I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 971

To implement the recommendations of the Northern Forest Lands Council.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 1997

Mr. BASS (for himself, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. GILMAN, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. QUINN, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SAXTON,

Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr.

HINCHEY, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MEEHAN,

Mr. OLVER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr.

LAZIO of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To implement the recommendations of the Northern Forest

Lands Council.

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 ‘‘Northern Forest Stew5 ardship Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS.

7 Congress declares as follows:
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1 (1) The 26,000,000-acre Northern Forest re2 gion is an extraordinary resource. The forests in the

3 region are rich in natural resources and values cher4 ished by residents and visitors: timber, fiber, and

5 wood for forest products and energy supporting suc6 cessful businesses and providing stable jobs for resi7 dents; lakes ponds, rivers, and streams unspoiled by

8 pollution or crowding human development; tracts of

9 land for wildlife habitat and recreational use, and

10 protected areas to help preserve the biological integ11 rity of the region. This Act is enacted to advance the

12 goals of the Northern Forest Lands Council and to

13 reaffirm the Council’s vision of the Northern Forest

14 as a landscape of interlocking parts and pieces, rein15 forcing each other: local communities, industrial for16 est land, family and individual ownerships, small

17 woodlots, recreation land, and public and private

18 conservation land.

19 (2) This Act effectuates certain recommenda20 tions of the Northern Forest Lands Council that

21 were developed with broad public input and the in22 volvement of Federal, State, and local governments.

23 The actions described in this Act to implement those

24 recommendations are most appropriately directed by

25 the Northern Forest States, with assistance from the
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1 Federal Government, as requested by the States.

2 Implementation of the recommendations should be

3 guided by the fundamental principles laid out by the

4 Northern Forest Lands Council report. Those prin5 ciples provide the foundation for the intent of this

6 Act: to support the primary role of the Northern

7 Forest States in the management of their forests, to

8 protect the traditions of the region, to emphasize the

9 rights and responsibilities of the landowners, and to

10 advance new mechanisms for cooperative conserva11 tion of the Northern Forest lands and its resources

12 for future generations.

13 SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGE14 MENT.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Governor

16 of the State of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Ver17 mont, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the

18 Chief of the Forest Service, may provide technical assist19 ance for a State-based initiative directed by the State, to

20 define the appropriate benchmarks of sustainable forest

21 management that address the principles of sustainability,

22 as recommended by the Northern Forest Lands Council.

23 (b) PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY.—It is the sense

24 of Congress that for the purposes of subsection (a), prin25 ciples of sustainability should be based on the principles
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1 developed by the Northern Forest Lands Council, includ2 ing—

3 (1) maintenance of soil productivity;

4 (2) conservation of water quality, wetlands, and

5 riparian zones;

6 (3) maintenance or creation of a healthy bal7 ance of forest age classes;

8 (4) continuous flow of timber, pulpwood, and

9 other forest products;

10 (5) improvement of the overall quality of the

11 timber resource as a foundation for more value12 added opportunities;

13 (6) addressing scenic quality by limiting adverse

14 aesthetic impacts of forest harvesting, particularly in

15 high-elevation areas and vistas;

16 (7) conservation and enhancement of habitats

17 that support a full range of native flora and fauna;

18 (8) protection of unique or fragile natural

19 areas; and

20 (9) continuation of opportunities for traditional

21 recreation.

22 SEC. 4. NORTHERN FOREST RESEARCH COOPERATIVE.

23 At the request of the Governor of the State of Maine,

24 New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Secretary of
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1 Agriculture (acting through the Northeastern Forest Ex2 periment Station and the Chief of the Forest Service) may

3 work with the State, the land grant universities of the

4 State, natural resource and forestry schools, other Federal

5 agencies, and other interested parties in assisting the

6 State in coordinating ecological and economic research, in7 cluding—

8 (1) research on ecosystem health, forest man9 agement, product development, economics, and relat10 ed fields;

11 (2) research to help achieve the principles of

12 sustainability described in section 3 as recommended

13 by the Northern Forest Lands Council;

14 (3) technology transfer to the wood products in15 dustry on efficient processing, pollution prevention,

16 and energy conservation;

17 (4) dissemination of existing and new informa18 tion to landowners, public and private resource man19 agers, State forest citizen advisory committees, and

20 the general public through professional associations,

21 publications, and other information clearinghouse ac22 tivities; and

23 (5) analysis of strategies for the protection of

24 areas of outstanding ecological significance, high bio25 diversity, and the provision of important recreational
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1 opportunities, including strategies for areas identi2 fied through State land acquisition planning proc3 esses.

4 SEC. 5. INTERSTATE COORDINATION STRATEGY.

5 At the request of the Governors of the States of

6 Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, the Sec7 retary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the For8 est Service) may make a representative of the State and

9 Private Forest Program available to meet with representa10 tives of the States to coordinate the implementation of

11 Federal and State policy recommendations issued by the

12 Northern Forest Lands Council and other policies agreed

13 to by the States.

14 SEC. 6. LAND CONSERVATION.

15 (a) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the

16 Governor of the State of Maine, New Hampshire, Ver17 mont, or New York, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting

18 through the Chief of the Forest Service) and the Secretary

19 of the Interior (acting through the Director of the Na20 tional Park Service and Director of the United States Fish

21 and Wildlife Service) may provide technical and financial

22 assistance for a State-managed public land acquisition

23 planning process and land acquisition initiatives directed

24 by the State.
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1 (b) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—The planning proc2 ess for a State described in subsection (a) shall establish

3 a goal-oriented land conservation program that includes—

4 (1) identification of, and setting of priorities for

5 the acquisition of, fee or less-than-fee interests in ex6 ceptional and important lands, in accordance with

7 criteria that include—

8 (A) places offering outstanding rec9 reational opportunities, including locations for

10 hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, camping, and

11 other forms of back-country recreation;

12 (B) recreational access to river and lake

13 shorelines;

14 (C) land supporting vital ecological func15 tions and values;

16 (D) habitats for rare, threatened, or en17 dangered natural communities, plants, and

18 wildlife;

19 (E) areas of outstanding scenic value and

20 significant geological features; and

21 (F) working private forest lands that are

22 of such significance or so threatened by conver23 sion that conservation easements should be pur24 chased;
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1 (2) acquisition of land and interests in land

2 only from willing sellers, with community support

3 consistent with Federal, State, and local laws appli4 cable in each State on the date of enactment of this

5 Act;

6 (3) involvement of local governments and land7 owners in the planning process in a meaningful way

8 that acknowledges their concerns about public land

9 acquisition;

10 (4) recognition that zoning, while an important

11 land use mechanism, is not an appropriate substi12 tution for acquisition;

13 (5) assurances that unilateral eminent domain

14 will be used only with the consent of the landowner

15 to clear title and establish purchase prices;

16 (6) efficient use of public funds by purchasing

17 only the rights necessary to best identify and protect

18 exceptional values;

19 (7) consideration of the potential impacts and

20 benefits of land and easement acquisition on local

21 and regional economies;

22 (8) consideration of the necessity of including

23 costs of future public land management in the as24 sessment of overall costs of acquisition;
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1 (9) minimization of adverse tax consequences to

2 municipalities by making funds available to continue

3 to pay property taxes based at least on current use

4 valuation of parcels acquired, payments in lieu of

5 taxes, user fee revenues, or other benefits, where ap6 propriate;

7 (10) identification of the potential for exchang8 ing public land for privately held land of greater

9 public value; and

10 (11) assurances that any land or interests in11 land that are acquired are used and managed for

12 their intended purposes.

13 (c) WILLING SELLER.—No Federal funds made

14 available to carry out this Act may be expended for acqui15 sition of private or public property unless the owner of

16 the property willingly offers the property for sale.

17 (d) LAND ACQUISITION.—

18 (1) FUNDING.—After completion of the plan19 ning process under subsection (b), a Federal and

20 State cooperative land acquisition project under this

21 Act may be carried out with funding provided exclu22 sively by the Federal Government or with funding

23 provided by both the Federal Government and a

24 State government.
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1 (2) OBJECTIVES.—A cooperative land acquisi2 tion project funded under this Act shall promote

3 State land conservation objectives that correspond

4 with Federal goals and the recommendations of the

5 Northern Forest Lands Council.

6 (e) COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAM.—The Secretary of

7 the Interior shall conduct activities under this section as

8 a complement to the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recre9 ation Plan for each Northern Forest State in existence

10 on the date of enactment of this section.

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

13 appropriated under sections 5 and 6 of the Land

14 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

15 U.S.C. 460l–7, 460l–8) such sums as are necessary

16 to carry out the purposes described in this sub17 section.

18 (2) EFFECT ON APPORTIONMENT.—Apportion19 ment among the States under section 5(b) of the Act

20 (16 U.S.C. 460l–8(b)) shall be from funds not ap21 propriated under paragraph (1).

22 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING FEDERAL TAX

23 POLICY.

24 It is the sense of Congress that—
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1 (1) certain Federal tax policies work against

2 the long-term ownership, management, and con3 servation of forest land in the Northern Forest re4 gion; and

5 (2) Congress and the President should enact

6 additional legislation to address those tax policies as

7 soon as possible.

8 SEC. 8. LANDOWNER LIABILITY EXEMPTION.

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

10 (1) many landowners keep their land open and

11 available for responsible recreation; and

12 (2) private lands help provide important forest13 based recreation opportunities for the public in the

14 Northern Forest region.

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con16 gress that States and other interested persons should pur17 sue initiatives that—

18 (1) strengthen relief-from-liability laws to pro19 tect landowners that allow responsible public rec20 reational use of their lands;

21 (2) update relief-from-liability laws to establish

22 hold-harmless mechanisms for landowners that open
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1 their land to public use, including provision for pay2 ment by the State of the costs of a landowner’s de3 fense against personal injury suits and of the costs

4 of repairing property damage and removing litter;

5 (3) provide additional reductions in property

6 taxes for landowners that allow responsible public

7 recreational use of their lands;

8 (4) provide for purchases by the State of land

9 in fee and of temporary and permanent recreation

10 easements and leases, including rights of access;

11 (5) foster State and private cooperative recre12 ation agreements;

13 (6) create recreation coordinator and landowner

14 liaison and remote ranger positions in State govern15 ment to assist in the management of public use of

16 private lands and provide recreation opportunities

17 and other similar services;

18 (7) strengthen enforcement of trespass,

19 antilittering, and antidumping laws;

20 (8) improve recreation user education pro21 grams; and

22 (9) improve capacity in State park and recre23 ation agencies to measure recreational use (including

24 types, amounts, locations, and concentrations of use)
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1 and identify and address trends in use before the

2 trends create problems.

3 SEC. 9. NONGAME CONSERVATION.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

5 (1) private landowners often manage their lands

6 in ways that produce a variety of public benefits, in7 cluding wildlife habitat; and

8 (2) there should be more incentives for private

9 landowners to exceed current forest management

10 standards and responsibilities under Federal laws.

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that Congress should make it a priority to consider

13 legislation that creates a funding mechanism to support

14 the conservation of nongame fish and wildlife and associ15 ated recreation activities on public and private lands and

16 does not replace, substitute, or duplicate existing laws that

17 support game fish and wildlife.

18 SEC. 10. WATER QUALITY.

19 At the request of the Governor of the State of Maine,

20 New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Adminis21 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in co22 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec23 retary of the Interior, may provide technical and financial

24 assistance to assess water quality trends within the North25 ern Forest region.
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1 SEC. 11. RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Governor

3 of the State of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Ver4 mont, the Secretary of Agriculture may provide technical

5 and financial assistance to the State, working in partner6 ship with the forest products industry, local communities,

7 and other interests to develop technical and marketing ca8 pacity within rural communities for realizing value-added

9 opportunities in the forest products sector.

10 (b) RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—

11 Sufficient funds from the rural community assistance pro12 gram under subsection (a) shall be directed to support

13 State-based public and private initiatives to—

14 (1) strengthen partnerships between the public

15 and private sectors and enhance the viability of rural

16 communities;

17 (2) develop technical capacity in the utilization

18 and marketing of value-added forest products; and

19 (3) develop extension capacity in delivering uti20 lization and marketing information to forest-based

21 businesses.

22 SEC. 12. NO NEW AUTHORITY TO REGULATE LAND USE.

23 Nothing in this Act creates new authority in any Fed24 eral agency to regulate the use of private or public land

25 in any State.
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1 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as are necessary to carry out sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, and

4 11 of this Act and section 2371 of the Rural Economic

5 Development Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601) in the States

6 of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

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