II 

Calendar No. 530 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 557 

[Report No. 117–179] 

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 

OCTOBER 18, 2022 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, by 

Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the United States has a significant interest 

4 in— 

5 (A) preserving the worldwide system of 

6 richly varied habitats; 

7 (B) protecting native plant biodiversity and 

8 the ecosystems that support that biodiversity; 

9 and 

10 (C) protecting the quality of life of people 

11 in the United States; 

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

13 natural beauty of the landscape of the United 

14 States, which must be preserved; 

15 (3) the extensive root systems of native plants 

16 control erosion, moderate floods, filter water to im17 prove water quality, decrease the amount of water 

18 needed for landscape maintenance, and sequester 

19 carbon to combat climate change; 

20 (4) native plants provide food and habitat for 

21 pollinators and wildlife; 

22 (5) native plants supply an important genetic 

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

24 products; 

25 (6) native plant communities are important 

26 components of cultural landscapes; 


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1 (7) the use of native plant materials for res2 toration or enhancement contributes to the preserva3 tion of cultural landscapes; 

4 (8) the use of native plant species in revegeta5 tion efforts after construction activities and adjacent 

6 to roadways increases habitat for a variety of polli7 nators and other native animal species; 

8 (9) supporting native plant communities within 

9 or adjacent to agricultural areas provides important 

10 wildlife habitat that would not otherwise be avail11 able; 

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

13 reduce the need for herbicides and water use; and 

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

15 in North America, it has been estimated that nearly 

16 25 to 30 percent are at risk of extinction as a result 

17 of factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, tem18 perature shifts, and pesticide use. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

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

22 with respect to invasive species, containing, sup23 pressing, or reducing populations of invasive species. 


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

2 with respect to invasive species, removing or destroy3 ing an entire population of invasive species. 

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

5 species’’ means, with respect to a particular eco6 system, a nonnative organism, the introduction of 

7 which causes or is likely to cause economic or envi8 ronmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant 

9 health. 

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

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

12 that— 

13 (A) originate from an area that is geo14 graphically proximate to a planting area; and 

15 (B) are environmentally adapted to and 

16 likely to become established and persist in that 

17 planting area. 

18 (5) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REGION.—The 

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

20 the following unified Interior regions designated by 

21 the Secretary of the Interior: 

22 (A) Alaska. 

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

24 (C) Columbia-Pacific Northwest. 

25 (D) California-Great Basin. 


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1 (E) Great Lakes. 

2 (F) Lower Colorado-Basin. 

3 (G) Mississippi-Basin. 

4 (H) Missouri-Basin. 

5 (I) North Atlantic-Appalachian. 

6 (J) Pacific Islands. 

7 (K) South Atlantic-Gulf. 

8 (L) Upper Colorado-Basin. 

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

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

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

12 an introduction, historically occurred or currently oc13 curs in that ecosystem. 

14 (7) NONNATIVE OR ALIEN.—The term ‘‘non15 native or alien’’ means, with respect to a particular 

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

17 spores, or other biological material of the organism 

18 capable of propagating that species, that occurs out19 side of the natural range of the organism. 

20 (8) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant mate21 rial’’ means a plant or the seeds, eggs, spores, or 

22 other biological material of a plant capable of propa23 gating the species of the plant. 


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

2 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di3 rector of the National Park Service. 

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

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

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es7 tablish a pilot program in 2 or more National Park Service 

8 regions to promote the use of native plant materials. 

9 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out land man10 agement activities on Federal land under the jurisdiction 

11 of the Secretary, including maintenance and restoration 

12 in response to degradation caused by human activity or 

13 natural events (such as fire, flood, or infestation), the Sec14 retary shall— 

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

16 the use of locally adapted native plant materials; 

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

18 eradicate the spread of invasive species; and 

19 (3) identify situations in which the use of non20 native or alien plant materials may be warranted, in21 cluding situations in which— 

22 (A) emergency conditions require the pro23 tection of basic resource values; 


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1 (B) an interim nonpersistent measure is 

2 needed to aid in the reestablishment of a native 

3 plant species; 

4 (C) native plant materials are not reason5 ably available; and 

6 (D) the plant community subject to a land 

7 management activity has been permanently al8 tered. 

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

10 native plants throughout programs of the Department of 

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

12 program, coordinate activities with— 

13 (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau 

14 of Land Management; 

15 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 

16 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 

17 Resources Conservation Service. 

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

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

20 date on which the pilot program is established under sub21 section (a). 

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

23 on which the authority to carry out the pilot program ter24 minates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit 


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1 to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro2 gram. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this Act. 

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

7 PLANT MATERIALS IN CARRYING OUT LAND 

8 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL 

9 LAND. 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, con12 sistent with section 4, conduct a study to review existing 

13 data to determine the cost-effectiveness of using native 

14 plant materials in land management activities on Federal 

15 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or other Fed16 eral land management agencies. 

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

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

19 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives a report describing the results 

22 of the study required under subsection (a). 

23 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Plant Species 

25 Pilot Program Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. 

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

3 the date on which funds are made available to carry out 

4 this Act, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 

5 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, in accordance with any 

6 existing laws and management policies, carry out a pilot 

7 program to prioritize the use of native plant species within 

8 geographically diverse units of the National Park System 

9 and public land administered by the Bureau of Land Man10 agement. 

11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out the pilot pro12 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the extent 

13 practicable— 

14 (1) give preference to the use of locally adapted 

15 native plant materials where appropriate; 

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

17 eradicate the spread of invasive species; 

18 (3) incorporate efforts to use native plants in 

19 areas that have experienced a recent wildfire event; 

20 and 

21 (4) identify situations in which the use of non22 native plants may be warranted. 

23 (c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall, in carrying 

24 out the pilot program under subsection (a), coordinate ac25 tivities with— 


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1 (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau of 

2 Land Management; 

3 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 

4 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 

5 Resources Conservation Service. 

6 (d) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to 

7 carry out the pilot program under subsection (a) terminates 

8 on the date that is 5 years after the date on which the pilot 

9 program is established under that subsection. 

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

11 which the authority to carry out the pilot program termi12 nates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit to 

13 Congress a report describing— 

14 (1) the results of the pilot program carried out 

15 under subsection (a); and 

16 (2) the cost-effectiveness of using native plants in 

17 units of the National Park System and public land 

18 administered by the Bureau of Land Management. 


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pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 530 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 557 

[Report No. 117–179] 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program for native plant 

species, and for other purposes. 

OCTOBER 18, 2022 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of 

October 14, 2022, with an amendment 


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