II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 297 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to authorize 

certain construction activities on public lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

Mr. SANDERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

of 1976 to authorize certain construction activities on 

public lands, 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. NURSERIES. 

4 Title VI of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

5 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1781 et seq.) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 604. NURSERIES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 

9 under section 40804(b)(8) of the Infrastructure Invest10 ment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(8))— 


pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 297 IS

1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall carry out a pilot pro2 gram to establish and operate nurseries on public 

3 lands and other Federal land under the jurisdiction 

4 of the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

6 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall carry 

7 out a pilot program to establish and operate nurs8 eries on National Forest System land. 

9 ‘‘(b) LOCATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—The 

11 Secretary shall carry out the pilot program estab12 lished under subsection (a)(1) in— 

13 ‘‘(A) 4 of the eleven contiguous Western 

14 States; and 

15 ‘‘(B) 1 State that is not 1 of the eleven 

16 contiguous Western States. 

17 ‘‘(2) FOREST SERVICE.—The Secretary of Agri18 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv19 ice, shall carry out the pilot program established 

20 under subsection (a)(2) in— 

21 ‘‘(A) 4 of the eleven contiguous Western 

22 States; and 

23 ‘‘(B) 1 State, including the State of 

24 Vermont, that is not 1 of the eleven contiguous 

25 Western States. 


pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 297 IS

1 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CON3 CERNED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Secretary 

4 concerned’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, with respect to public 

6 lands and other Federal land under the juris7 diction of the Secretary; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

9 through the Chief of the Forest Service, with 

10 respect to National Forest System land. 

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATIONS.—In carrying out a pilot 

12 program established under subsection (a), the Sec13 retary concerned may— 

14 ‘‘(A) establish a tree nursery on Federal 

15 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

16 concerned, and develop the infrastructure nec17 essary to support that nursery, to address Fed18 eral and regional conservation tree planting 

19 needs, consistent with the Bureau of Land 

20 Management National Seed Strategy; 

21 ‘‘(B) purchase necessary equipment and 

22 machinery and construct the necessary facilities 

23 on Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 

24 Secretary concerned to store material, equipVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S297.IS S297

pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 297 IS

1 ment, and machinery authorized under this sec2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(C) enter into cooperative agreements 

4 with non-Federal entities to use trees produced 

5 in nurseries established under the pilot pro6 gram; 

7 ‘‘(D) conduct necessary research on graz8 ing and forest management on Federal land 

9 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary con10 cerned, ensuring the long-term sustainability of 

11 such grazing and forest management, to maxi12 mize the ability— 

13 ‘‘(i) to sequester carbon; 

14 ‘‘(ii) to prevent soil erosion; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) to improve air and water qual16 ity; and 

17 ‘‘(E) hire and train personnel to carry out 

18 the activities described in this section.’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS