II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 962 

To establish a grant program to support landscape-scale restoration and 

management, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to support landscape-scale 

restoration and management, 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 ‘‘Empowering State 

5 Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

7 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13A of the Cooperative 

9 Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109a) is 

10 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 13A. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

2 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es4 tablish a landscape-scale restoration program to support 

5 landscape-scale restoration and management that results 

6 in measurable improvements to public benefits derived 

7 from State and private forest land, as identified in— 

8 ‘‘(1) a State-wide assessment described in sec9 tion 2A(a)(1); and 

10 ‘‘(2) a long-term State-wide forest resource 

11 strategy described in section 2A(a)(2). 

12 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE FOREST LAND.—The term ‘pri14 vate forest land’ means land that— 

15 ‘‘(A)(i) has existing tree cover; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) is suitable for growing trees; and 

17 ‘‘(B) is owned by— 

18 ‘‘(i) an Indian tribe (as defined in sec19 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

20 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

21 5304)); or 

22 ‘‘(ii) any private individual or entity. 

23 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL.—The term ‘regional’ means of 

24 any region of the National Association of State For25 esters. 


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

2 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

3 Chief of the Forest Service. 

4 ‘‘(4) STATE FOREST LAND.—The term ‘State 

5 forest land’ means land that is owned by a State or 

6 unit of local government. 

7 ‘‘(5) STATE FORESTER.—The term ‘State For8 ester’ means a State Forester or equivalent State of9 ficial. 

10 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta11 tion with State Foresters or other appropriate State agen12 cies, shall establish a landscape-scale restoration pro13 gram— 

14 ‘‘(1) to provide financial and technical assist15 ance for landscape-scale restoration projects on 

16 State forest land or private forest land; and 

17 ‘‘(2) that maintains or improves benefits from 

18 trees and forests on that land. 

19 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The landscape-scale restora20 tion program established under subsection (c) shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) measurably address the national private 

22 forest conservation priorities described in section 

23 2(c); 

24 ‘‘(2) enhance public benefits from trees and for25 ests, as identified in— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a State-wide assessment described in 

2 section 2A(a)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) a long-term State-wide forest re4 source strategy described in section 2A(a)(2); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(3) in accordance with the purposes described 

7 in section 2(b), have one or more objectives includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(A) protecting or improving water quality 

10 or quantity; 

11 ‘‘(B) reducing wildfire risk, including 

12 through hazardous fuels treatment; 

13 ‘‘(C) protecting or enhancing wildlife habi14 tat, consistent with wildlife objectives estab15 lished by the applicable State fish and wildlife 

16 agency; 

17 ‘‘(D) improving forest health and forest 

18 ecosystems, including addressing native, non19 native, and invasive pests; or 

20 ‘‘(E) enhancing opportunities for new and 

21 existing markets in which the production and 

22 use of wood products strengthens local and re23 gional economies. 


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1 ‘‘(e) MEASUREMENT.—The Secretary, in consultation 

2 with State Foresters, shall establish a measurement sys3 tem, including measurement tools, that— 

4 ‘‘(1) consistently measures the results of land5 scape-scale restoration projects described in sub6 section (c); and 

7 ‘‘(2) is consistent with the measurement sys8 tems of other Federal programs delivered by State 

9 Foresters. 

10 ‘‘(f) USE OF AMOUNTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.—Of amounts made available 

12 for the landscape-scale restoration program estab13 lished under subsection (c), the Secretary shall allo14 cate— 

15 ‘‘(A) 50 percent for the competitive process 

16 in accordance with subsection (g); and 

17 ‘‘(B) 50 percent proportionally to States, 

18 in consultation with State Foresters— 

19 ‘‘(i) to maximize the achievement of 

20 the objectives described in subsection 

21 (d)(3); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) to address the highest national 

23 priorities, as identified in— 

24 ‘‘(I) State-wide assessments de25 scribed in section 2A(a)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) long-term State-wide forest 

2 resource strategies described in sec3 tion 2A(a)(2). 

4 ‘‘(2) MULTIYEAR PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

5 may provide amounts under this section for 

6 multiyear projects. 

7 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis9 tribute amounts described in subsection (f)(1)(A) 

10 through a competitive process for landscape-scale 

11 restoration projects described in subsection (c) to 

12 maximize the achievement of the objectives described 

13 in subsection (d)(3). 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for funding 

15 through the competitive process described in para16 graph (1), a State Forester, or another entity on ap17 proval of the State Forester, shall submit to the Sec18 retary one or more landscape-scale restoration pro19 posals that— 

20 ‘‘(A) in accordance with paragraph (3)(A), 

21 include priorities identified in— 

22 ‘‘(i) State-wide assessments described 

23 in section 2A(a)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) long-term State-wide forest re2 source strategies described in section 

3 2A(a)(2); 

4 ‘‘(B) identify one or more measurable re5 sults to be achieved through the project; 

6 ‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, 

7 include activities on all land necessary to ac8 complish the measurable results in the applica9 ble landscape; 

10 ‘‘(D) to the maximum extent practicable, 

11 are developed in collaboration with other public 

12 and private sector organizations and local com13 munities; and 

14 ‘‘(E) derive not less than 50 percent of the 

15 funding for the project from non-Federal 

16 sources, unless the Secretary determines— 

17 ‘‘(i) the applicant is unable to derive 

18 not less than 50 percent of the funding for 

19 the project from non-Federal sources; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the benefits of the project justify 

21 pursuing the project. 

22 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(A) shall give priority to projects that, as 

24 determined by the Secretary, best carry out pri25 orities identified in State-wide assessments deVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Apr 29, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S962.IS S962

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1 scribed in section 2A(a)(1) and long-term 

2 State-wide forest resource strategies described 

3 in section 2A(a)(2), including— 

4 ‘‘(i) involvement of public and private 

5 partnerships; 

6 ‘‘(ii) inclusion of cross-boundary ac7 tivities on— 

8 ‘‘(I) Federal forest land; 

9 ‘‘(II) State forest land; or 

10 ‘‘(III) private forest land; 

11 ‘‘(iii) involvement of areas also identi12 fied for cost-share funding by the Natural 

13 Resources Conservation Service or any 

14 other relevant Federal agency; 

15 ‘‘(iv) protection or improvement of 

16 water quality or quantity; 

17 ‘‘(v) reduction of wildfire risk; 

18 ‘‘(vi) protection or enhancement of 

19 wildlife habitat, consistent with wildlife ob20 jectives established by the applicable State 

21 fish and wildlife agency; 

22 ‘‘(vii) improvement of forest health, 

23 including addressing native, nonnative, and 

24 invasive pests; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) enhancement of opportunities 

2 for new and existing markets in which the 

3 production and use of wood products 

4 strengthens local and regional economies; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ix) otherwise addressing the na7 tional private forest conservation priorities 

8 described in section 2(c); and 

9 ‘‘(B) may give priority to projects in prox10 imity to other landscape-scale projects on other 

11 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, the 

12 Secretary of the Interior, or a Governor of a 

13 State, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) ecological restoration treatments 

15 under the Collaborative Forest Landscape 

16 Restoration Program established under 

17 section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land 

18 Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

19 7303); 

20 ‘‘(ii) projects on landscape-scale areas 

21 designated for insect and disease treatment 

22 under section 602 of the Healthy Forests 

23 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

24 6591a); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) authorized restoration services 

2 under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 

3 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); 

4 ‘‘(iv) watershed restoration and pro5 tection services under section 331 of the 

6 Department of the Interior and Related 

7 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public 

8 Law 106–291; 16 U.S.C. 1011 note); 

9 ‘‘(v) stewardship end result con10 tracting projects under section 604 of the 

11 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

12 (16 U.S.C. 6591c); or 

13 ‘‘(vi) projects under other relevant 

14 programs, as determined by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(4) PROPOSAL REVIEW.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 establish a process for the review of proposals 

18 submitted under paragraph (2) that ranks each 

19 proposal based on— 

20 ‘‘(i) the extent to which the proposal 

21 would achieve the requirements described 

22 in subsection (d); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the priorities described in para24 graph (3)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL REVIEW.—The Secretary 

2 may carry out the process described in subpara3 graph (A) at a regional level. 

4 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

5 of enactment of the Empowering State Forestry to Im6 prove Forest Health Act of 2017, the Secretary shall sub7 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

9 and Forestry of the Senate a report describing— 

10 ‘‘(1) the status of the development, execution, 

11 and administration of landscape-scale projects se12 lected under the program under this section; 

13 ‘‘(2) an accounting of expenditures under the 

14 program under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(3) specific accomplishments that have re16 sulted from landscape-scale projects under the pro17 gram under this section. 

18 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the 

20 landscape-scale restoration program established under 

21 subsection (c) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 

22 through 2021, to remain available until expended.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROMOTING CROSS-BOUNDARY WILDFIRE MITIGA2 TION. 

3 Section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

4 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) CROSS-BOUNDARY CONSIDERATIONS.—For 

8 any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated 

9 for hazardous fuels reduction is in excess of 

10 $300,000,000, the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(A) is encouraged to use the excess 

12 amounts for projects that include cross-bound13 ary consideration; and 

14 ‘‘(B) of that excess amount, may use, 

15 through grants to State Foresters, to support 

16 hazardous fuel reduction projects on non-Fed17 eral land in accordance with subsection (e) an 

18 amount equal to the greater of— 

19 ‘‘(i) 20 percent; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) $20,000,000.’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(e) CROSS-BOUNDARY FUELS REDUCTION

23 PROJECTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent 

25 practicable, the Secretary shall use the funds de26 scribed in subsection (d)(3) to support hazardous 


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1 fuel reduction projects that incorporate treatments 

2 in landscapes across ownership boundaries on Fed3 eral, State, county, or tribal land, private land, and 

4 other non-Federal land, particularly in areas identi5 fied as priorities in applicable State-wide forest re6 source assessments or strategies under section 2A(a) 

7 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 

8 (16 U.S.C. 2101a(a)), as mutually agreed to by the 

9 State Forester and the Regional Forester. 

10 ‘‘(2) LAND TREATMENTS.—To conduct and 

11 fund treatments for projects that include Federal 

12 and non-Federal land, the Secretary may— 

13 ‘‘(A) use the authorities of the Secretary 

14 relating to cooperation and technical and finan15 cial assistance, including the good neighbor au16 thority under— 

17 ‘‘(i) section 8206 of the Agricultural 

18 Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) section 331 of the Department of 

20 the Interior and Related Agencies Appro21 priations Act, 2001 (16 U.S.C. 1011 note; 

22 Public Law 106–291); and 

23 ‘‘(B) allocate cross-boundary wildfire miti24 gation funds, in accordance with subsection 


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1 (d)(3) and paragraph (1), for projects carried 

2 out pursuant to that section (16 U.S.C. 2113a). 

3 ‘‘(3) COOPERATION.—In carrying out this sub4 section, the State Forester, in consultation with the 

5 Secretary (or a designee)— 

6 ‘‘(A) shall consult with the owners of 

7 State, county, tribal, and private land and other 

8 non-Federal land with respect to hazardous 

9 fuels reduction projects; and 

10 ‘‘(B) shall not implement any project on 

11 non-Federal land without the consent of the 

12 owner of the non-Federal land. 

13 ‘‘(4) EXISTING LAWS.—Regardless of the indi14 vidual or entity implementing a project on non-Fed15 eral land under this subsection, only the laws and 

16 regulations that apply to non-Federal land shall be 

17 applicable with respect to the project.’’. 

Æ 


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