In the Senate of the United States,
October 10, 2004.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1964) entitled ‘‘An Act to assist the States of
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in
conserving priority lands and natural resources in the High-
lands region, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the fol-
lowing
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Highlands Conservation
Act’’.
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HR 1964 EAS
(2) HIGHLANDS STATE.—The term ‘‘Highlands
State’’ means—
(A) the State of Connecticut;
(B) the State of New Jersey;
(C) the State of New York; and
(D) the State of Pennsylvania.
(3) 
LAND
CONSERVATION
PARTNERSHIP
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘land conservation partnership
project’’ means a land conservation project—
(A) located in the Highlands region;
(B) identified by the Forest Service in the
Study, the Update, or any subsequent Pennsyl-
vania and Connecticut Update as having high
conservation value; and
(C) in which a non-Federal entity acquires
land or an interest in land from a willing seller
to permanently protect, conserve, or preserve the
land through a partnership with the Federal
Government.
(4) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-Fed-
eral entity’’ means—
(A) any Highlands State; or
(B) any agency or department of any High-
lands State with authority to own and manage
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HR 1964 EAS
land for conservation purposes, including the
Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
(5) STUDY.—The term ‘‘Study’’ means the New
York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study con-
ducted by the Forest Service in 1990.
(6) UPDATE.—The term ‘‘Update’’ means the
New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study:
2002 Update conducted by the Forest Service.
(7) 
PENNSYLVANIA
AND
CONNECTICUT
UP-
DATE.—The term ‘‘Pennsylvania and Connecticut
Update’’ means a report to be completed by the Forest
Service that identifies areas having high conservation
values in the States of Connecticut and Pennsylvania
in a manner similar to that utilized in the Study
and Update.
SEC. 4. LAND CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN
THE HIGHLANDS REGION.
(a) SUBMISSION
OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Each
year, the governors of the Highlands States, with input
from pertinent units of local government and the public,
may—
(1) jointly identify land conservation partner-
ship projects in the Highlands region from land iden-
tified as having high conservation values in the
Study, the Update, or the Pennsylvania and Con-
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HR 1964 EAS
necticut Update that shall be proposed for Federal fi-
nancial assistance; and
(2) submit a list of those projects to the Sec-
retary of the Interior.
(b) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—Each year, the
Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary
of Agriculture, shall submit to Congress a list of the land
conservation partnership projects submitted under sub-
section (a)(2) that are eligible to receive financial assistance
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;
(2) identifies the source of funds to provide the
non-Federal share under subsection (d);
(3) describes the management objectives for the
land that will ensure 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
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HR 1964 EAS
purpose for which the assistance was provided, as de-
termined by the Secretary of the Interior, the United
States—
(A) may seek specific performance of the
conditions of financial assistance in accordance
with paragraph (3) in Federal court; and
(B) shall be entitled to reimbursement from
the non-Federal entity in an amount that is, as
determined at the time of conversion, use, or dis-
posal, the greater of—
(i) the total amount of the financial
assistance provided for the project by the
Federal Government under this section; or
(ii) the amount by which the financial
assistance increased the value of the land or
interest in land; and
(5) provides that land conservation partnership
projects will be consistent with areas identified as
having high conservation value in—
(A) the Important Areas portion of the
Study;
(B) the Conservation Focal Areas portion of
the Update;
(C) the Conservation Priorities portion of
the Update;
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HR 1964 EAS
(D) land identified as having higher or
highest resource value in the Conservation Values
Assessment portion of the Update; and
(E) land identified as having high conserva-
tion value in the Pennsylvania and Connecticut
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 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2014,
to remain available until expended.
SEC. 5. FOREST SERVICE AND USDA PROGRAMS IN THE
HIGHLANDS REGION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—To meet the land resource goals of,
and the scientific and conservation challenges identified in,
the Study, Update, and any future study that the Forest
Service may undertake in the Highlands region, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service and in consultation with the Chief of the National
Resources Conservation Service, shall continue to assist the
Highlands States, local units of government, and private