346
TITLE VIII—FORESTRY
Subtitle A—Cooperative
Forestry Assistance
Act of 1978
INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
(a)
REPEAL.—The Cooperative
Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 is
amended
by striking section 4 (16 U.S.C. 2103) and section 6 (16
U.S.C.
2103b).
(b)
USE OF REMAINING FUNDS.—Notwithstanding
the amendment
made
by subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture may use
funds
appropriated for fiscal year 2002 for the forestry incentives
program
or the stewardship incentive program, but not expended before
the
date of enactment of this Act, to carry out sections 4 and
6
of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, as in effect on
the
date before the date of enactment of this Act.
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SEC. 8002. ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREST LAND
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.
(a)
PURPOSES.—The purposes of
this section are—
(1)
to strengthen the commitment of the Secretary of Agriculture
to
sustainable forest management to enhance the productivity
of
timber, fish and wildlife habitat, soil and water
quality,
wetland, recreational resources, and aesthetic values of
forest
land; and
(2)
to establish a coordinated and cooperative Federal,
State,
and local sustainable forestry program for the establishment,
management,
maintenance, enhancement, and restoration
of
forests on nonindustrial private forest land.
(b)
FOREST LAND ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.—The
Cooperative
Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 is amended by inserting after section
3
(16 U.S.C. 2102) the following:
‘‘SEC. 4. FOREST LAND ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.
‘‘(a)
ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1)
IN GENERAL.—The Secretary
of Agriculture shall establish
a
forest land enhancement program—
‘‘(A)
to provide financial assistance to State foresters;
and
‘‘(B)
to encourage the long-term sustainability of nonindustrial
private
forest lands in the United States by assisting
the
owners of nonindustrial private forest lands,
through
State foresters, in more actively managing the nonindustrial
private
forest lands and related resources of
those
owners through the use of State, Federal, and private
sector
resource management expertise, financial assistance,
and
educational programs.
‘‘(2)
COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—The
Secretary,
acting
through State foresters, shall implement the program—
‘‘(A)
in coordination with the State Forest Stewardship
Coordinating
Committees; and
‘‘(B)
in consultation with other Federal, State, and
local
natural resource management agencies, institutions of
higher
education, and a broad range of private sector interests.
‘‘(b)
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.—In
implementing the program, the
Secretary
shall target resources to achieve the following objectives:
‘‘(1)
Investing in practices to establish, restore, protect,
manage,
maintain, and enhance the health and productivity of
the
nonindustrial private forest lands in the United States for
timber,
habitat for flora and fauna, soil, water, and air quality,
wetlands,
and riparian buffers.
‘‘(2)
Ensuring that afforestation, reforestation, improvement
of
poorly stocked stands, timber stand improvement, practices
necessary
to improve seedling growth and survival, and growth
enhancement
practices occur where needed to enhance and sustain
the
long-term productivity of timber and nontimber forest
resources
to help meet future public demand for all forest resources
and
provide environmental benefits.
‘‘(3)
Reducing the risks and helping restore, recover, and
mitigate
the damage to forests caused by fire, insects, invasive
species,
disease, and damaging weather.
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‘‘(4)
Increasing and enhancing carbon sequestration opportunities.
‘‘(5)
Enhancing implementation of agroforestry practices.
‘‘(6)
Maintaining and enhancing the forest landbase and leverage
State
and local financial and technical assistance to
owners
that promote the same conservation and environmental
values.
‘‘(7)
Preserving the aesthetic quality of nonindustrial private
forest
lands and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation.
‘‘(c)
STATE PRIORITY PLAN.—
‘‘(1)
DEVELOPMENT.—The State
Forester and State Forest
Stewardship
Coordinating Committee of a State shall jointly
develop
and submit to the Secretary a State priority plan that
is
intended to promote forest management objectives in that
State.
‘‘(2)
REPORT.—Not later than
September 30, 2006, each
State
that implemented a State priority plan shall submit to the
Secretary
a report describing the status of all activities and
practices
funded under the program as of that date.
‘‘(d)
OWNER ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1)
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To
be eligible for cost-share assistance
under
the program, an owner of nonindustrial private
forest
lands shall agree—
‘‘(A)
to develop and implement, in cooperation with a
State
forester, another State official, or a professional resources
manager,
a management plan that—
‘‘(i)
except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), provides
for
the treatment of not more than 1,000 acres of
nonindustrial
private forest lands;
‘‘(ii)
is approved by the State forester; and
‘‘(iii)
addresses site specific activities and practices;
and
‘‘(B)
to implement approved activities and practices in
a
manner consistent with the management plan for a period
of
not less than 10 years, unless the State forester approves
a
modification to the plan.
‘‘(2)
PUBLIC BENEFIT EXCEPTION.—The
Secretary may increase
the
acreage limitation specified in paragraph (1)(A)(i) to
not
more than 5,000 acres for an owner of nonindustrial private
forest
lands if the Secretary, in consultation with the State forester,
determines
that significant public benefits will accrue as
a
result of the provision of cost-share assistance under the program
for
the treatment of the additional acreage.
‘‘(3)
PLAN DEVELOPMENT EXCEPTION.—An
owner may receive
cost-share
assistance under the program for the purpose of
developing
a management plan under subsection (e) that provides
for
the treatment of acreage in excess of the acreage limitations
specified
in paragraphs (1)(A)(i) and (2), except that the
owner’s
eligibility for cost-share assistance to implement approved
activities
and practices under the management plan remains
subject
to the acreage limitation specified in paragraph
(1)(A)(i)
or, if the Secretary makes the determination described
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in
paragraph (2), the acreage limitation specified in that paragraph.
‘‘(e)
MANAGEMENT PLAN.—
‘‘(1)
SUBMISSION AND CONTENT.—An
owner of nonindustrial
private
forest lands that seeks to participate in the program
shall
submit to the State forester of the State in which the
lands
are located a management plan that—
‘‘(A)
identifies and describes projects and activities to
be
carried out by the owner to protect or enhance soil,
water,
air, range and aesthetic quality, recreation, timber,
water,
wetland, or fish and wildlife resources on the lands
in
a manner that is compatible with the objectives of the
owner;
‘‘(B)
addresses any criteria established by the State and
the
applicable Committee; and
‘‘(C)
meets the other requirements of this section.
‘‘(2)
LANDS COVERED.—At a
minimum, the management
plan
shall apply to those portions of the nonindustrial private
forest
lands of the owner on which any project or activity funded
under
the program will be carried out. In a case in which
a
project or activity may affect acreage outside the portion of the
land
on which the project or activity is carried out, the management
plan
shall apply to all lands of the owner that are in forest
cover
and may be affected by the project or activity.
‘‘(f)
APPROVED ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1)
STATE LIST.—The Secretary
shall develop for each
State
a list of approved forest activities and practices eligible
for
cost-share assistance that meets the purposes of the program.
The
Secretary shall develop the list for a State in consultation
with
the State forester and the Committee for that
State.
‘‘(2)
TYPES OF ACTIVITIES.—Approved
activities and practices
under
paragraph (1) may consist of activities and practices
for
the following purposes:
‘‘(A)
The establishment, management, maintenance,
and
restoration of forests for shelterbelts, windbreaks, aesthetic
quality,
and other conservation purposes.
‘‘(B)
The sustainable growth and management of forests
for
timber production.
‘‘(C)
The restoration, use, and enhancement of forest
wetland
and riparian areas.
‘‘(D)
The protection of water quality and watersheds
through—
‘‘(i)
the planting of trees in riparian areas; and
‘‘(ii)
the enhanced management and maintenance
of
native vegetation on land vital to water quality.
‘‘(E)
The management, maintenance, restoration, or development
of
habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.
‘‘(F)
The control, detection, monitoring, and prevention
of
the spread of invasive species and pests on nonindustrial
private
forest lands.
‘‘(G)
The restoration of nonindustrial private forest
land
affected by invasive species and pests.
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350
‘‘(H)
The conduct of other management activities, such
as
the reduction of hazardous fuels, that reduce the risks
to
forests posed by, and that restore, recover, and mitigate
the
damage to forests caused by, fire or any other catastrophic
event,
as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(I)
The development of management plans;
‘‘(J)
The conduct of energy conservation and carbon sequestration
activities.
‘‘(K)
The conduct of other activities approved by the
Secretary,
in consultation with the State forester and the
appropriate
Committees.
‘‘(g)
REIMBURSEMENT OF ELIGIBLE
ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1)
IN GENERAL.—In the case of
an eligible owner that has
an
approved management plan, the Secretary shall share the
cost
of implementing the approved activities and practices that
the
Secretary determines are appropriate.
‘‘(2)
RATE.—The Secretary shall
determine the appropriate
reimbursement
rate for cost-share payments under paragraph
(1)
and the schedule for making those payments.
‘‘(3)
MAXIMUM COST SHARE.—The
Secretary shall not make
cost-share
payments under this subsection to an owner in an
amount
in excess of 75 percent, or a lower percentage as determined
by
the State forester, of the total cost to the owner to implement
the
approved activities and practices under the management
plan.
‘‘(4)
AGGREGATE PAYMENT LIMIT.—The
Secretary shall determine
the
maximum aggregate amount of cost-share payments
that
an owner may receive under the program.
‘‘(5)
CONSULTATION.—The
Secretary shall make determinations
under
this subsection in consultation with the State forester.
‘‘(h)
RECAPTURE.—
‘‘(1)
IN GENERAL.—The Secretary
shall establish and implement
a
mechanism to recapture payments made to an owner in
the
event that the owner fails to implement an approved activity
or
practice specified in the management plan for which the
owner
received cost-share payments.
‘‘(2)
ADDITIONAL REMEDY.—The
remedy provided in paragraph
(1)
is in addition to any other remedy available to the
Secretary.
‘‘(i)
DISTRIBUTION OF COST-SHARE FUNDS.—The Secretary, acting
through
the State foresters, shall distribute funds available for
cost
sharing under the program only after giving appropriate consideration
to
the following factors:
‘‘(1)
The public benefits that would result from the distribution.
‘‘(2)
The total acreage of nonindustrial private forest lands
in
each State.
‘‘(3)
The potential productivity of those lands, as determined
by
the Secretary.
‘‘(4)
The number of owners eligible for cost sharing in each
State.
‘‘(5)
The opportunities to enhance nontimber resources on
those
lands, including—
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351
‘‘(A)
the protection of riparian buffers and forest wetland;
‘‘(B)
the preservation of fish and wildlife habitat;
‘‘(C)
the enhancement of soil, air, and water quality;
and
‘‘(D)
the preservation of aesthetic quality and opportunities
for
outdoor recreation.
‘‘(6)
The anticipated demand for timber and nontimber resources
in
each State.
‘‘(7)
The need to improve forest health to minimize the damaging
effects
of catastrophic fire, insects, disease, or weather.
‘‘(8)
The need and demand for agroforestry practices in
each
State.
‘‘(9)
The need to maintain and enhance the forest landbase.
‘‘(10)
The need for afforestation, reforestation, and timber
stand
improvement.
‘‘(j)
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The
Secretary shall use
$100,000,000
of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry
out
the Program during the period beginning on the date of enactment
of
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and
ending
on September 30, 2007.
‘‘(k)
DEFINITIONS.—In this
section:
‘‘(1)
NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LANDS.—The
term
‘nonindustrial
private forest lands’ means rural lands, as determined
by
the Secretary, that—
‘‘(A)
have existing tree cover or are suitable for growing
trees;
and
‘‘(B)
are owned by any nonindustrial private individual,
group,
association, corporation, Indian tribe, or
other
private legal entity so long as the individual, group,
association,
corporation, tribe, or entity has definitive decision-
making
authority over the lands.
‘‘(2)
COMMITTEE.—The terms
‘State Forest Stewardship Coordinating
Committee’
and ‘Committee’ means a State Forest
Stewardship
Coordinating Committee established under section
19(b).
‘‘(3)
INDIAN TRIBE.—The term
‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning
given
the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination
and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
‘‘(4)
OWNER.—The term ‘owner’
means an owner of nonindustrial
private
forest land.
‘‘(5)
PROGRAM.—The term
‘program’ means the forest land
enhancement
program established by this section.
‘‘(6)
SECRETARY.—The term
‘Secretary’ means the Secretary
of
Agriculture.
‘‘(7)
STATE FORESTER.—The term
‘State forester’ means the
director
or other head of a State Forestry Agency or equivalent
State
official.’’.
(c)
CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section
246(b)(2) of the Department
of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.
6962(b)(2))
is amended by striking ‘‘forestry incentive program’’ and
inserting
‘‘forest land enhancement program’’.
May 1, 2002