-CITE-
    16 USC CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE
           PREVENTION                                      01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
       CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION   

-MISC1-
    Sec.                                                     
    6701.       Findings.                                             
    6702.       Purposes.                                             
    6703.       Definitions.                                          
    6704.       Establishment of Institutes.                          
    6705.       Cooperation between Institutes and Federal agencies.  
    6706.       Monitoring and evaluation.                            
    6707.       Authorization of appropriations.                      

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6701                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6701. Findings

-STATUTE-
      Congress finds that - 
        (1) there is an increasing threat of wildfire to millions of
      acres of forest land and rangeland throughout the United States;
        (2) forest land and rangeland are degraded as a direct
      consequence of land management practices, including practices to
      control and prevent wildfires and the failure to harvest
      subdominant trees from overstocked stands that disrupt the
      occurrence of frequent low-intensity fires that have periodically
      removed flammable undergrowth;
        (3) at least 39,000,000 acres of land of the National Forest
      System in the interior West are at high risk of wildfire;
        (4) an average of 95 percent of the expenditures by the Forest
      Service for wildfire suppression during fiscal years 1990 through
      1994 were made to suppress wildfires in the interior West;
        (5) the number, size, and severity of wildfires in the interior
      West are increasing;
        (6) of the timberland in National Forests in the States of
      Arizona and New Mexico, 59 percent of such land in Arizona, and
      56 percent of such land in New Mexico, has an average diameter of
      9 to 12 inches diameter at breast height;
        (7) the population of the interior West grew twice as fast as
      the national average during the 1990s;
        (8) catastrophic wildfires - 
          (A) endanger homes and communities;
          (B) damage and destroy watersheds and soils; and
          (C) pose a serious threat to the habitat of threatened and
        endangered species;

        (9) a 1994 assessment of forest health in the interior West
      estimated that only a 15- to 30-year window of opportunity exists
      for effective management intervention before damage from
      uncontrollable wildfire becomes widespread, with 8 years having
      already elapsed since the assessment;
        (10) healthy forest and woodland ecosystems - 
          (A) reduce the risk of wildfire to forests and communities;
          (B) improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity;
          (C) increase tree, grass, forb, and shrub productivity;
          (D) enhance watershed values;
          (E) improve the environment; and
          (F) provide a basis in some areas for economically and
        environmentally sustainable uses;

        (11) sustaining the long-term ecological and economic health of
      interior West forests and woodland, and their associated human
      communities requires preventing severe wildfires before the
      wildfires occur and permitting natural, low-intensity ground
      fires;
        (12) more natural fire regimes cannot be accomplished without
      the reduction of excess fuels and thinning of subdominant trees
      (which fuels and trees may be of commercial value);
        (13) ecologically based forest and woodland ecosystem
      restoration on a landscape scale will - 
          (A) improve long-term community protection;
          (B) minimize the need for wildfire suppression;
          (C) improve resource values;
          (D) improve the ecological integrity and resilience of these
        systems;
          (E) reduce rehabilitation costs;
          (F) reduce loss of critical habitat; and
          (G) protect forests for future generations;

        (14) although landscape scale restoration is needed to
      effectively reverse degradation, scientific understanding of
      landscape scale treatments is limited;
        (15) rigorous, objective, understandable, and applied
      scientific information is needed for - 
          (A) the design, implementation, monitoring, and adaptation of
        landscape scale restoration treatments and improvement of
        wildfire management;
          (B) the environmental review process; and
          (C) affected entities that collaborate in the development and
        implementation of wildfire treatment.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 2, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1204.)


-MISC1-
                                SHORT TITLE                            
      Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 1, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1204, provided
    that: "This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the
    'Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004'."

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6702                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6702. Purposes

-STATUTE-
      The purposes of this chapter are - 
        (1) to enhance the capacity to develop, transfer, apply,
      monitor, and regularly update practical science-based forest
      restoration treatments that will reduce the risk of severe
      wildfires, and improve the health of dry forest and woodland
      ecosystems in the interior West;
        (2) to synthesize and adapt scientific findings from
      conventional research programs to the implementation of forest
      and woodland restoration on a landscape scale;
        (3) to facilitate the transfer of interdisciplinary knowledge
      required to understand the socioeconomic and environmental
      impacts of wildfire on ecosystems and landscapes;
        (4) to require the Institutes established under this chapter to
      collaborate with Federal agencies - 
          (A) to use ecological restoration treatments to reverse
        declining forest health and reduce the risk of severe wildfires
        across the forest landscape; and
          (B) to design, implement, monitor, and regularly revise
        representative wildfire treatments based on the use of adaptive
        ecosystem management;

        (5) to assist land managers in - 
          (A) treating acres with restoration-based applications; and
          (B) using new management technologies (including the transfer
        of understandable information, assistance with environmental
        review, and field and classroom training and collaboration) to
        accomplish the goals identified in - 
            (i) the National Fire Plan;
            (ii) the report entitled "Protecting People and Sustaining
          Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems-A Cohesive Strategy" (65
          Fed. Reg. 67480); and
            (iii) the report entitled "10-Year Comprehensive Strategy:
          A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to
          Communities and the Environment" of the Western Governors'
          Association;

        (6) to provide technical assistance to collaborative efforts by
      affected entities to develop, implement, and monitor adaptive
      ecosystem management restoration treatments that are ecologically
      sound, economically viable, and socially responsible; and
        (7) to assist Federal and non-Federal land managers in
      providing information to the public on the role of fire and fire
      management in dry forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior
      West.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 3, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1205.)

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6703                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6703. Definitions

-STATUTE-
      In this chapter:
      (1) Adaptive ecosystem management
        (A) Definition
          The term "adaptive ecosystem management" means a natural
        resource management process under which planning,
        implementation, monitoring, research, evaluation, and
        incorporation of new knowledge are combined into a management
        approach that - 
            (i) is based on scientific findings and the needs of
          society;
            (ii) treats management actions as experiments;
            (iii) acknowledges the complexity of these systems and
          scientific uncertainty; and
            (iv) uses the resulting new knowledge to modify future
          management methods and policy.
        (B) Clarification
          This paragraph shall not define the term "adaptive ecosystem
        management" for the purposes of the Forest and Rangeland
        Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et
        seq.).
      (2) Affected entities
        The term "affected entities" includes - 
          (A) land managers;
          (B) stakeholders;
          (C) concerned citizens; and
          (D) the States of the interior West, including political
        subdivisions of the States.
      (3) Dry forest and woodland ecosystem
        The term "dry forest and woodland ecosystem" means an ecosystem
      that is dominated by ponderosa pines and associated dry forest
      and woodland types.
      (4) Institute
        The term "Institute" means an Institute established under
      section 6704(a) of this title.
      (5) Interior West
        The term "interior West" means the States of Arizona, Colorado,
      Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
      (6) Land manager
        (A) In general
          The term "land manager" means a person or entity that
        practices or guides natural resource management.
        (B) Inclusions
          The term "land manager" includes a Federal, State, local, or
        tribal land management agency.
      (7) Restoration
        The term "restoration" means a process undertaken to move an
      ecosystem or habitat toward - 
          (A) a sustainable structure of the ecosystem or habitat; or
          (B) a condition that supports a natural complement of
        species, natural function, or ecological process (such as a low-
        intensity fire).
      (8) Secretary
        The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
      through the Chief of the Forest Service.
      (9) Secretaries
        The term "Secretaries" means - 
          (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of
        the Forest Service; and
          (B) the Secretary of the Interior.
      (10) Stakeholder
        The term "stakeholder" means any person interested in or
      affected by management of forest or woodland ecosystems.
      (11) Subdominant trees
        Are trees that occur underneath the canopy or extend into the
      canopy but are smaller and less vigorous than dominant trees.
      (12) Overstocked stands
        Where the number of trees per acre exceeds the natural carrying
      capacity of the site.
      (13) Resilience
        The ability of a system to absorb disturbance without being
      pushed into a different, possibly less desirable stable state.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 4, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1206.)

-REFTEXT-
                            REFERENCES IN TEXT                        
      The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
    1974, referred to in par. (1)(B), is Pub. L. 93-378, Aug. 17, 1974,
    88 Stat. 476, as amended, which is classified generally to
    subchapter I (Sec. 1600 et seq.) of chapter 36 of this title. For
    complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
    note set out under section 1600 of this title and Tables.

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6704                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6704. Establishment of Institutes

-STATUTE-
    (a) In general
      The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the
    Interior, shall - 
        (1) not later than 180 days after October 5, 2004, establish
      Institutes to promote the use of adaptive ecosystem management to
      reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the health of forest
      and woodland ecosystems, in the interior West; and
        (2) provide assistance to the Institutes to promote the use of
      collaborative processes and adaptive ecosystem management in
      accordance with paragraph (1).
    (b) Location
      (1) Existing Institutes
        The Secretary may designate an institute in existence on
      October 5, 2004, to serve as an Institute established under this
      chapter.
      (2) States
        Of the Institutes established under this chapter, the Secretary
      shall establish 1 Institute in each of - 
          (A) the State of Arizona, to be located at Northern Arizona
        University;
          (B) the State of New Mexico, to be located at New Mexico
        Highlands University, while engaging the full resources of the
        consortium of universities represented in the Institute of
        Natural Resource Analysis and Management (INRAM); and
          (C) the State of Colorado.
    (c) Duties
      Each Institute shall - 
        (1) develop, conduct research on, transfer, promote, and
      monitor restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction treatments to
      reduce the risk of severe wildfires and improve the health of dry
      forest and woodland ecosystems in the interior West;
        (2) synthesize and adapt scientific findings from conventional
      research to implement restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction
      treatments on a landscape scale using an adaptive ecosystem
      management framework;
        (3) translate for and transfer to affected entities any
      scientific and interdisciplinary knowledge about restoration-
      based hazardous fuel reduction treatments;
        (4) assist affected entities with the design of adaptive
      management approaches (including monitoring) for the
      implementation of restoration-based hazardous fuel reduction
      treatments; and
        (5) provide peer-reviewed annual reports.
    (d) Qualifications
      Each Institute shall - 
        (1) develop and demonstrate capabilities in the natural,
      physical, social, and policy sciences; and
        (2) explicitly integrate those disciplines in the performance
      of the duties listed in subsection (c).
    (e) Cooperation
      Each Institute may cooperate with - 
        (1) researchers and cooperative extension programs at colleges,
      community colleges, and universities in the States of Arizona,
      New Mexico, and Colorado that have a demonstrated capability to
      conduct research described in subsection (c); and
        (2) other organizations and entities in the interior West (such
      as the Western Governors' Association).
    (f) Annual work plans
      As a condition of the receipt of funds made available under this
    chapter, for each fiscal year, each Institute shall develop in
    consultation with the Secretary, for review by the Secretary, in
    consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, an annual work
    plan that includes assurances, satisfactory to the Secretaries,
    that the proposed work of the Institute will serve the
    informational needs of affected entities.
    (g) Establishment of additional Institutes
      If after 2 years after October 5, 2004, the Secretary finds that
    the Institute model established at the locations named in
    subsection (b)(2) would be constructive for other interior West
    States, the Secretary may establish 1 institute in each of those
    States.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 5, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1207.)

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6705                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6705. Cooperation between Institutes and Federal agencies

-STATUTE-
      In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary, in consultation with
    the Secretary of the Interior - 
        (1) to the extent that funds are appropriated for the purpose,
      shall provide financial and technical assistance to the
      Institutes to carry out the duties of the Institutes under
      section 6704 of this title;
        (2) shall encourage Federal agencies to use, on a cooperative
      basis, information and expertise provided by the Institutes;
        (3) shall encourage cooperation and coordination between
      Federal programs relating to - 
          (A) ecological restoration;
          (B) wildfire risk reduction; and
          (C) wildfire management technologies;

        (4) notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, may - 
          (A) enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, and
        interagency personnel agreements to carry out this chapter; and
          (B) carry out other transactions under this chapter;

        (5) may accept funds from other Federal agencies to supplement
      or fully fund grants made, and contracts entered into, by the
      Secretaries;
        (6) may support a program of internships for qualified
      individuals at the undergraduate and graduate levels to carry out
      the educational and training objectives of this chapter;
        (7) shall encourage professional education and public
      information activities relating to the purposes of this chapter;
      and
        (8) may promulgate such regulations as the Secretaries
      determine are necessary to carry out this chapter.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 6, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1208.)

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6706                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6706. Monitoring and evaluation

-STATUTE-
    (a) In general
      Not later than 5 years after October 5, 2004, and every 5 years
    thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
    the Interior, shall complete and submit to the Committee on
    Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
    Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural
    Resources of the Senate a detailed evaluation of the programs and
    activities of each Institute - 
        (1) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
      research, communication tools, and information transfer
      activities of each Institute are sufficient to achieve the
      purposes of this chapter, including - 
          (A) implementing active adaptive ecosystem management
        practices at the landscape level;
          (B) reducing unnecessary planning costs;
          (C) avoiding duplicative and conflicting efforts;
          (D) increasing public acceptance of active adaptive ecosystem
        management practices; and
          (E) achieving general satisfaction on the part of affected
        entities;

        (2) to determine the extent to which each Institute has
      implemented its duties under section 6704(c) of this title; and
        (3) to determine whether continued provision of Federal
      assistance to each Institute is warranted.
    (b) Termination of assistance
      If, as a result of an evaluation under subsection (a), the
    Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior,
    determines that an Institute does not qualify for further Federal
    assistance under this chapter, the Institute shall receive no
    further Federal assistance under this chapter until such time as
    the qualifications of the Institute are reestablished to the
    satisfaction of the Secretaries.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 7, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1209.)

-End-



-CITE-
    16 USC Sec. 6707                                            01/03/2007

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
    CHAPTER 86 - SOUTHWEST FOREST HEALTH AND WILDFIRE PREVENTION

-HEAD-
    Sec. 6707. Authorization of appropriations

-STATUTE-
    (a) In general
      There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this chapter
    $15,000,000 for each fiscal year.
    (b) Limitation
      No funds made available under subsection (a) shall be used to pay
    the costs of constructing any facilities.

-SOURCE-
    (Pub. L. 108-317, Sec. 8, Oct. 5, 2004, 118 Stat. 1210.)

-End-