[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1042 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1042
To authorize collaborative forest restoration and wildland fire hazard
mitigation projects on National Forest System lands and other public
and private lands, to improve the implementation of the National Fire
Plan, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2003
Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Udall of New Mexico)
introduced the following bill; which was 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize collaborative forest restoration and wildland fire hazard
mitigation projects on National Forest System lands and other public
and private lands, to improve the implementation of the National Fire
Plan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) Short Title.-- This Act may be cited as the ``Forest
Restoration and Fire Risk Reduction Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Transition.
Sec. 6. Cooperative program for hazardous fuel reduction projects.
Sec. 7. Selection process for hazardous fuels reduction projects.
Sec. 8. Monitoring and evaluation requirements.
Sec. 9. Administrative procedures under cooperative community
protection and forest restoration program.
Sec. 10. Special Department of Agriculture administrative appeals
process for hazardous fuels reduction
projects.
Sec. 11. Forest restoration and homeowner assistance program and
projects.
Sec. 12. Forest Restoration and Value-added Centers.
Sec. 13. Competitive service hiring preference for graduates of
certified youth service or conservation
corps.
Sec. 14. Research and training.
Sec. 15. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) More than a century of intensive fire suppression,
logging, livestock grazing, and urban development has altered
the natural fire regimes of some forested Federal public lands.
(2) One aspect of this altered ecological dynamic is the
presence of many dense tree stands characterized by small
diameter trees and excessive fuel buildups on the forest floor.
These conditions reduce biodiversity, provide fewer benefits to
human communities, wildlife, and watersheds, and pose an
increased risk of catastrophic wildfires that can destroy or
seriously damage both human and natural resources.
(3) Unnaturally severe wildfires on highly erodible soils
can result in disastrous flood events and sediment deposition
if such a fire is followed by heavy rains. This combination of
events poses a particular threat to communities that rely on
municipal drinking water supply facilities located on Federal
public lands or that rely on water flowing from these lands.
(4) Healthy and productive forested watersheds minimize the
threat of unnaturally high-intensity wildfires, provide
abundant and diverse wildlife habitat, and produce a variety of
products or benefits, including clean water.
(5) The risk of damage to human life and property from
unnaturally severe wild fires is greatly increased in areas
where rapidly expanding urban populations are intermingled with
forested wildlands, and a primary purpose of the National Fire
Plan is to reduce the risk of such wild fires in these areas,
known as the ``wildland/urban interface''.
(6) Restoration efforts are more successful when there is
involvement from Federal and State land managers, as well as
neighboring communities and other interested persons, when
projects are prioritized in high-risk areas where municipal
water supplies and human lives and property are threatened, and
when both decisions and implementation activities are carried
out across ownership boundaries.
(7) Designing demonstration restoration projects through a
collaborative approach may contribute to the development of
cost-effective restoration activities, empower diverse
organizations to implement activities that value local and
traditional knowledge, build ownership and civic pride, and
ensure healthy, diverse, and productive forests and watersheds.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To reduce the risks to human life and property and
municipal drinking water supplies from large, high-intensity
wildfires on forested lands.
(2) To refocus the implementation of the National Fire Plan
to the areas of highest risk to people, property, and water
supplies by redirecting the National Fire Plan funding and
hazardous fuels reduction projects through State-established
project selection panels.
(3) To improve communication and joint-problem solving
among Federal, State, and local land managers, as well as other
individuals and groups who are interested in reducing the risk
of unnaturally severe wildfires and restoring the diversity of
forested lands.
(4) To encourage sustainable communities and sustainable
forests through collaborative partnerships focused on forest
restoration and reducing the risk of unnaturally severe
wildfires.
(5) To develop, demonstrate, and evaluate ecologically
sound forest restoration techniques and to assist in carrying
out forest restoration projects.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means--
(A) National Forest System lands; and
(B) public lands administered by the Secretary of
the Interior acting through the Bureau of Land
Management.
(2) Hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction project'' means a project--
(A) undertaken for the purpose of reducing the
amount of hazardous fuels resulting from alteration of
a natural fire regime as a result of fire suppression
or other activities or from insect infestation; and
(B) accomplished through the use of prescribed
burning or mechanical treatment.
(3) Inventoried roadless areas.--The term ``inventoried
roadless areas'' means the areas identified in a set of
inventoried roadless area maps contained in the Forest Service
Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact
Statement, Volume 2, dated November 2000.
(4) Municipal water supply system.--The term ``municipal
water supply system'' means the dams, reservoirs, canals,
ditches, flumes, laterals, pipes, pipelines, or other surface
facilities and systems constructed or installed for the
impoundment, storage, transportation, or distribution of
drinking water for a community.
(5) National fire plan.--The term ``National 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
lands, which are based on and reflect--
(A) the report of the Secretary of Agriculture and
the Secretary of the Interior entitled ``Managing the
Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the
Environment'', dated September 8, 2000; and
(B) congressional direction accompanying
appropriations to the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of the Interior for wildland fire management
for fiscal year 2001 and subsequent years.
(6) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture (or the designee
of the Secretary) with respect to National Forest
System lands; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior (or the designee
of the Secretary) with respect to public lands
administered by the Secretary through the Bureau of
Land Management.
(7) Stakeholder.--The term ``stakeholder'' includes forest
landowners, local communities and political leaders, tribal
governments, local volunteer firefighters, conservation
organizations, educational institutions, and other interested
public and private entities.
(8) Wilderness study area.--The term ``Wilderness Study
Area'' means--
(A) a portion of the Federal lands that is
designated as suitable for wilderness in a land and
resources management plan; or
(B) other Federal lands that are managed so as not
to impair the suitability of such lands for
preservation as wilderness through inclusion in the
National Wilderness Preservation System.
(9) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' means a geographic area designated by the Secretary
concerned as an area--
(A) that is within or adjacent to an interface
community or intermix community, as those terms are
defined on page 753 of volume 66 of the Federal
Register, as published on January 4, 2001;
(B) on which conditions are conducive to large-
scale fire disturbance events; and
(C) for which a significant risk exists of a
resulting spread of the fire disturbance event, after
ignition, which would threaten human life and property.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION.
(a) Implementation.--No hazardous fuels reduction project shall be
planned or carried out by the Secretary concerned under the National
Fire Plan unless the project is planned and carried out pursuant to
this Act.
(b) Exception for Ongoing Projects.--This Act shall not apply to a
hazardous fuels reduction project for which analysis required pursuant
to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et
seq.) has been completed on or before the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE PROGRAM FOR HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION PROJECTS.
(a) Cooperative Community Protection and Forest Restoration
Program.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary concerned shall establish
a cooperative community protection and forest restoration
program under the National Fire Plan to make cost-share grants
to enable stakeholders to participate with the Secretary
concerned in planning and carrying out hazardous fuels
reduction projects that--
(A) are conducted in the wildland-urban interface
or to protect municipal water supply systems;
(B) are designed, implemented, and monitored
through a collaborative process that includes a diverse
and balanced group of stakeholders, as well as
appropriate Federal, tribal, State and local government
representatives;
(C) create local employment or training
opportunities within the context of accomplishing
restoration objectives that are consistent with the
purposes of this Act; and
(D) satisfy the other requirements specified in
subsection (d).
(2) Cross-boundary projects and participation.--Except as
otherwise provided in this section, hazardous fuels reduction
projects under the program may be carried out entirely on, or
involve any combination of, Federal lands, tribal lands, State
or local government lands, or private forest lands.
Prioritization, decisionmaking, and implementation of approved
hazardous fuels reduction projects should be on a cross-
boundary, landscape-scale basis, with both State and Federal
land managers able to act as agents of the other parties to the
project.
(3) Administration.--A grant made under the program shall
be administered by the appropriate State Forester, in
cooperation with the Secretary concerned in the same manner as
grants made pursuant to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act
of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).
(4) Cost-share requirements.--The Federal share of the cost
of a hazardous fuels reduction project under the program shall
not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the project. The
required 20 percent matching funds may be provided in the form
of cash or in-kind contributions.
(b) Exclusion of Certain Federal Lands.--A hazardous fuels
reduction project under the program shall not be conducted on the
following Federal lands:
(1) A component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System.
(2) Federal lands where, by Act of Congress, Presidential
proclamation, or applicable land and resource management plan,
the removal of vegetation is prohibited or restricted.
(3) Wilderness Study Areas.
(4) Inventoried Roadless Areas.
(c) Tree Removal and Thinning Limitations.--In conducting a
hazardous fuels reduction project under the program, if the Federal
lands to be treated by the project contain fire resistant, pre-fire-
exclusion old or large trees, the Secretary concerned shall limit the
number and size of the trees to be removed so as to maintain as nearly
as possible an ecologically optimum number of such trees, as determined
by the Secretary concerned on a project-by-project basis, appropriate
for each ecosystem type. The Secretary concerned shall also emphasize
the removal of small-diameter trees and thinning from below for the
project.
(d) Other Eligibility Requirements.--
(1) Objectives.--To be an eligible hazardous fuels
reduction project under the program, the project shall address
the following objectives:
(A) Reduce the threat of large, high-intensity
wildfires in the area of the project and the negative
effects of excessive competition between trees by
restoring ecosystem functions, structures, and species
composition, including the reduction of nonnative
species populations and the retention of old or large
native-species trees.
(B) Reestablish fire regimes approximating those
that shaped forest ecosystems prior to intensive fire
suppression.
(C) Improve the ability of State and local fire
departments to safely and effectively perform initial
fire control in the area of the project.
(D) Mitigate areas at high risk for flood, erosion,
or sediment damage following a wildland fire,
rehabilitate areas that have experienced such fire-
related damage, or both.
(E) Where appropriate, improve the use of, or add
value to, small diameter trees.
(2) Compliance with environmental laws.--The planning and
implementation of a hazardous fuels reduction project under the
program shall comply with all applicable Federal and State
environmental laws and incorporate current scientific forest
restoration information.
(3) Assessment requirements.--Each hazardous fuels
reduction project under the program shall include a multiparty
assessment--
(A) to identify both the existing ecological
condition of the proposed project area and the desired
future condition; and
(B) to evaluate, upon project completion, the
positive or negative impact and effectiveness of the
project.
(e) Annual Workshop.--Each stakeholder that desires to participate
in a hazardous fuels reduction project under the program shall enter
into an agreement to attend an annual workshop with other stakeholders
for the purpose of discussing the program and the hazardous fuels
reduction projects implemented under the program. The Secretary
concerned shall coordinate and fund the annual workshop, and
stakeholders may use a portion of the funds provided for projects under
the program to pay for travel and per diem expenses to attend the
workshop.
(f) Report.--Not later than five years after the end of the first
fiscal year in which funding is made available for the program, 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 containing an assessment on whether, and
to what extent, the hazardous fuel reduction projects funded under the
program are meeting the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 7. SELECTION PROCESS FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.
(a) Determination of Project Funding Priorities.--Prior to the
selection of hazardous fuels reduction projects under section 6, the
State Forester and Regional Forester, and the State Forester and State
Director of the Bureau of Land Management, of each State in which such
projects will be conducted shall meet with the technical advisory panel
for the State established in subsection (c) to determine priorities for
project funding.
(b) Selection of Proposals to Be Funded.--
(1) Recommendations.--After consulting with the technical
advisory panels for a State, the State Forester, Regional
Forester, and State Director of the Bureau of Land Management
shall jointly submit to the Secretary concerned recommendations
regarding priority hazardous fuels reduction projects that
should be funded under section 6.
(2) Selection.--Based on the recommendations received under
paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall then select the
hazardous fuels reduction project proposals to be funded under
section 6.
(3) Priorities.--The Secretary concerned shall give
priority to hazardous fuels reduction projects that can be
conducted across ownership boundaries for the benefit of a
larger landscape or watershed.
(c) Technical Advisory Panel.--
(1) Panel required; purpose.--The Secretary concerned shall
convene a technical advisory panel for each State in which
hazardous fuels reduction projects will be conducted under
section 6 for the purpose of setting protection and restoration
priorities, evaluating all proposed projects, and providing
recommendations under subsection (a). The Secretary concerned
shall establish the procedures through which each panel will
develop its recommendations.
(2) Administration.--The technical advisory panel for a
State shall be jointly administered by the State Forester and
the Regional Forester, in the case of panels convened by the
Secretary of Agriculture, or the State Forester and the State
Director of the Bureau of Land Management, in the case of
panels convened by the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) Composition.--Each technical advisory panel shall be
composed of 10 to 13 members appointed by the Secretary
concerned from persons recommended by the respective State
Forester and Regional Forester or State Director of the Bureau
of Land Management.
(4) Required members.--At a minimum, the technical advisory
panel for a State shall include the following members:
(A) An official of the natural resource department
of the State or an equivalent State agency.
(B) Two representatives from Federal land
management agencies.
(C) One tribal representative, if the State
includes at least one federally-recognized Indian
tribe.
(D) One representative of the State's local fire
departments.
(E) Two independent scientists with experience in
forest ecosystem restoration.
(F) An equal number of representatives from each of
the following:
(i) One or more recognized conservation
organizations.
(ii) Local communities.
(iii) Local commodity interests.
SEC. 8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Multi-Party Process.-- The Secretary concerned shall establish
a multiparty monitoring and evaluation process in order to assess the
cumulative accomplishments or adverse impacts of hazardous fuels
reduction projects conducted under section 6. To the extent
practicable, the Secretary concerned shall include any interested
individual or organization in the monitoring and evaluation process.
(b) Department Monitoring.--The Secretary concerned also shall
conduct a monitoring program to assess the short- and long-term
ecological effects of the hazardous fuels reduction projects conducted
under section 6. The monitoring of a project shall be performed for a
minimum of 15 years.
SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES UNDER COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY
PROTECTION AND FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM.
(a) Scoping.--In accordance with applicable regulations and
administrative guidelines in effect on January 1, 2003, the Secretary
concerned shall conduct scoping for each hazardous fuel reduction
project involving Federal lands to be conducted under section 6.
Scoping shall include an opportunity for public participation.
(b) Public Meeting.--Upon completion of the scoping for a hazardous
fuel reduction project involving Federal lands, the Secretary concerned
shall conduct a public meeting at an appropriate location with respect
to the project.
SEC. 10. SPECIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS
PROCESS FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.
(a) Applicability.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the
following administrative appeal process to consider appeals regarding
hazardous fuels reduction projects to be conducted on National Forest
System lands under section 6.
(b) Documents.--
(1) Complete and availability.--Under this administrative
appeal process, the environmental analysis document, analysis
file, and decision document for a hazardous fuels reduction
project shall be complete and available for public review once
notice of the decision document is provided in the local paper
of record. The Secretary of Agriculture shall seek to make
these documents as widely available as possible, through
posting on the Internet and in other ways.
(2) Revision.--Except as provided in this section, the
environmental analysis document, analysis file, and decision
document may not be revised after it is made available to the
public unless the Secretary of Agriculture provides new public
notice and recommences the time limits specified in this
subsection for the project.
(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to appeal a hazardous fuels
reduction project under this administrative appeal process, a person
must have submitted written comments during the preparation stage of
the project on an issue specifically related to the project for which
the appeal is sought. For purposes of this subsection, a written
comment includes a comment sent by e-mail or facsimile.
(d) Submission of Notice of Intent to Appeal.--
(1) Time for submission.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall give eligible persons a 10-day period, beginning on the
date the signed decision document for a hazardous fuels
reduction project is made available to the public, during which
to submit written notice of an intent to appeal the decision.
Notice submitted after the end of such period shall not be
accepted. For purposes of this paragraph, a written notice
includes a notice submitted by e-mail or facsimile, and written
notice submitted by mail shall be considered to have been
submitted on the date shown by a postmark or other evidence of
the date on which it was mailed.
(2) Effect of failure to timely submit.--If no valid notice
of appeal is submitted within the required period, the
hazardous fuels reduction project shall not be subject to
appeal under this administrative appeal process or any other
provision of law, and the decision document shall be considered
the final agency decision.
(e) Filing of Appeal.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall give an
eligible person who timely submits the notice of intent to appeal with
regard to a hazardous fuels reduction project a 15-day period during
which to file the administrative appeal. This period shall begin at the
end of the 10-day period required by subsection (d), not on the day the
person actually submitted the notice.
(f) Stay of Action.--Upon the timely submission of a notice of an
intent to appeal a hazardous fuels reduction project under subsection
(d), the Secretary of Agriculture shall take no action to implement the
hazardous fuels reduction project until the completion of the appeal
process and any judicial review of the project, unless the person
submitting a notice of intent fails to timely file the administrative
appeal under subsection (e).
(g) Time for Review.--Upon receipt of the administrative appeal
with regard to a hazardous fuels reduction project, the appeals officer
shall consider and render a decision on the appeal within 25 days.
(h) Handling of Appeals.--
(1) Negotiations authorized.--The appeals officer may enter
into negotiations with the appellant and other interested
persons who filed comments during the preparation stage of the
hazardous fuels reduction project subject to the review. Any
decision document resulting from the negotiations shall be
considered the final agency decision.
(2) New decision document.--The appeals officer may sign a
new decision document correcting errors or otherwise modifying
the decision document or may remand the case for further
proceedings. If the appeals officer signs a new decision
document, the appeals officer shall supplement the record with
explanatory analysis and documentation. The new decision
document shall be considered the final agency decision.
(3) Extension of time periods.--In order to facilitate
negotiations, or for any other reason considered appropriate by
the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary may extend either
or both of the periods specified in subsections (d) and (e) for
submission of a notice of intent to appeal and for filing of an
appeal.
(i) Relation to Existing Authority.--Any provision of section 322
of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note), that is
inconsistent with the process established by this section shall not
apply to a hazardous fuels reduction project covered by this Act.
SEC. 11. FOREST RESTORATION AND HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND
PROJECTS.
(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior (in this section referred to as the
``Secretaries'') shall jointly establish a program to identify and
carry out projects to implement this section on the Federal lands and,
subject to subsections (c) and (d), certain non-Federal lands.
(b) Authorized Project Activities.--Projects identified and
implemented under the program are limited to one or more of the
following activities:
(1) Erosion control and restoration of healthy, properly
functioning watersheds, including meadows, upslope areas,
riparian and floodplain areas, stream channels, and wetlands.
(2) Activities to implement a recovery plan for a
threatened or endangered species.
(3) Road and trail assessments and plans and the
maintenance, obliteration, or closure of roads and trails.
(4) Wildlife and fish habitat management activities
designed to restore native species and their habitats.
(5) Monitoring, including multiparty monitoring, of the
implementation and effectiveness of the projects.
(6) Watershed analysis, including resource conditions and
trend assessments.
(7) Restoration job training and the support of existing,
and the creation of new, micro- and small enterprises related
to restoration and the utilization and marketing of by-products
derived from the projects.
(8) Activities to ensure compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.).
(9) Ecologically appropriate actions for the control and
removal of noxious and invasive species.
(10) Reimbursement of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service for the costs
of carrying out their responsibilities under section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1536) related to
consultation and conference in connection with the projects.
(11) Assisting the owners of eligible residences to reduce
the risk of damage to such residences and appurtenant
structures from wild fires on adjacent lands.
(c) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) Projects on non-federal land.--The Secretaries may
enter into cooperative agreements with State and local
governments, tribal governments, private and nonprofit
entities, and landowners for protection, restoration, and
enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources on
public or private lands, or both, that benefit these resources
within a watershed.
(2) Cost-sharing requirement.--If funds provided under this
section are expended on a project conducted in whole or part on
non-Federal lands, the Federal share of the project's total
costs shall not exceed 70 percent.
(d) Homeowner Assistance.--
(1) Eligibility requirements.--Funds provided pursuant to a
cooperative agreement under subsection (c) may be expended to
reduce the likelihood of damage from fire to a residence
located in the wildland-urban interface, or to a structure
appurtenance to such a residence, if the Secretary concerned
determines that such a residence is vulnerable to damage from a
wildfire originating on adjacent lands.
(2) Applicability of other provisions.--Subsections (e)
through (i) shall not apply to a project under this section
involving only the provision of assistance under this
subsection.
(3) Implementation criteria.--The Secretaries, in
consultation with the State Foresters, shall develop criteria
for implementation of this subsection in order to achieve the
most effective and efficient use of Federal funds.
(e) Monitoring.--
(1) Multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability
process.--The Secretaries shall establish a multiparty
monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process in order to
assess the ecological, social, and economic impacts of projects
conducted under the program. A project may not be implemented,
in whole or in part, under the program until the Secretaries
reserve sufficient funds to ensure that the multiparty
monitoring and evaluation required by this subsection will be
performed with respect to the project.
(2) Monitoring report.--The Secretaries shall complete a
detailed monitoring report for each project conducted under the
program that evaluates whether the project was properly
implemented and was effective in accomplishing restoration
objectives, whether the assumptions that went into the
project's design were valid, and whether funding amounts and
sources were sufficient. The monitoring report shall provide
for validation monitoring and include an assessment and
identification of the following:
(A) Whether or not the project met desired
ecological conditions, including soils, water, and
native fish and wildlife, and used low-impact
equipment.
(B) Whether or not the project created high-skill,
long-duration employment or training opportunities for
local crews, small or micro-enterprises, underserved
communities, or mobile workers, including whether or
not the project created, or used existing, natural-
resource related small or micro-enterprises.
(C) The duration of each contract used to implement
the project; the average wage received by persons
implementing the contract, and the name and size of the
entity that secured the contract.
(D) An overall assessment of the positive or
negative impact and effectiveness of the project.
(3) Annual report.--The Secretaries shall submit an annual
report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives detailing the information identified pursuant
to this subsection.
(4) Collection and compilation of data.--The Secretaries
shall ensure that monitoring data is collected and compiled in
a way that the general public can easily access. The
Secretaries may collect the data using cooperative agreements,
grants, or contracts with small or micro-enterprises, or Youth
Conservation Corps work crews or related partnerships with
State, local, and non-profit youth groups.
(f) Required Assessment and Estimates. Before initiating a project
under the program, the Secretaries shall complete the following with
respect to the project:
(1) An assessment of the expected outcomes, including how the
project will help to accomplish restoration objectives to improve the
health, diversity, or ecological processes of the lands covered by the
project. Specific benefits to soil, water, and native wildlife and fish
habitats must be identified, as well as how the project will restore
naturally occurring ecological processes.
(2) Within the context of accomplishing restoration objectives, an
estimation of the number of jobs or training opportunities, crew size,
contract duration, and equipment requirements that may be created by
the project, including opportunities for Youth Conservation Corps work
crews or partnerships with non-Federal youth groups.
(3) An estimate of the number of natural resource-related small or
micro-enterprises that may be created as a result of the project and
the number of existing small or micro-enterprises that may benefit from
the project.
(g) Required Set-asides.--
(1) Set-aside of funds.--The Secretaries shall ensure that
all contracts to implement projects under the program are
issued or awarded to--
(A) natural-resource related small or micro-
enterprises;
(B) Youth Conservation Corps crews or related
partnerships with State, local and nonprofit youth
groups;
(C) entities (including Indian tribes and the
Restoration and Value-added Centers established under
section 12) that will hire or train local people, or
re-train nonlocal traditional forest workers, to
perform activities under the contract; or
(D) local entities that meet the criteria to
qualify for the Historically Underutilized Business
Zone Program under section 31 of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 657a).
(2) Set-aside of project activities.--The Secretaries shall
ensure that, on an annual basis, 50 percent of all projects
involving the sale of merchantable material under the program
are implemented using separate contracts for--
(A) the harvesting or collection of merchantable
material; and
(B) the sale of such material.
(h) Best-Value Contracting.--In order to implement a project under
the program, and consistent with the Federal acquisition requirements
for best-value contracting, the Secretaries shall select a source for
performance of a contract or agreement on a best-value basis, after
consideration of the following:
(1) Understanding of the technical demands and complexity
of the work to be done.
(2) Ability of the offeror to meet desired ecological
objectives of the project and the sensitivity of the resources
being treated.
(3) The offeror's commitment to hiring or training workers
from the local area and the potential for benefit to local
small and micro-enterprises involved in the processing of by-
products derived from the project.
(4) The past performance by the offeror with the type of
work being done, the application of low-impact equipment, and
the ability of the offeror to meet desired ecological
conditions.
(5) The commitment and feasibility of the contractor to
training workers for high wage and high skill jobs that are
long in duration.
(6) The commitment of the offeror to hiring highly
qualified workers and local residents.
(i) Sole Source Procurement Authority.--
(1) Use to promote micro- and small-enterprises.--In
implementing this section, a contracting officer may award on a
sole source basis projects up to $100,000 for the purpose of
providing projects to micro- and small-enterprises in order to
help establish them as viable enterprises.
(2) Eligible entities.--To be eligible for a sole source
contract under this subsection, a micro- or small-enterprise
must complete training provided by a Restoration and Value-
added Center established under section 12 or other program for
certification as a micro- or small-enterprise, such as the
Jobs-in-the-Woods program. The micro- or small-enterprise must
present certification from the training provider that the
micro- or small-enterprise is ready to perform.
(3) Advance payments.--The contracting officer may make
advance payment to enterprises certified as provided in
paragraph (2).
(4) Limit on contracts.--Based on the performance of the
micro- or small-enterprise, and in consultation with the
training provider under paragraph (2), the contracting officer
may award up to five contracts under this subsection, after
which the enterprise will no longer be eligible for any further
sole source awards.
(5) Procurement personnel.--The Secretaries shall hire
additional procurement personnel, including contracting officer
trainees, in order to implement this section.
SEC. 12. FOREST RESTORATION AND VALUE-ADDED CENTERS.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Regional Foresters, shall establish Forest Restoration and Value-
added Centers in order to improve the implementation of collaborative,
community-based restoration projects on the National Forest System
lands and other lands. The Secretary may enter into partnerships with
other Federal agencies or other organizations, including local non-
profit organizations, conservation groups, and community colleges to
establish and maintain the Restoration Centers.
(b) Location.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that at
least one Restoration Center is located in each Forest Service Region
and that every Restoration Center is located in a small, rural
community adjacent to or surrounded by National Forest System lands.
(c) Provision of Technical Assistance and Grants.--The Restoration
Centers shall develop programs to provide technical assistance and
grants to non-profit organizations, existing small or micro-
enterprises, and individuals interested in creating a natural-resource
related small or micro-enterprise for the purpose of--
(1) conducting forest restoration activities, including
environmental assessments and monitoring; or
(2) utilizing processing techniques for the by-products of
restoration and value-added manufacturing.
(d) Types of Technical Assistance.--The Restoration Centers shall
provide technical assistance in--
(1) using the latest scientific information and methodology
to accomplish restoration and land health objectives;
(2) accessing capital from public and private sources;
(3) workforce training for value-added manufacturing and
restoration activities, including environmental assessments and
monitoring;
(4) marketing and business support for conservation-based
small and micro-businesses located in rural communities to
better access urban markets;
(5) developing technology for restoration activities and
use of products resulting from restoration activities.
(e) Establishment Process.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
select the location at which each Restoration Center will be
established based on requests for proposals. The Secretary shall
appoint an advisory committee for each Forest Service Region that,
consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, will recommend a
location for the Restoration Center for that Region.
(f) Advisory Committee.--The advisory committees appointed
pursuant to subsection (e) shall include--
(1) Representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and relevant State
wildlife-management agencies.
(2) Representatives of any affected Indian tribes or
pueblos.
(3) Representatives of the Department of Labor, the Small
Business Administration, and appropriate State agencies with
expertise in micro-enterprises.
(4) Representatives (other than elected officials) of
community groups active in National Forest or public land
conservation.
(5) At least two scientists with expertise in ecosystem
restoration who are not employees of any Federal or State
agency.
(6) Representatives of national or regional environmental
organizations.
(7) Representatives of regional value-added forest products
companies.
(g) Federal Funding.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall make
grants to each Restoration Center in amounts sufficient to cover 75
percent of the Restoration Center's operating costs, but not to exceed
$1,000,000 annually per Restoration Center. After a Restoration Center
has operated for five years, the Secretary may begin to reduce the
level of Federal funding for the Restoration Center's operating costs,
based on the performance of the Restoration Center.
(h) Expansion to Other Federal Lands.--In order to determine
whether a similar Restoration Center program is appropriate for public
lands, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish one Restoration
Center meeting the requirements of this section. Not later than three
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Interior 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 containing recommendations regarding whether additional
Restoration Centers should be established to serve communities adjacent
to or surrounded by public lands.
SEC. 13. COMPETITIVE SERVICE HIRING PREFERENCE FOR GRADUATES OF
CERTIFIED YOUTH SERVICE OR CONSERVATION CORPS.
(a) Hiring Preference.--The Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Agriculture may appoint in the competitive service any
person who--
(1) is at least 21 years of age;
(2) has satisfactorily completed a minimum of one year of
service in a certified youth service or conservation corps;
(3) received satisfactory evaluations of knowledge, skills,
and abilities by both corps supervisors or crew leaders as well
as agency liaison personnel.
(b) Duration of Preference.--A person's eligibility for
preferential hiring under this section expires after one year after the
date of the person's graduation from a certified youth service or
conservation corps.
SEC. 14. RESEARCH AND TRAINING.
(a) Applied Research Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish a program of applied research using the resources of the
Forest Products Laboratory for the purpose of--
(1) identifying restoration methods, including assessments
and monitoring, and treatments that minimize adverse impacts to
the land, such as through the use of low-impact techniques and
equipment; and
(2) testing and developing value-added products created
from the by-products of restoration.
(b) Dissemination of Results.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
disseminate the results of the applied research to the Restoration and
Value-added Centers, rural communities adjacent to or surrounded by
Federal lands. The Secretary shall annually conduct training workshops
and classes for the Restoration Centers as well as for other interested
communities to ensure that residents of such communities have access to
the information.
(c) Research Agenda.--The Restoration and Value-added Centers shall
work with the Forest Products Laboratory to develop the research agenda
so that research efforts respond to the needs of the user community.
SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
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