II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4346 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance in support of 

nurseries and seed orchards, to establish a grant program in support 

of nurseries and seed orchards, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 15, 2024 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. MARSHALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance 

in support of nurseries and seed orchards, to establish 

a grant program in support of nurseries and seed orchards, 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 ‘‘Reforestation, Nurs5 eries, and Genetic Resources Support Act of 2024’’ or the 

6 ‘‘RNGR Support Act of 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. NURSERY AND SEED ORCHARD SUPPORT. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

2 recipient’’ means— 

3 (A) a State forestry agency; 

4 (B) an Indian Tribe; and 

5 (C) a private nursery that has experience 

6 growing high-quality native trees of appropriate 

7 genetic sources in bareroot or container 

8 stocktypes specific for reforestation, restoration, 

9 or conservation, including native plants and 

10 seeds that are of cultural significance to Indian 

11 Tribes. 

12 (2) NURSERY.—The term ‘‘nursery’’ means a 

13 tree or native plant nursery. 

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

15 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

16 (4) SEED ORCHARD.—The term ‘‘seed orchard’’ 

17 means a tree or native plant seed orchard. 

18 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

19 (A) each of the several States; 

20 (B) the District of Columbia; 

21 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

22 and 

23 (D) any territory or possession of the 

24 United States. 


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1 (b) PARTNERSHIPS, COLLABORATION, AND OTHER

2 ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF NURSERIES AND SEED OR3 CHARDS.—The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 

4 Forest Service, shall— 

5 (1) partner with Federal and State agencies, 

6 Indian Tribes, and private nurseries to provide 

7 training, technical assistance, and research to nurs8 ery and tree establishment programs that support 

9 natural regeneration, reforestation, agroforestry, and 

10 afforestation; 

11 (2) promote information-sharing to improve 

12 technical knowledge and practices and understand 

13 demands, climate change impacts, and other issues 

14 as necessary to address all facets of the reforestation 

15 pipeline; 

16 (3) provide technical and financial assistance to 

17 international nursery and tree establishment pro18 grams through the Forest Service International Pro19 grams, the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, and 

20 the International Institute of Tropical Forestry; 

21 (4) collaborate with other relevant Federal de22 partments and agencies, including the Foreign Agri23 cultural Service, the United States Agency for Inter24 national Development, and the United States Fish 

25 and Wildlife Service, and international organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Jun 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4346.IS S4346

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1 tions, including the Food and Agriculture Organiza2 tion of the United Nations, to provide technical and 

3 financial assistance relating to nurseries and refor4 estation; 

5 (5) coordinate the efforts of the Department of 

6 Agriculture— 

7 (A) to address the challenges associated 

8 with the reforestation pipeline; and 

9 (B) to leverage economic development as10 sistance for work with private nurseries; and 

11 (6) expand climate-informed reforestation sup12 ply chains through science and research, seed collec13 tion and storage, and nursery infrastructure and op14 erations. 

15 (c) NURSERY AND SEED ORCHARD GRANTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall establish a program to provide grants to eligi19 ble recipients to support nurseries and seed or20 chards. 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eligible recipient 

22 that receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall 

23 carry out a project that comprises one or more of 

24 the following activities: 


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1 (A) The development, expansion, enhance2 ment, or improvement of nursery production ca3 pacity or other infrastructure— 

4 (i) to improve seed collection and stor5 age; 

6 (ii) to increase seedling production, 

7 storage, and distribution; or 

8 (iii) to enhance seedling survival and 

9 properly manage tree genetic resources. 

10 (B) The establishment or expansion of a 

11 nursery or seed orchard, including by acquiring 

12 equipment for a nursery or seed orchard. 

13 (C) The development or implementation of 

14 quality control measures at nurseries or seed 

15 orchards. 

16 (D) The promotion of workforce develop17 ment within any facet of the reforestation pipe18 line. 

19 (E) Such other activities as the Secretary 

20 determines to be appropriate. 

21 (d) FUNDING.— 

22 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

25 2025 through 2029. 


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1 (2) REFORESTATION TRUST FUND.—In addi2 tion to amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph 

3 (1), notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 303 of 

4 Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a), of amounts 

5 in the Reforestation Trust Fund established by sub6 section (a) of that section that are not otherwise ob7 ligated, the Secretary may obligate not more than 

8 $5,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this sec9 tion. 

Æ 


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