Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1248 To establish an Outdoor Restoration Fund for restoration and resilience projects, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To establish an Outdoor Restoration Fund for restoration and resilience projects, 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 ‘‘Outdoor Restoration 4 Partnership Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 8 Restoration Fund Advisory Council established by 9 section 4(a). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1248 IS (2) COVERED AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘covered 1 authority’’ means— 2 (A) the good neighbor authority estab- 3 lished by section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 4 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); 5 (B) the Water Source Protection Program 6 under section 303 of the Healthy Forests Res- 7 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542); 8 (C) the Watershed Condition Framework 9 established under section 304 of the Healthy 10 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 11 6543); 12 (D) the stewardship end result contracting 13 program under section 604 of the Healthy For- 14 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 15 6591c); 16 (E) the Cooperative Forestry Assistance 17 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.); 18 (F) the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restora- 19 tion Partnership program; 20 (G) the Watershed Protection and Flood 21 Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 22 (H) the Collaborative Forest Landscape 23 Restoration Program established under section 24 4003 of Public Law 111–11 (16 U.S.C. 7303); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1248 IS (I) the legacy roads and trails program of 1 the Department of Agriculture; 2 (J) the working lands for wildlife program 3 of the Department of Agriculture; and 4 (K) a conservation program under title XII 5 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 6 3801 et seq.), including the Regional Conserva- 7 tion Partnership program under subtitle I of 8 that title (16 U.S.C. 3871 et seq.). 9 (3) ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY.—The term ‘‘eco- 10 logical integrity’’ has the meaning given the term in 11 section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 12 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 13 Act). 14 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 15 ty’’ means— 16 (A) a State agency; 17 (B) a unit of local government; 18 (C) a Tribal government; 19 (D) a regional organization; 20 (E) a special district; or 21 (F) a nonprofit organization. 22 (5) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Out- 23 door Restoration Fund established by section 3(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1248 IS (6) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro- 1 gram’’ means the restoration and resilience grant 2 program established by section 5(b). 3 (7) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 219.19 of 5 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 6 the date of enactment of this Act). 7 (8) RESTORATION AND RESILIENCE 8 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘restoration and resilience 9 project’’ means a project designed in accordance 10 with the best available science to conduct restoration 11 that improves— 12 (A) forest conditions; 13 (B) rangeland health; 14 (C) watershed function; or 15 (D) wildlife habitat. 16 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 17 the Secretary of Agriculture. 18 (10) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 19 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 20 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 21 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 22 SEC. 3. OUTDOOR RESTORATION FUND. 23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 24 Treasury an Outdoor Restoration Fund. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1248 IS (b) USE.—Amounts in the Fund shall be used by the 1 Secretary— 2 (1) in coordination with the Council, to carry 3 out the grant program; and 4 (2) to carry out the Restoration and Resilience 5 Partnership Program under section 6. 6 (c) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 7 (1) COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMS.—Activities 8 carried out under this Act shall complement, not du- 9 plicate or replace, existing Federal conservation, res- 10 toration, and resilience programs. 11 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—A restoration and resil- 12 ience project on Federal land or non-Federal land 13 developed or implemented using amounts provided 14 under this Act shall be carried out in accordance 15 with applicable law and available authorities. 16 (d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts pro- 17 vided under this Act shall supplement, not supplant, any 18 Federal, State, or other funds otherwise made available 19 to an eligible entity for activities described in this Act. 20 (e) OVERSIGHT.—Not later than 180 days after the 21 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 22 the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture 23 shall prepare and submit to the Committees on Agri- 24 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Appropriations of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1248 IS Senate and the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Re- 1 sources, and Appropriations of the House of Representa- 2 tives a report describing the use, and any abuse or misuse, 3 as applicable, of the Fund by the Secretary with respect 4 to— 5 (1) the grant program; and 6 (2) the Restoration and Resilience Partnership 7 Program established by section 6. 8 SEC. 4. RESTORATION FUND ADVISORY COUNCIL. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Res- 10 toration Fund Advisory Council to provide advice to the 11 Secretary with respect to the disbursement of amounts 12 from the Fund for the grant program. 13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed 14 of— 15 (1) the Secretary; 16 (2) 12 members, to be appointed by the Sec- 17 retary, of whom— 18 (A) 3 shall be representatives from re- 19 source-dependent industries, including the agri- 20 culture, oil and gas, outdoor recreation, or for- 21 est products industries; 22 (B) 3 shall be national experts in the fields 23 of natural resource restoration, economic devel- 24 opment, and community and climate resilience; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1248 IS (C) 3 shall be representatives of conserva- 1 tion, wildlife, or watershed organizations; 2 (D) 1 shall be a representative of State 3 government; 4 (E) 1 shall be a representative of a unit of 5 local government; and 6 (F) 1 shall be a representative of a Tribal 7 government; and 8 (3) as determined to be necessary by the Sec- 9 retary, not more than 3 representatives from other 10 Federal agencies. 11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 12 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec- 13 retary, in consultation with the Council, shall submit to 14 Congress a report describing— 15 (1) the status of any restoration and resilience 16 projects that received amounts from the Fund, in- 17 cluding— 18 (A) environmental benefits; 19 (B) restoration achievements; 20 (C) attainment of restoration and habitat 21 improvement objectives; 22 (D) jobs created and retained; 23 (E) the growth in outdoor industries; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1248 IS (F) progress towards State-, Tribal-, and 1 community-level resilience goals; and 2 (2) recommendations to improve coordination, 3 align Federal resources or existing authorities, and 4 expand workforce capacity in outdoor industries 5 through legislative and administrative changes. 6 SEC. 5. RESTORATION AND RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 7 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 8 (1) to increase the capacity for planning, co- 9 ordinating, and monitoring restoration and resilience 10 projects on Federal land and non-Federal land; and 11 (2) to support, on non-Federal land, State, 12 local, and Tribal— 13 (A) restoration and resilience projects; 14 (B) projects to reduce the risk of, or miti- 15 gate damage from, wildfires; and 16 (C) projects to expand equitable outdoor 17 access. 18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a res- 19 toration and resilience grant program, to be administered 20 by the Secretary, with the advice of the Council, to provide 21 grants from the Fund to eligible entities for the purposes 22 described in subsection (a). 23 (c) REGIONAL COORDINATION.—The Secretary and 24 the Council shall, to the maximum extent practicable, seek 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1248 IS input from, coordinate with, and support existing State 1 or regional efforts, initiatives, and partnerships to restore 2 ecological integrity on Federal land and non-Federal land. 3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 5 amounts in the Fund to provide capacity grants 6 under paragraph (2) and implementation grants 7 under paragraph (3). 8 (2) CAPACITY GRANTS.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Capacity grants shall 10 be made available to eligible entities for the 11 purpose described in subsection (a)(1). 12 (B) APPLICATION.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this 14 paragraph may only be made to an eligible 15 entity that submits to the Secretary an ap- 16 plication at such time, in such manner, 17 and containing or accompanied by such ad- 18 ditional information as the Secretary, in 19 consultation with the Council, may require, 20 including the information required under 21 clause (ii). 22 (ii) CONTENTS.—An application sub- 23 mitted under clause (i) shall contain— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1248 IS (I) a clear and concise expression 1 of interest; 2 (II) an explanation for how funds 3 would complement existing Federal 4 funds; and 5 (III) an estimate of the number 6 and duration of jobs that would be 7 created, or sustained, with the funds. 8 (3) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Implementation grants 10 shall be made available to eligible entities for 11 the purpose described in subsection (a)(2). 12 (B) APPLICATION.—A grant under this 13 paragraph may be made only to an eligible enti- 14 ty that submits to the Secretary an application 15 at such time, in such manner, and containing 16 or accompanied by such information as the Sec- 17 retary, in consultation with the Council, may 18 require. 19 (e) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the grant program, 20 the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall give 21 priority to projects that— 22 (1) create or sustain jobs, employ local or re- 23 gional labor, or expand the outdoor workforce 24 through training and education programs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1248 IS (2) are developed through a collaborative proc- 1 ess with multiple stakeholders representing diverse 2 interests; 3 (3) would address shared priorities for Federal 4 and non-Federal partners; 5 (4) advance State, local, and Tribal plans relat- 6 ing to forests, water, or wildlife; or 7 (5) improve long-term economic security or via- 8 bility in the geographic region, particularly in geo- 9 graphic regions transitioning from fossil-fuel extrac- 10 tion. 11 (f) AUTHORITIES.—Eligible entities may use existing 12 authorities when carrying out a restoration and resilience 13 project, including a covered authority. 14 SEC. 6. RESTORATION AND RESILIENCE PARTNERSHIP 15 PROGRAM. 16 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 17 (1) to restore and improve the ecological integ- 18 rity of forest, grassland, and rangeland ecosystems 19 across the United States in partnership with State, 20 local, and Tribal governments; 21 (2) to create or sustain outdoor jobs by reduc- 22 ing the backlog of restoration and resilience projects 23 on Federal land and non-Federal land; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1248 IS (3) to improve the resilience and carrying ca- 1 pacity of rangelands in the United States by pre- 2 venting or mitigating invasive species, such as cheat- 3 grass, that contribute to rangeland fire; and 4 (4) to reduce uncharacteristic wildfires in the 5 highest risk areas of the United States by carrying 6 out, in accordance with applicable law, restoration 7 and resilience projects. 8 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Res- 9 toration and Resilience Partnership Program, under which 10 the Secretary shall carry out restoration and resilience 11 projects in partnership areas designated under subsection 12 (c)(1). 13 (c) DESIGNATION OF PARTNERSHIP AREAS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 16 shall designate, for the purposes of carrying out res- 17 toration and resilience projects under subsection (e), 18 any areas of Federal land and non-Federal land that 19 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 20 (2) SUBMISSION OF PARTNERSHIP AREAS BY 21 STATES AND TRIBES.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a 23 State or an authorized representative of an In- 24 dian Tribe may submit to the Secretary, in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:24 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1248.IS S1248 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1248 IS writing, a request to designate certain Federal 1 land or non-Federal land in the State or Indian 2 Country, respectively, for restoration and resil- 3 ience projects under subsection (e). 4 (B) INCLUSIONS.—A written request sub- [Text truncated for display. 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