IB 
Union Calendar No. 244
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2707
[Report No. 108–424, Part I] 
To direct the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, acting through 
the U.S. Forest Service, to carry out a demonstration program to assess 
potential water savings through control of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive 
on forests and public lands administered by the Department of the 
Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2003
Mr. PEARCE (for himself, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. MCINNIS, Mrs. WILSON of 
New Mexico, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. RENZI, Mr. CANNON, Mr. 
MATHESON, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, 
and Mr. OSBORNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agri-
culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
FEBRUARY 24, 2004 
Reported from the Committee on Resources with amendments 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
FEBRUARY 24, 2004
Additional sponsors: Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. 
CARDOZA, Mr. FILNER, Mr. BEAUPREZ, and Mrs. CUBIN 
FEBRUARY 24, 2004
Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for period ending not later 
than February 29, 2004
FEBRUARY 24, 2004
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 10, 2003] 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, 
acting through the U.S. Forest Service, to carry out 
a demonstration program to assess potential water sav-
ings through control of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive 
on forests and public lands administered by the Depart-
ment of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Salt Cedar and Russian 
Olive Control Assessment and Demonstration Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT OF SALT CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE 
INFESTATION IN WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than one year after the 
date on which funds are first made available to carry out 
this section, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Agriculture (in this Act referred to 
as the ‘‘Secretaries’’), shall complete an assessment of the 
extent of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive invasion in the 
Western United States. 
(b) CONTENT.—The assessment shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(1) To the extent practicable, documentation of 
the quantity of water lost due to the infestation.
(2) Documentation of the quantity of water 
saved due to various control methods, including the 
portion of saved water that returns to surface water 
or groundwater supplies and at what rates. 
(3) Determination of the optimum control 
method for the various land types and land uses. 
(4) Determination of what conditions indicate 
the need to remove such growth and the optimal 
methods for disposal or use of such growth. 
(5) The methods to prevent re-growth and re-in-
troduction of these invasive species. 
(c) REPORT ON ASSESSMENT.—
(1) PREPARATION
AND
CONTENT.—The Secre-
taries shall prepare a report containing the results of 
the assessment. The report shall identify long-term 
management and funding strategies that could be im-
plemented by Federal, State, Tribal, and private land 
managers and owners on all land management types 
to address the invasion of Salt Cedar and Russian 
Olive. The report shall also identify deficiencies or 
areas for further study and where actual field dem-
onstrations would be useful in the control effort. 
(2) SUBMISSION.—The Secretaries shall submit 
the report to the Committee on Resources and the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate. 
(d) SUPPORT FOR IDENTIFICATION OF LONG-TERM 
MANAGEMENT
AND FUNDING STRATEGIES.—The Secre-
taries may make grants to institutions of higher education 
or nonprofit organizations (or both) with an established 
background and expertise in the public policy issues associ-
ated with the control of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive to 
obtain technical experience, support, and recommendations 
related to the identification of the long-term management 
and funding strategies required to be included in the report 
under subsection (c)(1). Each grant awarded under this 
subsection may not be less than $250,000. 
(e) WESTERN UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion and section 3, the term ‘‘Western United States’’ refers 
to the States defined by the 1902 Reclamation Act (43 
U.S.C. Chapter 12), which includes Arizona, California, 
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, 
Oklahoma, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, 
Washington, and Wyoming. 
SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR CONTROL OF SALT 
CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE IN WESTERN 
STATES. 
(a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—
(1) PROJECTS REQUIRED.—Based on the results 
of the assessment and report in section 2, the Secre-
taries shall initiate a program of not fewer than three 
demonstration projects in the Western United States 
designed to address the deficiencies and areas for fur-
ther study to address the invasion of Salt Cedar and
Russian Olive, including the test of additional control 
methods, identified by the report. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretaries may 
enter into an agreement with a State in the Western 
United States to carry out a demonstration project. 
If the Secretaries select a demonstration project for 
implementation on National Forest System lands, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall be responsible for im-
plementation of the project. 
(b) ELEMENTS OF PROJECTS.—
(1) DESIGN
AND
SCALE.—Each demonstration 
project shall be designed with integrated methods and 
adaptive management strategies and carried out over 
time frames and spatial scales large enough to accom-
plish the goals laid out in the report. 
(2) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW.—Before being carried 
out, the methods and strategies proposed for each 
demonstration project shall be subject to review by 
scientific experts, including non-Federal experts, se-
lected by the Secretaries. The Secretaries may use ex-
isting scientific review processes to the extent they 
comply with this requirement. 
(c) PROJECT COSTS AND COST SHARING.—The total 
cost of each demonstration project may not exceed 
$7,000,000, including the costs of planning, design, imple-
mentation, revegetation, maintenance, and monitoring. In 
the case of a demonstration project conducted on lands 
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or 
the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretaries may accept, but 
not require, funds or in-kind contributions, including State 
agency provided services. The Federal share of the costs of 
any activity on private lands funded under the project shall 
be no more than 75 percent of the total cost of the activity. 
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—During the period in 
which the demonstration projects are carried out, the Secre-
taries shall submit to the congressional committees specified 
in section 2(c)(2) an annual report describing—
(1) the demonstration projects; 
(2) the progress made in carrying out the 
projects during the period covered by the report; and 
(3) the costs of the projects under subsection (c). 
(e) MONITORING.—Demonstration projects shall in-
clude the following:
(1) Documentation of the quantity of water 
saved due to various control methods, including the 
portion of water saved that returns to surface water 
or groundwater supplies and at what rates. 
(2) Optimal re-vegetative states to prevent re-
growth and reintroduction of Salt Cedar and Russian 
Olive. 
(f) COOPERATION.—The Secretaries shall use the ex-
pertise of their various agencies, as well as other Federal 
agencies, institutions of higher education, State and local 
governments and political subdivisions thereof, including 
soil and water conservation districts, and Indian tribes, 
which are actively conducting assessments on or imple-
menting Salt Cedar and Russian Olive control activities. 
SEC. 4. RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITY. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect, or oth-
erwise bias, the use by the Secretaries of other statutory or 
administrative authorities to plan or conduct Salt Cedar 
or Russian Olive control and eradication that is not 
planned or conducted under this Act. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretaries $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 
to conduct the assessment required by section 2.