II Calendar No. 530 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 557 [Report No. 117–179] To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 3, 2021 Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources OCTOBER 18, 2022 Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Plant Species 4 Pilot Program Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 557 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) the United States has a significant interest 3 in— 4 (A) preserving the worldwide system of 5 richly varied habitats; 6 (B) protecting native plant biodiversity and 7 the ecosystems that support that biodiversity; 8 and 9 (C) protecting the quality of life of people 10 in the United States; 11 (2) native plants are an inseparable part of the 12 natural beauty of the landscape of the United 13 States, which must be preserved; 14 (3) the extensive root systems of native plants 15 control erosion, moderate floods, filter water to im- 16 prove water quality, decrease the amount of water 17 needed for landscape maintenance, and sequester 18 carbon to combat climate change; 19 (4) native plants provide food and habitat for 20 pollinators and wildlife; 21 (5) native plants supply an important genetic 22 record for future food, agriculture, and plant-derived 23 products; 24 (6) native plant communities are important 25 components of cultural landscapes; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 557 RS (7) the use of native plant materials for res- 1 toration or enhancement contributes to the preserva- 2 tion of cultural landscapes; 3 (8) the use of native plant species in revegeta- 4 tion efforts after construction activities and adjacent 5 to roadways increases habitat for a variety of polli- 6 nators and other native animal species; 7 (9) supporting native plant communities within 8 or adjacent to agricultural areas provides important 9 wildlife habitat that would not otherwise be avail- 10 able; 11 (10) the use of native plants in landscaping can 12 reduce the need for herbicides and water use; and 13 (11) of the 20,000 known native plant species 14 in North America, it has been estimated that nearly 15 25 to 30 percent are at risk of extinction as a result 16 of factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, tem- 17 perature shifts, and pesticide use. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means, 21 with respect to invasive species, containing, sup- 22 pressing, or reducing populations of invasive species. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 557 RS (2) ERADICATE.—The term ‘‘eradicate’’ means, 1 with respect to invasive species, removing or destroy- 2 ing an entire population of invasive species. 3 (3) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 4 species’’ means, with respect to a particular eco- 5 system, a nonnative organism, the introduction of 6 which causes or is likely to cause economic or envi- 7 ronmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant 8 health. 9 (4) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 10 adapted’’ means, with respect to plants, plants 11 that— 12 (A) originate from an area that is geo- 13 graphically proximate to a planting area; and 14 (B) are environmentally adapted to and 15 likely to become established and persist in that 16 planting area. 17 (5) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REGION.—The 18 term ‘‘National Park Service region’’ means each of 19 the following unified Interior regions designated by 20 the Secretary of the Interior: 21 (A) Alaska. 22 (B) Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf. 23 (C) Columbia-Pacific Northwest. 24 (D) California-Great Basin. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 557 RS (E) Great Lakes. 1 (F) Lower Colorado-Basin. 2 (G) Mississippi-Basin. 3 (H) Missouri-Basin. 4 (I) North Atlantic-Appalachian. 5 (J) Pacific Islands. 6 (K) South Atlantic-Gulf. 7 (L) Upper Colorado-Basin. 8 (6) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 9 plant species’’ means, with respect to a particular 10 ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of 11 an introduction, historically occurred or currently oc- 12 curs in that ecosystem. 13 (7) NONNATIVE OR ALIEN.—The term ‘‘non- 14 native or alien’’ means, with respect to a particular 15 ecosystem, an organism, including the seeds, eggs, 16 spores, or other biological material of the organism 17 capable of propagating that species, that occurs out- 18 side of the natural range of the organism. 19 (8) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant mate- 20 rial’’ means a plant or the seeds, eggs, spores, or 21 other biological material of a plant capable of propa- 22 gating the species of the plant. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 557 RS (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 2 rector of the National Park Service. 3 SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 6 tablish a pilot program in 2 or more National Park Service 7 regions to promote the use of native plant materials. 8 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out land man- 9 agement activities on Federal land under the jurisdiction 10 of the Secretary, including maintenance and restoration 11 in response to degradation caused by human activity or 12 natural events (such as fire, flood, or infestation), the Sec- 13 retary shall— 14 (1) to the extent practicable, give preference to 15 the use of locally adapted native plant materials; 16 (2) incorporate efforts to prevent, control, or 17 eradicate the spread of invasive species; and 18 (3) identify situations in which the use of non- 19 native or alien plant materials may be warranted, in- 20 cluding situations in which— 21 (A) emergency conditions require the pro- 22 tection of basic resource values; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 557 RS (B) an interim nonpersistent measure is 1 needed to aid in the reestablishment of a native 2 plant species; 3 (C) native plant materials are not reason- 4 ably available; and 5 (D) the plant community subject to a land 6 management activity has been permanently al- 7 tered. 8 (c) COORDINATION.—To accelerate the adoption of 9 native plants throughout programs of the Department of 10 the Interior, the Secretary shall, in carrying out the pilot 11 program, coordinate activities with— 12 (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau 13 of Land Management; 14 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 15 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 16 Resources Conservation Service. 17 (d) DURATION.—The authority to carry out the pilot 18 program terminates on the date that is 5 years after the 19 date on which the pilot program is established under sub- 20 section (a). 21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 22 on which the authority to carry out the pilot program ter- 23 minates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 557 RS to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro- 1 gram. 2 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 3 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec- 4 essary to carry out this Act. 5 SEC. 5. STUDY ON COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF USING NATIVE 6 PLANT MATERIALS IN CARRYING OUT LAND 7 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL 8 LAND. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, con- 11 sistent with section 4, conduct a study to review existing 12 data to determine the cost-effectiveness of using native 13 plant materials in land management activities on Federal 14 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or other Fed- 15 eral land management agencies. 16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 18 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 19 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 20 House of Representatives a report describing the results 21 of the study required under subsection (a). 22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 23 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Plant Species 24 Pilot Program Act of 2022’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 557 RS SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 2 the date on which funds are made available to carry out 3 this Act, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 4 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, in accordance with any 5 existing laws and management policies, carry out a pilot 6 program to prioritize the use of native plant species within 7 geographically diverse units of the National Park System 8 and public land administered by the Bureau of Land Man- 9 agement. 10 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out the pilot pro- 11 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the extent 12 practicable— 13 (1) give preference to the use of locally adapted 14 native plant materials where appropriate; 15 (2) incorporate efforts to prevent, control, or 16 eradicate the spread of invasive species; 17 (3) incorporate efforts to use native plants in 18 areas that have experienced a recent wildfire event; 19 and 20 (4) identify situations in which the use of non- 21 native plants may be warranted. 22 (c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall, in carrying 23 out the pilot program under subsection (a), coordinate ac- 24 tivities with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 557 RS (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau of 1 Land Management; 2 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 3 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 4 Resources Conservation Service. 5 (d) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to 6 carry out the pilot program under subsection (a) terminates 7 on the date that is 5 years after the date on which the pilot 8 program is established under that subsection. 9 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date on 10 which the authority to carry out the pilot program termi- 11 nates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit to 12 Congress a report describing— 13 (1) the results of the pilot program carried out 14 under subsection (a); and 15 (2) the cost-effectiveness of using native plants in 16 units of the National Park System and public land 17 administered by the Bureau of Land Management. 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 530 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 557 [Report No. 117–179] A BILL To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes. OCTOBER 18, 2022 Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, with an amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S557.RS S557 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS