To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to establish a program using geospatial and information management technologies to inventory, monitor, characterize, assess, and identify forest stands and potential forest stands, and for other purposes.

Bill: 108-hr-3566
Sponsor: Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2]
Introduced: 2003-11-20 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Acid rain
Animals
Carbon cycle
Environmental Protection
Exotic animals
Exotic plants
Fire prevention
Forest conservation
Forest fires
Forest health
Forest management
Forestry
Forests, forestry, trees
Geographic information systems
National forests
Non-native species
Oregon
Pest control
Pests
Reforestation
Remote sensing
Science, Technology, Communications
Space activities
Tree diseases
Weather
West (U.S.)

Summary:
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: 
Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to use geospatial and information management technologies (including remote sensing imaging and decision support systems) to inventory, monitor, and identify National Forest System and private (with consent) forest stands. 
 
Directs the Secretary to carry out such program through: (1) remote sensing technology of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey; (2) emerging geospatial capabilities in research activities; (3) validating techniques; and (4) integration of results into pilot operational systems.
 
 Directs the Secretary to address: (1) environmental threats (including insect, disease, invasive species, fire, acid deposition, and weather-related risks and other episodic events); (2) forest degradation, and preventive management practices; and (3) characterization of vegetation types, density, fire regimes, and post-fire effects. Directs the Secretary to designate a facility in the Ochoco National Forest headquarters within Forest Service Region 6 to address such issues, with particular emphasis on coniferous forest stands in the Western United States.
 
 Directs the Secretary develop an early warning system for catastrophic environmental forest threats. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-12-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
action_date: 2003-12-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
action_date: 2003-12-02
text: Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-11-20
text: Introduced in House