation

(3) Inclusion

(f) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund

(1) Establishment

(2) Inclusion

(3) Contents

(4) Expenditures from Fund

(A) In general

(B) LimitationThe Secretary shall not expend money from the Fund on any 1 proposal—

(i) during a period of more than 10 fiscal years; or

(ii) in excess of $4,000,000 in any 1 fiscal year.

(5) Accounting and reporting system

(6) Authorization of appropriations

(g) Program implementation and monitoring

(1) Work planNot later than 180 days after the date on which a proposal is selected to be carried out, the Secretary shall create, in collaboration with the interested persons, an implementation work plan and budget to implement the 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;

(C) documentation of the non-Federal investment in the priority landscape, including the sources and uses of the investments; and

(D) a plan to decommission any temporary roads established to carry out the proposal.

(2) Project implementationAmounts transferred to the Secretary from the Fund shall be used to carry out ecological restoration treatments that are—

(A) consistent with the proposal and strategy; and

(B) identified through the collaborative process described in subsection (b)(2).

(3) Annual reportThe Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior and interested persons, shall prepare an annual report on the accomplishments of each selected proposal that includes—

(A) a description of all acres (or other appropriate unit) treated and restored through projects implementing the strategy;

(B) an evaluation of progress, including performance measures and how prior year evaluations have contributed to improved project performance;

(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

(h) ReportNot 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 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit a report on the program, including an assessment of whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling the purposes of this chapter, to—

(1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;

(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

(3) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;

(4) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;

(5) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(6) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives.

(Pub. L. 111–11, title IV, § 4003, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1141; Pub. L. 115–334, title VIII, § 8629, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4865.)

§ 7304. Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior such sums as are necessary to carry out this chapter.

(Pub. L. 111–11, title IV, § 4004, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1147.)