I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2720 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment 

and demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian olive, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. PEARCE (for himself, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mrs. CUBIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the 

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and 

demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian 

olive, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Salt Cedar and Rus3 sian Olive Control Demonstration Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SALT CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE CONTROL DEM5 ONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

7 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting 

8 through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Direc9 tor of the United States Geological Survey and in coopera10 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

11 of Defense, shall carry out a salt cedar (Tamarix spp) and 

12 Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) assessment and 

13 demonstration program— 

14 (1) to assess the extent of the infestation by 

15 salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western 

16 United States; 

17 (2) to demonstrate strategic solutions for— 

18 (A) the long-term management of salt 

19 cedar and Russian olive trees; and 

20 (B) the reestablishment of native vegeta21 tion; and 

22 (3) to assess economic means to dispose of bio23 mass created as a result of removal of salt cedar and 

24 Russian olive trees. 

25 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—As soon 

26 as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
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1 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into 

2 a memorandum of understanding providing for the admin3 istration of the program established under subsection (a). 

4 (c) ASSESSMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

7 out this Act, the Secretary shall complete an assess8 ment of the extent of salt cedar and Russian olive 

9 infestation on public and private land in the western 

10 United States. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to describing 

12 the acreage of and severity of infestation by salt 

13 cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United 

14 States, the assessment shall— 

15 (A) consider existing research on methods 

16 to control salt cedar and Russian olive trees; 

17 (B) consider the feasibility of reducing 

18 water consumption by salt cedar and Russian 

19 olive trees; 

20 (C) consider methods of and challenges as21 sociated with the revegetation or restoration of 

22 infested land; and 

23 (D) estimate the costs of destruction of 

24 salt cedar and Russian olive trees, related bio-
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1 mass removal, and revegetation or restoration 

2 and maintenance of the infested land. 

3 (3) REPORT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat6 ural Resources and the Committee on Agri7 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 

8 and the Committee on Resources and the Com9 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report that includes the results of 

11 the assessment conducted under paragraph (1). 

12 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall identify— 

14 (i) long-term management and fund15 ing strategies identified under subsection 

16 (d) that could be implemented by Federal, 

17 State, tribal, and private land managers 

18 and owners to address the infestation by 

19 salt cedar and Russian olive; 

20 (ii) any deficiencies in the assessment 

21 or areas for additional study; and 

22 (iii) any field demonstrations that 

23 would be useful in the effort to control salt 

24 cedar and Russian olive. 

25 (d) LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall identify 

2 and document long-term management and funding 

3 strategies that— 

4 (A) could be implemented by Federal, 

5 State, tribal, and private land managers in ad6 dressing infestation by salt cedar and Russian 

7 olive trees; and 

8 (B) should be tested as components of 

9 demonstration projects under subsection (e). 

10 (2) GRANTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

12 provide grants to eligible entities to provide 

13 technical experience, support, and recommenda14 tions relating to the identification and docu15 mentation of long-term management and fund16 ing strategies under paragraph (1). 

17 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Institutions of 

18 higher education and nonprofit organizations 

19 with an established background and expertise in 

20 the public policy issues associated with the con21 trol of salt cedar and Russian olive trees shall 

22 be eligible for a grant under subparagraph (A). 

23 (C) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

24 grant provided under subparagraph (A) shall be 

25 not less than $250,000. 
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1 (e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

3 after the date on which funds are made available to 

4 carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

5 program that selects and funds not less than 5 

6 projects proposed by and implemented in collabora7 tion with Federal agencies, units of State and local 

8 government, national laboratories, Indian tribes, in9 stitutions of higher education, individuals, organiza10 tions, or soil and water conservation districts to 

11 demonstrate and evaluate the most effective methods 

12 of controlling salt cedar and Russian olive trees. 

13 (2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The demonstra14 tion projects under paragraph (1) shall— 

15 (A) be carried out over a time period and 

16 to a scale designed to fully assess long-term 

17 management strategies; 

18 (B) implement salt cedar or Russian olive 

19 tree control using 1 or more methods for each 

20 project in order to assess the full range of con21 trol methods, including— 

22 (i) airborne application of herbicides; 

23 (ii) mechanical removal; and 

24 (iii) biocontrol methods, such as the 

25 use of goats or insects; 
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1 (C) individually or in conjunction with 

2 other demonstration projects, assess the effects 

3 of and obstacles to combining multiple control 

4 methods and determine optimal combinations of 

5 control methods; 

6 (D) assess soil conditions resulting from 

7 salt cedar and Russian olive tree infestation 

8 and means to revitalize soils; 

9 (E) define and implement appropriate final 

10 vegetative states and optimal revegetation 

11 methods, with preference for self-maintaining 

12 vegetative states and native vegetation, and tak13 ing into consideration downstream impacts, 

14 wildfire potential, and water savings; 

15 (F) identify methods for preventing the re16 growth and reintroduction of salt cedar and 

17 Russian olive trees; 

18 (G) monitor and document any water sav19 ings from the control of salt cedar and Russian 

20 olive trees, including impacts to both ground21 water and surface water; 

22 (H) assess wildfire activity and manage23 ment strategies; 

24 (I) assess changes in wildlife habitat; 
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1 (J) determine conditions under which re2 moval of biomass is appropriate (including opti3 mal methods for the disposal or use of bio4 mass); and 

5 (K) assess economic and other impacts as6 sociated with control methods and the restora7 tion and maintenance of land. 

8 (f) DISPOSITION OF BIOMASS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

10 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

11 out this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

12 Secretary of Agriculture, shall complete an analysis 

13 of economic means to use or dispose of biomass cre14 ated as a result of removal of salt cedar and Russian 

15 olive trees. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis shall— 

17 (A) determine conditions under which re18 moval of biomass is economically viable; 

19 (B) consider and build upon existing re20 search by the Department of Agriculture and 

21 other agencies on beneficial uses of salt cedar 

22 and Russian olive tree fiber; and 

23 (C) consider economic development oppor24 tunities, including manufacture of wood prod25 ucts using biomass resulting from demonstra-
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1 tion projects under subsection (e) as a means of 

2 defraying costs of control. 

3 (g) COSTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to projects and 

5 activities carried out under this Act— 

6 (A) the assessment under subsection (c) 

7 shall be carried out at a cost of not more than 

8 $4,000,000; 

9 (B) the identification and documentation 

10 of long-term management strategies under sub11 section (d)(1) and the provision of grants under 

12 subsection (d)(2) shall be carried out at a cost 

13 of not more than $2,000,000; 

14 (C) each demonstration project under sub15 section (e) shall be carried out at a Federal cost 

16 of not more than $7,000,000 (including costs of 

17 planning, design, implementation, maintenance, 

18 and monitoring); and 

19 (D) the analysis under subsection (f) shall 

20 be carried out at a cost of not more than 

21 $3,000,000. 

22 (2) COST-SHARING.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The assessment under 

24 subsection (c), the identification and docu25 mentation of long-term management strategies 
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1 under subsection (d), a demonstration project 

2 or portion of a demonstration project under 

3 subsection (e) that is carried out on Federal 

4 land, and the analysis under subsection (f) shall 

5 be carried out at full Federal expense. 

6 (B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS CARRIED

7 OUT ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

9 of the costs of any demonstration project 

10 funded under subsection (e) that is not 

11 carried out on Federal land shall not ex12 ceed 75 percent. 

13 (ii) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL

14 SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the 

15 costs of a demonstration project that is not 

16 carried out on Federal land may be pro17 vided in the form of in-kind contributions, 

18 including services provided by a State 

19 agency or any other public or private part20 ner. 

21 (h) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the assessment 

22 under subsection (c), the demonstration projects under 

23 subsection (e), and the analysis under subsection (f), the 

24 Secretary shall cooperate with and use the expertise of 

25 Federal agencies and the other entities specified in sub-
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1 section (e)(1) that are actively conducting research on or 

2 implementing salt cedar and Russian olive tree control ac3 tivities. 

4 (i) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

5 subject to independent review— 

6 (1) the assessment under subsection (c); 

7 (2) the identification and documentation of 

8 long-term management strategies under subsection 

9 (d); 

10 (3) the demonstration projects under subsection 

11 (e); and 

12 (4) the analysis under subsection (f). 

13 (j) REPORTING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

15 to Congress an annual report that describes the re16 sults of carrying out this Act, including a synopsis 

17 of any independent review under subsection (i) and 

18 details of the manner and purposes for which funds 

19 are expended. 

20 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall fa21 cilitate public access to all information that results 

22 from carrying out this Act. 

23 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

25 appropriated to carry out this Act— 
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1 (A) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

2 (B) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

3 2007 through 2010. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 15 

5 percent of amounts made available under paragraph 

6 (1) shall be used to pay the administrative costs of 

7 carrying out the program established under sub8 section (a). 

9 (l) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—This Act and the 

10 authority provided by this Act terminate on the date that 

11 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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