(4) MICRO-ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘‘micro-en-
terprise’’ means a non-subsidiary business or cooper-
ative employing five or fewer people.
(5) NATIONAL
FIRE
PLAN.—The term ‘‘Na-
tional Fire Plan’’ means the plans, strategies,
projects, and activities of the Secretary concerned to
respond to adverse impacts on communities and the
environment from wildfires on Federal public lands,
which are based on and reflect the following:
(A) The report of the Secretary of Agri-
culture and the Secretary of the Interior enti-
tled ‘‘Managing the Impact of Wildfires on
Communities and the Environment’’, dated
September 8, 2000.
(B) Congressional direction accompanying
appropriations to the Department of Agri-
culture and the Department of the Interior for
wildland fire management for fiscal year 2001
and subsequent years.
(6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The ‘‘Secretary
concerned’’ means—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture or the ap-
propriate Federal land manager with respect to
the Federal lands described in paragraph
(2)(A); and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior or the ap-
propriate Federal land manager with respect to
the Federal lands described in paragraph
(2)(B).
(7) SMALL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘‘small en-
terprise’’ means a non-subsidiary business or cooper-
ative employing between 6 and 150 people.
(8) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term
‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ means a geographic area
in which—
(A) homes and other structures are within
one-quarter mile of, or intermixed with, Federal
lands containing flammable vegetation;
(B) the conditions on such lands are con-
ducive to wildfire; and
(C) there is a significant probability of a
fire ignition and a resulting spread of the wild-
fire.
SEC. 3. RESERVATION OF NATIONAL FIRE PLAN FUNDS
FOR WILDFIRE CONTROL EFFORTS ON FED-
ERAL LANDS IN WILDLAND-URBAN INTER-
FACE.
Of the total funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to the Secretary concerned to implement the Na-
tional Fire Plan in a fiscal year, the Secretary concerned
shall expend not less than 85 percent of the funds to plan
and carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects and other
wildfire control efforts on Federal lands in the wildland-
urban interface.
SEC. 4. COMMUNITY AND PRIVATE LAND WILDFIRE ASSIST-
ANCE.
(a) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of
Agriculture shall make grants to States and Indian tribes
for the purpose of—
(1) promoting optimal firefighting efficiency at
the Federal, State, Indian tribe, and local levels in
the wildland-urban interface;
(2) augmenting Federal projects under the Na-
tional Fire Plan that establish landscape level pro-
tection from wildfires;
(3) expanding outreach and education programs
to homeowners and communities about fire preven-
tion; and
(4) establishing space around homes and prop-
erty of private landowners that is defensible against
wildfires.
(b) ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.—The
grant funds shall be administered, and projects using such
funds shall be implemented, by State foresters or equiva-
lent State officials or, in the case of a grant to an Indian
tribe, an appropriate representative of the Indian tribe.
(c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—The grant funds pro-
vided by the Secretary of Agriculture to a State or Indian
tribe shall be used to undertake on non-Federal lands in
the wildland-urban interface—
(1) fuel hazard mitigation and prevention;
(2) invasive species management;
(3) multiresource wildfire planning;
(4) community protection planning;
(5) community and landowner education enter-
prises, including the program known as FIREWISE;
and
(6) special restoration projects.
(d) CONSENT REQUIRED.—Activities undertaken on
non-Federal lands shall be undertaken only with the con-
sent of the owner of the lands.
(e) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS.—Funds ap-
propriated or otherwise made available to carry out this
section for a fiscal year shall be distributed by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture to each State and Indian tribe in
an amount that bears the same relationship to the total
funds available as the population of communities at risk
to wildlife in the State or area under the jurisdiction of
the Indian tribe, as determined by the Secretary, bears
to the total population of all communities at risk.
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
of Agriculture to carry out this section a total of
$1,500,000,000 during the five-fiscal year period begin-
ning October 1, 2002.
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON MAXIMUM DIAMETER OF LIVING
TREES THAT MAY BE CUT.
(a) LIMITATIONS REQUIRED.—To ensure that funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to implement the
National Fire Plan or to make grants under section 4 are
used to actually reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire
in the wildland-urban interface, rather than increase the
harvest of valuable timber, the Secretary concerned shall
adopt and enforce regulations that limit the diameter of
trees that may be removed as part of any hazardous fuels
reduction project or other wildfire control effort funded
in whole or in part using National Fire Plan funds or
grant funds under section 4.
(b) BASIS FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall develop the regulations required by subsection
(a) using the recommendations contained in a study, to
be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, re-
garding diameter limitations based on tree species and for-
est types. The National Academy of Sciences shall include
specific recommendations in the study for the content of
the regulations.
(c) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary concerned may
grant an exception to a diameter limitation adopted under
subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that extraor-
dinary circumstances exist requiring the removal of a tree
that exceeds the limitation to ensure public safety.
(d) TIME
PERIOD
FOR
IMPLEMENTATION.—The
study required by subsection (b) shall be completed and
submitted to the Secretary within eight months after the
date of the enactment of this Act. As soon as possible after
receipt of the study, the Secretary concerned shall publish
in the Federal Register the notice of proposed rule making
under this section and otherwise comply with the require-
ments of section 553 of title 5, United States Code. Within
eight months after the receipt of the study, the final regu-
lations shall be issued. The regulations shall apply to haz-
ardous fuels reduction projects and other wildfire control
efforts beginning on or after October 1, 2003, and funded
in whole or in part using National Fire Plan funds or
grant funds under section 4.
SEC. 6. FOREST RESTORATION AND VALUE-ADDED CEN-
TERS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary concerned may
provide cost-share grants, cooperative agreements, or both
to establish Restoration and Value-Added Centers in order
to improve the implementation of collaborative, commu-
nity-based restoration projects on Federal lands.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Centers shall provide
technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, existing
small enterprises or micro-enterprises or individuals inter-
ested in creating a natural-resource related small enter-
prise or micro-enterprise in the following areas—
(1) restoration, and
(2) processing techniques for the byproducts of
restoration and value-added manufacturing.
(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Centers shall
provide technical assistance in—
(1) using the latest, independent peer reviewed,
scientific information and methodology to accomplish
restoration and ecosystem health objectives,
(2) workforce training for value-added manufac-
turing and restoration,
(3) marketing and business support for con-
servation-based small enterprises and micro-enter-
prises,
(4) accessing urban markets for small enter-
prises and micro-enterprises located in rural commu-
nities,
(5) developing technology for restoration and
the use of products resulting from restoration,
(6) accessing funding from government and
non-government sources, and
(7) development of economic infrastructure in-
cluding collaborative planning, proposal development,
and grant writing where appropriate.
(d) LOCATIONS.—The Secretaries shall ensure that—
(1) the Centers are located in the Forest Serv-
ice regions with the highest percentage of forested
land designated as condition class 3; and
(2) each Center is easily accessible to rural
communities that are adjacent to, or surrounded by,
Federal lands in the region.
(e) PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Sec-
retary concerned may enter into partnerships and coopera-
tive agreements with other Federal agencies or other orga-
nizations, including local nonprofit organizations, con-
servation groups, or community colleges in creating and
maintaining the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.
(2) The appropriate Regional Forester and State Bu-
reau of Land Management Director shall issue a request
for proposals to create a Restoration and Value-Added
Center. The Regional Forester and State Bureau of Land
Management Director shall select a proposal with input
from existing Resource and Technical Advisory Commit-
tees where appropriate.
(f) COST-SHARING.—(1) The Secretary concerned
shall provide cost-share grants, cooperative agreements, or
both equaling 75 percent of each Restoration and Value-
Added Center’s operating costs, including business plan-
ning, not to exceed $1,000,000 annually per Center.
(2) After a Restoration and Value-Added Center has
operated for five years, the Secretary concerned shall as-
sess the Center’s performance and begin to reduce, by 25
percent annually, the level of Federal funding for the cen-
ter’s operating costs.
(g) NOTICE.—Within 30 days of approving a grant
or cooperative agreement to establish a Restoration and
Value-Added Center, the Secretary shall notify the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate
and the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives and identify the recipient of the grant award
or cooperative agreement.
(h) REPORT.—No later than five years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall
submit a report to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources
of the House of Representatives assessing the Restoration
and Value-Added Centers. The report shall include—
(1) descriptions of the organizations receiving
assistance from the Centers, including their geo-
graphic and demographic distribution;
(2) a summary of the projects the technical as-
sistance recipients implemented; and
(3) an estimate of the number of non-profit or-
ganizations, small enterprises, micro-enterprises, or
individuals assisted by the Restoration and Value-
Added Centers.
SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF RECEIPTS.
Any moneys collected as a result of a hazardous fuels
reduction project or other wildfire control effort funded
in whole or in part using National Fire Plan funds or
grant funds under section 4 shall be deposited in the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury. Such receipts shall not be con-
sidered to be moneys received from the National Forest
System or other Federal lands under any other provision
of law.
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