Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2018

Bill: 115-hr-4976
Sponsor: Rep. Welch, Peter [D-VT-At Large]
Introduced: 2018-02-07 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Ecology
Fires
Forests, forestry, trees
Indian lands and resources rights
Intergovernmental relations
Land use and conservation
Pest management
Public-private cooperation
State and local government operations
Water quality
Water use and supply
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-07
text: 

Empowering State Forestry to Improve Forest Health Act of 2018

 
This bill amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to direct the Forest Service to establish a landscape-scale restoration program to provide financial and technical assistance for landscape-scale restoration projects on state and private forest lands that maintain or improve benefits from trees and forests on such lands. 
 
The program shall: 
 
 
address the national private forest conservation priorities specified under the Act; and 
 
enhance public benefits from trees and forests, as identified in a state-wide assessment and a long-term state-wide forest resource strategy under the Act.
 
 
The program shall also have one or more objectives, including to:
 
 
protect or improve water quality or quantity;
 
reduce wildfire risk, including through hazardous fuels treatment;
 
protect or enhance wildlife habitat;
 
improve forest health and forest ecosystems, including addressing native, nonnative, and invasive pests; or
 
enhance opportunities for new and existing markets in which the production and use of wood products strengthens local and regional economies. 
 
 
 The Forest Service shall allocate from the amounts made available under this bill:
 
 
50% for the competitive process for distributing funds for landscape-scale restoration projects; and
 
50% proportionally to states to maximize the achievement of the restoration program's objectives and to address the highest national priorities, as identified in state-wide assessments and long-term state-wide forest resource strategies. 
 
 
The bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to allocate funds and use specified authorities of the Department of Agriculture or of the Department of the Interior, as appropriate, to assist cross-boundary hazardous fuel reduction and wildfire mitigation projects. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-03-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
action_date: 2018-02-14
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
action_date: 2018-02-07
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 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: 2018-02-07
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 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: 2018-02-07
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2018-02-07
text: Introduced in House