Northern Forest Stewardship Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Forest Stewardship Act''.

SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS.

    Congress declares as follows:
            (1) The 26,000,000-acre Northern Forest region is an 
        extraordinary resource. The forests in the region are rich in 
        natural resources and values cherished by residents and 
        visitors: timber, fiber, and wood for forest products and 
        energy supporting successful businesses and providing stable 
        jobs for residents; lakes ponds, rivers, and streams unspoiled 
        by pollution or crowding human development; tracts of land for 
        wildlife habitat and recreational use, and protected areas to 
        help preserve the biological integrity of the region. This Act 
        is enacted to advance the goals of the Northern Forest Lands 
        Council and to reaffirm the Council's vision of the Northern 
        Forest as a landscape of interlocking parts and pieces, 
        reinforcing each other: local communities, industrial forest 
        land, family and individual ownerships, small woodlots, 
        recreation land, and public and private conservation land.
            (2) This Act effectuates certain recommendations of the 
        Northern Forest Lands Council that were developed with broad 
        public input and the involvement of Federal, State, and local 
        governments. The actions described in this Act to implement 
        those recommendations are most appropriately directed by the 
        Northern Forest States, with assistance from the Federal 
        Government, as requested by the States. Implementation of the 
        recommendations should be guided by the fundamental principles 
        laid out by the Northern Forest Lands Council report. Those 
        principles provide the foundation for the intent of this Act: 
        to support the primary role of the Northern Forest States in 
        the management of their forests, to protect the traditions of 
        the region, to emphasize the rights and responsibilities of the 
        landowners, and to advance new mechanisms for cooperative 
        conservation of the Northern Forest lands and its resources for 
        future generations.

SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--At the request of the Governor of the State of 
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may 
provide technical assistance for a State-based initiative directed by 
the State, to define the appropriate benchmarks of sustainable forest 
management that address the principles of sustainability, as 
recommended by the Northern Forest Lands Council.
    (b) Principles of Sustainability.--It is the sense of Congress that 
for the purposes of subsection (a), principles of sustainability should 
be based on the principles developed by the Northern Forest Lands 
Council, including--
            (1) maintenance of soil productivity;
            (2) conservation of water quality, wetlands, and riparian 
        zones;
            (3) maintenance or creation of a healthy balance of forest 
        age classes;
            (4) continuous flow of timber, pulpwood, and other forest 
        products;
            (5) improvement of the overall quality of the timber 
        resource as a foundation for more value-added opportunities;
            (6) addressing scenic quality by limiting adverse aesthetic 
        impacts of forest harvesting, particularly in high-elevation 
        areas and vistas;
            (7) conservation and enhancement of habitats that support a 
        full range of native flora and fauna;
            (8) protection of unique or fragile natural areas; and
            (9) continuation of opportunities for traditional 
        recreation.

SEC. 4. NORTHERN FOREST RESEARCH COOPERATIVE.

    At the request of the Governor of the State of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 
through the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station and the Chief of the 
Forest Service) may work with the State, the land grant universities of 
the State, natural resource and forestry schools, other Federal 
agencies, and other interested parties in assisting the State in 
coordinating ecological and economic research, including--
            (1) research on ecosystem health, forest management, 
        product development, economics, and related fields;
            (2) research to help achieve the principles of 
        sustainability described in section 3 as recommended by the 
        Northern Forest Lands Council;
            (3) technology transfer to the wood products industry on 
        efficient processing, pollution prevention, and energy 
        conservation;
            (4) dissemination of existing and new information to 
        landowners, public and private resource managers, State forest 
        citizen advisory committees, and the general public through 
        professional associations, publications, and other information 
        clearinghouse activities; and
            (5) analysis of strategies for the protection of areas of 
        outstanding ecological significance, high biodiversity, and the 
        provision of important recreational opportunities, including 
        strategies for areas identified through State land acquisition 
        planning processes.

SEC. 5. INTERSTATE COORDINATION STRATEGY.

    At the request of the Governors of the States of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service) may make a representative of 
the State and Private Forest Program available to meet with 
representatives of the States to coordinate the implementation of 
Federal and State policy recommendations issued by the Northern Forest 
Lands Council and other policies agreed to by the States.

SEC. 6. LAND CONSERVATION.

    (a) Federal Assistance.--At the request of the Governor of the 
State of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, or New York, the Secretary of 
Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) and the 
Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director of the National 
Park Service and Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service) may provide technical and financial assistance for a State-
managed public land acquisition planning process and land acquisition 
initiatives directed by the State.
    (b) Program Development.--The planning process for a State 
described in subsection (a) shall establish a goal-oriented land 
conservation program that includes--
            (1) identification of, and setting of priorities for the 
        acquisition of, fee or less-than-fee interests in exceptional 
        and important lands, in accordance with criteria that include--
                    (A) places offering outstanding recreational 
                opportunities, including locations for hunting, 
                fishing, trapping, hiking, camping, and other forms of 
                back-country recreation;
                    (B) recreational access to river and lake 
                shorelines;
                    (C) land supporting vital ecological functions and 
                values;
                    (D) habitats for rare, threatened, or endangered 
                natural communities, plants, and wildlife;
                    (E) areas of outstanding scenic value and 
                significant geological features; and
                    (F) working private forest lands that are of such 
                significance or so threatened by conversion that 
                conservation easements should be purchased;
            (2) acquisition of land and interests in land only from 
        willing sellers, with community support consistent with 
        Federal, State, and local laws applicable in each State on the 
        date of enactment of this Act;
            (3) involvement of local governments and landowners in the 
        planning process in a meaningful way that acknowledges their 
        concerns about public land acquisition;
            (4) recognition that zoning, while an important land use 
        mechanism, is not an appropriate substitution for acquisition;
            (5) assurances that unilateral eminent domain will be used 
        only with the consent of the landowner to clear title and 
        establish purchase prices;
            (6) efficient use of public funds by purchasing only the 
        rights necessary to best identify and protect exceptional 
        values;
            (7) consideration of the potential impacts and benefits of 
        land and easement acquisition on local and regional economies;
            (8) consideration of the necessity of including costs of 
        future public land management in the assessment of overall 
        costs of acquisition;
            (9) minimization of adverse tax consequences to 
        municipalities by making funds available to continue to pay 
        property taxes based at least on current use valuation of 
        parcels acquired, payments in lieu of taxes, user fee revenues, 
        or other benefits, where appropriate;
            (10) identification of the potential for exchanging public 
        land for privately held land of greater public value; and
            (11) assurances that any land or interests inland that are 
        acquired are used and managed for their intended purposes.
    (c) Willing Seller.--No Federal funds made available to carry out 
this Act may be expended for acquisition of private or public property 
unless the owner of the property willingly offers the property for 
sale.
    (d) Land Acquisition.--
            (1) Funding.--After completion of the planning process 
        under subsection (b), a Federal and State cooperative land 
        acquisition project under this Act may be carried out with 
        funding provided exclusively by the Federal Government or with 
        funding provided by both the Federal Government and a State 
        government.
            (2) Objectives.--A cooperative land acquisition project 
        funded under this Act shall promote State land conservation 
        objectives that correspond with Federal goals and the 
        recommendations of the Northern Forest Lands Council.
    (e) Complementary Program.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
conduct activities under this section as a complement to the State 
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan for each Northern Forest State in 
existence on the date of enactment of this section.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        under sections 5 and 6 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
        Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-7, 460l-8) such sums as are 
        necessary to carry out the purposes described in this 
        subsection.
            (2) Effect on apportionment.--Apportionment among the 
        States under section 5(b) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(b)) 
        shall be from funds not appropriated under paragraph (1).

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING FEDERAL TAX POLICY.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) certain Federal tax policies work against the long-term 
        ownership, management, and conservation of forest land in the 
        Northern Forest region; and
            (2) Congress and the President should enact additional 
        legislation to address those tax policies as soon as possible.

SEC. 8. LANDOWNER LIABILITY EXEMPTION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) many landowners keep their land open and available for 
        responsible recreation; and
            (2) private lands help provide important forest-based 
        recreation opportunities for the public in the Northern Forest 
        region.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that States and 
other interested persons should pursue initiatives that--
            (1) strengthen relief-from-liability laws to protect 
        landowners that allow responsible public recreational use of 
        their lands;
            (2) update relief-from-liability laws to establish hold-
        harmless mechanisms for landowners that open their land to 
        public use, including provision for payment by the State of the 
        costs of a landowner's defense against personal injury suits 
        and of the costs of repairing property damage and removing 
        litter;
            (3) provide additional reductions in property taxes for 
        landowners that allow responsible public recreational use of 
        their lands;
            (4) provide for purchases by the State of land in fee and 
        of temporary and permanent recreation easements and leases, 
        including rights of access;
            (5) foster State and private cooperative recreation 
        agreements;
            (6) create recreation coordinator and landowner liaison and 
        remote ranger positions in State government to assist in the 
        management of public use of private lands and provide 
        recreation opportunities and other similar services;
            (7) strengthen enforcement of trespass, antilittering, and 
        antidumping laws;
            (8) improve recreation user education programs; and
            (9) improve capacity in State park and recreation agencies 
        to measure recreational use (including types, amounts, 
        locations, and concentrations of use) and identify and address 
        trends in use before the trends create problems.

SEC. 9. NONGAME CONSERVATION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) private landowners often manage their lands in ways 
        that produce a variety of public benefits, including wildlife 
        habitat; and
            (2) there should be more incentives for private landowners 
        to exceed current forest management standards and 
        responsibilities under Federal laws.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress 
should make it a priority to consider legislation that creates a 
funding mechanism to support the conservation of nongame fish and 
wildlife and associated recreation activities on public and private 
lands and does not replace, substitute, or duplicate existing laws that 
support game fish and wildlife.

SEC. 10. WATER QUALITY.

    At the request of the Governor of the State of Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture and 
the Secretary of the Interior, may provide technical and financial 
assistance to assess water quality trends within the Northern Forest 
region.

SEC. 11. RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--At the request of the Governor of the State of 
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, the Secretary of 
Agriculture may provide technical and financial assistance to the 
State, working in partnership with the forest products industry, local 
communities, and other interests to develop technical and marketing 
capacity within rural communities for realizing value-added 
opportunities in the forest products sector.
    (b) Rural Community Assistance Program.--Sufficient funds from the 
rural community assistance program under subsection (a) shall be 
directed to support State-based public and private initiatives to--
            (1) strengthen partnerships between the public and private 
        sectors and enhance the viability of rural communities;
            (2) develop technical capacity in the utilization and 
        marketing of value-added forest products; and
            (3) develop extension capacity in delivering utilization 
        and marketing information to forest-based businesses.

SEC. 12. NO NEW AUTHORITY TO REGULATE LAND USE.

    Nothing in this Act creates new authority in any Federal agency to 
regulate the use of private or public land in any State.

SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11 of this Act and section 
2371 of the Rural Economic Development Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601) in 
the States of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

Summary: Northern Forest Stewardship Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, at the request of the Governor of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, to:  (1) provide technical assistance for sustainable forest management; (2) assist in coordinating ecological and economic research and implementation of interstate and Northern Forest Lands Council policies; (3) provide technical and financial assistance for State conservation land planning and acquisition (authorizes appropriations), and rural community assistance. 
Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding:  (1) the need to address certain tax policies that work against Northern Forest conservation; (2) liability exemption for private landowners who permit public use of their land; and (3) nongame conservation funding. 
Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, at the request of the Governor of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, to provide technical and financial assistance for Northern Forest water quality assessment. 
Authorizes specified appropriations.