In the Senate of the United States,
October 30, 2003.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1904) entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the capacity
of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte-
rior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects
on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Man-
agement lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds,
and certain other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to
enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to
forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire,
across the landscape, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with
the following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003’’.
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HR 1904 EAS
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this
Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LAND
Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.
Sec. 103. Prioritization.
Sec. 104. Environmental analysis.
Sec. 105. Special administrative review process.
Sec. 106. Judicial review in United States district courts.
Sec. 107. Effect of title.
Sec. 108. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II—BIOMASS
Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Definitions.
Sec. 203. Grants to improve commercial value of forest biomass for electric en-
ergy, useful heat, transportation fuels, compost, value-added
products, and petroleum-based product substitutes.
Sec. 204. Reporting requirement.
Sec. 205. Improved biomass use research program.
Sec. 206. Rural revitalization through forestry.
TITLE III—WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 302. Watershed forestry assistance program.
Sec. 303. Tribal watershed forestry assistance.
TITLE IV—INSECT INFESTATIONS AND RELATED DISEASES
Sec. 401. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 402. Definitions.
Sec. 403. Accelerated information gathering regarding forest-damaging insects.
Sec. 404. Applied silvicultural assessments.
Sec. 405. Relation to other laws.
Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE V—HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM
Sec. 501. Establishment of healthy forests reserve program.
Sec. 502. Eligibility and enrollment of lands in program.
Sec. 503. Restoration plans.
Sec. 504. Financial assistance.
Sec. 505. Technical assistance.
Sec. 506. Protections and measures
Sec. 507. Involvement by other agencies and organizations.
Sec. 508. Authorization of appropriations.
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TITLE VI—PUBLIC LAND CORPS
Sec. 601. Purposes.
Sec. 602. Definitions.
Sec. 603. Public Land Corps.
Sec. 604. Nondisplacement.
Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE VII—RURAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PROGRAM
Sec. 701. Purpose
Sec. 702. Definitions.
Sec. 703. Rural community forestry enterprise program.
TITLE VIII—FIREFIGHTERS MEDICAL MONITORING ACT
Sec. 801. Short Title.
Sec. 802. Monitoring of firefighters in disaster areas.
TITLE IX—DISASTER AIR QUALITY MONITORING ACT
Sec. 901. Short Title.
Sec. 902. Monitoring of air quality in disaster areas.
TITLE X—HIGHLANDS REGION CONSERVATION
Sec. 1001. Short title.
Sec. 1002. Findings.
Sec. 1003. Purposes.
Sec. 1004. Definitions.
Sec. 1005. Land conservation partnership projects in the Highlands region.
Sec. 1006. Forest Service and USDA programs in the Highlands region.
Sec. 1007. Private property protection and lack of regulatory effect.
TITLE XI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 1101. Forest inventory and management.
Sec. 1102. Program for emergency treatment and reduction of nonnative invasive
plants.
Sec. 1103. USDA National Agroforestry Center.
Sec. 1104. Upland Hardwoods Research Center.
Sec. 1105. Emergency fuel reduction grants.
Sec. 1106. Eastern Nevada landscape coalition.
Sec. 1107. Sense of Congress regarding enhanced community fire protection.
Sec. 1108. Collaborative monitoring.
Sec. 1109. Best-value contracting.
Sec. 1110. Suburban and community forestry and open space program; Forest
Legacy Program.
Sec. 1111. Wildland firefighter safety.
Sec. 1112. Green Mountain National Forest boundary adjustment.
Sec. 1113. Puerto Rico karst conservation.
Sec. 1114. Farm Security and Rural Development Act.
Sec. 1115. Enforcement of animal fighting prohibitions under the Animal Welfare
Act.
Sec. 1116. Increase in maximum fines for violation of public land regulations
and establishment of minimum fine for violation of public land
fire regulations during fire ban.
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SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to reduce wildfire risk to communities, mu-
nicipal water supplies, and other at-risk Federal land
through 
a 
collaborative 
process 
of 
planning,
prioritizing, and implementing hazardous fuel reduc-
tion projects;
(2) to authorize grant programs to improve the
commercial value of forest biomass (that otherwise
contributes to the risk of catastrophic fire or insect or
disease infestation) for producing electric energy, use-
ful heat, transportation fuel, and petroleum-based
product substitutes, and for other commercial pur-
poses;
(3) to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and
address threats to forest and rangeland health, includ-
ing catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape;
(4) to promote systematic gathering of informa-
tion to address the impact of insect and disease infes-
tations and other damaging agents on forest and
rangeland health;
(5) to improve the capacity to detect insect and
disease infestations at an early stage, particularly
with respect to hardwood forests; and
(6) to protect, restore, and enhance forest eco-
system components—
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HR 1904 EAS
(A) to promote the recovery of threatened
and endangered species;
(B) to improve biological diversity; and
(C) to enhance productivity and carbon se-
questration.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’
means—
(A) land of the National Forest System (as
defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range-
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
(16 U.S.C 1609(a))) administered by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of
the Forest Service; and
(B) public lands (as defined in section 103
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C 1702)), the surface of which
is administered by the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b).
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HR 1904 EAS
TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUEL
REDUCTION ON FEDERAL LAND
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) AT-RISK
COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘at-risk
community’’ means an area—
(A) that is comprised of—
(i) an interface community as defined
in the notice entitled ‘‘Wildland Urban
Interface Communities Within the Vicinity
of Federal Lands That Are at High Risk
From Wildfire’’ issued by the Secretary of
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte-
rior in accordance with title IV of the De-
partment of the Interior and Related Agen-
cies Appropriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat.
1009) (66 Fed. Reg. 753, January 4, 2001);
or
(ii) a group of homes and other struc-
tures with basic infrastructure and services
(such as utilities and collectively main-
tained transportation routes) within or ad-
jacent to Federal land;
(B) in which conditions are conducive to a
large-scale wildland fire disturbance event; and
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(C) for which a significant threat to human
life or property exists as a result of a wildland
fire disturbance event.
(2) AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project’’ means the measures and methods de-
scribed in the definition of ‘‘appropriate tools’’ con-
tained in the glossary of the Implementation Plan, on
Federal land described in section 102(a) and con-
ducted under sections 103 and 104.
(3) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.—
The term ‘‘community wildfire protection plan’’
means a plan for an at-risk community that—
(A) is developed within the context of the
collaborative agreements and the guidance estab-
lished by the Wildland Fire Leadership Council
and agreed to by the applicable local govern-
ment, local fire department, and State agency
responsibile for forest management, in consulta-
tion with interested parties and the Federal land
management agencies managing land in the vi-
cinity of the at-risk community;
(B) identifies and prioritizes areas for haz-
ardous fuel reduction treatments and rec-
ommends the types and methods of treatment on
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Federal and non-Federal land that will protect
1 or more at-risk communities and essential in-
frastructure; and
(C) recommends measures to reduce struc-
tural ignitability throughout the at-risk commu-
nity.
(4) CONDITION CLASS 2.—The term ‘‘condition
class 2’’, with respect to an area of Federal land,
means the condition class description developed by the
Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in
the general technical report entitled ‘‘Development of
Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for Wildland Fire and
Fuel Management’’ (RMRS–87), dated April 2000
(including any subsequent revision to the report),
under which—
(A) fire regimes on the land have been mod-
erately altered from historical ranges;
(B) there exists a moderate risk of losing
key ecosystem components from fire;
(C) fire frequencies have increased or de-
creased from historical frequencies by 1 or more
return intervals, resulting in moderate changes
to—
(i) the size, frequency, intensity, or se-
verity of fires; or
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(ii) landscape patterns; and
(D) vegetation attributes have been mod-
erately altered from the historical range of the
attributes.
(5) CONDITION CLASS 3.—The term ‘‘condition
class 3’’, with respect to an area of Federal land,
means the condition class description developed by the
Rocky Mountain Research Station in the general tech-
nical report referred to in paragraph (4) (including
any subsequent revision to the report), under which—
(A) fire regimes on land have been signifi-
cantly altered from historical ranges;
(B) there exists a high risk of losing key
ecosystem components from fire;
(C) fire frequencies have departed from his-
torical frequencies by multiple return intervals,
resulting in dramatic changes to—
(i) the size, frequency, intensity, or se-
verity of fires; or
(ii) landscape patterns; and
(D) vegetation attributes have been signifi-
cantly altered from the historical range of the at-
tributes.
(6) DAY.—The term ‘‘day’’ means—
(A) a calendar day; or
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(B) if a deadline imposed by this title
would expire on a nonbusiness day, the end of
the next business day.
(7) DECISION DOCUMENT.—The term ‘‘decision
document’’ means—
(A) a decision notice (as that term is used
in the Forest Service Handbook);
(B) a decision record (as that term is used
in the Bureau of Land Management Handbook);
and
(C) a record of decision (as that term is
used in applicable regulations of the Council on
Environmental Quality).
(8) FIRE REGIME I.—The term ‘‘fire regime I’’
means an area—
(A) in which historically there have been
low-severity fires with a frequency of 0 through
35 years; and
(B) that is located primarily in low ele-
vation forests of pine, oak, or pinyon juniper.
(9) FIRE REGIME II.—The term ‘‘fire regime II’’
means an area—
(A) in which historically there are stand re-
placement severity fires with a frequency of 0
through 35 years; and
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(B) that is located primarily in low- to
mid-elevation 
rangeland, 
grassland, 
or
shrubland.
(10) FIRE REGIME III.—The term ‘‘fire regime
III’’ means an area—
(A) in which historically there are mixed se-
verity fires with a frequency of 35 through 100
years; and
(B) that is located primarily in forests of
mixed conifer, dry Douglas fir, or wet Ponderosa
pine.
(11) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Imple-
mentation Plan’’ means the Implementation Plan for
the Comprehensive Strategy for a Collaborative Ap-
proach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Commu-
nities and the Environment, dated May 2002, devel-
oped pursuant to the conference report to accompany
the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2001 (House Report 106–64)
(and subsequent revisions).
(12) MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.—The
term ‘‘municipal water supply system’’ means the res-
ervoirs, canals, ditches, flumes, laterals, pipes, pipe-
lines, and other surface facilities and systems con-
structed or installed for the collection, impoundment,
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storage, transportation, or distribution of drinking
water.
(13) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term
‘‘resource management plan’’ means—
(A) a land and resource management plan
prepared for 1 or more units of land of the Na-
tional Forest System described in section 3(1)(A)
under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Re-
newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
U.S.C. 1604); or
(B) a land use plan prepared for 1 or more
units of the public land described in section
3(1)(B) under section 202 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1712).
(14) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to land of the National Forest System de-
scribed in section 3(1)(A); and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to public lands described in section
3(1)(B).
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(15) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
HABITAT.—The term ‘‘threatened and endangered spe-
cies habitat’’ means Federal land identified in—
(A) a determination that a species is an en-
dangered species or a threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.);
(B) a designation of critical habitat of the
species under that Act; or
(C) a recovery plan prepared for the species
under that Act.
(16) WILDLAND-URBAN
INTERFACE.—The term
‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ means—
(A) an area within or adjacent to an at-risk
community that is identified in recommenda-
tions to the Secretary in a community wildfire
protection plan; or
(B) in the case of any area for which a
community wildfire protection plan is not in
effect—
(i) an area extending 1⁄2-mile from the
boundary of an at-risk community;
(ii) an area extending more than 1⁄2-
mile from the boundary of an at-risk com-
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HR 1904 EAS
munity, if the land adjacent to the at-risk
community—
(I) has a sustained steep slope
that creates the potential for wildfire
behavior endangering the at-risk com-
munity; or
(II) has a geographic feature that
aids in creating an effective fire break,
such as a road or ridge top, within 3⁄4-
mile of the nearest at-risk community
boundary; and
(iii) an area that is adjacent to an
evacuation route for an at-risk community
that the Secretary determines, in coopera-
tion with the at-risk community, requires
hazardous fuel reduction to provide safer
evacuation from the at-risk community.
SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION
PROJECTS.
(a) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—As soon as practicable
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
implement authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects,
consistent with the Implementation Plan, on—
(1) Federal land in wildland-urban interface
areas;
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(2) condition class 3 Federal land, in such prox-
imity to a municipal water supply system or a
stream feeding such a system within a municipal wa-
tershed that a significant risk exists that a fire dis-
turbance event would have adverse effects on the water
quality of the municipal water supply or the mainte-
nance of the system, including a risk to water quality
posed by erosion following such a fire disturbance
event;
(3) condition class 2 Federal land located within
fire regime I, fire regime II, or fire regime III, in
such proximity to a municipal water supply system
or a stream feeding such a system within a municipal
watershed that a significant risk exists that a fire dis-
turbance event would have adverse effects on the water
quality of the municipal water supply or the mainte-
nance of the system, including a risk to water quality
posed by erosion following such a fire disturbance
event;
(4) Federal land on which windthrow or blow-
down, ice storm damage, or the existence of disease or
insect infestation, poses a significant threat to an eco-
system component, or forest or rangeland resource, on
the Federal land or adjacent non-Federal land;
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(5) Federal land not covered by paragraphs (1)
through (4) that contains threatened and endangered
species habitat, if—
(A) natural fire regimes on that land are
identified as being important for, or wildfire is
identified as a threat to, an endangered species,
a threatened species, or habitat of an endangered
species or threatened species in a species recovery
plan prepared under section 4 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533), or a notice
published in the Federal Register determining a
species to be an endangered species or a threat-
ened species or designating critical habitat;
(B) the authorized hazardous fuel reduction
project will provide enhanced protection from
catastrophic wildfire for the endangered species,
threatened species, or habitat of the endangered
species or threatened species; and
(C) the Secretary complies with any appli-
cable guidelines specified in any management or
recovery plan described in subparagraph (A).
(b) RELATION
TO AGENCY PLANS.—An authorized
hazardous fuel reduction project shall be conducted con-
sistent with the resource management plan and other rel-
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evant administrative policies or decisions applicable to the
Federal land covered by the project.
(c) ACREAGE LIMITATION.—Not more than a total of
20,000,000 acres of Federal land may be treated under au-
thorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.
(d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND.—The
Secretary may not conduct an authorized hazardous fuel
reduction project that would occur on—
(1) a component of the National Wilderness Pres-
ervation System;
(2) Federal land on which the removal of vegeta-
tion is prohibited or restricted by Act of Congress or
Presidential proclamation (including the applicable
implementation plan); or
(3) a Wilderness Study Area.
(e) OLD GROWTH STANDS.—
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection and sub-
section (f):
(A) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered
project’’ means an authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project carried out under paragraph (1),
(2), (3), or (5) of subsection (a).
(B) OLD GROWTH STAND.—The term ‘‘old
growth stand’’ has the meaning given the term
under standards used pursuant to paragraphs
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(3) and (4), based on the structure and composi-
tion characteristic of the forest type, and in ac-
cordance with applicable law, including section
6(g)(3)(B) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew-
able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.
1604(g)(3)(B)).
(C) STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘standards’’
means 
definitions, 
designations, 
standards,
guidelines, goals, or objectives established for an
old growth stand under a resource management
plan developed in accordance with applicable
law, including section 6(g)(3)(B) of the Forest
and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(g)(3)(B)).
(2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out
a covered project, the Secretary shall fully maintain,
or contribute toward the restoration of, the structure
and composition of old growth stands according to the
pre-fire suppression old growth conditions char-
acteristic of the forest type, taking into account the
contribution of the stand to landscape fire adaptation
and watershed health, and retaining the large trees
contributing to old growth structure.
(3) NEWER STANDARDS.—
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HR 1904 EAS
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the standards for an
old growth stand were established during the 10-
year period ending on the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall meet the require-
ments of paragraph (2) in carrying out a cov-
ered project by implementing the standards.
(B) AMENDMENTS
OR
REVISIONS.—Any
amendment or revision to standards for which
final administrative approval is granted after
the date of enactment of this Act shall be con-
sistent with paragraph (2) for the purpose of
carrying out covered projects.
(4) OLDER STANDARDS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the standards for an
old growth stand were established before the 10-
year period described in paragraph (3)(A), the
Secretary shall meet the requirements of para-
graph (2) in carrying out a covered project by
implementing the standards—
(i) during the 2-year period beginning
on the date of enactment of this Act; or
(ii) if the Secretary is in the process of
revising a resource management plan as of
the date of enactment of this Act, during the
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3-year period beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act.
(B) REVIEW REQUIRED.—During the appli-
cable period described in subparagraph (A) for
the standards for an old growth stand under a
resource management plan, the Secretary shall—
(i) review the standards, taking into
account any relevant scientific information
made available since the adoption of the
standards; and
(ii) revise the standards to be con-
sistent with paragraph (2), if necessary to
reflect relevant scientific information the
Secretary did not consider in formulating
the resource management plan.
(C) REVIEW NOT COMPLETED.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary does
not complete the review of the standards in
accordance with subparagraph (B), during
the applicable period described in subpara-
graph (A), the Secretary shall not carry out
any portion of a covered project in a stand
that is identified as an old growth stand
(based on substantial supporting evidence)
by any person during scoping.
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(ii) PERIOD.—Clause (i) applies dur-
ing the period—
(I) beginning on the termination
of the applicable period for the stand-
ards described in subparagraph (A);
and
(II) ending on the earlier of—
(aa) the date the Secretary
completes the action required by
subparagraph (B) for the stand-
ards; or
(bb) the date on which the
acreage limitation specified in
subsection (c) (as that limitation
may be adjusted by subsequent
Act of Congress) is reached.
(f) LARGE TREE RETENTION.—Except in old growth
stands where the standards are consistent with subsection
(e)(2), the Secretary shall carry out a covered project in
a manner that—
(1) focuses largely on small diameter trees,
thinning, strategic fuel breaks, and prescribed fire to
modify fire behavior, as measured by the projected re-
duction of uncharacteristically severe wildfire effects
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for the forest type (such as adverse soil impacts, tree
mortality or other impacts); and
(2) maximizes the retention of large trees, as ap-
propriate for the forest type, to the extent that the
trees promote fire-resilient stands and the purposes of
section 6(g)(3)(B) of the Forest and Rangeland Re-
newable Resources Planning Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C.
1604(g)(3)(B)).
(g) MONITORING AND ASSESSING FOREST AND RANGE-
LAND HEALTH.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—For each Forest Service ad-
ministrative region and each Bureau of Land Man-
agement State Office, the Secretary shall—
(A) monitor the results of the projects au-
thorized under this section; and
(B) not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, and each 5 years there-
after, issue a report that includes—
(i) an evaluation of the progress to-
wards project goals; and
(ii) recommendations for modifications
to the projects and management treatments.
(2) CONSISTENCY
OF
PROJECTS
WITH
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—An authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project approved following the issuance of a
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monitoring report shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, be consistent with any applicable rec-
ommendations in the report.
(3) SIMILAR VEGETATION TYPES.—The results of
a monitoring report shall be made available in, and
(if appropriate) used for, a project conducted in a
similar vegetation type on land under the jurisdiction
of the Secretary.
(4) MONITORING
AND
ASSESSMENTS.—From a
representative sample of authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction projects, for each management unit, moni-
toring and assessment shall include a description of
the effects on changes in condition class, using the
Fire Regime Condition Class Guidebook or successor
guidance, specifically comparing end results to—
(A) pretreatment conditions;
(B) historical fire regimes; and
(C) any applicable watershed or landscape
goals or objectives in the resource management
plan or other relevant direction.
(5) TRACKING.—For each management unit, the
Secretary shall track acres burned, by the degree of se-
verity, by large wildfires (as defined by the Sec-
retary).
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(6) MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE OF TREATED
AREAS.—The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, develop a process for monitoring the need
for maintenance of treated areas, over time, in order
to preserve the forest health benefits achieved.
SEC. 103. PRIORITIZATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Implemen-
tation Plan, the Secretary shall develop an annual program
of work for Federal land that gives priority to authorized
hazardous fuel reduction projects that provide for the pro-
tection of at-risk communities or watersheds or that imple-
ment community wildfire protection plans.
(b) COLLABORATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consider
recommendations under subsection (a) that are made
by at-risk communities that have developed commu-
nity wildfire protection plans.
(2) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
planning process and recommendations concerning
community wildfire protection plans.
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agency involvement
in a community wildfire protection plan, or a rec-
ommendation made in a community wildfire protec-
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tion plan, shall not be considered a Federal agency
action under the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(2) COMPLIANCE.—In implementing authorized
hazardous fuel reduction projects on Federal land, the
Secretary shall, in accordance with section 104, com-
ply with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(d) FUNDING ALLOCATION.—
(1) FEDERAL LAND.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph
(B), the Secretary shall use not less than 50 per-
cent of the funds allocated for authorized haz-
ardous fuel reduction projects in the wildland-
urban interface.
(B) APPLICABILITY AND ALLOCATION.—The
funding allocation in subparagraph (A) shall
apply at the national level, and the Secretary
may allocate the proportion of funds differently
than is required under subparagraph (A) within
individual management units as appropriate, in
particular to conduct authorized hazardous fuel
reduction projects on land described in section
102(a)(4).
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(2) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—In providing finan-
cial assistance under any provision of law for haz-
ardous fuel reduction projects on non-Federal land,
the Secretary shall consider recommendations made
by at-risk communities that have developed commu-
nity wildfire protection plans.
SEC. 104. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.
(a) AUTHORIZED
HAZARDOUS
FUEL
REDUCTION
PROJECTS.—Except as otherwise provided in this title, the
Secretary shall conduct authorized hazardous fuel reduction
projects in accordance with—
(1) the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.); and
(2) other applicable laws.
(b) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OR IMPACT STATE-
MENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare
an environmental assessment or an environmental
impact statement (pursuant to section 102(2) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4332(2))) for any authorized hazardous fuel
reduction project.
(2) ALTERNATIVES.—In the environmental as-
sessment or environmental impact statement prepared
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under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall study, de-
velop, and describe—
(A) the proposed agency action;
(B) the alternative of no action; and
(C) an additional action alternative, if the
additional alternative—
(i) is proposed during scoping or the
collaborative process; and
(ii) meets the purpose and need of the
project, in accordance with regulations pro-
mulgated by the Council on Environmental
Quality.
(3) MULTIPLE
ADDITIONAL
ALTERNATIVES.—If
more than 1 additional alternative is proposed under
paragraph (2)(C), the Secretary shall—
(A) select which additional alternative to
consider; and
(B) provide a written record describing the
reasons for the selection.
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND MEETING.—
(1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide notice of each authorized hazardous fuel reduc-
tion project in accordance with applicable regulations
and administrative guidelines.
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(2) PUBLIC MEETING.—During the preparation
stage of each authorized hazardous fuel reduction
project, the Secretary shall—
(A) conduct a public meeting at an appro-
priate location proximate to the administrative
unit of the Federal land on which the authorized
hazardous fuel reduction project will be con-
ducted; and
(B) provide advance notice of the location,
date, and time of the meeting.
(d) PUBLIC COLLABORATION.—In order to encourage
meaningful public participation during preparation of au-
thorized hazardous fuel reduction projects, the Secretary
shall facilitate collaboration among State and local govern-
ments and Indian tribes, and participation of interested
persons, during the preparation of each authorized fuel re-
duction project in a manner consistent with the Implemen-
tation Plan.
(e) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
AND PUBLIC COM-
MENT.—In accordance with section 102(2) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) and
the applicable regulations and administrative guidelines,
the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for public com-
ment during the preparation of any environmental assess-
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ment or environmental impact statement for an authorized
hazardous fuel reduction project.
(f) DECISION DOCUMENT.—The Secretary shall sign a
decision document for authorized hazardous fuel reduction
projects and provide notice of the final agency actions.
SEC. 105. SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) INTERIM FINAL REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall promulgate interim final regula-
tions to establish a predecisional administrative re-
view process for the period described in paragraph (2)
that will serve as the sole means by which a person
can seek administrative review regarding an author-
ized hazardous fuel reduction project on Forest Serv-
ice land.
(2) PERIOD.—The predecisional administrative
review process required under paragraph (1) shall
occur during the period—
(A) beginning after the completion of the
environmental assessment or environmental im-
pact statement; and
(B) ending not later than the date of the
issuance of the final decision approving the
project.
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(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The interim final regula-
tions promulgated under paragraph (1) shall take ef-
fect on the date of promulgation of the regulations.
(b) FINAL REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro-
mulgate final regulations to establish the process described
in subsection (a)(1) after the interim final regulations have
been published and reasonable time has been provided for
public comment.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person may bring a civil
action challenging an authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project in a Federal district court only if the
person has challenged the authorized hazardous fuel
reduction project by exhausting—
(A) the administrative review process estab-
lished by the Secretary of Agriculture under this
section; or
(B) the administrative hearings and ap-
peals procedures established by the Department
of the Interior.
(2) ISSUES.—An issue may be considered in the
judicial review of an action under section 106 only
if the issue was raised in an administrative review
process described in paragraph (1).
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(3) EXCEPTION.—An exception to the require-
ment of exhausting the administrative review process
before seeking judicial review shall be available if a
Federal court finds that the futility or inadequacy ex-
ception applies to a specific plaintiff or claim.
SEC. 106. JUDICIAL REVIEW IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURTS.
(a) VENUE.—Notwithstanding section 1391 of title 28,
United States Code, or other applicable law, an authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project conducted under this title
shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States
district court for the district in which the Federal land to
be treated under the authorized hazardous fuels reduction
project is located.
(b) EXPEDITIOUS COMPLETION
OF JUDICIAL RE-
VIEW.—In the judicial review of an action challenging an
authorized hazardous fuel reduction project under sub-
section (a), Congress encourages a court of competent juris-
diction to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the
proceedings in the action with the goal of rendering a final
determination on jurisdiction, and (if jurisdiction exists)
a final determination on the merits, as soon as practicable
after the date on which a complaint or appeal is filed to
initiate the action.
(c) INJUNCTIONS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the
length of any preliminary injunctive relief and stays
pending appeal covering an authorized hazardous fuel
reduction project carried out under this title shall not
exceed 60 days.
(2) RENEWAL.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A court of competent ju-
risdiction may issue 1 or more renewals of any
preliminary injunction, or stay pending appeal,
granted under paragraph (1).
(B) UPDATES.—In each renewal of an in-
junction in an action, the parties to the action
shall present the court with updated information
on the status of the authorized hazardous fuel re-
duction project.
(3) BALANCING OF SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EF-
FECTS.—As part of its weighing the equities while
considering any request for an injunction that applies
to an agency action under an authorized hazardous
fuel reduction project, the court reviewing the project
shall balance the impact to the ecosystem likely af-
fected by the project of—
(A) the short- and long-term effects of un-
dertaking the agency action; against
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(B) the short- and long-term effects of not
undertaking the agency action.
SEC. 107. EFFECT OF TITLE.
(a) OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this title affects,
or otherwise biases, the use by the Secretary of other statu-
tory or administrative authority (including categorical ex-
clusions adopted to implement the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to conduct a
hazardous fuel reduction project on Federal land (including
Federal land identified in section 102(d)) that is not con-
ducted using the process authorized by section 104.
(b) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—For projects and ac-
tivities of the National Forest System other than authorized
hazardous fuel reduction projects, nothing in this title af-
fects, or otherwise biases, the notice, comment, and appeal
procedures for projects and activities of the National Forest
System contained in part 215 of title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations, or the consideration or disposition of any legal
action brought with respect to the procedures.
SEC. 108. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $760,000,000
for each fiscal year to carry out—
(1) activities authorized by this title; and
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(2) other hazardous fuel reduction activities of
the Secretary, including making grants to States for
activities authorized by law.
TITLE II—BIOMASS
SEC. 201. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1)(A) thousands of communities in the United
States, many located near Federal land, are at risk
of wildfire;
(B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land man-
aged by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
retary of the Interior are at risk of catastrophic fire
in the near future; and
(C) the accumulation of heavy forest and range-
land fuel loads continues to increase as a result of fire
exclusion, disease, insect infestations, and drought,
further raising the risk of fire each year;
(2)(A) more than 70,000,000 acres across all
land ownerships are at risk of higher than normal
mortality during the 15-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act because of insect infesta-
tion and disease; and
(B) high levels of tree mortality from insects and
disease result in—
(i) increased fire risk;
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(ii) loss of older trees and old growth;
(iii) degraded watershed conditions;
(iv) changes in species diversity and pro-
ductivity;
(v) diminished fish and wildlife habitat;
(vi) decreased timber values; and
(vii) increased threats to homes, businesses,
and community watersheds;
(3)(A) preventive treatments (such as reducing
fuel loads, crown density, ladder fuels, and hazard
trees), planting proper species mix, restoring and pro-
tecting early successional habitat, and completing
other specific restoration treatments designed to re-
duce the susceptibility of forest and rangeland to in-
sect outbreaks, disease, and catastrophic fire present
the greatest opportunity for long-term forest and
rangeland health, maintenance, and enhancement by
creating a mosaic of species-mix and age distribution;
and
(B) those vegetation management treatments are
widely acknowledged to be more successful and cost-
effective than suppression treatments in the case of
insects, disease, and fire;
(4)(A) the byproducts of vegetative management
treatment (such as trees, brush, thinnings, chips,
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slash, and other hazardous fuels) removed from forest
and rangeland represent an abundant supply of—
(i) biomass for biomass-to-energy facilities;
and
(ii) raw material for business; and
(B) there are currently few markets for the ex-
traordinary volumes of by-products being generated
as a result of the necessary large-scale preventive
treatment activities; and
(5) the United States should—
(A) promote economic and entrepreneurial
opportunities in using by-products removed
through vegetation treatment activities relating
to hazardous fuels reduction, disease, and insect
infestation;
(B) develop and expand markets for tradi-
tionally underused wood and biomass as an out-
let for by-products of preventive treatment activi-
ties; and
(C) promote research and development to
provide, for the by-products, economically and
environmentally sound—
(i) management systems;
(ii) harvest and transport systems; and
(iii) utilization options.
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SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) BIOMASS.—The term ‘‘biomass’’ means trees
and woody plants (including limbs, tops, needles,
other woody parts, and wood waste) and byproducts
of preventive treatment (such as wood, brush,
thinnings, chips, and slash) that are removed—
(A) to reduce hazardous fuels;
(B) to reduce the risk of or to contain dis-
ease or insect infestation; or
(C) to improve forest health and wildlife
habitat conditions.
(2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes—
(A) an individual;
(B) a community (as determined by the
Secretary);
(C) an Indian tribe;
(D) a small business, microbusiness, or a
corporation that is incorporated in the United
States; and
(E) a nonprofit organization.
(3) PREFERRED
COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘pre-
ferred community’’ means—
(A) any town, township, municipality, In-
dian tribe, or other similar unit of local govern-
ment (as determined by the Secretary) that—
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(i) has a population of not more than
50,000 individuals; and
(ii) the Secretary, in the sole discretion
of the Secretary, determines contains or is
located near, or with a water supply system
that contains or is located near, land that—
(I) is at significant risk of cata-
strophic wildfire, disease, or insect in-
festation; or
(II) suffers from disease or insect
infestation; or
(B) any area or unincorporated area rep-
resented by a nonprofit organization approved
by the Secretary, that—
(i) is not wholly contained within a
metropolitan statistical area; and
(ii) the Secretary, in the sole discretion
of the Secretary, determines contains or is
located near, or with a water supply system
that contains or is located near, land—
(I) the condition of which is at
significant risk of catastrophic wild-
fire, disease, or insect infestation; or
(II) that suffers from disease or
insect infestation.
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(4) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to National Forest System land; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to Federal land under the jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Interior (including land held
in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe).
SEC. 203. GRANTS TO IMPROVE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF
FOREST BIOMASS FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY,
USEFUL 
HEAT, 
TRANSPORTATION 
FUELS,
COMPOST, VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS, AND PE-
TROLEUM-BASED PRODUCT SUBSTITUTES.
(a) BIOMASS COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may make
grants to any person that owns or operates a facility
that uses biomass as a raw material to produce elec-
tric energy, sensible heat, transportation fuels, sub-
stitutes for petroleum-based products, wood-based
products, pulp, or other commercial products to offset
the costs incurred to purchase biomass for use by the
facility.
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(2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—A grant under this sub-
section may not exceed $20 per green ton of biomass
delivered.
(3) MONITORING OF GRANT RECIPIENT ACTIVI-
TIES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—As a condition of a
grant under this subsection, the grant recipient
shall keep such records as the Secretary may re-
quire to fully and correctly disclose the use of the
grant funds and all transactions involved in the
purchase of biomass.
(B) ACCESS.—On notice by a representative
of the Secretary, the grant recipient shall afford
the representative—
(i) reasonable access to the facility that
purchases or uses biomass; and
(ii) an opportunity to examine the in-
ventory and records of the facility.
(b) VALUE-ADDED GRANT PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary—
(A) may make grants to persons to offset the
cost of projects to add value to biomass; and
(B) in making a grant under subparagraph
(A), shall give preference to persons in preferred
communities.
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(2) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select a
grant recipient under paragraph (1)(A) after giving
consideration to—
(A) the anticipated public benefits of the
project;
(B) opportunities for the creation or expan-
sion of small businesses and microbusinesses re-
sulting from the project; and
(C) the potential for new job creation as a
result of the project.
(3) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub-
section shall not exceed $100,000.
(c) RELATION TO OTHER ENDANGERED SPECIES AND
RIPARIAN PROTECTIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall comply
with applicable endangered species and riparian pro-
tections in making grants under this section.
(2) PROJECTS.—Projects funded using grant
proceeds shall be required to comply with the protec-
tions.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
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HR 1904 EAS
SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than October 1,
2008, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to the Committee on
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the re-
sults of the grant programs authorized by section 203.
(b) 
CONTENTS
OF
REPORT.—The 
report 
shall
include—
(1) an identification of the source, size, type, and
the end-use of biomass by persons that receive grants
under section 203;
(2) the haul costs incurred and the distance be-
tween the land from which the biomass was removed
and the facilities that used the biomass;
(3) the economic impacts, particularly new job
creation, resulting from the grants to and operation
of the eligible operations; and
(4) the environmental effects of the activities de-
scribed in this section.
SEC. 205. IMPROVED BIOMASS USE RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) USES
OF GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 307(d) of the Biomass Research and Devel-
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opment Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note; Public Law 106–
224) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) research to integrate silviculture, harvesting,
product development, processing information, and
economic evaluation to provide the science, tech-
nology, and tools to forest managers and community
developers for use in evaluating forest treatment and
production alternatives, including—
‘‘(A) to develop tools that would enable land
managers, locally or in a several-State region, to
estimate—
‘‘(i) the cost to deliver varying quan-
tities of wood to a particular location; and
‘‘(ii) the amount that could be paid for
stumpage if delivered wood was used for a
specific mix of products;
‘‘(B) to conduct research focused on devel-
oping appropriate thinning systems and equip-
ment designs that are—
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‘‘(i) capable of being used on land
without significant adverse effects on the
land;
‘‘(ii) capable of handling large and
varied landscapes;
‘‘(iii) adaptable to handling a wide va-
riety of tree sizes;
‘‘(iv) inexpensive; and
‘‘(v) adaptable to various terrains; and
‘‘(C) to develop, test, and employ in the
training of forestry managers and community
developers curricula materials and training pro-
grams on matters described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B).’’.
(b) FUNDING.—Section 310(b) of the Biomass Research
and Development Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note; Public
Law 106–224) is amended by striking ‘‘$49,000,000’’ and
inserting ‘‘$54,000,000’’.
SEC. 206. RURAL REVITALIZATION THROUGH FORESTRY.
Section 2371 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,
and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(d) RURAL REVITALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture,
acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, in con-
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sultation with the State and Private Forestry Tech-
nology Marketing Unit at the Forest Products Lab-
oratory, and in collaboration with eligible institu-
tions, may carry out a program—
‘‘(A) to accelerate adoption of technologies
using biomass and small-diameter materials;
‘‘(B) to create community-based enterprises
through marketing activities and demonstration
projects; and
‘‘(C) to establish small-scale business enter-
prises to make use of biomass and small-diame-
ter materials.
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2004 through 2008.’’.
TITLE III—WATERSHED
FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) there has been a dramatic shift in public at-
titudes and perceptions about forest management,
particularly in the understanding and practice of
sustainable forest management;
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(2) it is commonly recognized that the proper
stewardship of forest land is essential to sustaining
and restoring the health of watersheds;
(3) forests can provide essential ecological serv-
ices in filtering pollutants, buffering important rivers
and estuaries, and minimizing flooding, which makes
forest restoration worthy of special focus; and
(4) strengthened education, technical assistance,
and financial assistance for nonindustrial private
forest landowners and communities, relating to the
protection of watershed health, is needed to realize the
expectations of the general public.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—
(1) to improve landowner and public under-
standing of the connection between forest management
and watershed health;
(2) to encourage landowners to maintain tree
cover on property and to use tree plantings and vege-
tative treatments as creative solutions to watershed
problems associated with varying land uses;
(3) to enhance and complement forest manage-
ment and buffer use for watersheds, with an emphasis
on community watersheds;
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(4) to establish new partnerships and collabo-
rative watershed approaches to forest management,
stewardship, and conservation;
(5) to provide technical and financial assistance
to States to deliver a coordinated program that en-
hances State forestry best-management practices pro-
grams, and conserves and improves forested land and
potentially forested land, through technical, financial,
and educational assistance to qualifying individuals
and entities; and
(6) to maximize the proper management and
conservation of wetland forests and to assist in the
restoration of those forests.
SEC. 302. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 is
amended by inserting after section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2103a) the
following:
‘‘SEC. 6. WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOR-
EST LAND.—In this section, the term ‘nonindustrial private
forest land’ means rural land, as determined by the Sec-
retary, that—
‘‘(1) has existing tree cover or that is suitable for
growing trees; and
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‘‘(2) is owned by any nonindustrial private indi-
vidual, group, association, corporation, or other pri-
vate legal entity, that has definitive decisionmaking
authority over the land.
‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE.—The Sec-
retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may
provide technical, financial, and related assistance to State
foresters, equivalent State officials, and officials of the Co-
operative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
for the purpose of expanding State forest stewardship ca-
pacities and activities through State forestry best-manage-
ment practices and other means at the State level to address
watershed issues on non-Federal forested land and poten-
tially forested land.
‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO PROTECT WATER
QUALITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera-
tion with State foresters, officials of the Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service, or
equivalent State officials, shall engage interested
members of the public, including nonprofit organiza-
tions and local watershed councils, to develop a pro-
gram of technical assistance to protect water quality
described in paragraph (2).
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‘‘(2) PURPOSE
OF
PROGRAM.—The program
under this subsection shall be designed—
‘‘(A) to build and strengthen watershed
partnerships that focus on forested landscapes at
the State, regional, and local levels;
‘‘(B) to provide State forestry best-manage-
ment practices and water quality technical as-
sistance directly to owners of nonindustrial pri-
vate forest land;
‘‘(C) to provide technical guidance to land
managers and policymakers for water quality
protection through forest management;
‘‘(D) to complement State and local efforts
to protect water quality and provide enhanced
opportunities for consultation and cooperation
among Federal and State agencies charged with
responsibility for water and watershed manage-
ment; and
‘‘(E) to provide enhanced forest resource
data and support for improved implementation
and monitoring of State forestry best-manage-
ment practices.
‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—In the case of a partici-
pating State, the program of technical assistance shall
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be implemented by State foresters or equivalent State
officials.
‘‘(d) WATERSHED
FORESTRY
COST-SHARE
PRO-
GRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish
a watershed forestry cost-share program—
‘‘(A) which shall be—
‘‘(i) administered by the Forest Serv-
ice; and
‘‘(ii) implemented by State foresters or
equivalent State officials in participating
States; and
‘‘(B) under which funds or other support
provided to participating States shall be made
available for State forestry best-management
practices 
programs 
and 
watershed 
forestry
projects.
‘‘(2) WATERSHED
FORESTRY
PROJECTS.—The
State forester, State Research, Education and Exten-
sion official, or equivalent State official of a partici-
pating State, in coordination with the State Forest
Stewardship 
Coordinating 
Committee 
established
under section 19(b) (or an equivalent committee) for
that State, shall make awards to communities, non-
profit groups, and owners of nonindustrial private
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forest land under the program for watershed forestry
projects described in paragraph (3).
‘‘(3) PROJECT ELEMENTS AND OBJECTIVES.—A
watershed forestry project shall accomplish critical
forest stewardship, watershed protection, and restora-
tion needs within a State by demonstrating the value
of trees and forests to watershed health and condition
through—
‘‘(A) the use of trees as solutions to water
quality problems in urban and rural areas;
‘‘(B) community-based planning, involve-
ment, and action through State, local and non-
profit partnerships;
‘‘(C) application of and dissemination of
monitoring information on forestry best-manage-
ment practices relating to watershed forestry;
‘‘(D) watershed-scale forest management ac-
tivities and conservation planning; and
‘‘(E)(i) the restoration of wetland (as de-
fined by the States) and stream-side forests; and
‘‘(ii) the establishment of riparian vegeta-
tive buffers.
‘‘(4) COST-SHARING.—
‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—
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‘‘(i) 
FUNDS
UNDER
THIS
SUB-
SECTION.—Funds provided under this sub-
section for a watershed forestry project may
not exceed 75 percent of the cost of the
project.
‘‘(ii) OTHER
FEDERAL
FUNDS.—The
percentage of the cost of a project described
in clause (i) that is not covered by funds
made available under this subsection may
be paid using other Federal funding sources,
except that the total Federal share of the
costs of the project may not exceed 90 per-
cent.
‘‘(B) FORM.—The non-Federal share of the
costs of a project may be provided in the form
of cash, services, or other in-kind contributions.
‘‘(5) PRIORITIZATION.—The State Forest Stew-
ardship Coordinating Committee for a State, or
equivalent State committee, shall prioritize water-
sheds in that State to target watershed forestry
projects funded under this subsection.
‘‘(6) WATERSHED
FORESTER.—Financial and
technical assistance shall be made available to the
State Forester or equivalent State official to create a
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State watershed or best-management practice forester
position to—
‘‘(A) lead statewide programs; and
‘‘(B) coordinate watershed-level projects.
‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made available
for a fiscal year under subsection (g), the Secretary
shall use—
‘‘(A) at least 75 percent of the funds to
carry out the cost-share program under sub-
section (d); and
‘‘(B) the remainder of the funds to deliver
technical assistance, education, and planning, at
the local level, through the State Forester or
equivalent State official.
‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—Distribution of
funds by the Secretary among States under para-
graph (1) shall be made only after giving appropriate
consideration to—
‘‘(A) the acres of agricultural land, non-
industrial private forest land, and highly erod-
ible land in each State;
‘‘(B) the miles of riparian buffer needed;
‘‘(C) the miles of impaired stream segments
and other impaired water bodies where forestry
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practices can be used to restore or protect water
resources;
‘‘(D) the number of owners of nonindustrial
private forest land in each State; and
‘‘(E) water quality cost savings that can be
achieved through forest watershed management.
‘‘(f) WILLING OWNERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Participation of an owner of
nonindustrial private forest land in the watershed
forestry assistance program under this section is vol-
untary.
‘‘(2) WRITTEN
CONSENT.—The watershed for-
estry assistance program shall not be carried out on
nonindustrial private forest land without the written
consent of the owner of, or entity having definitive de-
cisionmaking over, the nonindustrial private forest
land.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.’’.
SEC. 303. TRIBAL WATERSHED FORESTRY ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, shall provide technical, fi-
nancial, and related assistance to Indian tribes for the pur-
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pose of expanding tribal stewardship capacities and activi-
ties through tribal forestry best-management practices and
other means at the tribal level to address watershed issues
on land under the jurisdiction of or administered by the
Indian tribes.
(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO PROTECT WATER
QUALITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation
with Indian tribes, shall develop a program to pro-
vide technical assistance to protect water quality, as
described in paragraph (2).
(2) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The program under
this subsection shall be designed—
(A) to build and strengthen watershed part-
nerships that focus on forested landscapes at the
State, regional, tribal, and local levels;
(B) to provide tribal forestry best-manage-
ment practices and water quality technical as-
sistance directly to Indian tribes;
(C) to provide technical guidance to tribal
land managers and policy makers for water
quality protection through forest management;
(D) to complement tribal efforts to protect
water quality and provide enhanced opportuni-
ties for consultation and cooperation among Fed-
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eral agencies and tribal entities charged with re-
sponsibility for water and watershed manage-
ment; and
(E) to provide enhanced forest resource data
and support for improved implementation and
monitoring of tribal forestry best-management
practices.
(c) WATERSHED FORESTRY PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish
a watershed forestry program to be administered by
Indian tribes.
(2) PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.—Funds or other
support provided under the program shall be made
available for tribal forestry best-management prac-
tices programs and watershed forestry projects.
(3) ANNUAL AWARDS.—The Secretary shall an-
nually make awards to Indian tribes to carry out this
subsection.
(4) PROJECT
ELEMENTS
AND
OBJECTIVES.—A
watershed forestry project shall accomplish critical
forest stewardship, watershed protection, and restora-
tion needs within land under the jurisdiction of or
administered by an Indian tribe by demonstrating
the value of trees and forests to watershed health and
condition through—
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(A) the use of trees as solutions to water
quality problems;
(B) application of and dissemination of
monitoring information on forestry best-manage-
ment practices relating to watershed forestry;
(C) watershed-scale forest management ac-
tivities and conservation planning;
(D) the restoration of wetland and stream-
side forests and the establishment of riparian
vegetative buffers; and
(E) tribal-based planning, involvement, and
action through State, tribal, local, and nonprofit
partnerships.
(5) PRIORITIZATION.—An Indian tribe that par-
ticipates in the program under this subsection shall
prioritize watersheds in land under the jurisdiction of
or administered by the Indian tribe to target water-
shed forestry projects funded under this subsection.
(6) WATERSHED
FORESTER.—The Secretary
may provide to Indian tribes under this section fi-
nancial and technical assistance to establish a posi-
tion of tribal forester to lead tribal programs and co-
ordinate small watershed-level projects.
(d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall devote—
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(1) at least 75 percent of the funds made avail-
able for a fiscal year under subsection (e) to the pro-
gram under subsection (c); and
(2) the remainder of the funds to deliver tech-
nical assistance, education, and planning on the
ground to Indian tribes.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE 
IV—INSECT 
INFESTA-
TIONS 
AND 
RELATED 
DIS-
EASES
SEC. 401. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) high levels of tree mortality resulting from
insect infestation (including the interaction between
insects and diseases) may result in—
(A) increased fire risk;
(B) loss of old trees and old growth;
(C) loss of threatened and endangered spe-
cies;
(D) loss of species diversity;
(E) degraded watershed conditions;
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(F) increased potential for damage from
other agents of disturbance, including exotic,
invasive species; and
(G) decreased timber values;
(2)(A) forest-damaging insects destroy hundreds
of thousands of acres of trees each year;
(B) in the West, more than 21,000,000 acres are
at high risk of forest-damaging insect infestation, and
in the South, more than 57,000,000 acres are at risk
across all land ownerships; and
(C) severe drought conditions in many areas of
the South and West will increase the risk of forest-
damaging insect infestations;
(3) the hemlock woolly adelgid is—
(A) destroying streamside forests throughout
the mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions;
(B) threatening water quality and sensitive
aquatic species; and
(C) posing a potential threat to valuable
commercial timber land in northern New Eng-
land;
(4)(A) the emerald ash borer is a nonnative,
invasive pest that has quickly become a major threat
to hardwood forests because an emerald ash borer in-
festation is almost always fatal to affected trees; and
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(B) the emerald ash borer pest threatens to de-
stroy more than 692,000,000 ash trees in forests in
Michigan and Ohio alone, and between 5 and 10 per-
cent of urban street trees in the Upper Midwest;
(5)(A) epidemic populations of Southern pine
beetles are ravaging forests in Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Caro-
lina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia; and
(B) in 2001, Florida and Kentucky experienced
146 percent and 111 percent increases, respectively,
in Southern pine beetle populations;
(6) those epidemic outbreaks of Southern pine
beetles have forced private landowners to harvest dead
and dying trees, in rural areas and increasingly ur-
banized settings;
(7) according to the Forest Service, recent out-
breaks of the red oak borer in Arkansas and Missouri
have been unprecedented, with more than 1,000,000
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;
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(9)(A) previous silvicultural assessments, while
useful and informative, have been limited in scale
and scope of application; and
(B) there have not been sufficient resources avail-
able to adequately test a full array of individual and
combined applied silvicultural assessments;
(10) only through the full funding, development,
and assessment of potential applied silvicultural as-
sessments over specific time frames across an array of
environmental and climatic conditions can the most
innovative and cost effective management applica-
tions be determined that will help reduce the suscepti-
bility of forest ecosystems to attack by forest pests;
(11)(A) often, there are significant interactions
between insects and diseases;
(B) many diseases (such as white pine blister
rust, beech bark disease, and many other diseases) can
weaken trees and forest stands and predispose trees
and forest stands to insect attack; and
(C) certain diseases are spread using insects as
vectors (including Dutch elm disease and pine pitch
canker); and
(12) funding and implementation of an initia-
tive to combat forest pest infestations and associated
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diseases should not come at the expense of supporting
other programs and initiatives of the Secretary.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—
(1) to require the Secretary to develop an accel-
erated basic and applied assessment program to com-
bat infestations by forest-damaging insects and asso-
ciated diseases;
(2) to enlist the assistance of colleges and univer-
sities (including forestry schools, land grant colleges
and universities, and 1890 Institutions), State agen-
cies, and private landowners to carry out the pro-
gram; and
(3) to carry out applied silvicultural assess-
ments.
SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENT.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘applied sil-
vicultural assessment’’ means any vegetative or
other treatment carried out for a purpose de-
scribed in section 403.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘applied sil-
vicultural assessment’’ includes (but is not lim-
ited to) timber harvesting, thinning, prescribed
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burning, pruning, and any combination of those
activities.
(2) 1890 INSTITUTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘1890 Institu-
tion’’ means a college or university that is eligi-
ble to receive funds under the Act of August 30,
1890 (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.).
(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘1890 Institu-
tion’’ includes Tuskegee University.
(3) FOREST-DAMAGING INSECT.—The term ‘‘for-
est-damaging insect’’ means—
(A) a Southern pine beetle;
(B) a mountain pine beetle;
(C) a spruce bark beetle;
(D) a gypsy moth;
(E) a hemlock woolly adelgid;
(F) an emerald ash borer;
(G) a red oak borer;
(H) a white oak borer; and
(I) such other insects as may be identified
by the Secretary.
(4) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means—
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(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Forest Service, with respect to Na-
tional Forest System land; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through appropriate offices of the United States
Geological Survey, with respect to federally
owned land administered by the Secretary of the
Interior.
SEC. 403. ACCELERATED INFORMATION GATHERING RE-
GARDING FOREST-DAMAGING INSECTS.
(a) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Secretary, acting
through the Forest Service and United States Geological
Survey, as appropriate, shall establish an accelerated
program—
(1) to plan, conduct, and promote comprehensive
and systematic information gathering on forest-dam-
aging insects and associated diseases, including an
evaluation of—
(A) infestation, prevention, and suppression
methods;
(B) effects of infestations and associated
disease interactions on forest ecosystems;
(C) restoration of forest ecosystem efforts;
(D) utilization options regarding infested
trees; and
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(E) models to predict the occurrence, dis-
tribution, and impact of outbreaks of forest-dam-
aging insects and associated diseases;
(2) to assist land managers in the development
of treatments and strategies to improve forest health
and reduce the susceptibility of forest ecosystems to se-
vere infestations of forest-damaging insects and asso-
ciated diseases on Federal land and State and private
land; and
(3) to disseminate the results of the information
gathering, treatments, and strategies.
(b) COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
shall—
(1) establish and carry out the program in co-
operation with—
(A) scientists from colleges and universities
(including forestry schools, land grant colleges
and universities, and 1890 Institutions);
(B) Federal, State, and local agencies; and
(C) private and industrial landowners; and
(2) designate such colleges and universities to as-
sist in carrying out the program.
SEC. 404. APPLIED SILVICULTURAL ASSESSMENTS.
(a) ASSESSMENT EFFORTS.—For information gath-
ering and research purposes, the Secretary may conduct ap-
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plied silvicultural assessments on Federal land that the Sec-
retary determines is at risk of infestation by, or is infested
with, forest-damaging insects.
(b) LIMITATIONS.—
(1) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS.—Subsection
(a) does not apply to—
(A) a component of the National Wilderness
Preservation System;
(B) any Federal land on which, by Act of
Congress or Presidential proclamation, the re-
moval of vegetation is restricted or prohibited;
(C) a congressionally-designated wilderness
study area; or
(D) an area in which activities under sub-
section (a) would be inconsistent with the appli-
cable land and resource management plan.
(2) CERTAIN TREATMENT PROHIBITED.—Nothing
in subsection (a) authorizes the application of insecti-
cides in municipal watersheds or associated riparian
areas.
(3) PEER REVIEW.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Before being carried out,
each applied silvicultural assessment under this
title shall be peer reviewed by scientific experts
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selected by the Secretary, which shall include
non-Federal experts.
(B) EXISTING PEER REVIEW PROCESSES.—
The Secretary may use existing peer review proc-
esses to the extent the processes comply with sub-
paragraph (A).
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—
(1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide notice of each applied silvicultural assessment
proposed to be carried out under this section.
(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide an opportunity for public comment before car-
rying out an applied silviculture assessment under
this section.
(d) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Applied silvicultural assess-
ment and research treatments carried out under this
section on not more than 1,000 acres for an assess-
ment or treatment may be categorically excluded from
documentation in an environmental impact statement
and environmental assessment under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
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(2) ADMINISTRATION.—Applied silvicultural as-
sessments and research treatments categorically ex-
cluded under paragraph (1)—
(A) shall not be carried out in an area that
is adjacent to another area that is categorically
excluded under paragraph (1) that is being
treated with similar methods; and
(B) shall be subject to the extraordinary cir-
cumstances procedures established by the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 1508.4 of title 40,
Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) MAXIMUM
CATEGORICAL
EXCLUSION.—The
total number of acres categorically excluded under
paragraph (1) shall not exceed 250,000 acres.
(4) NO
ADDITIONAL
FINDINGS
REQUIRED.—In
accordance with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
not be required to make any findings as to whether
an applied silvicultural assessment project, either in-
dividually or cumulatively, has a significant effect on
the environment.
SEC. 405. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
The authority provided to each Secretary under this
title is supplemental to, and not in lieu of, any authority
provided to the Secretaries under any other law.
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SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as
are necessary to carry out this title for each of fiscal years
2004 through 2008.
TITLE V—HEALTHY FORESTS
RESERVE PROGRAM
SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE
PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall establish the healthy forests reserve program for the
purpose of restoring and enhancing forest ecosystems—
(1) to promote the recovery of threatened and en-
dangered species;
(2) to improve biodiversity; and
(3) to enhance carbon sequestration.
(b) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall carry out the healthy forests reserve program in co-
ordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec-
retary of Commerce.
SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT OF LANDS IN
PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, in co-
ordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec-
retary of Commerce, shall describe and define forest eco-
systems that are eligible for enrollment in the healthy forests
reserve program.
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(e) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total number of
acres enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program shall
not exceed 2,000,000 acres.
(f) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Land may be enrolled in the
healthy forests reserve program in accordance with—
(A) a 10-year cost-share agreement;
(B) a 30-year agreement; or
(C) an agreement of not more than 99
years.
(2) PROPORTION.—The extent to which each en-
rollment method is used shall be based on the approxi-
mate proportion of owner interest expressed in that
method in comparison to the other methods.
(g) ENROLLMENT PRIORITY.—
(1) SPECIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall
give priority to the enrollment of land that provides
the greatest conservation benefit to—
(A) primarily, species listed as endangered
or threatened under section 4 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); and
(B) secondarily, species that—
(i) are not listed as endangered or
threatened under section 4 of the Endan-
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gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533);
but
(ii) are candidates for such listing,
State-listed species, or special concern spe-
cies.
(2) COST-EFFECTIVENESS.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall also consider the cost-effectiveness of
each agreement, and associated restoration plans, so
as to maximize the environmental benefits per dollar
expended.
SEC. 503. RESTORATION PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Land enrolled in the healthy forests
reserve program shall be subject to a restoration plan, to
be developed jointly by the landowner and the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(b) PRACTICES.—The restoration plan shall require
such restoration practices as are necessary to restore and
enhance habitat for—
(1) species listed as endangered or threatened
under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); and
(2) animal or plant species before the species
reach threatened or endangered status, such as can-
didate, State-listed species, and special concern spe-
cies.
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SEC. 504. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) AGREEMENTS OF NOT MORE THAN 99 YEARS.—
In the case of land enrolled in the healthy forests reserve
program using an agreement of not more than 99 years
described in section 502(f)(1)(C), the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall pay the owner of the land an amount equal
to not less than 75 percent, nor more than 100 percent, of
(as determined by the Secretary)—
(1) the fair market value of the enrolled land
during the period the land is subject to the agreement,
less the fair market value of the land encumbered by
the agreement; and
(2) the actual costs of the approved conservation
practices or the average cost of approved practices
carried out on the land during the period in which
the land is subject to the agreement.
(b) 30-YEAR AGREEMENT.— In the case of land en-
rolled in the healthy forests reserve program using a 30-
year agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the
owner of the land an amount equal to not more than (as
determined by the Secretary)—
(1) 75 percent of the fair market value of the
land, less the fair market value of the land encum-
bered by the agreement; and
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(2) 75 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices or 75 percent of the average
cost of approved practices.
(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 not more
than (as determined by the Secretary)—
(1) 50 percent of the actual costs of the approved
conservation practices; or
(2) 50 percent of the average cost of approved
practices.
(d) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary
of Agriculture may accept and use contributions of non-
Federal funds to make payments under this section.
SEC. 505. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall
provide landowners with technical assistance to assist the
owners in complying with the terms of plans (as included
in agreements) under the healthy forests reserve program.
(b) TECHNICAL SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Secretary
of Agriculture may request the services of, and enter into
cooperative agreements with, individuals or entities cer-
tified as technical service providers under section 1242 of
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842), to assist
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the Secretary in providing technical assistance necessary to
develop and implement the healthy forests reserve program.
SEC. 506. PROTECTIONS AND MEASURES
(a) PROTECTIONS.—In the case of a landowner that
enrolls land in the program and whose conservation activi-
ties result in a net conservation benefit for listed, candidate,
or other species, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make
available to the landowner safe harbor or similar assur-
ances and protection under—
(1) section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)); or
(2) section 10(a)(1) of that Act (16 U.S.C.
1539(a)(1)).
(b) MEASURES.—If protection under subsection (a) re-
quires the taking of measures that are in addition to the
measures covered by the applicable restoration plan agreed
to under section 503, the cost of the additional measures,
as well as the cost of any permit, shall be considered part
of the restoration plan for purposes of financial assistance
under section 504.
SEC. 507. INVOLVEMENT BY OTHER AGENCIES AND ORGANI-
ZATIONS.
In carrying out this title, the Secretary of Agriculture
may consult with—
(1) nonindustrial private forest landowners;
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(2) other Federal agencies;
(3) State fish and wildlife agencies;
(4) State forestry agencies;
(5) State environmental quality agencies;
(6) other State conservation agencies; and
(7) nonprofit conservation organizations.
SEC. 508. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this title—
(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal
years 2005 through 2008.
TITLE VI—PUBLIC LAND CORPS
SEC. 601. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are—
(1) to carry out, in a cost-effective and efficient
manner, rehabilitation, enhancement, and beautifi-
cation projects;
(2) to offer young people, ages 16 through 25,
particularly those who are at-risk or economically
disadvantaged, the opportunity to gain productive
employment and exposure to the world of work;
(3) to give those young people the opportunity to
serve their communities and their country; and
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(6) SERVICE AND CONSERVATION CORPS.—The
term ‘‘service and conservation corps’’ means any or-
ganization established by a State or local government,
nonprofit organization, or Indian tribe that—
(A) has a demonstrable capability to pro-
vide productive work to individuals;
(B) gives participants a combination of
work experience, basic and life skills, education,
training, and support services; and
(C) provides participants with the oppor-
tunity to develop citizenship values through serv-
ice to their communities and the United States.
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) Guam;
(E) American Samoa;
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands;
(G) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(I) the Republic of Palau; and
(J) the United States Virgin Islands.
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SEC. 603. PUBLIC LAND CORPS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Public
Land Corps.
(b) PARTICIPANTS.—The Corps shall consist of indi-
viduals who are enrolled as members of a service or con-
servation corps.
(c) CONTRACTS
OR AGREEMENTS.—The Secretaries
may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements—
(1) directly with any service and conservation
corps to perform appropriate rehabilitation, enhance-
ment, or beautification projects; or
(2) with a department of natural resources, agri-
culture, or forestry (or an equivalent department) of
any State that has entered into a contract or coopera-
tive agreement with a service and conservation corps
to perform appropriate rehabilitation, enhancement,
or beautification projects.
(d) PROJECTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may use the
members of a service and conservation corps to per-
form rehabilitation, enhancement, or beautification
projects authorized by law.
(2) INCLUDED
LAND.—In addition to Federal
and State lands, the projects may be carried out on—
(A) Indian lands, with the approval of the
applicable Indian tribe;
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(B) Hawaiian home lands, with the ap-
proval of the relevant State agency in the State
of Hawaii; and
(C) Alaska native lands, with the approval
of the applicable Alaska Native Corporation.
(e) PREFERENCE.—In carrying out this title, the Sec-
retaries shall give preference to projects that will—
(1) provide long-term benefits by reducing haz-
ardous fuels on Federal land;
(2) instill in members of the service and con-
servation corps—
(A) a work ethic;
(B) a sense of personal responsibility; and
(C) a sense of public service;
(3) be labor intensive; and
(4) be planned and initiated promptly.
(f) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The Secretaries may pro-
vide such services as the Secretaries consider necessary to
carry out this title.
(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To carry out this title,
the Secretaries shall provide technical assistance, oversight,
monitoring, and evaluation to—
(1) State Departments of Natural Resources and
Agriculture (or equivalent agencies); and
(2) members of service and conservation corps.
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SEC. 604. NONDISPLACEMENT.
The nondisplacement requirements of section 177(b) of
the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12637(b)) shall apply to activities carried out by
the Corps under this title.
SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this title $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through
2008.
TITLE VII—RURAL COMMUNITY
FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PRO-
GRAM
SEC. 701. PURPOSE
The purpose of this title is to assist in the economic
revitalization of rural forest resource-dependent commu-
nities through incentives and collaboration to promote in-
vestment in private enterprise and community development
by—
(1) the Department of Agriculture;
(2) the Department of the Interior;
(3) the Department of Commerce;
(4) the Small Business Administration;
(5) land grant colleges and universities; and
(6) 1890 Institutions.
SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
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(1) 1890 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘1890 Institu-
tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 2 of
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601).
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means—
(A) a unit of State or local government;
(B) an Indian tribe;
(C) a nonprofit organization;
(D) a small forest products business;
(E) a rural forest resource-dependent com-
munity;
(F) a land grant college or university; or
(G) an 1890 institution.
(3) ELIGIBLE
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible
project’’ means a project described in section 703 that
will promote the economic development in rural forest
resource-dependent communities based on—
(A) responsible forest stewardship;
(B) the production of sustainable forest
products; or
(C) the development of forest related tourism
and recreation activities.
(4) FOREST PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘forest prod-
ucts’’ means—
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(A) logs;
(B) lumber;
(C) chips;
(D) small-diameter finished wood products;
(E) energy biomass;
(F) mulch; and
(G) any other material derived from forest
vegetation or individual trees or shrubs.
(5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘non-
profit organization’’ means an organization that is—
(A) described in section 501(c) of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(B) exempt from taxation under 501(a) of
that Code.
(6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the
rural community forestry enterprise program estab-
lished under section 703.
(7) SMALL FOREST PRODUCTS BUSINESS.—The
term ‘‘small forest products business’’ means a small
business concern (as defined under section 3 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) that is classified
under subsector 113 or code number 115310 of the
North American Industrial Classification System.
(8) RURAL FOREST RESOURCE-DEPENDENT COM-
MUNITY.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘rural forest
resource-dependent community’’ means a com-
munity located in a rural area of the United
States that is traditionally dependent on forestry
products as a primary source of community in-
frastructure.
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘rural forest
resource-dependent community’’ includes a com-
munity described in subparagraph (A) located
in—
(i) the northern forest land of Maine;
(ii) New Hampshire;
(iii) New York;
(iv) Vermont;
(v) the Upper Peninsula of Michigan;
(vi) northern California; and
(vii) eastern Oregon.
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief
of the Forest Service.
SEC. 703. RURAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY ENTERPRISE PRO-
GRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the Forest Service a program to be known
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as the ‘‘Rural Community Forestry Enterprise Pro-
gram’’.
(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Secretary shall consult with—
(A) the Small Business Administration;
(B) the Economic Development Administra-
tion;
(C) land grant colleges and universities;
(D) 1890 institutions;
(E) research stations and laboratories of the
Forest Service;
(F) other agencies of the Department of Ag-
riculture that administer rural development pro-
grams; and
(G) private nonprofit organizations.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are—
(1) to enhance technical and business manage-
ment skills training;
(2) to organize cooperatives and marketing pro-
grams;
(3) to establish and maintain timber worker skill
pools;
(4) to establish and maintain forest product dis-
tribution networks and collection centers;
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(5) to facilitate technology transfer for processing
small diameter trees and brush into useful products;
(6) to develop, where support exists, a program
to promote science-based technology implementation
and technology transfer that expands the capacity for
small forest product businesses to work within market
areas;
(7) to promote forest-related tourism and rec-
reational activities;
(8) to enhance the rural forest business infra-
structure needed to reduce hazardous fuels on public
and private land; and
(9) to carry out related programs and activities,
as determined by the Secretary.
(c) FOREST ENTERPRISE CENTERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish
Forest Enterprise Centers to provide services to rural
forest-dependent communities.
(2) LOCATION.—A Center shall be located within
close proximity of rural forest-dependent communities
served by the Center, with at least 1 center located in
each of the States of California, Idaho, Oregon, Mon-
tana, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington.
(3) DUTIES.—A Center shall—
(A) carry out eligible projects; and
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(B) coordinate assistance provided to small
forest products businesses with—
(i) the Small Business Administration,
including the timber set-aside program car-
ried out by the Small Business Administra-
tion;
(ii) the Rural Utilities Service, the
Rural Housing Service, and the Rural
Business-Cooperative Service of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture;
(iii) the Economic Development Ad-
ministration, including the local technical
assistance program of the Economic Devel-
opment Administration; and
(iv) research stations and laboratories
of the Forest Service.
(d) FOREST ENTERPRISE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
AND GRANT PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through
the Forest Enterprise Centers established under sub-
section (c), shall establish a program to provide tech-
nical assistance and grants to eligible entities to
carry out eligible projects.
(2) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall work with
each Forest Enterprise Center to develop appropriate
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program review and prioritization criteria for each
Research Station.
(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—Grants under this sec-
tion shall—
(A) not exceed 50 percent of the cost of an
eligible project; and
(B) be made on the condition that non-Fed-
eral sources pay for the remainder of the cost of
an eligible project (including payment through
in-kind contributions of services or materials).
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2004 through 2008.
TITLE VIII—FIREFIGHTERS
MEDICAL MONITORING ACT
SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.
This title shall be referred to as the ‘‘Firefighters Med-
ical Monitoring Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 802. MONITORING OF FIREFIGHTERS IN DISASTER
AREAS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health shall monitor the long-term med-
ical health of those firefighters who fought fires in any area
declared a disaster area by the Federal Government.
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(b) HEALTH
MONITORING.—The long-term health
monitoring referred to in subsection (a) shall include, but
not be limited to, pulmonary illness, neurological damage,
and cardiovascular damage, and shall utilize the medical
expertise in the local areas affected.
(c) AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out this title, there are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary in each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
TITLE IX—DISASTER AIR
QUALITY MONITORING ACT
SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE.
This title shall be referred to as the ‘‘Disaster Air
Quality Monitoring Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 902. MONITORING OF AIR QUALITY IN DISASTER
AREAS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than six (6) months after
the enactment of this legislation, the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency shall provide each of its regional offices a mo-
bile air pollution monitoring network to monitor the emis-
sions of hazardous air pollutants in areas declared a dis-
aster as referred to in subsection (b), and publish such in-
formation on a daily basis on its web site and in other
forums, until such time as the Environmental Protection
Agency has determined that the danger has subsided.
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(b) DISASTER AREAS.—The areas referred to in sub-
section (a) are those areas declared a disaster area by the
Federal Government.
(c) CONTINUOUS MONITORING.—The monitoring re-
ferred to in subsection (a) shall include the continuous and
spontaneous monitoring of hazardous air pollutants, as de-
fined in Public Law 95–95, section 112(b).
(d) AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out this title, there are
authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.
TITLE X—HIGHLANDS REGION
CONSERVATION
SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Highlands Conservation
Act’’.
SEC. 1002. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Highlands region is a physiographic
province that encompasses more than 2,000,000 acres
extending from eastern Pennsylvania through the
States of New Jersey and New York to northwestern
Connecticut.
(2) The Highlands region is an environmentally
unique area that—
(A) provides clean drinking water to over
15,000,000 people in metropolitan areas in the
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States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York,
and Pennsylvania;
(B) provides critical wildlife habitat, in-
cluding habitat for 247 threatened and endan-
gered species;
(C) maintains an important historic con-
nection to early Native American culture, colo-
nial settlement, the American Revolution, and
the Civil War;
(D) contains recreational resources for 14
million visitors annually;
(E) provides other significant ecological,
natural, tourism, recreational, educational, and
economic benefits; and
(F) provides homeownership opportunities
and access to affordable housing that is safe,
clean, and healthy;
(3) An estimated 1 in 12 citizens of the United
States live within a 2-hour drive of the Highlands re-
gion.
(4) More than 1,400,000 residents live in the
Highlands region.
(5) The Highlands region forms a greenbelt adja-
cent to the Philadelphia-New York City-Hartford
urban corridor that offers the opportunity to preserve
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water, forest and agricultural resources, wildlife habi-
tat, recreational areas, and historic sites, while en-
couraging sustainable economic growth and develop-
ment in a fiscally and environmentally sound man-
ner.
(6) Continued population growth and land use
patterns in the Highlands region—
(A) reduce the availability and quality of
water;
(B) reduce air quality;
(C) fragment the forests;
(D) destroy critical migration corridors and
forest habitat; and
(E) result in the loss of recreational oppor-
tunities and scenic, historic, and cultural re-
sources;
(7) The water, forest, wildlife, recreational, agri-
cultural, and cultural resources of the Highlands re-
gion, in combination with the proximity of the High-
lands region to the largest metropolitan areas in the
United States, make the Highlands region nationally
significant.
(8) The national significance of the Highlands
region has been documented in—
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(A) the New York-New Jersey Highlands
Regional Study conducted by the Forest Service
in 1990;
(B) the New York-New Jersey Highlands
Regional Study: 2002 Update conducted by the
Forest Service;
(C) the bi-State Skylands Greenway Task
Force Report;
(D) the New Jersey State Development and
Redevelopment Plan;
(E) the New York State Open Space Con-
servation Plan;
(F) the Connecticut Green Plan: Open
Space Acquisition FY 2001–2006;
(G) the open space plans of the State of
Pennsylvania; and
(H) other open space conservation plans for
States in the Highlands region;
(9) The Highlands region includes or is adjacent
to numerous parcels of land owned by the Federal
Government or federally designated areas that protect,
conserve, or restore resources of the Highlands region,
including—
(A) the Wallkill River National Wildlife
Refuge;
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(B) the Shawanagunk Grasslands Wildlife
Refuge;
(C) the Morristown National Historical
Park;
(D) the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Cor-
ridors;
(E) the Hudson River Valley National Her-
itage Area;
(F) the Delaware River Basin;
(G) the Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area;
(H) the Upper Delaware Scenic and Rec-
reational River;
(I) the Appalachian National Scenic Trail;
(J) the United States Military Academy at
West Point, New York;
(K) the Highlands National Millenium
Trail;
(L) the Great Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge;
(M) the proposed Crossroads of the Revolu-
tion National Heritage Area;
(N) the proposed Musconetcong National
Scenic and Recreational River in New Jersey;
and
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(O) the Farmington River Wild and Scenic
Area in Connecticut;
(10) It is in the interest of the United States to
protect, conserve, and restore the resources of the
Highlands region for the residents of, and visitors to,
the Highlands region.
(11) The States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New
York, and Pennsylvania, and units of local govern-
ment in the Highlands region have the primary re-
sponsibility for protecting, conserving, preserving, re-
storing and promoting the resources of the Highlands
region.
(12) Because of the longstanding Federal prac-
tice of assisting States in creating, protecting, con-
serving, and restoring areas of significant natural
and cultural importance, and the national signifi-
cance of the Highlands region, the Federal Govern-
ment should, in partnership with the Highlands
States and units of local government in the High-
lands region, protect, restore, and preserve the water,
forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and cultural
resources of the Highlands region.
SEC. 1003. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are as follows:
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(1) To recognize the importance of the water, for-
est, agricultural, wildlife, recreational and cultural
resources of the Highlands, and the national signifi-
cance of the Highlands region to the United States.
(2) To authorize the Secretary of Interior to
work in partnership with the Secretary of Agriculture
to provide financial assistance to the Highlands
States to preserve and protect high priority conserva-
tion lands in the Highlands region.
(3) To continue the ongoing Forest Service pro-
grams in the Highlands region to assist the High-
lands States, local units of government and private
forest and farm landowners in the conservation of
lands and natural resources in the Highlands region.
SEC. 1004. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘‘Highlands
region’’ means the physiographic province, defined by
the Reading Prong and ecologically similar adjacent
upland areas, that encompasses more than 2,000,000
acres extending from eastern Pennsylvania through
the States of New Jersey and New York to north-
western Connecticut.
(2) HIGHLANDS STATE.—The term ‘‘Highlands
State’’ means—
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(6) UPDATE.—The term ‘‘update’’ means the
New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study:
2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service.
SEC. 1005. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS
IN THE HIGHLANDS REGION.
(a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Annually,
the Governors of the Highlands States, with input from per-
tinent units of local government and the public, may jointly
identify land conservation partnership projects in the High-
lands region that shall be proposed for Federal financial
assistance and submit a list of those projects to the Sec-
retary of the Interior.
(b) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary of
the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri-
culture, shall annually submit to Congress a list of those
land conservation partnership projects submitted under
subsection (a) that are eligible to receive financial assist-
ance under this section.
(c) ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.—To be eligible for fi-
nancial assistance under this section for a land conserva-
tion partnership project, a non-Federal entity shall enter
into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior that—
(1) identifies the non-Federal entity that shall
own or hold and manage the land or interest in land;
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(2) identifies the source of funds to provide the
non-Federal share required under subsection (d);
(3) describes the management objectives for the
land that will assure permanent protection and use of
the land for the purpose for which the assistance will
be provided;
(4) provides that, if the non-Federal entity con-
verts, uses, or disposes of the land conservation part-
nership project for a purpose inconsistent with the
purpose for which the assistance was provided, as de-
termined by the Secretary of the Interior, the United
States may seek specific performance of the conditions
of financial assistance in accordance with paragraph
(3) in Federal court and shall be entitled to reim-
bursement from the non-Federal entity in an amount
that is, as determined at the time of conversion, use,
or disposal, the greater of—
(A) the total amount of the financial assist-
ance provided for the project by the Federal Gov-
ernment under this section; or
(B) the amount by which the financial as-
sistance increased the value of the land or inter-
est in land; and
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(5) provides that land conservation partnership
projects will be consistent with areas identified as
having high conservation value in the following:
(A) Important Areas portion of the Forest
Service study.
(B) Conservation Focal Areas portion of the
Forest Service update.
(C) Conservation Priorities portion of the
update.
(D) Lands identified as having higher or
highest resource value in the Conservation Values
Assessment portion of the update.
(d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIREMENT.—The Fed-
eral share of the cost of carrying out a land conservation
partnership project under this section shall not exceed 50
percent of the total cost of the land conservation partnership
project.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior from the general funds of the Treasury or the Land
and Water Conservation Fund to carry out this section
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authorization of
appropriations shall remain available until expended.
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SEC. 1006. FOREST SERVICE AND USDA PROGRAMS IN THE
HIGHLANDS REGION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the land resource
goals of, and the scientific and conservation challenges iden-
tified in, the study, update, and any future study that the
Forest Service may undertake in the Highlands region, the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the
Forest Service and in consultation with the Chief of the
Natural Resource Conservation Service, shall continue to
assist the Highlands States, local units of government, and
private forest and farm landowners in the conservation of
lands and natural resources in the Highlands region.
(b) DUTIES.—The Forest Service shall—
(1) in consultation with the Highlands States,
undertake other studies and research as appropriate
in the Highlands region consistent with the purposes
of this title;
(2) communicate the findings of the study and
update and maintain a public dialogue regarding im-
plementation of the study and update; and
(3) assist the Highland States, local units of gov-
ernment, individual landowners, and private organi-
zations in identifying and using Forest Service and
other technical and financial assistance programs of
the Department of Agriculture.
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(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri-
culture to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2005 through 2014.
SEC. 1007. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION AND LACK OF
REGULATORY EFFECT.
(a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in this
title shall be construed to—
(1) require any private property owner to per-
mit public access (including Federal, State, or local
government access) to such private property; and
(2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or
local law with regard to public access to or use of pri-
vate lands.
(b) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this title shall be construed
to create any liability, or to have any effect on any liability
under any other law, of any private property owner with
respect to any persons injured on such private property.
(c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND
USE.—Nothing in this title shall be construed to modify
any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to reg-
ulate land use.
(d) PARTICIPATION
OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWN-
ERS.—Nothing in this title shall be construed to require the
owner of any private property located in the Highlands re-
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gion to participate in the land conservation, financial, or
technical assistance or any other programs established
under this title.
(e) PURCHASE OF LANDS OR INTERESTS IN LANDS
FROM WILLING SELLERS ONLY.—Funds appropriated to
carry out this title shall be used to purchase lands or inter-
ests in lands only from willing sellers.
TITLE XI—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 1101. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
Section 17 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act
of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 note; Public Law 95313) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 17. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a
program using geospatial and information management
technologies (including remote sensing imaging and deci-
sion support systems) to inventory, monitor, characterize,
assess, and identify forest stands and potential forest stands
on—
‘‘(1) units of the National Forest System; and
‘‘(2) private forest land, with the consent of the
owner of the land.
‘‘(b) MEANS.—The Secretary shall carry out the pro-
gram through the use of—
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‘‘(1) remote sensing technology of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration and the
United States Geological Survey;
‘‘(2) emerging geospatial capabilities in research
activities;
‘‘(3) validating techniques, including coordina-
tion and reconciliation with existing data through
field verification, using application demonstrations;
and
‘‘(4) integration of results into pilot operational
systems.
‘‘(c) ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.—In carrying out the
program, the Secretary shall address issues including—
‘‘(1) early detection, identification, and assess-
ment of environmental threats (including insect, dis-
ease, invasive species, fire, acid deposition, and
weather-related risks and other episodic events);
‘‘(2) loss or degradation of forests;
‘‘(3) degradation of the quality forest stands
caused by inadequate forest regeneration practices;
‘‘(4) quantification of carbon uptake rates;
‘‘(5) management practices that focus on pre-
venting further forest degradation; and
‘‘(6) characterization of vegetation types, density,
fire regimes, post-fire effects, and condition class.
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‘‘(d) EARLY WARNING SYSTEM.—In carrying out the
program, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive early
warning system for potential catastrophic environmental
threats to forests to increase the likelihood that forest man-
agers will be able to—
‘‘(1) isolate and treat a threat before the threat
gets out of control; and
‘‘(2) prevent epidemics, such as the American
chestnut blight in the first half of the twentieth cen-
tury, that could be environmentally and economically
devastating to forests.
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—To carry out this section, the
Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) designate a facility within Forest Service
Region 8 that—
‘‘(A) is best-suited to take advantage of ex-
isting resources to coordinate and carry out the
program through the means described in sub-
section (b); and
‘‘(B) will address the issues described in
subsection (c), with a particular emphasis on
hardwood forest stands in the Eastern United
States; and
‘‘(2) designate a facility in the Ochoco National
Forest headquarters within Forest Service Region 6
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that will address the issues described in subsection (c),
with a particular emphasis on coniferous forest
stands in the Western United States.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.’’.
SEC. 1102. PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT AND
REDUCTION 
OF 
NONNATIVE 
INVASIVE
PLANTS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) INTERFACE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘inter-
face community’’ has the meaning given the term in
the notice published at 66 Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4,
2001) (including any subsequent revision to the no-
tice).
(2) INTERMIX COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘intermix
community’’ has the meaning given the term in the
notice published at 66 Fed. Reg. 751 (January 4,
2001) (including any subsequent revision to the no-
tice).
(3) PLANT.—The term ‘‘plant’’ includes—
(A) a tree;
(B) a shrub; and
(C) a vine.
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(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the
program for emergency treatment and reduction of
nonnative invasive plants established under sub-
section (b)(1).
(5) 
SECRETARIES.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretaries’’
means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
of the Interior, acting jointly.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall establish
a program for emergency treatment and reduction of
nonnative invasive plants to provide to State and
local governments and agencies, conservation districts,
tribal governments, and willing private landowners
grants for use in carrying out hazardous fuel reduc-
tion projects to address threats of catastrophic fires
that have been determined by the Secretaries to pose
a serious threat to—
(A) property;
(B) human life; or
(C) the ecological stability of an area.
(2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Secretaries shall coordinate with such Fed-
eral agencies, State and local governments and agen-
cies, and conservation districts as are affected by
projects under the program.
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(c) ELIGIBLE LAND.—A project under the program
shall—
(1) be carried out only on land that is located—
(A) in an interface community or intermix
community; or
(B) in such proximity to an interface com-
munity or intermix community as would pose a
significant risk in the event of the spread of a
fire disturbance event from the land (including
a risk that would threaten human life or prop-
erty in proximity to or within the interface com-
munity or intermix community), as determined
by the Secretaries;
(2) remove fuel loads determined by the Secre-
taries, a State or local government, a tribal govern-
ment, or a private landowner to pose a serious threat
to—
(A) property;
(B) human life; or
(C) the ecological stability of an area; and
(3) involve the removal of nonnative invasive
plants.
(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available for a
project under the program shall be used only for—
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(1) the removal of plants or other potential fuels
that are—
(A) adjacent to or within the wildland
urban interface; or
(B) adjacent to a municipal watershed,
river, or water course;
(2) the removal of erosion structures that impede
the removal of nonnative plants; or
(3) the replanting of native vegetation to reduce
the reestablishment of nonnative invasive plants in a
treatment area.
(e) REVOLVING FUND.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a grant pro-
vided to a willing owner to carry out a project on
non-Federal land under this section, the owner shall
deposit into a revolving fund established by the Secre-
taries any proceeds derived from the sale of timber or
biomass removed from the non-Federal land under the
project.
(2) USE.—The Secretaries shall use amounts in
the revolving fund to make additional grants under
this section.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
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to carry out this section, to remain available until ex-
pended.
SEC. 1103. USDA NATIONAL AGROFORESTRY CENTER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1243 of the Food, Agri-
culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C.
1642 note; Public Law 101–624) is amended—
(1) by striking the section heading and inserting
the following:
‘‘SEC. 1243. USDA NATIONAL AGROFORESTRY CENTER.’’;
and
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘SEMIARID’’ and inserting
‘‘USDA NATIONAL’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘Semiarid’’ and inserting
‘‘USDA National’’.
(b) PROGRAM.—Section 1243(b) of the Food, Agri-
culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C.
1642 note; Public Law 101–624) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘local governments, community
organizations, the Institute of Tropical Forestry and
the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry of the Forest
Service,’’ after ‘‘entities,’’;
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘on semiarid
lands’’;
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(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘from semiarid
land’’;
(4) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(4) collect information on the design, installa-
tion, and function of forested riparian and upland
buffers to—
‘‘(A) protect water quality; and
‘‘(B) manage water flow;’’;
(5) in paragraphs (6) and (7), by striking ‘‘on
semiarid lands’’ each place it appears;
(6) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(8) provide international leadership in the
worldwide development and exchange of agroforestry
practices;’’;
(7) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘on semiarid
lands’’;
(8) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(9) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) quantify the carbon storage potential of
agroforestry practices such as—
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‘‘(A) windbreaks;
‘‘(B) forested riparian buffers;
‘‘(C) silvopasture timber and grazing sys-
tems; and
‘‘(D) alley cropping; and
‘‘(13) modify and adapt riparian forest buffer
technology used on agricultural land for use by com-
munities to manage stormwater runoff.’’.
SEC. 1104. UPLAND HARDWOODS RESEARCH CENTER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall establish an Upland Hardwood Research Center.
(b) LOCATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall lo-
cate the Research Center in an area that, as determined
by the Secretary of Agriculture, would best use and study
the upland hardwood resources of the Ozark Mountains and
the South.
(c) DUTIES.—The Upland Hardwood Research Center
shall, in conjunction with the Southern Forest Research
Station of the Department of Agriculture—
(1) provide the scientific basis for sustainable
management of southern upland hardwood forests,
particularly in the Ozark Mountains and associated
mountain and upland forests; and
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(2) conduct research in all areas to emphasize
practical application toward the use and preservation
of upland hardwood forests, particularly—
(A) the effects of pests and pathogens on up-
land hardwoods;
(B) hardwood stand regeneration and re-
productive biology;
(C) upland hardwood stand management
and forest health;
(D) threatened, endangered, and sensitive
aquatic and terrestrial fauna;
(E) ecological processes and hardwood eco-
system restoration; and
(F) education and outreach to nonindus-
trial private forest landowners and associations.
(d) RESEARCH.—In carrying out the duties under sub-
section (c), the Upland Hardwood Research Center shall—
(1) cooperate with the Center for Bottomland
Hardwood Research of the Southern Forest Research
Station of the Department of Agriculture, located in
Stoneville, Mississippi; and
(2) provide comprehensive research in the Mid-
South region of the United States, the Upland Forests
Ecosystems Unit of the Southern Forest Research Sta-
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tion of the Department of Agriculture, located in
Monticello, Arkansas.
(e) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.—The
Secretary of Agriculture shall encourage and facilitate the
participation of private landowners in the program under
this section.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$2,500,000 for each fiscal year.
SEC. 1105. EMERGENCY FUEL REDUCTION GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish an emergency fuel reduction grant program under
which the Secretary shall provide grants to State and local
agencies to carry out hazardous fuel reduction projects ad-
dressing threats of catastrophic fire that pose a serious
threat to human life, as determined by the Forest Service.
(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—To be eligible to be carried
out with a grant under the program, a hazardous fuel re-
duction project shall—
(1) be surrounded by or immediately adjacent to
the boundary of a national forest;
(2) be determined to be of paramount urgency,
as indicated by declarations to that effect by both
local officials and the Governor of the State in which
in the project is to be carried out; and
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(3) remove fuel loading that poses a serious
threat to human life, as determined by the Forest
Service.
(c) USES OF GRANTS.—A grant under the program
may be used only—
(1) to remove trees, shrubs, or other potential fuel
adjacent to a primary evacuation route;
(2) to remove trees, shrubs, or other potential fuel
that are adjacent to an emergency response center,
emergency communication facility, or site designated
as a shelter-in-place facility; or
(3) to conduct an evacuation drill or prepara-
tion.
(d) REVOLVING FUND.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a grant under
the program that is used to carry out a project on
private or county land, the grant recipient shall de-
posit in a revolving fund maintained by the Secretary
any proceeds from the sale of timber or biomass as a
result of the project.
(2) USE.—The Secretary shall use amounts in
the revolving fund to make other grants under this
section, without further appropriation.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri-
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culture to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each fiscal
year.
SEC. 1106. EASTERN NEVADA LANDSCAPE COALITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary of Agriculture
and the Secretary of the Interior are authorized to make
grants to the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition for the
study and restoration of rangeland and other lands in Ne-
vada’s Great Basin in order to help assure the reduction
of hazardous fuels and for related purposes.
(2) Notwithstanding sections 6301 through 6308 of
title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management shall enter into a cooperative agreement
with the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition for the Great
Basin Restoration Project, including hazardous fuels and
mechanical treatments and related work.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.
SEC. 1107. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ENHANCED
COMMUNITY FIRE PROTECTION.
It is the sense of Congress to reaffirm the importance
of enhanced community fire protection program, as de-
scribed in section 10A of the Cooperative Forestry Assist-
ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106c) (as added by section
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8003(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act
of 2002 (Public Law 107–171; 116 Stat. 473)).
SEC. 1108. COLLABORATIVE MONITORING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall establish a
collaborative monitoring, evaluation, and accountability
process in order to assess the positive or negative ecological
and social effects of a representative sampling of projects
implemented pursuant to title I and section 404 of this Act.
The Secretaries shall include diverse stakeholders, including
interested citizens and Indian tribes, in the monitoring and
evaluation process.
(b) MEANS.—The Secretaries may collect monitoring
data using cooperative agreements, grants or contracts with
small or micro-businesses, cooperatives, nonprofit organiza-
tions, Youth Conservation Corps work crews or related part-
nerships with State, local, and other non-Federal conserva-
tion corps.
(c) FUNDS.—Funds to implement this section shall be
derived from hazardous fuels operations funds.
SEC. 1109. BEST-VALUE CONTRACTING.
To conduct a project under this Act, the Secretaries
may use best value contracting criteria in awarding con-
tracts and agreements. Best-value contracting criteria
includes—
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(1) the ability of the contractor to meet the eco-
logical goals of the projects;
(2) the use of equipment that will minimize or
eliminate impacts on soils; and
(3) benefits to local communities such as ensur-
ing that the byproducts are processed locally.
SEC. 1110. SUBURBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY AND
OPEN SPACE PROGRAM; FOREST LEGACY
PROGRAM.
(a) SUBURBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY AND OPEN
SPACE PROGRAM.—The Cooperative Forestry Assistance
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 21. SUBURBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY AND
OPEN SPACE PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ means
a State Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee
established under section 19(b).
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible enti-
ty’ means a unit of local government or a nonprofit
organization that—
‘‘(A) the Secretary determines, in accord-
ance with the criteria established under sub-
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section (c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) is eligible to receive a
grant under subsection (c)(2); and
‘‘(B) the State forester, in consultation with
the Committee, determines—
‘‘(i) has the abilities necessary to ac-
quire and manage interests in real prop-
erty; and
‘‘(ii) has the resources necessary to
monitor and enforce any terms applicable
to the eligible project.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible
project’ means a fee purchase, easement, or donation
of land to conserve private forest land identified for
conservation under subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii)(I).
‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b).
‘‘(5) 
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term
‘nonprofit organization’ means any organization that
is—
‘‘(A) described in section 501(c) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and
‘‘(B) exempt from taxation under 501(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
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‘‘(6) PRIVATE FOREST LAND.—The term ‘private
forest land’ means land that is—
‘‘(A) capable of producing commercial forest
products; and
‘‘(B) owned by—
‘‘(i) a private entity; or
‘‘(ii) an Indian tribe.
‘‘(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means the
Suburban and Community Forestry and Open Space
Program established by subsection (b).
‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief
of the Forest Service.
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within
the Forest Service a program to be known as the
‘Suburban and Community Forestry and Open Space
Program’.
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is
to provide assistance to eligible entities to carry out
eligible projects in States in which less than 25 per-
cent of the land is owned by the United States to—
‘‘(A) conserve private forest land and main-
tain working forests in areas threatened by sig-
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nificant suburban sprawl or by conversion to
nonforest uses; and
‘‘(B) provide communities a means by
which to address significant suburban sprawl.
‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE PRIVATE FOR-
EST LAND.—
‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—
‘‘(i) NATIONAL
CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary shall establish national eligibility
criteria for the identification of private for-
est land that may be conserved under this
section.
‘‘(ii) STATE CRITERIA.—The State for-
ester, in consultation with the Committee,
shall, based on the criteria established under
clause (i), and subject to the approval of the
Secretary, establish criteria for—
‘‘(I) the identification, subject to
subparagraph (B), of private forest
land in each State that may be con-
served under this section; and
‘‘(II) the identification of eligible
entities.
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‘‘(B) CONDITIONS
FOR
ELIGIBLE
PRIVATE
FOREST LAND.—Private forest land identified for
conservation under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) shall
be land that—
‘‘(i) is located in a State in which less
than 25 percent of the land is owned by the
United States; and
‘‘(ii) as determined by the State for-
ester, in consultation with the Committee
and 
subject 
to 
the 
approval 
of 
the
Secretary—
‘‘(I) is located in an area that is
affected, or threatened to be affected, by
significant suburban sprawl, taking
into account housing needs in the area;
and
‘‘(II) is threatened by present or
future conversion to nonforest use.
‘‘(2) GRANTS.—
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out
this section, the Secretary shall award com-
petitive grants to eligible entities to carry
out eligible projects.
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‘‘(ii) PUBLIC
ACCESS.—Eligible enti-
ties are encouraged to provide public access
to land on which an eligible project is car-
ried out.
‘‘(B) APPLICATION; STEWARDSHIP PLAN.—
An eligible entity that seeks to receive a grant
under this section shall submit to the State
forester—
‘‘(i) at such time and in such form as
the Secretary shall prescribe, an application
for the grant (including a description of
any private forest land to be conserved
using funds from the grant and a descrip-
tion of the extent of the threat of conversion
to nonforest use); and
‘‘(ii) a stewardship plan that describes
the manner in which—
‘‘(I) any private forest land to be
conserved using funds from the grant
will be managed in accordance with
this section;
‘‘(II) the stewardship plan will be
implemented; and
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‘‘(III) the public benefits to be
achieved from implementation of the
stewardship plan.
‘‘(C) ASSESSMENT OF NEED.—With respect
to an application submitted under subparagraph
(B), the State forester shall—
‘‘(i) assess the need for preserving sub-
urban forest land and open space and con-
taining suburban sprawl in the State, tak-
ing into account the housing needs of the
area in which the eligible project is to be
carried out; and
‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary—
‘‘(I) the application submitted
under subparagraph (B); and
‘‘(II) the assessment of need.
‘‘(D) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to clause
(ii), as soon as practicable after the date on
which the Secretary receives an application
under subparagraph (C)(ii) or a resubmis-
sion under subclause (II)(bb)(BB), the Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(I) review the application; and
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‘‘(II)(aa) award a grant to the
applicant; or
‘‘(bb)(AA) disapprove the applica-
tion; and
‘‘(BB) provide the applicant a
statement that describes the reasons
why the application was disapproved
(including a deadline by which the ap-
plicant may resubmit the application).
‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS; PRIORITY.—In
awarding grants under this section, the Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(I) consider the need for the eli-
gible project based on the assessment of
need submitted under subparagraph
(C) and subject to any criteria under
paragraph (1); and
‘‘(II) give priority to applicants
that propose to fund eligible projects
that promote—
‘‘(aa) the preservation of sub-
urban forest land and open space;
‘‘(bb) the containment of sub-
urban sprawl;
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‘‘(cc) the sustainable manage-
ment of private forest land;
‘‘(dd) 
community 
involve-
ment in determining the objectives
for eligible projects that are fund-
ed under this section; and
‘‘(ee) community and school
education programs and curricula
relating to sustainable forestry.
‘‘(3) COST SHARING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant
awarded under this section to carry out an eligi-
ble project shall not exceed 50 percent of the total
cost of the eligible project.
‘‘(B) ASSURANCES.—As a condition of re-
ceipt of a grant under this section, an eligible
entity shall provide to the Secretary such assur-
ances as the Secretary determines are sufficient
to demonstrate that the share of the cost of each
eligible project that is not funded by the grant
awarded under this section has been secured.
‘‘(C) FORM.—The share of the cost of car-
rying out any eligible project described in sub-
paragraph (A) that is not funded by a grant
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awarded under this section may be provided in
cash or in kind (including a donation of land).
‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS FOR PURCHASES OF LAND
OR EASEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) PURCHASES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), funds made available, and
grants awarded, under this section may be used
to purchase private forest land or interests in
private forest land (including conservation ease-
ments) only from willing sellers at fair market
value.
‘‘(B) SALES AT LESS THAN FAIR MARKET
VALUE.—A sale of private forest land or an in-
terest in private forest land at less than fair
market value shall be permitted only on certifi-
cation by the landowner that the sale is being
entered into willingly and without coercion.
‘‘(2) TITLE.—Title to private forest land or an
interest in private forest land purchased under para-
graph (1) may be held, as determined appropriate by
the Secretary, by—
‘‘(A) a State;
‘‘(B) a unit of local government; or
‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization.