II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 557 

To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2021 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program for native plant species, 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 ‘‘Native Plant Species 

5 Pilot Program Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the United States has a significant interest 

9 in— 


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1 (A) preserving the worldwide system of 

2 richly varied habitats; 

3 (B) protecting native plant biodiversity and 

4 the ecosystems that support that biodiversity; 

5 and 

6 (C) protecting the quality of life of people 

7 in the United States; 

8 (2) native plants are an inseparable part of the 

9 natural beauty of the landscape of the United 

10 States, which must be preserved; 

11 (3) the extensive root systems of native plants 

12 control erosion, moderate floods, filter water to im13 prove water quality, decrease the amount of water 

14 needed for landscape maintenance, and sequester 

15 carbon to combat climate change; 

16 (4) native plants provide food and habitat for 

17 pollinators and wildlife; 

18 (5) native plants supply an important genetic 

19 record for future food, agriculture, and plant-derived 

20 products; 

21 (6) native plant communities are important 

22 components of cultural landscapes; 

23 (7) the use of native plant materials for res24 toration or enhancement contributes to the preserva25 tion of cultural landscapes; 


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1 (8) the use of native plant species in revegeta2 tion efforts after construction activities and adjacent 

3 to roadways increases habitat for a variety of polli4 nators and other native animal species; 

5 (9) supporting native plant communities within 

6 or adjacent to agricultural areas provides important 

7 wildlife habitat that would not otherwise be avail8 able; 

9 (10) the use of native plants in landscaping can 

10 reduce the need for herbicides and water use; and 

11 (11) of the 20,000 known native plant species 

12 in North America, it has been estimated that nearly 

13 25 to 30 percent are at risk of extinction as a result 

14 of factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, tem15 perature shifts, and pesticide use. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means, 

19 with respect to invasive species, containing, sup20 pressing, or reducing populations of invasive species. 

21 (2) ERADICATE.—The term ‘‘eradicate’’ means, 

22 with respect to invasive species, removing or destroy23 ing an entire population of invasive species. 

24 (3) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 

25 species’’ means, with respect to a particular ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S557.IS S557

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1 system, a nonnative organism, the introduction of 

2 which causes or is likely to cause economic or envi3 ronmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant 

4 health. 

5 (4) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 

6 adapted’’ means, with respect to plants, plants 

7 that— 

8 (A) originate from an area that is geo9 graphically proximate to a planting area; and 

10 (B) are environmentally adapted to and 

11 likely to become established and persist in that 

12 planting area. 

13 (5) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REGION.—The 

14 term ‘‘National Park Service region’’ means each of 

15 the following unified Interior regions designated by 

16 the Secretary of the Interior: 

17 (A) Alaska. 

18 (B) Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf. 

19 (C) Columbia-Pacific Northwest. 

20 (D) California-Great Basin. 

21 (E) Great Lakes. 

22 (F) Lower Colorado-Basin. 

23 (G) Mississippi-Basin. 

24 (H) Missouri-Basin. 

25 (I) North Atlantic-Appalachian. 


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1 (J) Pacific Islands. 

2 (K) South Atlantic-Gulf. 

3 (L) Upper Colorado-Basin. 

4 (6) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 

5 plant species’’ means, with respect to a particular 

6 ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of 

7 an introduction, historically occurred or currently oc8 curs in that ecosystem. 

9 (7) NONNATIVE OR ALIEN.—The term ‘‘non10 native or alien’’ means, with respect to a particular 

11 ecosystem, an organism, including the seeds, eggs, 

12 spores, or other biological material of the organism 

13 capable of propagating that species, that occurs out14 side of the natural range of the organism. 

15 (8) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant mate16 rial’’ means a plant or the seeds, eggs, spores, or 

17 other biological material of a plant capable of propa18 gating the species of the plant. 

19 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di21 rector of the National Park Service. 

22 SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall esVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S557.IS S557

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1 tablish a pilot program in 2 or more National Park Service 

2 regions to promote the use of native plant materials. 

3 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out land man4 agement activities on Federal land under the jurisdiction 

5 of the Secretary, including maintenance and restoration 

6 in response to degradation caused by human activity or 

7 natural events (such as fire, flood, or infestation), the Sec8 retary shall— 

9 (1) to the extent practicable, give preference to 

10 the use of locally adapted native plant materials; 

11 (2) incorporate efforts to prevent, control, or 

12 eradicate the spread of invasive species; and 

13 (3) identify situations in which the use of non14 native or alien plant materials may be warranted, in15 cluding situations in which— 

16 (A) emergency conditions require the pro17 tection of basic resource values; 

18 (B) an interim nonpersistent measure is 

19 needed to aid in the reestablishment of a native 

20 plant species; 

21 (C) native plant materials are not reason22 ably available; and 

23 (D) the plant community subject to a land 

24 management activity has been permanently al25 tered. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—To accelerate the adoption of 

2 native plants throughout programs of the Department of 

3 the Interior, the Secretary shall, in carrying out the pilot 

4 program, coordinate activities with— 

5 (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau 

6 of Land Management; 

7 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 

8 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 

9 Resources Conservation Service. 

10 (d) DURATION.—The authority to carry out the pilot 

11 program terminates on the date that is 5 years after the 

12 date on which the pilot program is established under sub13 section (a). 

14 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 on which the authority to carry out the pilot program ter16 minates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit 

17 to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro18 gram. 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec21 essary to carry out this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. STUDY ON COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF USING NATIVE 

2 PLANT MATERIALS IN CARRYING OUT LAND 

3 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL 

4 LAND. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, con7 sistent with section 4, conduct a study to review existing 

8 data to determine the cost-effectiveness of using native 

9 plant materials in land management activities on Federal 

10 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or other Fed11 eral land management agencies. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

14 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

15 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

16 House of Representatives a report describing the results 

17 of the study required under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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