II 

Calendar No. 594 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2991 

To improve revegetation and carbon sequestration activities in the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. KING, and Mr. MARSHALL) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To improve revegetation and carbon sequestration activities 

in the United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘America’s Revegetation and Carbon Sequestration Act of 

6 2023’’. 


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1 (b) TITLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REVEGETATION 

Sec. 101. Climate adaptation and resilient forests and rangeland measures. 

Sec. 102. National revegetation effort. 

Sec. 103. Experimental forests. 

Sec. 104. Long-term contracts for tree and seed planting. 

Sec. 105. Tree planting for communities. 

Sec. 106. Revegetation on abandoned mine land. 

Sec. 107. International reforestation. 

TITLE II—CARBON SEQUESTRATION THROUGH FOREST 

MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Forest management from carbon credits. 

Sec. 202. Recovery and restoration treatments following stand-replacing disturbances. 

Sec. 203. Biochar and wood waste. 

Sec. 204. Eradication of invasive grasses. 

TITLE III—MASS TIMBER 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Joint mass timber science and education program. 

Sec. 303. Storing carbon in Federal buildings. 

TITLE IV—RESEARCH 

Sec. 401. Longevity of forest products. 

Sec. 402. Forest inventory and analysis. 

Sec. 403. Bioeconomy research. 

Sec. 404. Insurance product to replace buffers. 

Sec. 405. Forest health threat centers. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) revegetation efforts can meet multiple goals, 

6 including guarding against climate change, improv7 ing conservation and habitats, securing public water 

8 supplies, and providing for economic and cultural 

9 benefits; 


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1 (2) a range of practical constraints, including 

2 cost, available infrastructure, and whether land has 

3 been converted to other uses that are unlikely to be 

4 abandoned, significantly limit the areas that are via5 ble for revegetation projects, and hence revegetation 

6 projects must be targeted; 

7 (3) reforestation projects should occur in areas 

8 that were historically forested but have become de9 graded or impacted from wildfire events, wind10 storms, or other events, rather than other natural 

11 habitats, such as grasslands; 

12 (4) forests and rangelands are important for 

13 storing carbon; 

14 (5) established forests and native rangelands, 

15 including actively managed forests and rangelands, 

16 are preferable to new forests and rangelands that 

17 are a result of revegetation efforts, because intact 

18 forests and vegetation communities are more effec19 tive at sequestration and are more resilient to fire, 

20 storm, and drought; 

21 (6) natural regrowth of forests and rangelands 

22 is cheaper and more efficient than revegetation 

23 projects, as long as nonnative invasive species are 

24 not adversely impacting the landscape; 


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1 (7) native plant development and restoration 

2 generates sustainable private sector jobs in a wide 

3 variety of sectors; 

4 (8) selecting the appropriate species of trees 

5 and of other vegetation and promoting biodiversity 

6 using a mixture of species naturally found in the 

7 local area, rare species, and species of economic im8 portance are crucial to the success of revegetation 

9 efforts; 

10 (9) species selected for revegetation efforts and 

11 the specified planting density and structure should 

12 be suitable for the local climate, taking into account 

13 future climate resilience and other considerations; 

14 (10) scientific knowledge should be combined 

15 with local knowledge, and site conditions should be 

16 taken into account, in developing revegetation 

17 projects, and ideally small-scale planting trials 

18 should take place before planting large numbers of 

19 trees; 

20 (11) partnerships with local communities are 

21 key to the success of tree and vegetation planting 

22 projects because local people often have the most to 

23 gain from those projects; 

24 (12) a successful planting project must include 

25 a plan on how to source seeds or seedlings that 


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1 match desired species and genetics, and that plan 

2 should involve working with local stakeholders; 

3 (13) the sustainability of revegetation projects 

4 is dependent on the economic impacts for all stake5 holders; and 

6 (14) invasive grasses are a catalyst for wildfires 

7 in forests and rangelands. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) CARBON SEQUESTRATION.—The term ‘‘car11 bon sequestration’’ means the capture and long-term 

12 storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

13 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

14 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

15 the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range16 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

17 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

18 (3) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

19 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec20 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 

21 the Forest Service. 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—Except in sections 103, 

23 105(b), 201, 202, and 302, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

24 means the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec2 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Inte3 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

4 the Chief of the Forest Service. 

5 TITLE I—REVEGETATION 

6 SEC. 101. CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENT FORESTS 

7 AND RANGELAND MEASURES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall each 

10 revise applicable regulations of the Secretary concerned to 

11 require the consideration and assessment of resiliency and 

12 adaptation factors in developing strategies and efforts for 

13 revegetation, including reforestation and rangeland plant14 ing, carried out by the Secretary concerned, including in 

15 selecting species for planting. 

16 (b) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects— 

17 (1) the reforestation requirements under section 

18 3 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

19 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601); or 

20 (2) the use of the forest plan revision process 

21 to make changes to reforestation approaches in an 

22 individual unit of the National Forest System. 

23 SEC. 102. NATIONAL REVEGETATION EFFORT. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) National Forest System land, except— 

4 (i) the national grasslands and land 

5 utilization projects administered under title 

6 III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant 

7 Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); and 

8 (ii) National Forest System land east 

9 of the 100th meridian; and 

10 (B) land under the jurisdiction of the Sec11 retary. 

12 (2) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘task force’’ 

13 means an interagency revegetation task force estab14 lished under subsection (d). 

15 (3) ZONE.—The term ‘‘zone’’ means a zone de16 scribed in subsection (c). 

17 (b) ASSESSMENT OF REVEGETATION NEEDS.— 

18 (1) FEDERAL LAND ASSESSMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retaries shall assess, using the revegetation as22 sessment tool described in paragraph (2), the 

23 number of acres of Federal land in need of re24 vegetation, including— 


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1 (i) acres that have experienced a 

2 stand-replacing disturbance by a wildfire, 

3 windstorm, or other natural event; 

4 (ii) acres on which a regeneration har5 vest has previously taken place; and 

6 (iii) acres that could benefit from ap7 propriate revegetation, as determined by 

8 the Secretaries. 

9 (B) ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY.—In con10 ducting the assessment under subparagraph 

11 (A), the Secretaries shall consider the role of 

12 recovery periods between disturbances for the 

13 development of stand complexity. 

14 (2) REVEGETATION ASSESSMENT TOOL.—Not 

15 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

16 this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly develop, or use 

17 or expand an existing, objective revegetation assess18 ment tool for each zone that uses a point system or 

19 rating scale— 

20 (A) to consistently assess in various geo21 graphic areas, site classes, and forest and 

22 rangeland types whether an acre of Federal 

23 land is adequately occupied by well-distributed, 

24 countable, ecologically appropriate trees or 

25 other desirable vegetation; 


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1 (B) to rapidly assess revegetation needs on 

2 Federal land; and 

3 (C) to establish baseline conditions for 

4 Federal land. 

5 (3) FOREST AND RANGELAND COVER RESTORA6 TION ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

7 (A) PARTNERSHIP FOR FOREST AND

8 RANGELAND COVER RESTORATION.—The Secre9 taries may enter into a partnership with a non10 Federal entity, including Indian Tribes, with 

11 data or expertise in Federal reforestation— 

12 (i) to assess the opportunity to restore 

13 forest or rangeland cover across non-Fed14 eral land in the United States; or 

15 (ii) to share existing data gathered by 

16 the non-Federal entity. 

17 (B) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 

18 paragraph grants the Secretary concerned any 

19 additional authority over or additional access to 

20 non-Federal land. 

21 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries 

23 shall publish a report describing— 

24 (A) the number of acres of— 


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1 (i) Federal land in need of revegeta2 tion; and 

3 (ii) non-Federal land in the United 

4 States on which forest or rangeland cover 

5 can be restored and the owner of which 

6 has requested to be included in a com7 prehensive revegetation strategy and imple8 mentation plan developed under subsection 

9 (e)(2)(A); and 

10 (B) the approximate location of the land 

11 described under subparagraph (A). 

12 (c) REGIONAL ZONES FOR REVEGETATION EF13 FORTS.—The Secretaries shall use the regions of the Na14 tional Forest System as the zones for revegetation efforts 

15 conducted by the task forces under this section. 

16 (d) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCES.—Not later than 18 

17 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre18 taries shall establish an interagency revegetation task 

19 force of Federal and non-Federal members, including In20 dian Tribes, for each zone— 

21 (1) to coordinate and carry out the activities 

22 described in subsections (e), (f), and (g); and 

23 (2) to maximize collaboration and shared 

24 science and mapping resources among Federal and 

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1 vegetating land in each zone, including through the 

2 use of— 

3 (A) Department of Agriculture climate 

4 hubs; 

5 (B) collaboratives formed pursuant to sec6 tion 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage7 ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); and 

8 (C) partnerships with States developed 

9 under shared stewardship agreements. 

10 (e) COMPREHENSIVE REVEGETATION STRATEGY AND

11 IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.— 

12 (1) DATA REVIEW.—Each task force— 

13 (A) shall review the report published under 

14 subsection (b)(4); and 

15 (B) may modify, for the applicable zone, 

16 the number of acres of land in need of revegeta17 tion and the approximate location of the land 

18 identified in the report, as necessary. 

19 (2) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

21 days after the date on which a task force is es22 tablished, the task force shall develop a 10-year 

23 comprehensive revegetation strategy and imple24 mentation plan— 


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1 (i) to revegetate not less than 25 per2 cent of the land identified in the report 

3 published under subsection (b)(4), as 

4 modified under paragraph (1)(B) (if appli5 cable), for the applicable zone; and 

6 (ii) to achieve any additional goals or 

7 targets established by the task force. 

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A plan developed 

9 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

10 (i) take into account the best available 

11 science, best practices, and available de12 ployment tools, including climate science 

13 that can inform the design of revegetated 

14 areas to assure resilience; 

15 (ii) be based on, to the maximum ex16 tent practicable, the report published 

17 under subsection (b)(4); 

18 (iii) identify resources and efforts 

19 needed to conduct appropriate revegetation 

20 treatments in the applicable zone, includ21 ing identifying areas in which capacity ex22 ists to plant vegetation or conduct seed 

23 dispersal; 

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1 tion and the types planting stock required 

2 in the specific areas in the zone in need of 

3 revegetation, including ecosystems that do 

4 not include trees, such as sagebrush eco5 systems, grasslands, or rangelands; 

6 (v) identify under-represented species 

7 of trees and plants in each zone that can 

8 be acquired and should be planted under 

9 this section; 

10 (vi) prioritize geographic areas in the 

11 applicable zone in need of revegetation, in12 cluding giving priority to— 

13 (I) burned areas and any other 

14 destabilized land that pose heightened 

15 risks to homes, roads, and public 

16 water supplies if not revegetated; 

17 (II) areas at high risk of estab18 lishing invasive species; 

19 (III) mined land; 

20 (IV) floodplains and riparian 

21 areas; and 

22 (V) land with regionally signifi23 cant carbon sequestration potential; 

24 (vii) identify— 


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1 (I) targets or goals for the num2 ber of acres planted annually; and 

3 (II) other implementation actions 

4 and opportunities; 

5 (viii) identify areas in which— 

6 (I) vegetation restoration is need7 ed; but 

8 (II) natural regeneration is the 

9 most effective means of restoration; 

10 (ix) identify areas in which revegeta11 tion efforts— 

12 (I) may cause an increased risk 

13 of a stand-replacing wildfire, disease, 

14 or insect infestation, if not properly 

15 managed; or 

16 (II) would be adverse to livestock 

17 grazing or use by wildlife; 

18 (x) consider treatments that increase 

19 the carbon sequestration capacity of for20 ests, rangelands, and grasslands; 

21 (xi) provide for— 

22 (I) consideration of palatability 

23 to support grazing by wildlife and 

24 livestock; and 


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1 (II) coordination with State wild2 life agencies, rangeland management 

3 professionals, and ranchers; 

4 (xii) incorporate the data and strategy 

5 relating to nurseries and the availability of 

6 planting stock described in subsection (g); 

7 (xiii) for activities recommended to be 

8 carried out on non-Federal land— 

9 (I) identify ways to address re10 vegetation needs voluntarily by work11 ing with States, landowners, Indian 

12 Tribes, and other interested persons; 

13 and 

14 (II) ensure that revegetation ef15 forts will not adversely impact existing 

16 markets for timber and other forest 

17 materials produced from private work18 ing forests; 

19 (xiv) provide an explanation for any 

20 land not included in the implementation 

21 portion of the plan that was identified in 

22 the report published under subsection 

23 (b)(4), as modified under paragraph (1)(B) 

24 (if applicable); 


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1 (xv) utilize an experimental approach, 

2 where appropriate; and 

3 (xvi) be consistent with any applicable 

4 agency land management plans. 

5 (C) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding sub6 paragraph (B)(iv), a task force may determine 

7 that the selection and use of certain desirable, 

8 noninvasive, nonnative species is appropriate in 

9 certain limited circumstances, based on local10 ized ecological conditions, as determined by the 

11 task force. 

12 (3) PLAN MODIFICATIONS.—A task force may 

13 modify a plan developed under paragraph (2) to ad14 dress new circumstances or changing conditions. 

15 (f) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 10-year period 

17 beginning on the date on which a plan for a zone is 

18 completed under subsection (e)(2), the task force, in 

19 coordination with applicable Federal agencies, shall 

20 implement the plan. 

21 (2) OUTSIDE FUNDING.—To implement a plan 

22 developed under subsection (e)(2), the Secretary 

23 concerned may— 


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1 (A) accept non-Federal funds, including 

2 leveraging funding opportunities relating to vol3 untary carbon mitigation; and 

4 (B) issue a certificate of donation, as ap5 propriate. 

6 (3) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—In imple7 menting a plan under this subsection, any activities 

8 carried out on non-Federal land shall be carried 

9 out— 

10 (A) in cooperation with the owner of the 

11 non-Federal land; and 

12 (B) only on a voluntary basis. 

13 (4) ENTERPRISE TEAM.—The Secretary con14 cerned may employ a Forest Service enterprise team 

15 to facilitate the implementation of a plan developed 

16 under subsection (e)(2). 

17 (g) CHALLENGES TO THE REFORESTATION PIPELINE

18 IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A task force shall— 

20 (A) not later than 60 days after the date 

21 on which the task force is established, conduct 

22 an inventory of nurseries, an assessment of 

23 nursery capacity, and a tally of available plant24 ing stock in the applicable zone; and 


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1 (B) based on the report published under 

2 subsection (b)(4), as modified under subsection 

3 (e)(1)(B) (if applicable)— 

4 (i) estimate the capacity of nurseries 

5 that would be necessary to fulfill revegeta6 tion needs, including identifying the species 

7 and types of planting stock needed for re8 vegetation; and 

9 (ii) develop a plan for increasing the 

10 number and capacity of nurseries, in ac11 cordance with the estimates under clause 

12 (i). 

13 (2) SEED COLLECTING.—A task force shall— 

14 (A) assess the current capacity to locally 

15 collect and store seed; and 

16 (B) develop a plan for increasing capacity 

17 described in subparagraph (A), if necessary. 

18 (3) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries may 

19 enter into a partnership with a non-Federal entity to 

20 assist a task force in meeting the requirements of 

21 this subsection. 

22 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

24 thereafter until the date on which each plan developed 

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1 taries shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat2 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat3 ural Resources of the House of Representatives, and pub4 lish on the website of the Department of the Interior, a 

5 report that describes, with respect to the preceding year— 

6 (1) whether the Secretaries have achieved com7 pliance with the requirements of this section; 

8 (2) the total number of acres of land, reported 

9 by surface ownership in each zone, in need of revege10 tation treatments; 

11 (3) the total number of acres of land, reported 

12 by surface ownership in each zone, in which revege13 tation treatments have been carried out; 

14 (4) any other accomplishments and improve15 ments to carbon sequestration capacity or other co16 benefits as a result of implementing a plan under 

17 subsection (e)(2); and 

18 (5) any barriers to implementation of a plan de19 veloped under subsection (e)(2), including as a result 

20 of legal issues, logistical issues, seed or sapling 

21 shortages, or lack of funding. 

22 (i) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries may enter into 

23 a memorandum of agreement with any member of a task 

24 force to carry out any activity described in subsection (e), 

25 (f), (g), or (h). 


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1 (j) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section establishes new, 

2 extends existing, or otherwise affects post-fire rehabilita3 tion no-grazing requirements. 

4 (k) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—In carrying out 

5 this section, the Secretaries shall— 

6 (1) avoid duplicative efforts and, to the max7 imum extent practicable, utilize existing efforts and 

8 personnel to develop and implement an activity de9 scribed in subsection (e), (f), (g), or (h); 

10 (2) maximize non-Federal involvement; and 

11 (3) avoid using personnel who would otherwise 

12 be engaged in forest management or wildfire mitiga13 tion efforts. 

14 SEC. 103. EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS. 

15 (a) PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION.—The purposes of 

16 this section are— 

17 (1) to formally authorize the experimental for18 ests and rangelands on National Forest System land 

19 existing on the date of enactment of this Act; and 

20 (2) to require that— 

21 (A) the network of those experimental for22 ests and rangelands be maintained in per23 petuity; and 

24 (B) climate resiliency research is continu25 ously conducted within the network. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK.—The Secretary 

2 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

3 Service (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), 

4 shall establish and manage a network of experimental for5 ests and ranges on National Forest System land (referred 

6 to in this section as the ‘‘network’’). 

7 (c) MANAGEMENT PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall 

8 manage the network for the purposes of— 

9 (1) research; 

10 (2) technology transfer; and 

11 (3) education. 

12 (d) CRITERIA.—The network shall include— 

13 (1) each of the forest cover types that occur in 

14 the United States, as defined by the Forest Cover 

15 Types of the United States and Canada published by 

16 the Society of American Forests; 

17 (2) an experimental forest that contains forest 

18 cover types found in the State of Hawaii; and 

19 (3) an experimental forest that contains forest 

20 cover types found in the territories of the United 

21 States. 

22 (e) CLIMATE RESILIENCY RESEARCH.—Within the 

23 network, the Secretary shall conduct research, including 

24 research on— 


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1 (1) seedling establishment, site suitability, and 

2 tree planting designs to inform and assist efforts un3 dertaken in the United States to establish stands of 

4 trees that are resilient in future climate conditions; 

5 and 

6 (2) the sources and fates of carbon to construct 

7 and improve models of carbon responses to land 

8 management practices. 

9 (f) PUBLIC ACCESS.—All data collected and research 

10 findings developed from projects undertaken on the net11 work shall be made readily accessible to the public. 

12 (g) PARTNERS.—The Secretary may enter into an 

13 agreement with a State (including a State forestry agen14 cy), an educational institution, or a third party to fund 

15 or conduct research on the network. 

16 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

18 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

20 the House of Representatives a report describing, with re21 spect to the network— 

22 (1) the location of the network on National 

23 Forest System land; 

24 (2) the forest cover types included in the net25 work; and 


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1 (3) any additional resources needed— 

2 (A) to establish or maintain infrastructure 

3 in an established experimental forest; or 

4 (B) to conduct the research described in 

5 subsection (d). 

6 (i) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section— 

7 (1) modifies, limits, or repeals the applicability 

8 of any provision of law (including regulations) to 

9 National Forest System land; or 

10 (2) precludes the Secretary from authorizing 

11 multiple-use activities, including livestock grazing 

12 and other authorized uses on land included within 

13 the network. 

14 SEC. 104. LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR TREE AND SEED 

15 PLANTING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Federal Ac17 quisition Regulation, the Secretary concerned may enter 

18 into a contract or cooperative agreement for re-estab19 lishing vegetation on Federal land described in subsection 

20 (b). 

21 (b) FEDERAL LAND.—Federal land referred to in 

22 subsection (a) is— 

23 (1) National Forest System land, other than— 

24 (A) the national grasslands and land utili25 zation projects administered under title III of 


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1 the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 

2 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); and 

3 (B) National Forest System land east of 

4 the 100th meridian; 

5 (2) public lands (as defined in section 103 of 

6 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

7 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

8 (3) land that the Secretary holds in trust for an 

9 Indian Tribe; 

10 (4) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys11 tem; 

12 (5) land administered by the Bureau of Rec13 lamation; and 

14 (6) a unit of the National Park System. 

15 (c) TERM.—A contract or cooperative agreement de16 scribed in subsection (a) shall be for a term of not more 

17 than 10 years. 

18 SEC. 105. TREE PLANTING FOR COMMUNITIES. 

19 (a) JOB CORPS PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Labor 

20 shall— 

21 (1) develop a career and technical education 

22 and training program focused on tree planting or 

23 tree maintenance; and 

24 (2) offer the program as part of the Job Corps 

25 program. 


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1 (b) RETAIL POWER PROVIDER TREE PLANTING

2 GRANT PROGRAM.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En4 ergy (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Sec5 retary’’), in consultation with the Secretaries, shall 

6 establish a program under which the Secretary shall 

7 award grants to States, Indian Tribes, local govern8 ments, nonprofit organizations, and retail power pro9 viders to conduct tree planting projects in accord10 ance with this subsection (referred to in this sub11 section as the ‘‘program’’). 

12 (2) APPLICATIONS.—An entity seeking to re13 ceive a grant under the program shall submit to the 

14 Secretary an application at such time, in such form, 

15 and containing such information as the Secretary 

16 may require, including a description of how the 

17 project to be carried out using the grant funds will 

18 reduce residential energy consumption. 

19 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the 

20 program, the Secretary shall give priority to tree 

21 planting projects that would provide the largest po22 tential reduction in residential energy consumption 

23 for households. 

24 (4) VARIETY OF GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS.—In 

25 awarding grants under the program, the Secretary 


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1 shall ensure diverse and equitable geographic rep2 resentation among the grant recipients. 

3 (5) COST-SHARE.— 

4 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject to sub5 paragraph (C), the Federal share of the cost of 

6 a tree planting project carried out using a grant 

7 under the program shall be not more than 50 

8 percent. 

9 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Fed10 eral share of the cost of a tree planting project 

11 carried out using a grant under the program 

12 may be in the form of— 

13 (i) cash or donations received directly 

14 from non-Federal sources; or 

15 (ii) in-kind contributions. 

16 (C) WAIVER.—The Secretary may, on a 

17 case-by-case basis, increase the Federal share 

18 described in subparagraph (A) if a tree planting 

19 project carried out using a grant under the pro20 gram is located wholly in an economically dis21 tressed community. 

22 SEC. 106. REVEGETATION ON ABANDONED MINE LAND. 

23 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Using funding available 

25 to the Secretary, including funding provided under 


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1 section 40804(b)(8) of the Infrastructure Investment 

2 and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(8)), the Sec3 retary shall establish a pilot program to establish 

4 native trees, shrubs, or grasses (referred to in this 

5 section as ‘‘vegetation’’) on eligible mined land de6 scribed in paragraph (6). 

7 (2) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out 

8 the pilot program established under paragraph (1), 

9 the Secretary shall— 

10 (A) in coordination with the Secretary of 

11 Agriculture, establish vegetation on eligible 

12 mined land located on Federal land; 

13 (B) offer financial assistance to States to 

14 establish native vegetation on eligible mined 

15 land located on State land; 

16 (C) offer financial assistance to Indian 

17 Tribes to establish native vegetation on eligible 

18 mined land located on Tribal land or land held 

19 in Trust for an Indian Tribe; and 

20 (D) establish vegetation or offer financial 

21 assistance to States or other entities to estab22 lish native vegetation on eligible mined land lo23 cated on private land. 

24 (3) COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING OPER25 ATIONS.— 


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1 (A) CONSULTATION.—Prior to selecting a 

2 project for funding under the pilot program es3 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

4 shall consult with, as applicable, the relevant 

5 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and En6 forcement abandoned mine land program office 

7 to confirm that the proposed project is compat8 ible with any current mining, exploration, or 

9 reclamation activities. 

10 (B) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary shall 

11 not provide financial assistance under para12 graph (2) to a person or entity with an ongoing 

13 legal obligation to revegetate the land in a 

14 project area. 

15 (4) ACTIVITIES.—The following activities asso16 ciated with a project to establish vegetation on eligi17 ble mined land shall be eligible for financial assist18 ance under paragraph (2): 

19 (A) Site preparation, including ripping 

20 compacted soils and incorporating soil amend21 ments. 

22 (B) Vegetation planting. 

23 (C) Maintenance, including watering, to 

24 the extent necessary to establish vegetation 

25 under this section. 


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1 (D) Managing competing vegetation. 

2 (5) PREFERENCE.—Under the pilot program 

3 established under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, 

4 to the maximum extent practicable, seek to establish 

5 vegetation that— 

6 (A) is ecologically appropriate; and 

7 (B)(i) has a high capacity to sequester and 

8 store carbon; 

9 (ii) serves to reconnect established land10 scapes or enhance habitat connectivity; or 

11 (iii) would establish wildlife habitat that is 

12 underrepresented in the State in which the 

13 project is located. 

14 (6) ELIGIBLE MINED LAND.—To be eligible for 

15 financial assistance under paragraph (2), a tree 

16 planting project shall be located on— 

17 (A) land that was mined prior to the date 

18 of enactment of this Act; 

19 (B) in the case of State land or private 

20 land, land that is accessible to the public for 

21 not less than 1 day per year; and 

22 (C) in the case of private land, land owned 

23 by a person, or a nongovernmental organiza24 tion, that has submitted to the Secretary or the 

25 State in which the land is located a request 


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1 seeking to participate in the pilot program 

2 under this section. 

3 (7) TERMINATION.—The pilot program estab4 lished under paragraph (1) shall be in effect for the 

5 8-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

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

9 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

11 House of Representatives a report describing the accom12 plishments of the pilot program established under sub13 section (a)(1), including— 

14 (1) jobs created or supported in rural areas; 

15 (2) increases in the abundance of wildlife spe16 cies, including game species and song birds; 

17 (3) opportunities for hunting and other compat18 ible outdoor recreation; and 

19 (4) an estimate of— 

20 (A) carbon sequestered during the 5-year 

21 period beginning on the date on which the pilot 

22 program is established; and 

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1 ginning on the last day of the period described 

2 in subparagraph (A). 

3 SEC. 107. INTERNATIONAL REFORESTATION. 

4 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

5 Chief of the Forest Service, may— 

6 (1) evaluate a request from another country for 

7 technical assistance for tree planting activities; 

8 (2) subject to the evaluation under paragraph 

9 (1) and the availability of Forest Service personnel 

10 and funding, provide to another country technical 

11 assistance for tree planting activities, including shar12 ing— 

13 (A) personnel; and 

14 (B) knowledge through communications 

15 and technical on-site instruction; and 

16 (3) enter into a partnership with a nongovern17 mental entity that is located outside the United 

18 States or that is located in the United States and 

19 operates internationally— 

20 (A) to engage in activities that restore 

21 vegetation; and 

22 (B) to promote and improve global carbon 

23 sequestration through revegetation activities. 


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1 TITLE II—CARBON SEQUESTRA2 TION THROUGH FOREST MAN3 AGEMENT AND INNOVATION 

4 SEC. 201. FOREST MANAGEMENT FROM CARBON CREDITS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) CARBON CREDIT.—The term ‘‘carbon cred7 it’’ means a carbon or greenhouse gas credit, offset, 

8 or other defined unit— 

9 (A) approved by a credible, third-party en10 tity; and 

11 (B) as determined by the Secretary. 

12 (2) CARBON CREDIT PROGRAM.—The term 

13 ‘‘carbon credit program’’ means a voluntary program 

14 or market that issues, assigns, trades, or sells car15 bon credits. 

16 (3) COVERED ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

17 activity’’ means an improved forest management ac18 tivity, including a hazardous fuel treatment, mechan19 ical thinning, or timber harvesting project, that is— 

20 (A) ecologically appropriate; 

21 (B) carried out on National Forest System 

22 land; 

23 (C) designed— 

24 (i) to increase rates of carbon seques25 tration; 


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1 (ii) to increase long-term carbon stor2 age in durable wood products; or 

3 (iii) to mitigate or avoid carbon emis4 sions; 

5 (D) carried out by— 

6 (i) the Secretary; or 

7 (ii) a non-Federal entity under any 

8 existing authority available to the Sec9 retary; and 

10 (E) not in competition with or adverse to 

11 the issuance, assignment, trading, or selling of 

12 forest carbon in the private sector. 

13 (4) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

14 ‘‘National Forest System’’ does not include— 

15 (A) the national grasslands and land utili16 zation projects administered under title III of 

17 the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 

18 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); or 

19 (B) National Forest System land east of 

20 the 100th meridian. 

21 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

23 Chief of the Forest Service. 

24 (b) FUNDS ASSOCIATED WITH CARBON CREDITS

25 FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use to 

2 support the implementation of covered activities, 

3 without further appropriation or fiscal year limita4 tion, funds received from a non-Federal entity— 

5 (A) through a carbon credit program; or 

6 (B) for a carbon credit generated from Na7 tional Forest System land. 

8 (2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

9 made available under paragraph (1) shall supple10 ment, and not supplant, any other amounts made 

11 available for covered activities. 

12 (c) MANAGEMENT OF CARBON CREDIT TRANS13 ACTIONS BY NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Forest Foun15 dation shall receive and distribute any funds received 

16 under subsection (b)(1). 

17 (2) OTHER PARTNERS.—The National Forest 

18 Foundation may work with other entities that use 

19 funds received through a carbon credit program or 

20 for a carbon credit generated from National Forest 

21 System land to design, manage, account for, or im22 plement a covered activity. 

23 (3) METHODOLOGY.—For the management of 

24 transactions described in this section, the National 

25 Forest Foundation, in collaboration with the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

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1 retary, shall develop and use a methodology that cal2 culates the predicted increase in carbon sequestra3 tion or in the longevity of long-term carbon storage 

4 for a project or the avoided release of carbon due to 

5 reduction of the risk of high-severity fire and other 

6 disturbances, by considering— 

7 (A) retention of forest cover; 

8 (B) carbon sequestration rates before and 

9 after the implementation of a covered activity; 

10 (C) reduction in the risk of tree mortality; 

11 (D) restoration of historic fire regimes; 

12 and 

13 (E) the long-term storage of carbon in 

14 long-lasting wood products. 

15 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary, in col16 laboration with the National Forest Foundation, shall an17 nually submit to Congress a report describing the status 

18 of the program under this section, including— 

19 (1) the extent to which additional covered ac20 tivities that were implemented with funding received 

21 under subsection (b)(1) have been carried out; and 

22 (2) any recommendations to improve or expand 

23 the program, including expansion of the authorities 

24 under this section to land managed by the Secretary 

25 of the Interior. 


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1 (e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes any 

2 activity that is inconsistent with— 

3 (1) any applicable forest plan; or 

4 (2) any other provision of law (including regula5 tions). 

6 SEC. 202. RECOVERY AND RESTORATION TREATMENTS 

7 FOLLOWING STAND-REPLACING DISTURB8 ANCES. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF STAND-REPLACING DISTURB10 ANCE.—In this section, the term ‘‘stand-replacing disturb11 ance’’ means a natural disturbance event, including a 

12 wildland fire or other event, that kills all or most of the 

13 living overstory trees in a stand and initiates forest succes14 sion or regrowth on a unit of the National Forest System. 

15 (b) PILOT NATIONAL FORESTS.—Not later than 1 

16 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

18 Service (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), 

19 shall identify units of the National Forest System that the 

20 Secretary determines to be at high or very high risk of 

21 experiencing a stand-replacing disturbance during the 10- 

22 year period following the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (c) INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS.— 

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

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall establish an interdisciplinary post-disturbance 

2 planning team (referred to in this section as the 

3 ‘‘team’’) to assist in carrying out the requirements 

4 of this section. 

5 (2) TEAMS ENTERPRISE.—The Secretary may 

6 employ a Forest Service enterprise team or a re7 gional planning center to meet the requirement of 

8 this subsection. 

9 (d) MODEL LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

10 PLAN AMENDMENT.— 

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

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

13 cooperation with the team, shall develop a model 

14 land and resource management plan amendment es15 tablishing plan content for future site-specific 

16 project-level decisions if a stand-replacing disturb17 ance occurs on units of the National Forest System 

18 identified under subsection (b). 

19 (2) CONTENT.—The model amendment required 

20 under paragraph (1) shall include direction regard21 ing post-disturbance management, including salvage 

22 logging and reforestation activities, to achieve de23 sired conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines, 

24 suitability of lands, and other plan content, includ25 ing goals and monitoring provisions, of the existing 


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1 land and resource management plan on the applica2 ble unit of the National Forest System, if a stand3 replacing disturbance occurs. 

4 (3) USE OF MODEL LAND AND RESOURCE MAN5 AGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT.—The Secretary shall 

6 utilize the Model Land and Resource Management 

7 Plan Amendment, as adapted to the unique ecologi8 cal and socioeconomic setting for each unit of the 

9 National Forest System identified under subsection 

10 (b), in carrying out subsection (e). 

11 (e) LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

12 AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable, but 

14 not later than 10 years, after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Secretary, assisted by the team, shall 

16 amend the applicable land and resource management 

17 plan of each unit of the National Forest System 

18 identified under subsection (b). 

19 (2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall comply with 

20 all relevant laws in carrying out this section. 

21 (3) ELECTION.—The Secretary may comply 

22 with the provisions of this section by incorporating 

23 the requirements of this section into an ongoing land 

24 and resource management plan revision or amend25 ment process. 


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1 SEC. 203. BIOCHAR AND WOOD WASTE. 

2 (a) FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION BIOCHAR

3 PILOT PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Food 

5 and Drugs (referred to in this subsection as the 

6 ‘‘Commissioner’’), in consultation with the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture and in coordination with States, shall 

8 establish a pilot program to grant a nationwide food 

9 use authorization of biochar as a feed additive for 

10 cattle. 

11 (2) TERMS.—The pilot program described in 

12 this subsection shall be— 

13 (A) for a period of not more than 5 years; 

14 and 

15 (B) subject to any conditions that the 

16 Commissioner determines appropriate. 

17 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The Commissioner shall 

18 ensure that participation in the pilot program under 

19 this subsection is voluntary. 

20 (b) USGS COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN.— 

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

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, act23 ing through the Director of the United States Geo24 logical Survey, in coordination with any relevant 

25 non-Federal entities, shall develop and publish a na26 tional commercialization plan for the production, 


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1 sale, and use of biochar as a soil amendment for 

2 plant growth improvement, including for commercial, 

3 agricultural, and residential use. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The commercialization 

5 plan required under paragraph (1) shall, at a min6 imum— 

7 (A) identify— 

8 (i) impediments to producing large 

9 quantities of biochar for agricultural, for10 estry, or other commercial uses; and 

11 (ii) solutions for those impediments; 

12 and 

13 (B) propose a framework for demonstra14 tion efforts to increase consumer demand for 

15 biochar. 

16 SEC. 204. ERADICATION OF INVASIVE GRASSES. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘action plan’’ 

19 means the action plan developed under subsection 

20 (b). 

21 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

22 means— 

23 (A) National Forest System land, except— 

24 (i) the national grasslands and land 

25 utilization projects administered under title 


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1 III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant 

2 Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); and 

3 (ii) National Forest System land east 

4 of the 100th meridian; and 

5 (B) land under the jurisdiction of the Sec6 retary. 

7 (3) INVASIVE GRASS.—The term ‘‘invasive 

8 grass’’ means— 

9 (A) cheatgrass; 

10 (B) ventenata; 

11 (C) medusahead; and 

12 (D) any additional invasive, nonnative an13 nual grass species that the Secretaries deter14 mine pose a risk by— 

15 (i) increasing fire vulnerability and 

16 fire spread; and 

17 (ii) altering fire regimes. 

18 (4) TARGET TREATMENT AREA.—The term 

19 ‘‘target treatment area’’ means a target treatment 

20 area described in subsection (b)(2)(D). 

21 (b) ACTION PLAN.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall jointly 

23 develop and implement an action plan to map, treat, 

24 and control invasive grass— 


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1 (A) to promote the resiliency, biodiversity, 

2 and carbon sequestration capacity of forests, 

3 rangelands, and grasslands; 

4 (B) to minimize risks from wildfire; and 

5 (C) to enhance the quality of forage for 

6 wildlife and livestock. 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The action plan shall— 

8 (A) consider or incorporate existing efforts; 

9 (B) take into account— 

10 (i) the latest science; 

11 (ii) best practices; and 

12 (iii) available deployment tools; 

13 (C) be prepared in coordination with State 

14 and local governmental entities and the heads 

15 of other Federal agencies, including the Chief 

16 of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

17 that are engaged in activities to control invasive 

18 grass to leverage and maximize funding and re19 sources; 

20 (D) identify and depict on a map target 

21 treatment areas that focus on— 

22 (i) areas with a large quantity of 

23 invasive grass where revegetation with na24 tive species is most likely to succeed; 

25 (ii) areas at high risk of wildfire; 


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1 (iii) areas in which invasive grass neg2 atively impacts livestock grazing or other 

3 uses; 

4 (iv) wildlife habitat and forage needs, 

5 particularly sagebrush habitat; 

6 (v) areas prone to infestations; or 

7 (vi) areas deemed important by the 

8 Secretaries; 

9 (E) establish— 

10 (i) specific goals; 

11 (ii) specific implementation actions 

12 that the Secretaries and partners of the 

13 Secretaries will conduct over a 5-year pe14 riod; and 

15 (iii) targets, including acres to be 

16 treated annually in the target treatment 

17 areas; 

18 (F) provide for a combination of treatment 

19 methods for the most effective control of an 

20 invasive grass, including— 

21 (i) mechanical treatment methods; 

22 (ii) cultural treatment methods; 

23 (iii) biological treatment methods, 

24 which may include livestock grazing; 

25 (iv) prescribed fire; or 


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1 (v) chemical treatment methods; 

2 (G) identify and implement, to the extent 

3 practicable, best practices, such as the use of 

4 spray washing stations, to reduce the spreading 

5 of invasive grass seed adjacent to infested areas 

6 or into noninfested areas; 

7 (H) identify methods and tools for the 

8 post-treatment monitoring of target treatment 

9 areas to determine the effectiveness of a treat10 ment and control efforts; 

11 (I) initiate and expedite environmental re12 views for treatments, as required by applicable 

13 law, including identifying— 

14 (i) methods for achieving timely deci15 sions and implementation for treatments, 

16 monitoring, and follow-up treatments 

17 based on monitoring; and 

18 (ii) maximizing opportunities to co19 operate with other Federal and State agen20 cies in analysis, assessments, and studies; 

21 and 

22 (J) establish guidelines that— 

23 (i) if native, intact grasses are absent 

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1 get treatment area is prone to high-risk 

2 vectors or pathways— 

3 (I) identify geographically based 

4 desirable, native seed mix and seed re5 serves; 

6 (II) prioritize reseeding the area 

7 in the target treatment area; and 

8 (III) monitor for the presence of 

9 new invasive grass and promptly treat 

10 any invasive grass present; and 

11 (ii) if, after conducting a treatment, 

12 desirable native grasses are established and 

13 dominant in a target treatment area, pro14 vide for the natural restoration of native 

15 grasses. 

16 (3) DEADLINE TO FINALIZE ACTION PLAN.— 

17 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretaries shall finalize the action 

19 plan. 

20 (4) IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION PLAN.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

22 after the date on which the action plan is final23 ized under paragraph (3), the Secretaries shall 

24 begin implementing the action plan. 


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1 (B) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING

2 AND AGREEMENTS.—In implementing the ac3 tion plan, the Secretary concerned may enter 

4 into a memorandum of understanding or an 

5 agreement with non-Federal entities, as appro6 priate, to carry out activities under the action 

7 plan to control the spread of an invasive grass 

8 on Federal land or land adjacent to Federal 

9 land. 

10 (C) COOPERATING AGENCY COORDINA11 TION.—The Secretary concerned shall, to the 

12 extent practicable, offer to assist in the prepa13 ration of environmental reviews that may be 

14 necessary in implementing treatment and con15 trol activities on non-Federal land. 

16 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

18 thereafter during the period in which the action plan is 

19 being implemented, the Secretaries shall submit to Con20 gress a report assessing the effectiveness of the action 

21 plan that includes a description of— 

22 (1) the location of the target treatment areas; 

23 (2) the number of acres within target treatment 

24 areas on which treatments were conducted; 


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1 (3) the agreements or partnerships entered into 

2 under subsection (b)(4)(B) to advance the imple3 mentation of the action plan; 

4 (4) monitoring information described in sub5 section (b)(2)(H); and 

6 (5) recommendations for studies to explore in7 novative methods and practices to treat and control 

8 invasive grass. 

9 (d) FUNDING.— 

10 (1) OUTSIDE FUNDING.—The Secretary con11 cerned may accept non-Federal funds to implement 

12 any provision of this section. 

13 (2) OTHER FUNDING.—In addition to any fund14 ing received under paragraph (1), the Secretaries 

15 may expend to carry out this section up to 

16 $30,000,000 of any funding made available to the 

17 Secretary concerned for invasive species control, in18 cluding funding provided under section 40804(b)(6) 

19 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(6)). 

21 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amounts made avail22 able to carry out this section, not more than 10 per23 cent shall be used for development of the action 

24 plan. 


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1 TITLE III—MASS TIMBER 

2 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this title: 

4 (1) LOCAL APPROVING AGENCY.—The term 

5 ‘‘local approving agency’’ means an agency or unit 

6 of a local government that is responsible for the 

7 issuance of permits for building construction. 

8 (2) MASS TIMBER.—The term ‘‘mass timber’’ 

9 includes— 

10 (A) cross-laminated timber; 

11 (B) nail laminated timber; 

12 (C) glue laminated timber; 

13 (D) dowel laminated timber; 

14 (E) laminated strand lumber; and 

15 (F) laminated veneer lumber. 

16 (3) PROCURING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘procuring 

17 agency’’ means the Department of the Interior, the 

18 Forest Service, or a person that is a party to a con19 tract with the Department of the Interior or the 

20 Forest Service, with respect to work performed 

21 under such a contract. 

22 (4) TALL WOOD BUILDING.—The term ‘‘tall 

23 wood building’’ means a building designed to be— 

24 (A) constructed with mass timber; and 


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1 (B)(i) if a residential building, more than 

2 4 stories in height; and 

3 (ii) if a commercial building, more than 5 

4 stories in height. 

5 SEC. 302. JOINT MASS TIMBER SCIENCE AND EDUCATION 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 (a) MASS TIMBER SCIENCE AND EDUCATION PRO8 GRAM WITH THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY.—The 

9 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Director of 

10 the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service (re11 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall estab12 lish a mass timber science and education program to re13 spond to the emerging research needs of architects, devel14 opers, and the forest products industry. 

15 (b) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall work close16 ly with research programs at colleges and universities in 

17 administering the mass timber science and education pro18 gram established under subsection (a) to supplement the 

19 current research and educational efforts of colleges and 

20 universities. 

21 (c) PURPOSES.—The mass timber science and edu22 cation program established under subsection (a) shall have 

23 the following principal purposes: 

24 (1) To provide practical research responsive to 

25 the needs of architects, developers, and the forest 


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1 products industry, including assessments of carbon 

2 impacts in the originating forests and the end use of 

3 mass timber in the built environment. 

4 (2) To engage and listen to clients and then de5 velop focused, strategic lines of new research respon6 sive to those needs, which may include research re7 lating to flammability and performance during a 

8 fire, structural characteristics, energy use and sav9 ings, acoustics, and slab construction composed of 

10 hybrid materials. 

11 (3) To solicit proposals from scientists who 

12 compete for funding through a rigorous peer-review 

13 process designed to ensure the best projects are 

14 funded. 

15 (4) To disseminate research findings using a 

16 suite of communication tools to ensure that archi17 tects, developers, and the forest products industry 

18 are aware of, understand, and can use the informa19 tion to make sound decisions and implement 

20 projects. 

21 (5) To develop and facilitate the adoption, on a 

22 voluntary basis, of a curriculum for building struc23 tures using mass timber for use in schools of engi24 neering and architecture that includes— 

25 (A) structural design; and 


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1 (B) the possibilities, benefits, and limita2 tions of using mass timber in construction. 

3 (d) MASS TIMBER PLAN.—Not later than September 

4 30, 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the relevant com5 mittees of Congress a mass timber plan that includes— 

6 (1) an assessment of the current state of knowl7 edge about mass timber and tall wood buildings; 

8 (2) an integrated approach to improve knowl9 edge sharing; 

10 (3) an approach for project monitoring and 

11 evaluation; and 

12 (4) an approach for setting research priorities. 

13 (e) STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP.— 

14 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint 

15 a stakeholder advisory group of technical experts 

16 that consists, at a minimum, of— 

17 (A) a Forest Service scientist; 

18 (B) a researcher from a college or univer19 sity; 

20 (C) a representative of a trade association; 

21 (D) an architect or developer; 

22 (E) a representative of a local approving 

23 agency; 

24 (F) a representative of a forest products 

25 company; and 


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1 (G) a representative of a nongovernmental 

2 organization with experience— 

3 (i) designing or constructing tall wood 

4 buildings; or 

5 (ii) complying with or revising related 

6 building codes. 

7 (2) DUTIES.—The stakeholder advisory group 

8 shall meet at least annually— 

9 (A) to consider immediate and long-term 

10 science needs; 

11 (B) to suggest to the Secretary appropriate 

12 topic areas, specific issues within those topic 

13 areas, and information transfer needs for which 

14 the Secretary shall solicit proposals described in 

15 subsection (c)(3); and 

16 (C) to assist the Secretary in drafting the 

17 mass timber plan required under subsection (d). 

18 (f) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide to the 

19 Secretary of Transportation and to States technical assist20 ance relating to the use of wood in bridges when under21 going revisions to a State bridge design manual. 

22 (g) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

23 amounts appropriated for Forest Service research, exclud24 ing funding made available for the Forest Inventory and 


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1 Analysis program, the Secretary may use $4,000,000 to 

2 carry out the activities described in this section. 

3 SEC. 303. STORING CARBON IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS. 

4 (a) MASS TIMBER BUILDINGS DATABASE AND

5 PLAN.— 

6 (1) DATABASE.—The Secretaries, in coordina7 tion with any other relevant agencies, shall develop 

8 and maintain a running database of mass timber 

9 buildings that are owned or leased by the Federal 

10 Government and are occupied primarily by employ11 ees of the Secretaries (referred to in this subsection 

12 as the ‘‘database’’). 

13 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Agri14 culture, acting through the Director of the Forest 

15 Products Laboratory of the Forest Service, shall 

16 conduct an assessment of each mass timber building 

17 included in the database, which shall include col18 lecting data on the embodied carbon of the materials 

19 used in the construction of the mass timber build20 ings included in the database. 

21 (3) PLAN.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall 

23 prepare a plan to increase the quantity of car24 bon stored in buildings that are owned or leased 


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1 by the Federal Government and are occupied 

2 primarily by employees of Secretaries. 

3 (B) PLAN SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 

4 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

5 Secretaries shall submit the plan under sub6 paragraph (A) to the Committee on Energy and 

7 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com8 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

9 Representatives. 

10 (C) MATERIAL NEUTRALITY.—The plan 

11 submitted by the Secretaries shall be, to the 

12 maximum extent practicable, material neutral, 

13 and may include using mass timber, carbon 

14 concrete, and any other materials. 

15 (b) MINIMUM PURCHASES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

17 30, 2027, subject to the exceptions listed in para18 graph (2), the Secretaries shall procure facilities, 

19 buildings, or structures, including not fewer than 

20 100 single-occupancy restrooms, using domestic 

21 mass timber. 

22 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretaries may decide 

23 not to procure facilities, buildings, or structures 

24 using domestic mass timber if the Secretaries deter25 mine that the items— 


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1 (A) are not reasonably available within a 

2 reasonable period of time; 

3 (B) fail to meet the reasonable perform4 ance standards of the procuring agencies; 

5 (C) are not necessary to support the mis6 sion of the applicable agency; or 

7 (D) are available only at an unreasonable 

8 price. 

9 (c) COORDINATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Director 

11 of the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service, 

12 may coordinate with other Federal agencies and non-Fed13 eral partners for the purpose of improving the manage14 ment and efficiency of constructing mass timber buildings 

15 and infrastructure. 

16 TITLE IV—RESEARCH 

17 SEC. 401. LONGEVITY OF FOREST PRODUCTS. 

18 The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the 

19 Secretary of Agriculture, shall— 

20 (1) develop more accurate and efficient methods 

21 and technologies to measure and monitor the 

22 amount and average lifespan of carbon stored in 

23 woody biomass energy feedstocks and building mate24 rials; 


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1 (2) by not later than 2 years after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, publish estimates of the 

3 amount and average lifespan of carbon stored in dif4 ferent woody biomass energy feedstocks and building 

5 materials, including in short-lived forest products 

6 and long-lived wood products; and 

7 (3) by not later than 3 years after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, publish an estimate of the 

9 total amount of carbon stored in— 

10 (A) short-lived forest products; 

11 (B) building materials; and 

12 (C) other long-lived wood products. 

13 SEC. 402. FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—To bring more innovation and ef15 ficiency to climate-resilient forestry actions in the United 

16 States, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

17 Chief of the Forest Service— 

18 (1) shall publish a report, or expand on a re19 port being published pursuant to another provision 

20 of law, that demonstrates the efforts of the Forest 

21 Service— 

22 (A) to measure a consistent historical se23 ries of field plots while using advanced tech24 nology, including remote sensing, to improve 

25 data and information; and 


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1 (B) to use advanced geospatial tech2 nologies to improve area and volume estimates, 

3 especially for sub-State regions and smaller 

4 area estimates; 

5 (2) may use remote sensing technologies and 

6 other technologies to develop more accurate and effi7 cient methods and to reduce costs to facilitate the 

8 measuring and monitoring of forest carbon in the 

9 United States, in a manner that can— 

10 (A) assess landscape-scale or regional-scale 

11 carbon stocking; 

12 (B) improve the quantity and quality of 

13 the information available to policy makers and 

14 forest managers, including with regard to forest 

15 inventories and verification activities; 

16 (C) empower private forest owners to par17 ticipate in voluntary carbon crediting opportuni18 ties; and 

19 (D) enable— 

20 (i) a policy maker to compare the con21 sequences of policy options to increase cli22 mate benefits from forests; and 

23 (ii) an assessment of the effectiveness 

24 of a policy implemented to increase the cli25 mate benefits from forests; and 


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1 (3) may accelerate, or increase the frequency of, 

2 current inventories and data collection activities 

3 across all forest types to ensure consistent nation4 wide estimates of forest carbon pools that can reflect 

5 short-term changes from disturbances, such as 

6 wildfires, and management activities. 

7 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

8 through the Chief of the Forest Service, may annually use 

9 to carry out this section not more than $10,000,000 of 

10 any amount made available to the Forest Service for re11 search. 

12 SEC. 403. BIOECONOMY RESEARCH. 

13 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Di14 rector of the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest 

15 Service, shall expand research relating to the use of 

16 wood— 

17 (1) to facilitate the establishment of new mar18 kets, including nontraditional markets, for material 

19 produced from forest management projects that typi20 cally has little or no commercial value; 

21 (2) to increase the economic viability of manu22 facturing products using material described in para23 graph (1); and 

24 (3) including structural testing of hardwood 

25 species for use in mass timber. 


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1 SEC. 404. INSURANCE PRODUCT TO REPLACE BUFFERS. 

2 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

3 Chief of the Forest Service, may— 

4 (1) establish an intragovernmental revolving 

5 fund to maintain adequate buffer reserves for a 

6 project implementing a covered activity (as defined 

7 in subsection (a) of section 201) under that section 

8 to cover unforeseen losses in carbon stocks to ad9 dress nonpermanence; and 

10 (2) transfer amounts into and out of the 

11 intragovernmental revolving fund established under 

12 paragraph (1) to serve as a buffer pool for covered 

13 activities referred to in paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 405. FOREST HEALTH THREAT CENTERS. 

15 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

16 Chief of the Forest Service, shall— 

17 (1) seek to expand the services provided by the 

18 Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment 

19 Center and the Eastern Forest Environmental 

20 Threat Assessment Center such that those Centers 

21 become centers of excellence to inform large-scale 

22 climate-resilient forest management; and 

23 (2) share the syntheses, models, and application 

24 tools developed by the Western Wildland Environ25 mental Threat Assessment Center and the Eastern 


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1 Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center 

2 with— 

3 (A) the Department of Agriculture climate 

4 hubs; and 

5 (B) the Climate Adaptation Science Cen6 ters managed by the Secretary, acting through 

7 the Director of the United States Geological 

8 Survey. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

10 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

11 ‘‘America’s Revegetation and Carbon Sequestration Act of 

12 2024’’. 

13 (b) TITLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

14 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REVEGETATION 

Sec. 101. Climate adaptation and resilient forests and rangeland measures. 

Sec. 102. National revegetation effort. 

Sec. 103. Experimental forests and ranges. 

Sec. 104. Long-term contracts for tree and seed planting. 

Sec. 105. Revegetation workforce. 

Sec. 106. Revegetation on abandoned mine land. 

TITLE II—CARBON SEQUESTRATION THROUGH FOREST 

MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Forest management from carbon credits. 

Sec. 202. Recovery and restoration treatments following stand-replacing disturbances. 

Sec. 203. Eradication of invasive grasses. 

TITLE III—RESEARCH 

Sec. 301. Longevity of forest products. 

Sec. 302. Forest inventory and analysis. 

Sec. 303. Bioeconomy research and technology transfer. 

Sec. 304. Forest health threat centers. 


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Sec. 305. Joint mass timber science and education program. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 401. Designation of Patsye Crites Forest. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CARBON SEQUESTRATION.—The term ‘‘car4 bon sequestration’’ means the capture and long-term 

5 storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

6 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) National Forest System land; and 

9 (B) land under the jurisdiction of the Sec10 retary. 

11 (3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National For13 est System’’ has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Re15 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

17 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National For18 est System’’ does not include any forest reserve 

19 not created from the public domain. 

20 (4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

21 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

23 Service. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—Except as provided in sections 

2 103, 201, 202, 303, and 305, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

3 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

4 (6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec5 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Interior 

6 or the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

7 Chief of the Forest Service. 

8 TITLE I—REVEGETATION 

9 SEC. 101. CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENT FORESTS 

10 AND RANGELAND MEASURES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall each re13 vise applicable regulations of the Secretary concerned to re14 quire the consideration and assessment of resiliency and ad15 aptation factors in developing strategies and efforts for re16 vegetation, including reforestation and rangeland planting, 

17 carried out by the Secretary concerned, including in select18 ing species for planting. 

19 (b) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects— 

20 (1) the reforestation requirements under section 

21 3 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

22 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601); or 

23 (2) the use of the forest plan revision process to 

24 make changes to reforestation approaches in an indi25 vidual unit of the National Forest System. 


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1 SEC. 102. NATIONAL REVEGETATION EFFORT. 

2 (a) REFORESTATION REPORTS SUBMITTED TO ADDI3 TIONAL COMMITTEES.—Section 70303 of the Infrastructure 

4 Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 1601 note; Public Law 

5 117–58) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph 

6 (1), by striking ‘‘Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘Senate, the Com7 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, the 

8 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Represent9 atives,’’. 

10 (b) REFORESTATION REPORT FROM THE DEPART11 MENT OF THE INTERIOR.— 

12 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 (A) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 

15 committees’’ means— 

16 (i) the Committee on Appropriations of 

17 the Senate; 

18 (ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

19 of the House of Representatives; 

20 (iii) the Committee on Energy and 

21 Natural Resources of the Senate; 

22 (iv) the Committee on Natural Re23 sources of the House of Representatives; 

24 (v) the Committee on Agriculture, Nu25 trition, and Forestry of the Senate; and 


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1 (vi) the Committee on Agriculture of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (B) FRRRPA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘natural 

4 regeneration’’, ‘‘reforestation’’, and ‘‘unplanned 

5 event’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

6 section 3(e)(4)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland 

7 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

8 U.S.C. 1601(e)(4)(A)). 

9 (C) PRIORITY LAND.—The term ‘‘priority 

10 land’’ means historically forested land under the 

11 jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned that, due 

12 to an unplanned event— 

13 (i) requires reforestation to meet the 

14 objectives described in an applicable land 

15 use plan; and 

16 (ii) is unlikely to experience natural 

17 regeneration. 

18 (2) REFORESTATION REPORT.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

21 congressional committees a report containing esti22 mates of— 

23 (A) the number of acres of priority land; 

24 and 


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1 (B) the amounts necessary to be appro2 priated, in addition to amounts available from 

3 other sources, to implement reforestation projects 

4 on all priority land not later than 10 years after 

5 the date of submission of the report, including 

6 amounts necessary— 

7 (i) to secure seed; 

8 (ii) to grow seedlings; 

9 (iii) to prepare sites for reforestation; 

10 (iv) to plant trees; 

11 (v) to conduct thinning; 

12 (vi) to remove deleterious growth and 

13 underbrush; 

14 (vii) to build fencing to exclude live15 stock and adverse wildlife from reforestation 

16 areas; and 

17 (viii) to otherwise establish and im18 prove growing forests. 

19 (3) ANNUAL UPDATES.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of submission of the report under para21 graph (2), and annually thereafter for the subsequent 

22 8 years, the Secretary shall prepare for inclusion in 

23 the budget of the United States Government required 

24 to be submitted by the President under section 1105 


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1 of title 31, United States Code, an update to the re2 port required under paragraph (2). 

3 (c) SUPPORTING THE REFORESTATION PIPELINE IN

4 THE UNITED STATES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall joint6 ly— 

7 (A) not later than 90 days after the date on 

8 which the report is submitted under subsection 

9 (b)(2), conduct— 

10 (i) an inventory of orchards and nurs11 eries capable of supporting reforestation (as 

12 defined in section 3(e)(4)(A) of the Forest 

13 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan14 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)(4)(A))) 

15 on priority land (as defined in subsection 

16 (b)(1)); 

17 (ii) an assessment of the capacity of 

18 the orchards and nurseries listed in the in19 ventory under clause (i); and 

20 (iii) a comparison of available plant21 ing stock in each region in which orchards 

22 and nurseries listed in the inventory under 

23 clause (i) are located, as determined by the 

24 Secretaries; and 


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1 (B) based on the estimates contained in the 

2 report submitted under subsection (b)(2) and the 

3 estimates submitted under section 3(e)(2) of the 

4 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

5 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)(2))— 

6 (i) prepare an estimate of the capacity 

7 of orchards and nurseries that would be nec8 essary to implement reforestation projects 

9 on all priority land (as defined in section 

10 (b)(1)) within 10 years, including identi11 fying the species and types of planting stock 

12 needed for that reforestation; and 

13 (ii) develop a plan for increasing the 

14 capacity of orchards and nurseries such 

15 that the necessary capacity described in 

16 clause (i) is achieved. 

17 (2) SEED COLLECTING.—The Secretaries shall 

18 each— 

19 (A) assess whether the current workforce ca20 pacity and infrastructure capacity to locally col21 lect, process, and store seed is sufficient to imple22 ment reforestation projects on all priority land 

23 within 10 years; 

24 (B) if the Secretary concerned determines 

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1 ity is insufficient under subparagraph (A), de2 velop and carry out a plan for increasing work3 force capacity, infrastructure capacity, or both, 

4 as applicable; and 

5 (C) in developing and carrying out the plan 

6 under subparagraph (B), coordinate with any 

7 Job Corps program established under section 

8 105(a) regarding the development and hiring of 

9 the workforce for orchards and nurseries. 

10 (3) AVAILABILITY OF PLANT MATERIAL.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a re12 vegetation project on Federal land, the Secretary 

13 concerned may submit to the other Secretary 

14 concerned a request for plant material pur15 chased, owned, grown, or managed by the other 

16 Secretary concerned. 

17 (B) PROVISION.—The Secretary concerned 

18 to which a request is submitted under subpara19 graph (A) shall provide the requested plant ma20 terial, to the extent practicable. 

21 (C) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary con22 cerned that submits a request under subpara23 graph (A) shall reimburse the other Secretary 

24 concerned for any plant material provided under 

25 the request. 


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1 (d) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary concerned may 

2 enter into an agreement with a non-Federal entity to carry 

3 out any activity described in subsection (b) or (c). 

4 (e) REFORESTATION TRUST FUND.—Section 303 of 

5 Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(c)(1) It shall 

7 be’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 

8 of paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORTS; INVESTMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of Agri11 culture, in coordination with the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury, shall submit to Congress an annual report 

13 that contains a description of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the deposits in, expenditures from, and 

15 balance of the Trust Fund; 

16 ‘‘(B) the projects funded by the Trust Fund; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) projected deposits in, and any pro19 jected expenditures from, the Trust fund for the 

20 next fiscal year.’’; 

21 (2) by conforming the margins of subsection 

22 (c)(2), and the margins of the subparagraphs within 

23 that paragraph, accordingly; and 

24 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Secretary’) 

3 may obligate such sums as are available in the Trust Fund, 

4 including any amounts not obligated in previous fiscal 

5 years, for— 

6 ‘‘(1) reforestation on National Forest System 

7 land in accordance with section 3(e) of the Forest and 

8 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

9 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)); 

10 ‘‘(2) site preparation as needed to accomplish re11 forestation described in paragraph (1); 

12 ‘‘(3) seed collection, preparation, and storage 

13 necessary to support appropriate seed availability; 

14 ‘‘(4) nursery construction or activities necessary 

15 to support appropriate seedling availability; and 

16 ‘‘(5) properly allocable administrative costs for 

17 the activities described in paragraphs (1) through 

18 (4).’’. 

19 (f) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—In carrying out 

20 this section and the amendments made by this section, the 

21 Secretaries shall— 

22 (1) avoid duplicative efforts and, to the max23 imum extent practicable, utilize existing efforts and 

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1 quired under this section or an amendment made by 

2 this section; and 

3 (2) avoid using personnel who would otherwise 

4 be engaged in forest management or wildfire mitiga5 tion efforts. 

6 (g) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section or an amend7 ment made by this section establishes new, extends existing, 

8 or otherwise affects any requirement under Federal law pro9 hibiting or restricting grazing during post-wildfire rehabili10 tation. 

11 SEC. 103. EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS AND RANGES. 

12 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

13 (1) to formally authorize the experimental forests 

14 and ranges of the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to 

15 in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) existing on the 

16 date of enactment of this Act; and 

17 (2) to require the Secretary— 

18 (A) to establish and manage a network of 

19 experimental forests and ranges over timescales 

20 that support long-term research; and 

21 (B) to continuously conduct within the net22 work described in subparagraph (A) long-term 

23 research on changes in forest and range systems, 

24 including on the impacts of management, cli25 mate change, and other stressors. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish and manage a network of experimental for3 ests and ranges (referred to in this section as the ‘‘network’’) 

4 on— 

5 (1) as practicable, National Forest System land; 

6 (2) other Federal land; or 

7 (3) other land that may be managed by the Sec8 retary under a long-term agreement. 

9 (c) MANAGEMENT PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall 

10 manage the network for the purposes of— 

11 (1) research; 

12 (2) technology transfer; and 

13 (3) education. 

14 (d) CRITERIA.—The network shall include— 

15 (1) each of the forest cover types that occur in 

16 the United States, as defined under the forest inven17 tory and analysis program established under section 

18 3(e) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re19 sources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1642(e)); 

20 (2) an experimental forest that contains forest 

21 cover types found in the State of Hawaii; 

22 (3) an experimental forest that contains forest 

23 cover types found in the territories of the United 

24 States; and 


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1 (4) experimental ranges that represent rangeland 

2 vegetation types in the United States. 

3 (e) CLIMATE RESILIENCY RESEARCH.—Within the 

4 network, the Secretary shall conduct research, including re5 search on— 

6 (1) seedling establishment, site suitability, and 

7 revegetation schedules and designs to inform and as8 sist efforts undertaken in the United States to estab9 lish forests and ranges that are resilient in future cli10 mate conditions; 

11 (2) the sources, sinks, and transport mechanisms 

12 of carbon to construct and improve models of carbon 

13 responses to land management practices and under 

14 changing climate conditions; 

15 (3) vegetation changes and ecosystem conversion; 

16 and 

17 (4) hydrologic changes associated with vegetation 

18 or climatic changes. 

19 (f) TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE.—To the 

20 extent practicable and consistent with other Federal laws 

21 (including regulations), the Secretary shall integrate indig22 enous perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge in 

23 the development and research plans for forests and ranges 

24 within the network. 


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1 (g) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Consistent with other laws (in2 cluding regulations), the Secretary shall make readily acces3 sible to the public any collected data and research findings 

4 from projects within the network. 

5 (h) PARTNERS.—The Secretary may enter into an 

6 agreement with a State (including a State forestry agency), 

7 an Indian Tribe, a Tribal organization, an educational in8 stitution, or a third party to fund or conduct research on 

9 the network. 

10 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

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

12 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

13 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

14 Representatives a report describing, with respect to the net15 work— 

16 (1) the location of forests and ranges; 

17 (2) the forest cover types included in the network 

18 and any forest cover types not included in the net19 work; and 

20 (3) any additional resources needed— 

21 (A) to establish or maintain infrastructure 

22 in an established experimental forest or range; 

23 (B) to expand the network to additional for24 est cover types not included in the network; or 


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1 (C) to conduct the research described in sub2 section (e). 

3 (j) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section— 

4 (1) modifies, limits, or repeals the applicability 

5 of any other provision of law (including regulations) 

6 to National Forest System land; or 

7 (2) precludes the Secretary from authorizing 

8 multiple-use activities, including livestock grazing 

9 and other authorized uses on land included within the 

10 network. 

11 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 

13 as are necessary to carry out this section. 

14 SEC. 104. LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR TREE AND SEED 

15 PLANTING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned may enter 

17 into a contract or cooperative agreement for re-establishing 

18 vegetation on Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Sec19 retary concerned. 

20 (b) TERM.—Notwithstanding the time limit for 

21 multiyear contracts in section 3903 of title 41, United 

22 States Code, a contract or cooperative agreement described 

23 in subsection (a) may be for a term of not more than 10 

24 years. 


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1 SEC. 105. REVEGETATION WORKFORCE. 

2 (a) JOB CORPS PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Labor, 

3 in coordination with the Secretaries, shall— 

4 (1) develop a career and technical education and 

5 training program focused on tree planting and re6 vegetation, tree maintenance, nursery management, or 

7 seed collection; and 

8 (2) offer the program as part of the Job Corps 

9 program. 

10 (b) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned may 

12 appoint, without regard to subchapter I of chapter 33 

13 of title 5, United States Code, other than sections 

14 3303 and 3328 of that title, a graduate of the pro15 gram developed and offered under subsection (a) di16 rectly to a position within, as applicable, the Depart17 ment of Agriculture or the Department of the Inte18 rior— 

19 (A) for which the candidate meets Office of 

20 Personnel Management qualification standards; 

21 and 

22 (B) of which the primary duties relate di23 rectly to the training the graduate received under 

24 the program developed and offered under sub25 section (a). 


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1 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary concerned may 

2 exercise the direct hire authority under paragraph (1) 

3 with respect to a specific qualified candidate not later 

4 than 1 year after the date on which the candidate 

5 completed the program developed and offered under 

6 subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 106. REVEGETATION ON ABANDONED MINE LAND. 

8 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Using funding available 

10 to the Secretary, including funding provided under 

11 section 40804(b)(8) of the Infrastructure Investment 

12 and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(8)), the Secretary 

13 shall establish a pilot program to establish native 

14 trees, shrubs, or grasses (referred to in this section as 

15 ‘‘vegetation’’) on eligible mined land described in 

16 paragraph (6). 

17 (2) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out 

18 the pilot program established under paragraph (1), 

19 the Secretary shall— 

20 (A) in coordination with the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture, establish vegetation on eligible 

22 mined land located on Federal land; 

23 (B) offer financial assistance to States to es24 tablish native vegetation on eligible mined land 

25 located on State land; 


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1 (C) offer financial assistance to Indian 

2 Tribes to establish native vegetation on eligible 

3 mined land located on Tribal land or land held 

4 in Trust for an Indian Tribe; and 

5 (D) establish vegetation or offer financial 

6 assistance to States or other entities to establish 

7 native vegetation on eligible mined land located 

8 on private land. 

9 (3) COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING OPER10 ATIONS.— 

11 (A) CONSULTATION.—Prior to selecting a 

12 project for funding under the pilot program es13 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

14 shall consult with, as applicable, the relevant Of15 fice of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce16 ment abandoned mine land program office to 

17 confirm that the proposed project is compatible 

18 with any current mining, exploration, or rec19 lamation activities. 

20 (B) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary shall not 

21 provide financial assistance under paragraph (2) 

22 to a person or entity with an ongoing legal obli23 gation to revegetate the land in a project area. 

24 (4) ACTIVITIES.—The following activities associ25 ated with a project to establish vegetation on eligible 


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1 mined land shall be eligible for financial assistance 

2 under paragraph (2): 

3 (A) Site preparation, including ripping 

4 compacted soils and incorporating soil amend5 ments. 

6 (B) Vegetation planting. 

7 (C) Maintenance, including watering, to the 

8 extent necessary to establish vegetation under 

9 this section. 

10 (D) Managing competing vegetation. 

11 (5) PREFERENCE.—Under the pilot program es12 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, to 

13 the maximum extent practicable, seek to establish 

14 vegetation that— 

15 (A) is ecologically appropriate; and 

16 (B)(i) has a high capacity to sequester and 

17 store carbon; 

18 (ii) serves to reconnect established land19 scapes or enhance habitat connectivity; or 

20 (iii) would establish wildlife habitat that is 

21 underrepresented in the State in which the 

22 project is located. 

23 (6) ELIGIBLE MINED LAND.—To be eligible for 

24 financial assistance under paragraph (2), a tree 

25 planting project shall be located on— 


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1 (A) land that was mined prior to the date 

2 of enactment of this Act; 

3 (B) in the case of State land or private 

4 land, land that is accessible to the public for not 

5 less than 1 day per year; and 

6 (C) in the case of private land, land owned 

7 by a person, or a nongovernmental organization, 

8 that has submitted to the Secretary a request 

9 seeking to participate in the pilot program 

10 under this section. 

11 (7) TERMINATION.—The pilot program estab12 lished under paragraph (1) shall be in effect for the 

13 8-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

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

17 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

18 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

19 Representatives a report describing the accomplishments of 

20 the pilot program established under subsection (a)(1), in21 cluding— 

22 (1) jobs created or supported in rural areas; 

23 (2) increases in the abundance of wildlife species, 

24 including game species and song birds; 


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1 (3) opportunities for hunting and other compat2 ible outdoor recreation; and 

3 (4) an estimate of— 

4 (A) carbon sequestered during the 5-year pe5 riod beginning on the date on which the pilot 

6 program is established; and 

7 (B) projected additional carbon sequestra8 tion and storage during the 15-year period be9 ginning on the last day of the period described 

10 in subparagraph (A). 

11 TITLE II—CARBON SEQUESTRA12 TION THROUGH FOREST MAN13 AGEMENT AND INNOVATION 

14 SEC. 201. FOREST MANAGEMENT FROM CARBON CREDITS. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) BUFFER POOL.—The term ‘‘buffer pool’’ 

17 means additional sequestered carbon or greenhouse 

18 gas held in reserve beyond the carbon or greenhouse 

19 gas represented by a carbon credit to serve as an off20 set in the event of nonpermanence or carbon seques21 tration reversal for a carbon credit. 

22 (2) CARBON CREDIT.—The term ‘‘carbon credit’’ 

23 means a credit, offset, or other defined unit of carbon 

24 or a greenhouse gas that— 


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1 (A) represents additional carbon or green2 house gas sequestered or carbon or greenhouse gas 

3 emissions mitigated, compared to such sequestra4 tion or mitigation without the financial support 

5 embodied in the credit, offset, or other defined 

6 unit; 

7 (B) is approved by a credible, third-party 

8 entity; 

9 (C) is generated from the implementation or 

10 funding of a covered activity; and 

11 (D) is identifiable, measurable, and trace12 able. 

13 (3) CARBON CREDIT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘car14 bon credit program’’ means a voluntary program or 

15 market that issues, assigns, trades, or sells carbon 

16 credits. 

17 (4) COVERED ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘covered ac18 tivity’’ means a forest revegetation activity that— 

19 (A) is ecologically appropriate; 

20 (B) is carried out on National Forest Sys21 tem land; 

22 (C) is designed, in accordance with the best 

23 available science— 

24 (i) to increase rates of carbon or green25 house gas sequestration; 


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1 (ii) to increase the quantity of seques2 tered carbon or greenhouse gas; or 

3 (iii) to mitigate or avoid carbon or 

4 greenhouse gas emissions; 

5 (D) to the extent practicable, is accom6 plished using plants native to the landscape or 

7 to adjacent landscapes; 

8 (E) to the maximum extent practicable, re9 vegetates the area in a manner and at a schedule 

10 that minimizes the threat of stand-replacing 

11 wildfire; and 

12 (F) is carried out by— 

13 (i) the Secretary; or 

14 (ii) a non-Federal entity authorized by 

15 the Secretary under any other provision of 

16 law. 

17 (5) INTRAGOVERNMENTAL REVOLVING FUND.— 

18 The term ‘‘intragovernmental revolving fund’’ means 

19 a Federal account that receives a portion of funds re20 ceived through a carbon credit program for use for 

21 covered activities in the event of nonpermanence or 

22 carbon sequestration reversal for a carbon credit. 

23 (6) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ means 

24 the ability of an area of the National Forest System 

25 to retain its inherent ecological structure, composiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

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1 tion, and functional integrity in response to historical 

2 and anticipated stresses for the forest type of the area, 

3 at any level from the ecosystem to the landscape scale, 

4 over the age span of the dominant trees of the area. 

5 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

7 of the Forest Service. 

8 (b) FUNDS ASSOCIATED WITH CARBON CREDITS FOR

9 FOREST MANAGEMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may expend 

11 funds received from a non-Federal entity from a car12 bon credit program for a carbon credit, without fur13 ther appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to sup14 port the implementation of covered activities. 

15 (2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

16 made available to the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

17 shall supplement, and not supplant, any other 

18 amounts made available for covered activities. 

19 (3) EXCLUSIVE USE.—Amounts made available 

20 to the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall only be 

21 used for— 

22 (A) the implementation of covered activities; 

23 and 

24 (B) any properly allocable administrative 

25 costs. 


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1 (c) MANAGEMENT OF CARBON CREDIT TRANSACTIONS

2 BY NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Forest Founda4 tion shall receive and distribute any funds received 

5 under subsection (b)(1). 

6 (2) OTHER PARTNERS.—The National Forest 

7 Foundation and the Secretary may work with other 

8 entities that use funds received through a carbon cred9 it program or for a carbon credit to design, manage, 

10 account for, implement, or monitor a covered activity. 

11 (3) METHODOLOGY.—For the management of 

12 transactions described in this section, the National 

13 Forest Foundation and the Secretary shall jointly de14 velop and use a methodology that calculates the value 

15 of a carbon credit, based on— 

16 (A) the reestablishment or retention of forest 

17 cover; 

18 (B) carbon sequestration rates before and 

19 after the implementation of the covered activity; 

20 and 

21 (C) such other considerations as are nec22 essary to accurately calculate the value of the 

23 carbon credit. 

24 (4) LIMITATIONS.—A carbon credit— 


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1 (A) shall not be construed to constrain, 

2 limit, or otherwise affect the authority of the Sec3 retary to carry out activities within the National 

4 Forest System; and 

5 (B) shall be limited in value to the amount 

6 necessary to represent the carbon or greenhouse 

7 gas sequestered by vegetation with a stand den8 sity index of not greater than the stand density 

9 index necessary for resilience of the forest cover 

10 type in the area where the carbon credit is gen11 erated. 

12 (d) RISK MITIGATION TOOLS.—The Secretary may— 

13 (1) establish a buffer pool, an intragovernmental 

14 revolving fund, or another similar risk mitigation 

15 tool for a project to carry out a covered activity under 

16 this section; 

17 (2) transfer amounts into and out of the buffer 

18 pool, intragovernmental revolving fund, or other tool 

19 established under paragraph (1); and 

20 (3) develop a protocol, after providing notice and 

21 an opportunity for public comment, for the manage22 ment of the buffer pool, intragovernmental revolving 

23 fund, or other tool established under paragraph (1). 

24 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary, in col25 laboration with the National Forest Foundation, shall anVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

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1 nually submit to Congress a report describing the status 

2 of the program under this section, including— 

3 (1) the extent to which covered activities that 

4 were implemented as a direct result of funding re5 ceived under subsection (b)(1) have been carried out; 

6 and 

7 (2) any recommendations to improve or expand 

8 the program, including expansion of the authorities 

9 under this section to land managed by the Secretary 

10 of the Interior. 

11 (f) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in collaboration 

12 with the National Forest Foundation, shall make publicly 

13 available on a website of the Forest Service the data relating 

14 to all carbon credits issued, traded, sold, or retired under 

15 this section. 

16 (g) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes any 

17 activity that is inconsistent with— 

18 (1) any applicable land management plan; or 

19 (2) any other provision of law (including regula20 tions). 

21 SEC. 202. RECOVERY AND RESTORATION TREATMENTS FOL22 LOWING STAND-REPLACING DISTURBANCES. 

23 (a) DEFINITION OF STAND-REPLACING DISTURB24 ANCE.—In this section, the term ‘‘stand-replacing disturb25 ance’’ means a natural disturbance event, including a 


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1 wildland fire or other event, that kills all or most of the 

2 living overstory trees in a stand and initiates forest succes3 sion or regrowth on a unit of the National Forest System. 

4 (b) PILOT NATIONAL FORESTS.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Ag6 riculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service (re7 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall identify 

8 units of the National Forest System that the Secretary de9 termines to be at high or very high risk of experiencing a 

10 stand-replacing disturbance during the 10-year period fol11 lowing the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (c) INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 shall establish an interdisciplinary post-disturbance plan15 ning team (referred to in this section as the ‘‘team’’) to as16 sist in carrying out the requirements of this section. 

17 (d) MODEL LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

18 AMENDMENT.— 

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

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in co21 operation with the team, shall develop a model land 

22 and resource management plan amendment estab23 lishing plan content for future site-specific project24 level decisions if a stand-replacing disturbance occurs 


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1 on units of the National Forest System identified 

2 under subsection (b). 

3 (2) CONTENT.—The model amendment required 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include direction regarding 

5 post-disturbance management, including salvage log6 ging and reforestation activities, to achieve desired 

7 conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines, suit8 ability of lands, and other plan content, including 

9 goals and monitoring provisions, of the existing land 

10 and resource management plan on the applicable unit 

11 of the National Forest System, if a stand-replacing 

12 disturbance occurs. 

13 (3) USE OF MODEL LAND AND RESOURCE MAN14 AGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT.—The Secretary shall 

15 utilize the Model Land and Resource Management 

16 Plan Amendment, as adapted to the unique ecological 

17 and socioeconomic setting for each unit of the Na18 tional Forest System identified under subsection (b), 

19 in carrying out subsection (e). 

20 (e) LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AMEND21 MENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable, but 

23 not later than 10 years, after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary, assisted by the team, shall 

25 amend the applicable land and resource management 


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1 plan of each unit of the National Forest System iden2 tified under subsection (b). 

3 (2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall comply with 

4 all relevant laws in carrying out this section. 

5 (3) ELECTION.—The Secretary may comply with 

6 the provisions of this section by incorporating the re7 quirements of this section into an ongoing land and 

8 resource management plan revision or amendment 

9 process. 

10 SEC. 203. ERADICATION OF INVASIVE GRASSES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘action plan’’ 

13 means the action plan developed under subsection (b). 

14 (2) INVASIVE GRASS.—The term ‘‘invasive grass’’ 

15 means— 

16 (A) cheatgrass; 

17 (B) ventenata; 

18 (C) medusahead; and 

19 (D) any additional invasive, nonnative 

20 grass species that the Secretaries determine pose 

21 a risk by— 

22 (i) increasing fire vulnerability and 

23 fire spread; and 

24 (ii) altering fire regimes. 

25 (b) ACTION PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall jointly 

2 develop and implement an action plan to map, treat, 

3 and control invasive grass— 

4 (A) to promote the resiliency, biodiversity, 

5 and carbon sequestration capacity of forests, 

6 rangelands, and grasslands; 

7 (B) to restore native plant species; 

8 (C) to minimize risks from wildfire; and 

9 (D) to enhance the quality of forage for 

10 wildlife and livestock. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The action plan shall— 

12 (A) consider or incorporate existing efforts; 

13 (B) take into account— 

14 (i) the latest science; 

15 (ii) best practices; and 

16 (iii) available deployment tools; 

17 (C) be prepared in coordination with State, 

18 Tribal, and local governmental entities and the 

19 heads of other Federal agencies, including the 

20 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

21 Service, that are engaged in activities to control 

22 invasive grass to leverage and maximize funding 

23 and resources; 

24 (D) identify options to streamline environ25 mental review, including— 


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1 (i) the use of categorical exclusions (as 

2 defined in section 111 of the National Envi3 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4336e)), including a categorical exclusion of 

5 another agency pursuant to section 109 of 

6 that Act (42 U.S.C. 4336c); 

7 (ii) the development of consultations 

8 under section 7 of the Endangered Species 

9 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) on a pro10 grammatic basis; 

11 (iii) interagency coordination regard12 ing the validation, registration, and effec13 tive use of products to control or eradicate 

14 invasive grass; and 

15 (iv) maximizing opportunities to co16 operate with other Federal, Tribal, and 

17 State agencies in analysis, assessments, and 

18 studies; 

19 (E) establish— 

20 (i) specific goals; 

21 (ii) specific implementation actions 

22 that the Secretaries and partners of the Sec23 retaries will conduct over a 5-year period; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) targets, including acres to be 

2 treated annually in target treatment areas 

3 identified by the Secretaries; 

4 (F) provide for a combination of treatment 

5 methods for the most effective control or eradi6 cation of an invasive grass, including— 

7 (i) manual treatment methods; 

8 (ii) mechanical treatment methods; 

9 (iii) cultural treatment methods, in10 cluding the use of wood chips or prescribed 

11 fire; 

12 (iv) biological treatment methods, 

13 which may include livestock grazing; or 

14 (v) chemical treatment methods; 

15 (G) identify and implement, to the extent 

16 practicable, best practices to reduce the spread17 ing of invasive grass seed, such as the use of 

18 spray washing stations; and 

19 (H) identify methods and metrics to deter20 mine the effectiveness of treatment and control 

21 efforts. 

22 (3) DEADLINE TO FINALIZE ACTION PLAN.—Not 

23 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, the Secretaries shall finalize the action plan. 

25 (4) IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION PLAN.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

2 after the date on which the action plan is final3 ized under paragraph (3), the Secretaries shall 

4 begin implementing the action plan in a manner 

5 consistent with other applicable laws (including 

6 regulations). 

7 (B) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING AND

8 AGREEMENTS.—In implementing the action 

9 plan, the Secretary concerned may enter into a 

10 memorandum of understanding or an agreement 

11 with non-Federal entities, as appropriate, to 

12 carry out activities under the action plan to con13 trol the spread of an invasive grass on Federal 

14 land or land adjacent to Federal land. 

15 (C) COOPERATING AGENCY COORDINA16 TION.—The Secretary concerned shall, to the ex17 tent practicable, offer to assist in the preparation 

18 of environmental reviews that may be necessary 

19 in implementing treatment and control activities 

20 on land adjacent to Federal land. 

21 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually there23 after during the period in which the action plan is being 

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1 port assessing the effectiveness of the action plan that in2 cludes a description of— 

3 (1) the location and acreage of the areas treated 

4 for invasive grass; 

5 (2) any memoranda of understanding or agree6 ments entered into under subsection (b)(4)(B) to ad7 vance the implementation of the action plan; 

8 (3) the effectiveness of treatments and control ef9 forts, determined using the methods and metrics de10 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(H); and 

11 (4) recommendations for studies to explore inno12 vative methods and practices to treat and control 

13 invasive grass. 

14 (d) FUNDING.— 

15 (1) OUTSIDE FUNDING.—The Secretary con16 cerned may accept non-Federal funds to implement 

17 any provision of this section. 

18 (2) OTHER FUNDING.—In addition to any fund19 ing received under paragraph (1), the Secretaries 

20 may expend to carry out this section up to 

21 $30,000,000 of any funding made available to the 

22 Secretary concerned for invasive species control, in23 cluding funding provided under section 40804(b)(6) of 

24 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 

25 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(6)). 


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1 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amounts made avail2 able to carry out this section, not more than 10 per3 cent shall be used for development of the action plan. 

4 TITLE III—RESEARCH 

5 SEC. 301. LONGEVITY OF FOREST PRODUCTS. 

6 The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Sec7 retary of Agriculture, shall— 

8 (1) develop accurate and efficient methods and 

9 technologies to measure and monitor the amount and 

10 average lifespan of carbon stored in woody biomass 

11 energy feedstocks and building materials; 

12 (2) by not later than 2 years after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act, publish estimates of the carbon 

14 intensity of woody biomass energy feedstocks and 

15 building materials, including in short-lived forest 

16 products and long-lived wood products; and 

17 (3) by not later than 3 years after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, publish a lifecycle carbon as19 sessment, including any carbon sequestration, for— 

20 (A) short-lived forest products; 

21 (B) building materials; and 

22 (C) other long-lived wood products. 

23 SEC. 302. FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—To bring more innovation and effi25 ciency to climate-resilient forestry actions in the United 


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1 States, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

2 Chief of the Forest Service— 

3 (1) shall publish a report, or expand on a report 

4 being published pursuant to another provision of law, 

5 that demonstrates the efforts of the Forest Service— 

6 (A) to measure a consistent historical series 

7 of field plots while using advanced technology, 

8 including remote sensing, to improve data and 

9 information; and 

10 (B) to use advanced geospatial technologies 

11 to improve area and volume estimates, especially 

12 for smaller areas; 

13 (2) may use remote sensing technologies and 

14 other technologies to develop more accurate and effi15 cient methods and to reduce costs to facilitate the 

16 measuring and monitoring of forest carbon in the 

17 United States, in a manner that can— 

18 (A) assess landscape-scale or regional-scale 

19 carbon stocking; 

20 (B) improve the quantity and quality of the 

21 information available to policy makers and for22 est managers, including with regard to forest in23 ventories and verification activities; 


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1 (C) empower private forest owners to par2 ticipate in voluntary carbon crediting opportu3 nities; and 

4 (D) enable— 

5 (i) a policy maker to compare the con6 sequences of policy options to increase cli7 mate benefits from forests; and 

8 (ii) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

9 a policy implemented to increase the cli10 mate benefits from forests; and 

11 (3) may accelerate, or increase the frequency of, 

12 current inventories and data collection activities 

13 across all forest types to ensure consistent nationwide 

14 estimates of forest carbon pools that can reflect short15 term changes from disturbances, such as wildfires, 

16 and management activities. 

17 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

18 through the Chief of the Forest Service, may annually use 

19 to carry out this section not more than $10,000,000 of any 

20 amount made available to the Forest Service for research. 

21 SEC. 303. BIOECONOMY RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 

22 TRANSFER. 

23 (a) FOREST PRODUCTS RESEARCH.—The Secretary of 

24 Agriculture (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), 


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1 in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, shall expand 

2 research relating to the use of wood— 

3 (1) to facilitate the establishment of new mar4 kets, including nontraditional markets, for material 

5 produced from forest management projects that typi6 cally has little or no commercial value; 

7 (2) to increase the economic viability of manu8 facturing products using material described in para9 graph (1); 

10 (3) for the production of low-carbon renewable 

11 fuel, including sustainable aviation fuel; and 

12 (4) including structural testing of hardwood spe13 cies for use in mass timber. 

14 (b) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE.— 

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established with16 in the Forest Service an Office of Technology Transfer 

17 (referred to this subsection as the ‘‘Office’’). 

18 (2) MISSION.—The mission of the Office shall 

19 be— 

20 (A) to expand the commercial impact of the 

21 research investments of the Forest Service; and 

22 (B) to provide for the commercialization of 

23 technologies that support the mission of the For24 est Service. 

25 (3) CHIEF COMMERCIALIZATION OFFICER.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be head2 ed by an officer, who shall be known as the 

3 ‘‘Chief Commercialization Officer’’ and who shall 

4 report to the Deputy Chief of the Forest Service 

5 for Research and Development. 

6 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap7 pointed to the position of Chief Commercializa8 tion Officer shall be an individual who, by rea9 son of professional background and experience, is 

10 specially qualified to advise the Chief of the For11 est Service and the Deputy Chief of the Forest 

12 Service for Research and Development on tech13 nology transfer at the Forest Service. 

14 (C) DUTIES.—The Chief Commercialization 

15 Officer shall— 

16 (i) oversee the expenditure of funds al17 located for technology transfer within the 

18 Forest Service; 

19 (ii) represent the Forest Service on— 

20 (I) the Federal Laboratory Con21 sortium for Technology Transfer estab22 lished by section 11(e) of the Steven23 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act 

24 of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(e)); and 


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1 (II) other similar interagency co2 ordinating entities; 

3 (iii) coordinate with— 

4 (I) other technology transfer and 

5 commercialization offices within the 

6 Department of Agriculture; and 

7 (II) other similar Federal entities, 

8 as appropriate; 

9 (iv) oversee efforts to engage with pri10 vate sector entities, including venture cap11 ital companies, on issues relating to tech12 nology transfer and commercialization; and 

13 (v) coordinate efforts to patent or oth14 erwise protect under title 35, United States 

15 Code, any inventions arising from a Forest 

16 Service laboratory. 

17 (4) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER WORKING GROUP.— 

18 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 

19 establish within the Forest Service a Technology 

20 Transfer Working Group, which shall consist 

21 of— 

22 (i) the Deputy Chief of the Forest Serv23 ice for Research and Development; 

24 (ii) the Chief Commercialization Offi25 cer; 


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1 (iii) representatives from each research 

2 station within the Forest Service; and 

3 (iv) representatives from other Forest 

4 Service entities with relevant expertise, as 

5 appropriate. 

6 (B) DUTIES.—The Technology Transfer 

7 Working Group established under subparagraph 

8 (A) shall— 

9 (i) assist with the coordination of tech10 nology transfer and commercialization op11 portunities occurring at Forest Service lab12 oratories; 

13 (ii) develop and disseminate guidance 

14 to researchers at Forest Service laboratories 

15 on technology transfer and commercializa16 tion requirements under the Stevenson17 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

18 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) and associated 

19 agreements to implement those require20 ments; and 

21 (iii) develop and disseminate to the 

22 public and prospective technology partners 

23 information about opportunities and proce24 dures for technology transfer with the Forest 

25 Service. 


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1 (C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Technology 

3 Transfer Working Group established under sub4 paragraph (A) shall submit to Congress a report 

5 that describes— 

6 (i) the number of cooperative research 

7 and development agreements entered into by 

8 the Forest Service under section 12 of the 

9 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

10 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) during the 

11 preceding 5 years; 

12 (ii) the number of agreements with 

13 partnership intermediaries entered into by 

14 the Forest Service under section 23 of the 

15 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

16 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3715) during the 

17 preceding 5 years; 

18 (iii) the number of licenses or other use 

19 authorizations issued by the Forest Service 

20 for patents held by the Forest Service dur21 ing the preceding 5 years; and 

22 (iv) recommendations for legislative, 

23 programmatic, or regulatory changes to 

24 support the mission of the Office. 


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1 (5) KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—Beginning 

2 with the first year after the report under paragraph 

3 (4)(C) is submitted, and each year thereafter, the 

4 President shall include in the budget of the United 

5 States Government submitted to Congress under sec6 tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code— 

7 (A) the number of cooperative research and 

8 development agreements entered into by the For9 est Service under section 12 of the Stevenson10 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

11 U.S.C. 3710a) during the preceding year; 

12 (B) the number of agreements with partner13 ship intermediaries entered into by the Forest 

14 Service under section 23 of the Stevenson-Wydler 

15 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

16 3715) during the preceding year; and 

17 (C) the number of licenses or other use au18 thorizations issued by the Forest Service for pat19 ents held by the Forest Service during the pre20 ceding year. 

21 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec23 retary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each 

24 fiscal year. 


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1 (c) NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.— 

2 Section 402(b)(3) of the National Forest Foundation Act 

3 (16 U.S.C. 583j(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘cooperative 

4 forestry’’ and inserting ‘‘technology transfer, commer5 cialization, cooperative forestry,’’. 

6 (d) SMALL BUSINESS VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con8 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Ad9 ministrator of the Small Business Administration, 

10 shall establish an innovation voucher pilot program 

11 to accelerate product development, demonstration, and 

12 commercialization in the forest products sector. 

13 (2) VOUCHERS.—Under the pilot program estab14 lished under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro15 vide vouchers to small business concerns (as defined 

16 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 632)) to be used at research facilities of the Forest 

18 Service for research, development, demonstration, 

19 technology transfer, skills training and workforce de20 velopment, or commercial application activities. 

21 (3) COST-SHARING.— 

22 (A) BASIC RESEARCH.—Except as provided 

23 in subparagraph (D), the Secretary may require 

24 up to 20 percent of the cost of a voucher provided 

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1 ment activity that is of a basic or fundamental 

2 nature, at the discretion of the Secretary, to be 

3 provided by a non-Federal source. 

4 (B) APPLIED RESEARCH.—Except as pro5 vided in subparagraphs (D) and (E), the Sec6 retary shall require not less than 20 percent of 

7 the cost of a voucher provided under paragraph 

8 (2) for a research or development activity that is 

9 not of a basic or fundamental nature, at the dis10 cretion of the Secretary, to be provided by a non11 Federal source. 

12 (C) DEMONSTRATION AND COMMERCIAL AP13 PLICATION.—Except as provided in subpara14 graph (E), the Secretary shall require not less 

15 than 50 percent of the cost of a voucher provided 

16 under paragraph (2) for a demonstration or 

17 commercial application activity to be provided 

18 by a non-Federal source. 

19 (D) EXEMPTION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

20 AND NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS.—The cost share 

21 requirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

22 shall not apply to an activity performed by an 

23 institution of higher education or a nonprofit in24 stitution (as defined in section 4 of the StevenVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

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1 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

2 (15 U.S.C. 3703)). 

3 (E) REDUCTION IN COST-SHARE.—The Sec4 retary may reduce the non-Federal share re5 quired under subparagraphs (B) and (C) if the 

6 Secretary determines the reduction to be nec7 essary and appropriate, taking into account any 

8 technological risk relating to the activity. 

9 (4) TERMINATION.—The authorities provided 

10 under this subsection (except for paragraph (5)) shall 

11 expire on September 30, 2029. 

12 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 termination of the pilot program under paragraph 

14 (4), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

15 describing the outcomes of the pilot program, includ16 ing any recommendations to improve the pilot pro17 gram. 

18 SEC. 304. FOREST HEALTH THREAT CENTERS. 

19 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

20 of the Forest Service, shall— 

21 (1) seek to expand the services provided by the 

22 Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment 

23 Center and the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat 

24 Assessment Center such that those Centers become cenVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

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1 ters of excellence to inform large-scale climate-resilient 

2 forest management; and 

3 (2) share the syntheses, models, and application 

4 tools developed by the Western Wildland Environ5 mental Threat Assessment Center and the Eastern 

6 Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center 

7 with— 

8 (A) the Department of Agriculture climate 

9 hubs; and 

10 (B) the Climate Adaptation Science Centers 

11 managed by the Secretary, acting through the 

12 Director of the United States Geological Survey. 

13 SEC. 305. JOINT MASS TIMBER SCIENCE AND EDUCATION 

14 PROGRAM. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) LOCAL APPROVING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘local 

17 approving agency’’ means an agency or unit of a 

18 local government that is responsible for the issuance 

19 of permits for building construction. 

20 (2) MASS TIMBER.—The term ‘‘mass timber’’ in21 cludes— 

22 (A) cross-laminated timber; 

23 (B) nail laminated timber; 

24 (C) glue laminated timber; 

25 (D) dowel laminated timber; 


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1 (E) laminated strand lumber; and 

2 (F) laminated veneer lumber. 

3 (3) PROCURING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘procuring 

4 agency’’ means the Department of the Interior, the 

5 Forest Service, or a person that is a party to a con6 tract with the Department of the Interior or the For7 est Service, with respect to work performed under 

8 such a contract. 

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

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Di11 rector of the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest 

12 Service. 

13 (5) TALL WOOD BUILDING.—The term ‘‘tall wood 

14 building’’ means a building designed to be— 

15 (A) constructed with mass timber; and 

16 (B)(i) if a residential building, more than 

17 4 stories in height; and 

18 (ii) if a commercial building, more than 5 

19 stories in height. 

20 (b) MASS TIMBER SCIENCE AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

21 WITH THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY.—The Sec22 retary shall establish a mass timber science and education 

23 program to respond to the emerging research needs of archi24 tects, developers, and the forest products industry. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

2 with research programs at colleges and universities in ad3 ministering the mass timber science and education program 

4 established under subsection (b) to supplement the current 

5 research and educational efforts of colleges and universities. 

6 (d) PURPOSES.—The mass timber science and edu7 cation program established under subsection (b) shall have 

8 the following principal purposes: 

9 (1) To provide practical research responsive to 

10 the needs of architects, developers, and the forest prod11 ucts industry, including assessments of carbon im12 pacts in the originating forests and the end use of 

13 mass timber in the built environment. 

14 (2) To engage and listen to clients and then de15 velop focused, strategic lines of new research respon16 sive to those needs, which may include research relat17 ing to flammability and performance during a fire, 

18 structural characteristics, energy use and savings, 

19 acoustics, and slab construction composed of hybrid 

20 materials. 

21 (3) To solicit proposals from scientists who com22 pete for funding through a rigorous peer-review proc23 ess designed to ensure the best projects are funded. 

24 (4) To disseminate research findings using a 

25 suite of communication tools to ensure that architects, 


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1 developers, and the forest products industry are aware 

2 of, understand, and can use the information to make 

3 sound decisions and implement projects. 

4 (5) To develop and facilitate the adoption, on a 

5 voluntary basis, of a curriculum for building struc6 tures using mass timber for use in schools of engineer7 ing and architecture that includes— 

8 (A) structural design; and 

9 (B) the possibilities, benefits, and limita10 tions of using mass timber in construction. 

11 (e) MASS TIMBER PLAN.—Not later than September 

12 30, 2025, the Secretary shall submit to the relevant commit13 tees of Congress a mass timber plan that includes— 

14 (1) an assessment of the current state of knowl15 edge about mass timber and tall wood buildings; 

16 (2) an integrated approach to improve knowledge 

17 sharing; 

18 (3) an approach for project monitoring and eval19 uation; and 

20 (4) an approach for setting research priorities. 

21 (f) STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP.— 

22 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint 

23 a stakeholder advisory group of technical experts that 

24 consists, at a minimum, of— 

25 (A) a Forest Service scientist; 


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1 (B) a researcher from a college or univer2 sity; 

3 (C) a representative of a trade association; 

4 (D) an architect or developer; 

5 (E) a representative of a local approving 

6 agency; 

7 (F) a representative of a forest products 

8 company; and 

9 (G) a representative of a nongovernmental 

10 organization with experience— 

11 (i) designing or constructing tall wood 

12 buildings; or 

13 (ii) complying with or revising related 

14 building codes. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—The stakeholder advisory group 

16 shall meet at least annually— 

17 (A) to consider immediate and long-term 

18 science needs; 

19 (B) to suggest to the Secretary appropriate 

20 topic areas, specific issues within those topic 

21 areas, and information transfer needs for which 

22 the Secretary shall solicit proposals described in 

23 subsection (d)(3); and 

24 (C) to assist the Secretary in drafting the 

25 mass timber plan required under subsection (e). 


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1 (g) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide to the 

2 Secretary of Transportation and to States technical assist3 ance relating to the use of wood in bridges when undergoing 

4 revisions to a State bridge design manual. 

5 (h) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

6 amounts appropriated for Forest Service research, exclud7 ing funding made available for the Forest Inventory and 

8 Analysis program, the Secretary may use $4,000,000 to 

9 carry out the activities described in this section. 

10 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 SEC. 401. DESIGNATION OF PATSYE CRITES FOREST. 

12 (a) DESIGNATION.—On acquisition by the United 

13 States, the approximately 2,693.31 acres of land within the 

14 Monongahela National Forest identified on the map pre15 pared by the Forest Service entitled ‘‘Blackwater Canyon’’ 

16 and dated August 5, 2024, shall be known and designated 

17 as the ‘‘Patsye Crites Forest’’. 

18 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, regu19 lation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

20 States to the land acquired under subsection (a) shall be 

21 deemed to be a reference to the ‘‘Patsye Crites Forest’’. 


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Calendar No. 594 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2991 

A BILL 

To improve revegetation and carbon sequestration 

poses. activities in the United States, and for other purNOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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