Land Restoration and Resiliency Act of 2023

Subjects: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:  <p><strong>Land Restoration and Resiliency Act of 2023</strong></p> <p>This bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enter into cooperative agreements with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund at the foundation, for purposes including to</p> <ul> <li>improve community safety in the face of climactic extremes through conservation and protection of restoration and resilience lands;</li> <li> protect, conserve, and restore restoration and resilience lands in order to help communities respond and adapt to natural threats, including wildfire, drought, extreme heat, and other threats posed or exacerbated by the impacts of global climate; and </li> <li>protect and enhance the biodiversity of wildlife populations across restoration and resilience lands. </li> </ul> <p>The bill defines <em>restoration and resilience lands</em> as fish, wildlife, and plant habitats, and other important natural areas in the United States, on public lands, private land (after obtaining proper consent from the landowner), or land of Indian tribes, including grasslands, shrublands, prairies, chaparral lands, forest lands, deserts, and riparian or wetland areas within or adjacent to these ecosystems.</p> <p>To the extent amounts are available in the fund, the foundation shall award grants to eligible entities (e.g., a federal agency, a unit of local government, an Indian tribe, or a nonprofit organization) through a competitive grant process to carry out eligible projects and activities.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 565 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 565

To require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
    to enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife 
 Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 26, 2023

Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, and Ms. Stansbury) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
    to enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife 
 Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Land Restoration and Resiliency Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND RESTORATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall enter into a cooperative 
agreement with the Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and 
Restoration Fund at the Foundation to--
            (1) improve community safety in the face of climactic 
        extremes through conservation and protection of restoration and 
        resilience lands;
            (2) to protect, conserve, and restore restoration and 
        resilience lands in order to help communities respond and adapt 
        to natural threats, including wildfire, drought, extreme heat, 
        and other threats posed or exacerbated by the impacts of global 
        climate;
            (3) to build the resilience of restoration and resilience 
        lands to adapt to, recover from, and withstand natural threats, 
        including wildfire, drought, extreme heat, and other threats 
        posed or exacerbated by the impacts of global climate change;
            (4) to protect and enhance the biodiversity of wildlife 
        populations across restoration and resilience lands;
            (5) to support the health of restoration and resilience 
        lands for the benefit of present and future generations;
            (6) to foster innovative, nature-based solutions that help 
        meet the goals of this section; and
            (7) to enhance the Nation's natural carbon sequestration 
        capabilities and help communities strengthen natural carbon 
        sequestration capacity where applicable.
    (b) Management of the Fund.--The Foundation shall manage the Fund--
            (1) pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
        Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.); and
            (2) in such a manner that, to the greatest extent 
        practicable and consistent with the purposes for which the Fund 
        is established--
                    (A) ensures that amounts made available through the 
                Fund are accessible to historically underserved 
                communities, including Tribal communities, communities 
                of color, and rural communities; and
                    (B) avoids project selection and funding overlap 
                with those projects and activities that could otherwise 
                receive funding under--
                            (i) the National Oceans and Coastal 
                        Security Fund, established under the National 
                        Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 U.S.C. 
                        7501); or
                            (ii) other coastal management focused 
                        programs.
    (c) Competitive Grants.--
            (1) In general.--To the extent amounts are available in the 
        Fund, the Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities 
        through a competitive grant process in accordance with 
        procedures established pursuant to the National Fish and 
        Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) 
        to carry out eligible projects and activities, including 
        planning eligible projects and activities.
            (2) Proposals.--The Foundation, in coordination with the 
        Secretary, shall establish requirements for proposals for 
        competitive grants under this section.
    (d) Use of Amounts in the Fund.--
            (1) Planning.--Not less than 8 percent of amounts 
        appropriated annually to the Fund may be used to plan eligible 
        projects and activities, including capacity building.
            (2) Administrative costs.--Not more than 4 percent of 
        amounts appropriated annually to the Fund may be used by the 
        Foundation for administrative expenses of the Fund or 
        administration of competitive grants offered under the Fund.
            (3) Priority.--Not less than 10 percent of the funds 
        appropriated in a fiscal year to the Fund or $10,000,000 
        (whichever is the lesser amount) shall be awarded in such 
        fiscal year to support eligible projects and activities for 
        Indian Tribes.
            (4) Coordination.--The Secretary and Foundation shall 
        ensure, to the greatest extent practicable and through 
        meaningful consultation, that input from Indian Tribes, 
        including traditional ecological knowledge, is incorporated in 
        the planning and execution of eligible projects and activities.
    (e) Reports.--
            (1) Annual reports.--Beginning at the end the first full 
        fiscal year after the date of enactment of this section, and 
        not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year in 
        which amounts are deposited into the Fund, the Foundation shall 
        submit to the Secretary a report on the operation of the Fund 
        including--
                    (A) an accounting of expenditures made under the 
                Fund, including leverage and match where applicable;
                    (B) an accounting of any grants made under the 
                Fund, including a list of recipients and a brief 
                description of each project and its purposes and goals; 
                and
                    (C) measures and metrics to track benefits created 
                by grants administered under the Fund, including 
                enhanced biodiversity, water quality, natural carbon 
                sequestration, and resilience.
            (2) 5-year reports.--Not later than 90 days after the end 
        of the fifth full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 
        this section, and not later than 90 days after the end every 
        fifth fiscal year thereafter, the Foundation shall submit to 
        the Secretary a report containing--
                    (A) a description of any socioeconomic, 
                biodiversity, community resilience, or climate 
                resilience or mitigation (including natural carbon 
                sequestration), impacts generated by projects funded by 
                grants awarded by the Fund, including measures and 
                metrics illustrating these impacts;
                    (B) a description of land health benefits derived 
                from projects funded by grants awarded by the Fund, 
                including an accounting of--
                            (i) lands treated for invasive species;
                            (ii) lands treated for wildfire threat 
                        reduction, including those treated with 
                        controlled burning or other natural fire-
                        management techniques; and
                            (iii) lands restored either from wildfire 
                        or other forms or degradation, including over-
                        grazing and sedimentation;
                    (C) key findings for Congress, including any 
                recommended changes to the authorization or purposes of 
                the Fund;
                    (D) best practices for other Federal agencies in 
                the administration of funds intended for land and 
                habitat restoration;
                    (E) information on the use and outcome of funds 
                specifically set aside for planning and capacity 
                building pursuant to section 6; and
                    (F) any other information that the Foundation 
                considers relevant.
            (3) Submission of reports to congress.--Not later than 10 
        days after receiving a report under this section, the Secretary 
        shall submit the report to the Committee on Natural Resources 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is hereby 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $100,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 to carry out this section.
    (f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``eligible entity'' means a Federal agency, 
        State, the District of Columbia, a territory of the United 
        States, a unit of local government, an Indian Tribe, a 
        nonprofit organization, or an accredited institution of higher 
        education.
            (2) The term ``eligible projects and activities'' means 
        projects and activities carried out by an eligible entity on 
        public lands, tribal lands, or private land, or any combination 
        thereof, to further the purposes for which the Fund is 
        established, including planning and capacity building and 
        projects and activities carried out in coordination with 
        Federal, State, or tribal departments or agencies, or any 
        department or agency of a subdivision of a State.
            (3) The term ``Foundation'' means the National Fish and 
        Wildlife Foundation established under the National Fish and 
        Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
            (4) The term ``Fund'' means the Community Resilience and 
        Restoration Fund established under subsection (a).
            (5) The term ``Indian Tribe'' means the governing body of 
        any individually identified and federally recognized Indian or 
        Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
        affiliated Tribal group, or component reservation in the list 
        published pursuant to section 104(a) of the Federally 
        Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)).
            (6) The term ``restoration and resilience lands'' means 
        fish, wildlife, and plant habitats, and other important natural 
        areas in the United States, on public lands, private land 
        (after obtaining proper consent from the landowner), or land of 
        Indian Tribes, including grasslands, shrublands, prairies, 
        chapparal lands, forest lands, deserts, and riparian or wetland 
        areas within or adjacent to these ecosystems.
            (7) The term ``public lands'' means lands owned or 
        controlled by the United States.
            (8) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish 
        and Wildlife Service.
            (9) The term ``State'' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, any Indian Tribe, and any 
        commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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