I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4976 

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

management, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2018 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and 

in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to support landscape-scale 

restoration and management, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering State 

5 Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2018’’. 


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

2 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

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

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

5 amended to read as follows: 

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

7 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es9 tablish a landscape-scale restoration program to support 

10 landscape-scale restoration and management that results 

11 in measurable improvements to public benefits derived 

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

13 ‘‘(1) a State-wide assessment described in sec14 tion 2A(a)(1); and 

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

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

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

18 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE FOREST LAND.—The term ‘pri19 vate forest land’ means land that— 

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

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

22 ‘‘(B) is owned by— 

23 ‘‘(i) an Indian tribe (as defined in sec24 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

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

26 5304)); or 


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

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

3 any region of the National Association of State For4 esters. 

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

6 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

7 Chief of the Forest Service. 

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

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

10 unit of local government. 

11 ‘‘(5) STATE FORESTER.—The term ‘State For12 ester’ means a State Forester or equivalent State of13 ficial. 

14 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta15 tion with State Foresters or other appropriate State agen16 cies, shall establish a landscape-scale restoration pro17 gram— 

18 ‘‘(1) to provide financial and technical assist19 ance for landscape-scale restoration projects on 

20 State forest land or private forest land; and 

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

22 trees and forests on that land. 

23 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The landscape-scale restora24 tion program established under subsection (c) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) measurably address the national private 

2 forest conservation priorities described in section 

3 2(c); 

4 ‘‘(2) enhance public benefits from trees and for5 ests, as identified in— 

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

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

8 ‘‘(B) a long-term State-wide forest re9 source strategy described in section 2A(a)(2); 

10 and 

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

12 in section 2(b), have one or more objectives includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(A) protecting or improving water quality 

15 or quantity; 

16 ‘‘(B) reducing wildfire risk, including 

17 through hazardous fuels treatment; 

18 ‘‘(C) protecting or enhancing wildlife habi19 tat, consistent with wildlife objectives estab20 lished by the applicable State fish and wildlife 

21 agency; 

22 ‘‘(D) improving forest health and forest 

23 ecosystems, including addressing native, non24 native, and invasive pests; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) enhancing opportunities for new and 

2 existing markets in which the production and 

3 use of wood products strengthens local and re4 gional economies. 

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

6 with State Foresters, shall establish a measurement sys7 tem, including measurement tools, that— 

8 ‘‘(1) consistently measures the results of land9 scape-scale restoration projects described in sub10 section (c); and 

11 ‘‘(2) is consistent with the measurement sys12 tems of other Federal programs delivered by State 

13 Foresters. 

14 ‘‘(f) USE OF AMOUNTS.— 

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

16 for the landscape-scale restoration program estab17 lished under subsection (c), the Secretary shall allo18 cate— 

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

20 in accordance with subsection (g); and 

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

22 in consultation with State Foresters— 

23 ‘‘(i) to maximize the achievement of 

24 the objectives described in subsection 

25 (d)(3); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to address the highest national 

2 priorities, as identified in— 

3 ‘‘(I) State-wide assessments de4 scribed in section 2A(a)(1); and 

5 ‘‘(II) long-term State-wide forest 

6 resource strategies described in sec7 tion 2A(a)(2). 

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

9 may provide amounts under this section for multi10 year projects. 

11 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis13 tribute amounts described in subsection (f)(1)(A) 

14 through a competitive process for landscape-scale 

15 restoration projects described in subsection (c) to 

16 maximize the achievement of the objectives described 

17 in subsection (d)(3). 

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

19 through the competitive process described in para20 graph (1), a State Forester, or another entity on ap21 proval of the State Forester, shall submit to the Sec22 retary one or more landscape-scale restoration pro23 posals that— 

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

25 include priorities identified in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) State-wide assessments described 

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

3 ‘‘(ii) long-term State-wide forest re4 source strategies described in section 

5 2A(a)(2); 

6 ‘‘(B) identify one or more measurable re7 sults to be achieved through the project; 

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

9 include activities on all land necessary to ac10 complish the measurable results in the applica11 ble landscape; 

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

13 are developed in collaboration with other public 

14 and private sector organizations and local com15 munities; and 

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

17 funding for the project from non-Federal 

18 sources, unless the Secretary determines— 

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

20 not less than 50 percent of the funding for 

21 the project from non-Federal sources; and 

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

23 pursuing the project. 

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


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

2 determined by the Secretary, best carry out pri3 orities identified in State-wide assessments de4 scribed in section 2A(a)(1) and long-term 

5 State-wide forest resource strategies described 

6 in section 2A(a)(2), including— 

7 ‘‘(i) involvement of public and private 

8 partnerships; 

9 ‘‘(ii) inclusion of cross-boundary ac10 tivities on— 

11 ‘‘(I) Federal forest land; 

12 ‘‘(II) State forest land; or 

13 ‘‘(III) private forest land; 

14 ‘‘(iii) involvement of areas also identi15 fied for cost-share funding by the Natural 

16 Resources Conservation Service or any 

17 other relevant Federal agency; 

18 ‘‘(iv) protection or improvement of 

19 water quality or quantity; 

20 ‘‘(v) reduction of wildfire risk; 

21 ‘‘(vi) protection or enhancement of 

22 wildlife habitat, consistent with wildlife ob23 jectives established by the applicable State 

24 fish and wildlife agency; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) improvement of forest health, 

2 including addressing native, nonnative, and 

3 invasive pests; 

4 ‘‘(viii) enhancement of opportunities 

5 for new and existing markets in which the 

6 production and use of wood products 

7 strengthens local and regional economies; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ix) otherwise addressing the na10 tional private forest conservation priorities 

11 described in section 2(c); and 

12 ‘‘(B) may give priority to projects in prox13 imity to other landscape-scale projects on other 

14 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, the 

15 Secretary of the Interior, or a Governor of a 

16 State, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) ecological restoration treatments 

18 under the Collaborative Forest Landscape 

19 Restoration Program established under 

20 section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land 

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

22 7303); 

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

24 designated for insect and disease treatment 

25 under section 602 of the Healthy Forests 


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

2 6591a); 

3 ‘‘(iii) authorized restoration services 

4 under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 

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

6 ‘‘(iv) watershed restoration and pro7 tection services under section 331 of the 

8 Department of the Interior and Related 

9 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public 

10 Law 106–291; 16 U.S.C. 1011 note); 

11 ‘‘(v) stewardship end result con12 tracting projects under section 604 of the 

13 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

14 (16 U.S.C. 6591c); or 

15 ‘‘(vi) projects under other relevant 

16 programs, as determined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(4) PROPOSAL REVIEW.— 

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

19 establish a process for the review of proposals 

20 submitted under paragraph (2) that ranks each 

21 proposal based on— 

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

23 would achieve the requirements described 

24 in subsection (d); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the priorities described in para2 graph (3)(A). 

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

4 may carry out the process described in subpara5 graph (A) at a regional level. 

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

7 of enactment of the Empowering State Forestry to Im8 prove Forest Health Act of 2018, the Secretary shall sub9 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

11 and Forestry of the Senate a report describing— 

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

13 and administration of landscape-scale projects se14 lected under the program under this section; 

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

16 program under this section; and 

17 ‘‘(3) specific accomplishments that have re18 sulted from landscape-scale projects under the pro19 gram under this section. 

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

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the 

22 landscape-scale restoration program established under 

23 subsection (c) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

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


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

3 Section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

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

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

6 following: 

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

8 any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated 

9 for hazardous fuels reduction is in excess of 

10 $300,000,000, the Secretary— 

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

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

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

15 through grants to State Foresters, to support 

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

18 amount equal to the greater of— 

19 ‘‘(i) 20 percent; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) $20,000,000.’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(e) CROSS-BOUNDARY FUELS REDUCTION

23 PROJECTS.— 

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

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


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1 fuel reduction projects that incorporate treatments 

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

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

7 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 

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

9 State Forester and the Regional Forester. 

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

11 fund treatments for projects that include Federal 

12 and non-Federal land, the Secretary may— 

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

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

17 ‘‘(i) section 8206 of the Agricultural 

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

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

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

22 Public Law 106–291); and 

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


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

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

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

5 Secretary (or a designee)— 

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

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

8 non-Federal land with respect to hazardous 

9 fuels reduction projects; and 

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

11 non-Federal land without the consent of the 

12 owner of the non-Federal land. 

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

16 regulations that apply to non-Federal land shall be 

17 applicable with respect to the project.’’. 

Æ 


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