Northern Forest Stewardship Act

Summary: Northern Forest Stewardship Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to:  (1) provide technical assistance to Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont for forest products marketing cooperatives, for implementing principles of sustainability, and for land conservation; (2) prepare a related study of the Northern Forest region; and (3) cooperate in Northern Forest research. 
Provides for interstate coordination strategy. 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide technical assistance to forest-based industry for labor safety and training activities. 
Authorizes appropriations for:  (1) land conservation; and (2) other activities under this Act. 
Expresses the sense of the Congress:  (1) that States should provide landowners with liability exemptions for permitting free public use of their land; and (2) in favor of a funding mechanism to support conservation of nongame fish and wildlife on public and private land.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Forest Stewardship Act''.

SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS.

    With respect to the Northern Forest, in the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, Congress declares that--
            (1) people have a right to participate in decisions that 
        affect them;
            (2) the rights of private property owners must be 
        respected;
            (3) natural systems must be sustained over the long-term 
        air, soil, water, and the diversity of plant and animal 
        species;
            (4) the history and culture of the Northern Forest and the 
        connections between people and the land must be respected;
            (5) the Federal Government must work in partnership with 
        State and local governments;
            (6) differences among the 4 Northern Forest States must be 
        recognized;
            (7) people must appreciate that the Northern Forest has 
        values that are important beyond the boundaries of the forest;
            (8) public funds are scarce; the greatest public benefit 
        must be secured for any additional investment;
            (9) proposals must be judged by their long-term benefits;
            (10) programs and regulations should be continually 
        evaluated, built upon, and improved before new ones are 
        created; and
            (11) this Act is enacted to implement the will of the 
        States, local governments, businesses, landowners, and 
        concerned citizens, as described by the consensus report of the 
        Northern Forest Lands Council submitted to Congress in 
        September 1994.

SEC. 3. MARKETING COOPERATIVES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide 
technical assistance to the States of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, 
and Vermont to organize marketing cooperatives of willing landowners to 
collectively grow, process, prepare for market, and market raw forest 
products in interstate and foreign commerce and to serve other 
stewardship goals collectively among willing landowners.
    (b) Study.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a study of 
the Northern Forest region to assess--
            (1) landowner interest in creating marketing cooperatives;
            (2) forest-related economic and environmental benefits that 
        could be enhanced through marketing cooperatives including the 
        development of domestic processing plants, access to 
        professional foresters and forest scientists, biodiversity 
        protection, and long-term sustainability; and
            (3) barriers to creating marketing cooperative for forest 
        landowners.

SEC. 4. PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Chief of the Forest Service, shall, at the request of the States of 
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, provide technical 
assistance in working with the forest products industry, forest-
dependent communities, interested citizens, and scientists, as 
appropriate, to define benchmarks of sustainability and establish 
practical techniques for implementing and monitoring principles of 
sustainability.
    (b) Principles of Sustainability.--For the purposes of subsection 
(a), principles of sustainability may include--
            (1) maintenance of soil productivity;
            (2) conservation of water quality, wetlands, and riparian 
        zones;
            (3) maintenance or creation of a healthy balance of forest 
        age classes;
            (4) continuous flow of timber, pulpwood, and other forest 
        products;
            (5) improvement of the overall quality of the timber 
        resource as a foundation for more value-added opportunities;
            (6) addressing scenic quality by limiting adverse aesthetic 
        impacts of forest harvesting, particularly in high-elevation 
        areas and vistas;
            (7) conservation and enhancment of habitats that support a 
        full range of native flora and fauna;
            (8) protection of unique or fragile natural areas; and
            (9) continuation of opportunities for traditional 
        recreation.

SEC. 5. NORTHERN FOREST RESEARCH COOPERATIVE.

    The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Northeast Forest 
Experiment Station and other programs administered by the Chief of the 
Forest Service, shall cooperate with the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, the land grant universities of those 
States, natural resource and forestry schools, and other interested 
parties in collecting, coordinating, and promoting--
            (1) research at those universities on ecosystem health, 
        forest management, product development, economics, and related 
        fields;
            (2) forest management practices for use by land managers to 
        maximize multiresource benefits and ecosystem health;
            (3) technology transfer to the wood products industry on 
        efficient processing, pollution prevention, and energy 
        conservation; and
            (4) the dissemination of existing and new information to 
        landowners, public and private resource managers, State forest 
        citizen advisory committees, and the general public through 
        information clearinghouse activities.

SEC. 6. INTERSTATE COORDINATION STRATEGY.

    (a) Meetings of Forest Service Representative and Representatives 
of States.--The Chief of the Forest Service shall make a representative 
of the State and Private Forest Program available to meet jointly at 
least once a year with representatives of the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont to coordinate the implementation of 
Federal, State, and local interests in the Northern Forest.
    (b) Appointment.--Representatives of a State may include--
            (1) the State forester, commissioner of forestry, or 
        equivalent officer with responsibility for setting forestry 
        policy for the State;
            (2) 1 representative appointed by the presiding officer of 
        each house of the State legislature;
            (3) a citizen advisory committee appointed by the Governor; 
        and
            (4) the congressional delegation of the State.

SEC. 7. LABOR SAFETY AND TRAINING.

    The Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall 
provide technical assistance to forest-based industry groups to--
            (1) improve workplace safety;
            (2) establish and expand appropriate training programs; and
            (3) encourage the development of equipment and methods of 
        timber harvesting that are safer than those currently in use, 
        profitable, and environmentally compatible.

SEC. 8. LAND CONSERVATION.

    (a) Federal Assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting through the Director of the Park Service and Director 
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, at the request of the 
State of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, or New York, shall provide 
technical and financial assistance for the planning and acquisition of 
land and easements.
    (b) Criteria.--The planning process to prioritize land conservation 
shall include the following criteria:
            (1) Conservation of and access to outstanding recreational 
        values such as hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, boating, 
        and hiking opportunities.
            (2) Outstanding biological diversity, ecological value, 
        geological features, and ecosystem function.
            (3) Willing seller with community approval.
            (4) Outstanding scenic value.
            (5) The potential of losing any of the values described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (4) as the result of conversion of land 
        to a nonforest use.
    (c) Method of Acquisition.--The Secretary may acquire lands or 
easements for purposes of this Act by donation, purchase or exchange, 
or otherwise with the consent of the owner of the lands.
    (d) Land Acquisition.--Federal and State cooperative acquisition 
projects may be carried out with funding provided exclusively by the 
Federal Government or with funding provided by both the Federal 
Government and the State government according to Federal conservation 
objectives and State conservation objectives.
    (e) Complementary Program.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
conduct activities under this section as a complement to the State 
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan for each Northern Forest State 
and with a landscape perspective.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated, out of the land and water conservation fund established 
by section 2 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 
U.S.C. 460l-4), such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.

SEC. 9. LANDOWNER LIABILITY EXEMPTION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) many landowners allow free access by the general public 
        to private lands for recreational purposes; and
            (2) when landowners make their resources available for 
        public enjoyment without a fee, landowners should not be liable 
        for acts based on the mere fact of ownership of undeveloped 
        land and awareness that a citizen or citizens were using their 
        land.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that States 
should enact laws that protect forest land owners from liability of 
responsible use of private lands by citizens who use private lands free 
of charge.

SEC. 10. NONGAME CONSERVATION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) private landowners often manage their lands in ways 
        that produce a variety of public benefits including wildlife 
        habitat; and
            (2) there should be more incentives for private landowners 
        to exceed current forest management standards and 
        responsibilities under Federal laws.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
Congress should make it a priority to consider legislation that creates 
a funding mechanism to support the conservation of nongame fish and 
wildlife and associated recreation activities on public and private 
lands and does not replace, substitute, or duplicate existing laws that 
support game fish and wildlife.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1996, 1997, 
1998, 1999, and 2000 such sums as are necessary to carry out sections 
3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Act and section 2371 of the Rural Economic 
Development Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601) in the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.