(F) increased potential for damage from
other agents of disturbance, including exotic,
invasive species; and
(G) decreased timber values.
(2) Bark beetles destroy hundreds of thousands
of acres of trees each year. In the West, over
21,000,000 acres are at high risk of bark beetle in-
festation and in the South over 57,000,000 acres are
at risk across all land ownerships. Severe drought
conditions in many areas of the South and West will
increase risk of bark beetle infestations.
(3) The hemlock woolly adelgid is destroying
streamside forests throughout the mid-Atlantic and
Appalachian region, threatening water quality and
sensitive aquatic species, and posing a potential
threat to valuable commercial timber lands in North-
ern New England.
(4) The emerald ash borer is a nonnative,
invasive pest that has quickly become a major threat
to hardwood forests as a emerald ash borer infesta-
tion is almost always fatal to the affected trees. This
pest threatens to destroy over 692,000,000 ash trees
in forests in Michigan and Ohio alone, and between
five and ten percent of urban street trees in the
Upper Midwest.
(5) Epidemic populations of Southern pine bee-
tle are ravaging forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Flor-
ida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In 2001,
Florida and Kentucky experienced 146 percent and
111 percent increases, respectively, in beetle popu-
lations.
(6) These epidemic outbreaks of Southern pine
beetle have forced private landowners to harvest
dead and dying trees, in both rural areas and in-
creasingly urbanized settings.
(7) According to the Forest Service, recent out-
breaks of the red oak borer in Arkansas have been
unprecedented, with almost 800,000 acres infested
at population levels never seen before.
(8) Much of the damage from the red oak borer
has taken place in National forests, and the Federal
response has been inadequate to protect forest eco-
systems and other ecological and economic resources.
(9) Previous silvicultural assessments, while
useful and informative, have been limited in scale
and scope of application, and there has not been suf-
ficient resources available to adequately test a full
array of individual and combined applied silvicul-
tural assessments.
(10) Only through the rigorous funding, devel-
opment, and assessment of potential applied silvicul-
tural assessments over specific time frames across
an array of environmental and climatic conditions
can the most innovative and cost effective manage-
ment applications be determined that will help re-
duce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to attack
by forest pests.
(11) Funding and implementation of an initia-
tive to combat forest pest infestations should not
come at the expense of supporting other programs
and initiatives of the Secretary concerned.
(c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title—
(1) to require the Secretary concerned to de-
velop an accelerated basic and applied assessment
program to combat infestations by bark beetles, in-
cluding Southern pine beetles, hemlock woolly
adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers, and
white oak borers;
(2) to enlist the assistance of universities and
forestry schools, including Land Grant Colleges and
Universities and 1890 Institutions, to carry out the
program; and
(3) to carry out applied silvicultural assess-
ments.
SEC. 402. ACCELERATED INFORMATION GATHERING RE-
GARDING 
BARK 
BEETLES, 
INCLUDING
SOUTHERN PINE BEETLES, HEMLOCK WOOL-
LY ADELGIDS, EMERALD ASH BORERS, RED
OAK BORERS, AND WHITE OAK BORERS.
(a) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall establish, acting through the Forest Service
and United States Geological Survey, as appropriate, an
accelerated program—
(1) to plan, conduct, and promote comprehen-
sive and systematic information gathering on bark
beetles, including Southern pine beetles, hemlock
woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak borers,
and white oak borers, including an evaluation of—
(A) infestation prevention and control
methods;
(B) effects of infestations on forest eco-
systems;
(C) restoration of the forest ecosystem ef-
forts;
(D) utilization options regarding infested
trees; and
(E) models to predict the occurrence, dis-
tribution, and impact of outbreaks of bark bee-
tles, including Southern pine beetles, hemlock
woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak
borers, and white oak borers;
(2) to assist land managers in the development
of treatments and strategies to improve forest health
and reduce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to
severe infestations of bark beetles, including South-
ern pine beetles, hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald
ash borers, red oak borers, and white oak borers on
Federal lands and State and private lands; and
(3) to disseminate the results of such informa-
tion gathering, treatments, and strategies.
(b) COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
concerned shall establish and carry out the program in co-
operation with scientists from universities and forestry
schools, State agencies, and private and industrial land
owners. The Secretary concerned shall designate univer-
sities and forestry schools, including Land Grant Colleges
and Universities and 1890 Institutions, to assist in car-
rying out the program.
SEC. 403. APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENTS.
(a) ASSESSMENT EFFORTS.—For information gath-
ering purposes, the Secretary concerned may conduct ap-
plied silvicultural assessments on Federal lands that the
Secretary concerned determines, in the discretion of the
Secretary concerned, is at risk of infestation by, or is in-
fested with, bark beetles, including Southern pine beetles,
hemlock woolly adelgids, emerald ash borers, red oak bor-
ers, and white oak borers. Any applied silvicultural assess-
ments carried out under this section shall be conducted
on not more than 1,000 acres per assessment.
(b) LIMITATIONS.—
(1) EXCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
AREAS.—Sub-
section (a) does not apply to—
(A) a component of the National Wilder-
ness Preservation System;
(B) Federal lands where, by Act of Con-
gress or Presidential proclamation, the removal
of vegetation is restricted or prohibited; or
(C) congressionally designated wilderness
study areas.
(2) CERTAIN TREATMENT PROHIBITED.—Sub-
section (a) does not authorize the application of in-
secticides in municipal watersheds and associated ri-
parian areas.
(3) ACREAGE
LIMITATION.—Applied silvicul-
tural assessments may be implemented on not more
than 250,000 acres using the authorities provided by
this title.
(4) PEER REVIEW.—Each applied silvicultural
assessment under this title, prior to being carried
out, shall be peer reviewed by scientific experts se-
lected by the Secretary concerned, which shall in-
clude non-Federal experts. The Secretary concerned
may use existing peer review processes to the extent
they comply with the preceding sentence.
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—
(1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary concerned
shall provide notice of each applied silvicultural as-
sessment proposed to be carried out under this sec-
tion in accordance with applicable regulations and
administrative guidelines.
(2) PUBLIC
COMMENT.—During the planning
stage of each applied silvicultural assessment pro-
posed to be carried out under this section, the Sec-
retary concerned shall provide an opportunity for
public input.
(d) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—Applied silvicultural
assessments carried out under this section are deemed to
be categorically excluded from further analysis under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.). The Secretary concerned need not make any
findings as to whether the project, either individually or
cumulatively, has a significant effect on the environment.
SEC. 404. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
The authorities provided to the Secretary concerned
by this title are supplemental to their respective authori-
ties provided in any other law.
SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years
2004 through 2008 such sums as may be necessary to
carry out this title.
TITLE V—HEALTHY FORESTS
RESERVE PROGRAM
SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTHY FORESTS RE-
SERVE PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall establish the healthy forests reserve program as a
program within the Forest Service for the purpose of pro-
tecting, restoring, and enhancing degraded forest eco-
systems to promote the recovery of threatened and endan-
gered species as well as improve biodiversity and enhance
carbon sequestration.
(b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall carry out the healthy forests reserve program in co-
operation with the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT OF LANDS IN
PROGRAM.
(a) ELIGIBLE LANDS.—The Secretary of Agriculture,
in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall
designate rare forest ecosystems to be eligible for the
healthy forests reserve program. The following lands are
eligible for enrollment in the healthy forests reserve pro-
gram:
(1) Private lands whose enrollment will protect,
restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase
the likelihood of recovery of an endangered species
or threatened species in the wild.
(2) Private lands whose enrollment will protect,
restore, enhance, or otherwise measurably increase
the likelihood of the recovery of an animal or plant
species before the species reaches threatened or en-
dangered status, such as candidate, State-listed spe-
cies, rare, peripheral, and special concern species.
(b) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In enrolling lands
that satisfy the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub-
section (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall give addi-
tional consideration to those lands whose enrollment will
also improve biological diversity and increase carbon se-
questration.
(c) ENROLLMENT BY WILLING OWNERS.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall enroll lands in the healthy for-
ests reserve program only with the consent of the owner
of the lands.
(d) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total number of
acres enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program shall
not exceed 1,000,000 acres.
(e) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.—Lands may be en-
rolled in the healthy forests reserve program pursuant to
a 10-year cost-share agreement, a 30-year easement, or
a permanent easement with buyback option. The extent
to which each enrollment method is used shall be based
on the approximate proportion of owner interest expressed
in that method in comparison to the other methods.
(f) ENROLLMENT PRIORITY.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture shall give priority to the enrollment of lands that,
in the sole discretion of the Secretary, will provide the best
opportunity to resolve conflicts between the presence of
an animal or plant species referred to in paragraph (1)
or (2) of subsection (a) and otherwise lawful land use ac-
tivities.
SEC. 503. CONSERVATION PLANS.
(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Lands enrolled in the healthy
forests reserve program shall be subject to a conservation
plan, to be developed jointly by the land owner and the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The conservation
plan shall include a description of the land-use activities
that are permissible on the enrolled lands.
(b) INVOLVEMENT BY OTHER AGENCIES AND ORGA-
NIZATIONS.—A State fish and wildlife agency, State for-
estry agency, State environmental quality agency, and
other State conservation agencies and nonprofit conserva-
tion organizations may assist in providing technical or fi-
nancial assistance, or both, for the development and imple-
mentation of conservation plans.
(c) COST EFFECTIVENESS.—The conservation plan
shall maximize the environmental benefits per dollar ex-
pended.
SEC. 504. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) PERMANENT EASEMENT WITH BUYBACK OP-
TION.—
(1) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—In the case of land
enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program using
a permanent easement with a buyback option, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the owner of the
land an amount equal to—
(A) the fair market value of the enrolled
land less the fair market value of the land en-
cumbered by the easement; plus
(B) the actual costs of the approved con-
servation practices or the average cost of ap-
proved practices, as established by the Sec-
retary.
(2) BUYBACK OPTION.—Beginning on the 50th
anniversary of the enrollment of the land, and every
10th-year thereafter, the owner shall be able to pur-
chase the easement back from the United States at
a rate equal to the fair market value of the easement
plus the costs, adjusted for inflation, of the approved
conservation practices.
(b) 30-YEAR EASEMENT.—In the case of land en-
rolled in the healthy forests reserve program using a 30-
year easement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the
owner of the land an amount equal to—
(1) 75 percent of the fair market value of the
land less the fair market value of the land encum-
bered by the easement; plus
(2) 75 percent of the actual costs of the ap-
proved conservation practices or 75 percent of the
average cost of approved practices, as established by
the Secretary.
(c) 10-YEAR AGREEMENT.—In the case of land en-
rolled in the healthy forests reserve program using a 10-
year cost-share agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall pay the owner of the land an amount equal to—