[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3566 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3566
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.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 20, 2003
Mr. Walden of Oregon 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
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A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101
note; Public Law 95313) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
``SEC. 21. FOREST INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program using
geospatial and information management technologies (including remote
sensing imaging and decision support systems) to inventory, monitor,
characterize, assess, and identify forest stands and potential forest
stands on--
``(1) units of the National Forest System; and
``(2) private forest land, with the consent of the owner of
the land.
``(b) Means.--The Secretary shall carry out the program through the
use of--
``(1) remote sensing technology of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration and the United States Geological
Survey;
``(2) emerging geospatial capabilities in research
activities;
``(3) validating techniques, including coordination and
reconciliation with existing data through field verification,
using application demonstrations; and
``(4) integration of results into pilot operational
systems.
``(c) Issues To Be Addressed.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall address issues, including--
``(1) early detection, identification, and assessment of
environmental threats (including insect, disease, invasive
species, fire, acid deposition, and weather-related risks and
other episodic events);
``(2) loss or degradation of forests;
``(3) degradation of the quality forest stands caused by
inadequate forest regeneration practices;
``(4) quantification of carbon uptake rates;
``(5) management practices that focus on preventing further
forest degradation; and
``(6) characterization of vegetation types, density, fire
regimes, post-fire effects, and condition class.
``(d) Early Warning System.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall develop a comprehensive early warning system for
potential catastrophic environmental threats to forests to increase the
likelihood that forest managers will be able to--
``(1) isolate and treat a threat before the threat gets out
of control; and
``(2) prevent epidemics, such as the American chestnut
blight in the first half of the twentieth century, that could
be environmentally and economically devastating to forests.
``(e) Administration.--To carry out this section, the Secretary
shall designate a facility in the Ochoco National Forest headquarters
within Forest Service Region 6 that will address the issues described
in subsection (c), with a particular emphasis on coniferous forest
stands in the Western United States.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
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