101 
(3) adopt a white oak restoration strategy 
that— 
(A) supports the implementation of a 
shared set of science-based restoration and con-
servation activities developed in accordance with 
paragraph (1); 
(B) targets cost effective projects with 
measurable results; and 
(C) maximizes restoration outcomes with 
no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em-
ployees; and 
(4) establish the voluntary grant and technical 
assistance programs in accordance with subsection 
(e). 
(c) COORDINATION.—In establishing the Program 
the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv-
ice, shall consult with— 
(1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 
(A) the Director of the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service; and 
(B) the Chief of the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service; and 
(2) the Governor of each State in which res-
toration efforts will be carried out pursuant to the 
Program.
102 
(d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program in-
clude— 
(1) coordinating restoration and conservation 
activities among Federal, State, local, and Tribal en-
tities and conservation partners to address white oak 
restoration priorities; 
(2) improving and regenerating white oak and 
upland oak forests and the wildlife habitat such for-
ests provide; 
(3) carrying out coordinated restoration and 
conservation activities that lead to the increased 
growth of species of white oak in native white oak 
regions on Federal, State, Tribal, and private land; 
(4) facilitating strategic planning to maximize 
the resilience of white oak systems and habitats 
under changing climate conditions; 
(5) engaging the public through outreach, edu-
cation, and citizen involvement to increase capacity 
and support for coordinated restoration and con-
servation activities for species of white oak; and 
(6) increasing scientific capacity to support the 
planning, monitoring, and research activities nec-
essary to carry out such coordinated restoration and 
conservation activities. 
(e) GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.—
103 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that funds are 
available to carry out this section, the Secretary 
shall establish a voluntary grant and technical as-
sistance program (in this section referred to as the 
‘‘grant program’’) to achieve the purposes of the 
Program described in subsection (d). 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
enter into a cooperative agreement with the Na-
tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this 
subsection referred to as the ‘‘Foundation’’) to 
manage and administer the grant program. 
(B) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations made in advance for such 
purpose, after the Secretary enters into a coop-
erative agreement with the Foundation under 
subparagraph (A), the Foundation shall for 
each fiscal year, receive amounts to carry out 
this subsection in an advance payment of the 
entire amount on October 1, or as soon as prac-
ticable thereafter, of that fiscal year. 
(3) APPLICATION
OF
NATIONAL
FISH
AND 
WILDLIFE
FOUNDATION
ESTABLISHMENT
ACT.— 
Amounts received by the Foundation to carry out 
the grant program shall be subject to the National
104 
Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 
U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 
Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 
(f) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 505. TREE NURSERY SHORTAGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Ag-
riculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 
shall— 
(1) develop and implement a national strategy 
to increase the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, 
and private tree nurseries to address the nationwide 
shortage of tree seedlings; and 
(2) coordinate such strategy with— 
(A) the national reforestation strategy of 
the Forest Service; and 
(B) each regional implementation plan for 
National Forests. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) be based on the best available science and 
data; and 
(2) identify and address—
105 
(A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot 
and container tree seedlings; 
(B) regional reforestation opportunities 
and the seedling supply necessary to fulfill such 
opportunities; 
(C) opportunities to enhance seedling di-
versity and close gaps in seed inventories; and 
(D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or 
creating new infrastructure to increase nursery 
capacity. 
SEC. 506. WHITE OAK RESEARCH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture may 
enter into a memorandum of understanding with a Tribe 
or institution, including a covered land grant college, to 
collaboratively conduct research on— 
(1) white oak genes with resistance or tolerance 
to stress; 
(2) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for the 
purpose of increasing survival and growth; 
(3) establishing a genetically diverse white oak 
seeds bank capable of responding to stressors; 
(4) providing a sustainable supply of white oak 
seedlings and genetic resources; 
(5) improved methods for aligning seed sources 
with the future climate at planting sites;
106 
(6) reforestation of white oak through natural 
and artificial regeneration; 
(7) improved methods for retaining and increas-
ing white oak trees in forests; 
(8) improved methods for reforesting aban-
doned mine land sites; and 
(9) economic and social aspects of white oak 
forest management across land ownerships. 
(b) CONSULT.—In carrying out the research under 
subsection (a), the Tribe or institution, including a cov-
ered land grant college, that enters into the memorandum 
of understanding under such subsection may consult with 
such States, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 
education, and other scientific bodies, as the entity subject 
to such memorandum determines appropriate. 
(c) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(d) COVERED LAND GRANT COLLEGE DEFINED.— 
In this section, the term ‘‘covered land grant college’’ 
means an 1862 Institution, an 1890 Institution, or a 1994 
Institution (as such terms are defined, respectively, in sec-
tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu-
cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)).
107 
SEC. 507. USDA FORMAL INITIATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act-
ing through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva-
tion Service and in coordination with the Chief of the For-
est Service, shall establish a formal initiative on white oak 
to— 
(1) re-establish white oak forests where appro-
priate; 
(2) improve management of existing white oak 
forests to foster natural regeneration of white oak; 
(3) provide technical assistance to private land-
owners to re-establish, improve management of, and 
naturally regenerate white oak; 
(4) improve and expand white oak nursery 
stock; and 
(5) adapt and improve white oak seedlings. 
(b) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 508. AUTHORITIES. 
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall use the 
authorities provided under this title in combination with 
other authorities to carry out projects, including—
108 
(1) good neighbor agreements entered into 
under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 
(16 U.S.C. 2113); and 
(2) stewardship contracting projects entered 
into under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res-
toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591). 
TITLE VI—EXPANSION OF PUB-
LIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 
UNDER WATER SOURCE PRO-
TECTION PROGRAM 
SEC. 601. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 
Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(g)(4)(B)) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re-
spectively; 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 
so redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(1) ADJACENT
LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 
land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 
and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 
same watershed as, National Forest System land on 
which a watershed protection and restoration project 
is carried out under this section.’’; and
109 
(C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 
(L), respectively; and 
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(F) the following: 
‘‘(G) an acequia association; 
‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti-
ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re-
sources or other related water infrastructure; 
‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 
‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti-
ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 
and restoration project under the Program shall be 
designed to— 
‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 
water supply and quality, a municipal or agri-
cultural water supply system, and water-related 
infrastructure;
110 
‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 
insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 
‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur-
poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro-
tection and restoration projects under the Program, 
the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 
would— 
‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as-
sociated with: drought; wildfire; post-wildfire 
conditions; extreme weather; flooding; resilience 
to climate change; and watershed and fire resil-
ience, including minimizing risks to watershed 
health, water supply and quality, and water-re-
lated infrastructure, including municipal and 
agricultural water supply systems; 
‘‘(B) support aquatic restoration and con-
servation efforts that complement existing or 
planned forest restoration or wildfire risk re-
duction efforts; or 
‘‘(C) provide quantifiable benefits to water 
supply or quality and include the use of nature- 
based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 
riparian ecosystems.
111 
‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT 
LAND.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 
may be carried out under this section on adja-
cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 
agrees in writing that the owner is a willing and 
engaged partner in carrying out that project or 
activity. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to authorize any change in— 
‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 
which a project or activity is carried out 
under this section; or 
‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 
on which a project or activity is carried out 
under this section, except during the car-
rying out of that project or activity.’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘with 
end water users’’ and inserting ‘‘with end water 
users to protect and restore the condition of 
National Forest watersheds and adjacent land 
that provide water— 
‘‘(A) to the end water users subject to the 
agreement; or
112 
‘‘(B) for the benefit of another end water 
user.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph 
(D) as subparagraph (E); and 
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(C) the following: 
‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 
into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 
of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) COOPERATION WITH NON-FEDERAL PART-
NERS.—The Secretary shall cooperate with non-Fed-
eral partners in carrying out assessments, planning, 
project design, and project implementation under 
this section.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A water source manage-
ment plan shall be— 
‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco-
logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of
113 
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef-
fect on the date of enactment of this subpara-
graph)); 
‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 
information; and 
‘‘(C) conducted in a manner consistent 
with the forest plan applicable to the National 
Forest System land on which the watershed 
protection and restoration project is carried 
out.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) REDUCING
REDUNDANCY.—An existing 
watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 
restoration action plan developed under section 
304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 
documents as approved by the Secretary may be 
used as the basis for a water source management 
plan under this subsection.’’; and 
(5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘primary 
purpose of’’ and all that follows through the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘primary purpose of ad-
vancing any of the purposes described in subsection 
(b)(2).’’.