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 otherpurposes.

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 Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Forest

5 Restoration Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Forest lands in New Mexico that are dense4 ly stocked with small diameter, even-aged trees can

5 erupt in catastrophic wildfire that can endanger

6 human lives and livelihoods.

7 (2) Forest lands that are densely stocked with

8 small diameter trees can reduce biodiversity and pro9 vide fewer benefits to human communities, wildlife,

10 and watersheds.

11 (3) Healthy and productive watersheds mini12 mize the threat of catastrophic wildfire, provide

13 abundant and diverse wildlife habitat, and produce a

14 variety of timber and non-timber products including

15 better quality water and increased water flows.

16 (4) Restoration efforts are more successful

17 when there is involvement from neighboring commu18 nities and better stewardship will evolve from more

19 diverse involvement.

20 (5) Designating demonstration restoration

21 projects through a collaborative approach may—

22 (A) lead to the development of cost effec23 tive restoration activities;

24 (B) empower diverse organizations to im25 plement activities which value local and tradi26 tional knowledge;
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1 (C) build ownership and civic pride; and

2 (D) ensure healthy, diverse, and productive

3 forests and watersheds.

4 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to promote healthy watersheds and reduce

7 the threat of catastrophic wildfire, inset infestation,

8 and disease in the forests in New Mexico;

9 (2) to improve the functioning of forest eco10 systems and enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity

11 by reducing the unnaturally high number and den12 sity of small diameter trees on Federal, State, and

13 tribal forest lands;

14 (3) to improve communication and joint prob15 lem solving among individuals and groups who are

16 interested in restoring the diversity and productivity

17 of forested watersheds in New Mexico;

18 (4) to promote the use of small diameter trees;

19 and

20 (5) to encourage sustainable communities and

21 sustainable forests through collaborative partner22 ships whose objectives are forest restoration.

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

24 As used in this Act—
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1 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the For3 est Service; and

4 (2) the term ‘‘stakeholder’’ includes tribal gov5 ernments, educational institutions, landowners, and

6 other interested public and private entities.

7 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

8 (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 (1) achieve one or more of the following

19 objectives—

20 (A) reducing the danger of catastrophic

21 wildfire and re-introducing natural fire regimes

22 on Federal, State, or tribal forest lands;

23 (B) restoring healthy, biologically diverse,

24 and productive watersheds on Federal, State, or

25 tribal forest lands; or
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1 (C) improving the use of, or add value to,

2 small diameter trees;

3 (2) comply with all Federal and State environ4 mental laws;

5 (3) include a diverse and balanced group of

6 stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, State,

7 and tribal government representatives in the design,

8 implementation, and monitoring of the project;

9 (4) incorporate current scientific forest restora10 tion information;

11 (5) include a multi-party assessment to report,

12 upon project completion, on the impact and effec13 tiveness of the project including improvements in

14 local management skills and on the ground results;

15 (6) create local employment or training oppor16 tunities within the context of accomplishing restora17 tion objectives, that are consistent with the purposes

18 of this Act, including summer youth jobs programs

19 such as the Youth Conservation Corps where appro20 priate;

21 (7) not exceed four years in length;

22 (8) not cost more than $150,000 annually nor

23 $450,000 total;

24 (9) leverage Federal funding through in-kind or

25 matching contributions; and
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1 (10) include an agreement by the stakeholders

2 that they will attend an annual workshop with other

3 groups that receive funding pursuant to this Act.

4 SEC. 6. SELECTION PROCESS.

5 (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 (1) A State Natural Resource official from the

20 State of New Mexico.

21 (2) At least two representatives from Federal

22 land management agencies.

23 (3) At least one tribal or pueblo representative.
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1 (4) At least one academic or other scientist,

2 qualified to address issues of southwestern forest

3 ecology.

4 (5) Equal representation from—

5 (A) conservation interests;

6 (B) local communities; and

7 (C) commodity interests.

8 SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION.

9 The Secretary shall establish a multi-party moni10 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 SEC. 8. REPORT.

16 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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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Forest Res3 toration Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) A century of fire suppression, logging, and

7 livestock grazing has altered the ecological balance of

8 New Mexico’s forests.

9 (2) Some forest lands in New Mexico contain an

10 unnaturally high number of small diameter trees that

11 are subject to large, high intensity wildfires that can

12 endanger human lives, livelihoods, and ecological sta13 bility.

14 (3) Forest lands that contain an unnaturally

15 high number of small diameter trees have reduced bio16 diversity and provide fewer benefits to human com17 munities, wildlife, and watersheds.

18 (4) Healthy and productive watersheds minimize

19 the threat of large, high intensity wildfires, provide

20 abundant and diverse wildlife habitat, and produce a

21 variety of timber and non-timber products including

22 better quality water and increased water flows.

23 (5) Restoration efforts are more successful when

24 there is involvement from neighboring communities

25 and better stewardship will evolve from more diverse

26 involvement.
9

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1 (6) Designing demonstration restoration projects

2 through a collaborative approach may—

3 (A) lead to the development of cost effective

4 restoration activities;

5 (B) empower diverse organizations to im6 plement activities which value local and tradi7 tional knowledge;

8 (C) build ownership and civic pride; and

9 (D) ensure healthy, diverse, and productive

10 forests and watersheds.

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

12 The purposes of this Act are—

13 (1) to promote healthy watersheds and reduce the

14 threat of large, high intensity wildfires, insect infesta15 tion, and disease in the forests in New Mexico;

16 (2) to improve the functioning of forest eco17 systems and enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity

18 by reducing the unnaturally high number and density

19 of small diameter trees on Federal, Tribal, State,

20 County, and Municipal forest lands;

21 (3) to improve communication and joint problem

22 solving among individuals and groups who are inter23 ested in restoring the diversity and productivity of

24 forested watersheds in New Mexico;
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1 (4) to improve the use of, or add value to, small

2 diameter trees;

3 (5) to encourage sustainable communities and

4 sustainable forests through collaborative partnerships,

5 whose objectives are forest restoration; and

6 (6) to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate eco7 logically sound forest restoration techniques.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

9 As used in this Act—

10 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

11 Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest

12 Service; and

13 (2) the term ‘‘stakeholder’’ includes: tribal gov14 ernments, educational institutions, landowners, and

15 other interested public and private entities.

16 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

17 (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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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 re4 ceive funding under this Act, a project shall—

5 (1) address the following objectives—

6 (A) reduce the threat of large, high intensity

7 wildfires and the negative effects of excessive

8 competition between trees by restoring ecosystem

9 functions, structures, and species composition,

10 including the reduction of non-native species

11 populations;

12 (B) re-establish fire regimes approximating

13 those that shaped forest ecosystems prior to fire

14 suppression;

15 (C) preserve old and large trees;

16 (D) replant trees in deforested areas if they

17 exist in the proposed project area; and

18 (E) improve the use of, or add value to,

19 small diameter trees;

20 (2) comply with all Federal and State environ21 mental laws;

22 (3) include a diverse and balanced group of

23 stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, Tribal,

24 State, County, and Municipal government representa-
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1 tives in the design, implementation, and monitoring

2 of the project;

3 (4) incorporate current scientific forest restora4 tion information; and

5 (5) include a multi-party assessment to—

6 (A) identify both the existing ecological con7 dition of the proposed project area and the de8 sired future condition; and

9 (B) report, upon project completion, on the

10 positive or negative impact and effectiveness of

11 the project including improvements in local

12 management skills and on the ground results;

13 (6) create local employment or training opportu14 nities within the context of accomplishing restoration

15 objectives, that are consistent with the purposes of this

16 Act, including summer youth jobs programs such as

17 the Youth Conservation Corps where appropriate;

18 (7) not exceed four years in length;

19 (8) not exceed a total annual cost of $150,000,

20 with the Federal portion not exceeding $120,000 an21 nually, nor exceed a total cost of $450,000 for the

22 project, with the Federal portion of the total cost not

23 exceeding $360,000;

24 (9) leverage Federal funding through in-kind or

25 matching contributions; and
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1 (10) include an agreement by each stakeholder to

2 attend an annual workshop with other stakeholders

3 for the purpose of discussing the cooperative forest res4 toration program and projects implemented under

5 this Act. The Secretary shall coordinate and fund the

6 annual workshop. Stakeholders may use funding for

7 projects authorized under this Act to pay for their

8 travel and per diem expenses to attend the workshop.

9 SEC. 6. SELECTION PROCESS.

10 (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 (1) A State Natural Resource official from the

25 State of New Mexico.
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1 (2) At least two representatives from Federal

2 land management agencies.

3 (3) At least one tribal or pueblo representative.

4 (4) At least two independent scientists with expe5 rience in forest ecosystem restoration.

6 (5) Equal representation from—

7 (A) conservation interests;

8 (B) local communities; and

9 (C) commodity interests.

10 SEC. 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATON.

11 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 SEC. 8. REPORT.

21 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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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.