II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 753 

To reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to authorize States to use 

funds from that Act for administrative purposes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2021 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. 

CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to authorize 

States to use funds from that Act for administrative 

purposes, 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 ‘‘Highlands Conserva5 tion Reauthorization Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE HIGHLANDS CON7 SERVATION ACT. 

8 The Highlands Conservation Act (Public Law 108– 

9 421; 118 Stat. 2375) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 3— 

2 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘(1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘High5 lands region’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the area depicted on the map entitled 

7 ‘The Highlands Region’, dated June 2004, up8 dated after the date of enactment of the High9 lands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021 

10 to comprise each municipality included on the 

11 list of municipalities included in the Highlands 

12 region as of that date of enactment, and main13 tained in the headquarters of the Forest Service 

14 in Washington, District of Columbia; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a municipality approved by the Direc16 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv17 ice under section 4(e).’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by amending sub19 paragraph (B) to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(B) identified by a Highlands State as 

21 having high conservation value using the best 

22 available science and geographic information 

23 systems; and’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘, including a political subdivision 

3 thereof; or’’; and 

4 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) through 

5 (7); 

6 (2) in section 4— 

7 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘in 

8 the Study’’ and all that follows through the end 

9 of the paragraph and inserting ‘‘using the best 

10 available science and geographic information 

11 systems; and’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (c), by amending para13 graph (5) to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(5) provides that land conservation partner15 ship projects will be consistent with areas identified 

16 as having high conservation value in accordance with 

17 the purposes described in section 2 in the Highlands 

18 region.’’; 

19 (C) in subsection (e), by striking 

20 ‘‘$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 

21 through 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000 for 

22 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028’’; 

23 (D) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub24 section (g); and 


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1 (E) by inserting after subsection (d) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(e) REQUEST FOR INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL MU4 NICIPALITY.—The Director of the United States Fish and 

5 Wildlife Service may, at the request of a Highlands State, 

6 approve the inclusion of a municipality within the State 

7 as part of the Highlands region. 

8 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec10 retary of the Interior may not expend more than 

11 $300,000 for the administration of this Act in each 

12 fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—A State that 

14 receives funds under this section for a land con15 servation partnership project may not use more than 

16 5 percent of the funds to administer the land con17 servation partnership project.’’; 

18 (3) in section 5— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the 

20 Study, Update, and any future study that the 

21 Forest Service may undertake in’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (b)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in24 cluding a Pennsylvania and Connecticut 

25 Update’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

2 findings’’ and all that follows through the 

3 end of the paragraph and inserting ‘‘with 

4 stakeholders regarding implementation of 

5 the program; and’’; and 

6 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2005 

7 through 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2022 through 

8 2028’’; and 

9 (4) in section 6, by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f) APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an ap13 praisal related to a land acquisition carried out 

14 under this Act, a Highlands State may use an ap15 praisal methodology approved by the Secretary of 

16 the Interior. 

17 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE APPRAISAL METHOD18 OLOGY.—A Highlands State may petition the Sec19 retary of the Interior to consider an alternative ap20 praisal methodology when there is a conflict, in any 

21 Highlands State, between— 

22 ‘‘(A) an appraisal methodology approved 

23 by the Secretary of the Interior under para24 graph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) applicable State law.’’. 

Æ 


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