Trillion Trees Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2639 To establish forest conservation practices through management, reforestation, and utilization which lead to the sequestration of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 19, 2021 Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Mr. MCCARTHY, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. BACON, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BARR, Mr. BENTZ, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CARL, Mr. CAR- TER of Georgia, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. COLE, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. CREN- SHAW, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Ms. FOXX, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. GON- ZALEZ of Ohio, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. GOSAR, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. HILL, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. LATTA, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. LUCAS, Ms. MACE, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. MANN, Mr. MCCAUL, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. MEIJER, Mr. MEUSER, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. NUNES, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. OWENS, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. ROGERS of Ala- bama, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. STEWART, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources, Ways and Means, Science, Space, and Technology, and Education and Labor, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2639 IH A BILL To establish forest conservation practices through manage- ment, reforestation, and utilization which lead to the sequestration of greenhouse gases, and for other pur- poses. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Trillion Trees Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act are as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—CARBON SEQUESTRATION THROUGH REFORESTATION ACTIVITIES Subtitle A—Reforestation Goals Sec. 101. National forest carbon stock targets. Sec. 102. Trillion Trees Task Force. Sec. 103. Philanthropic Reforestation Advisory Council. Sec. 104. Trillion Trees Challenge Fund. Sec. 105. Renewable resource assessment update and lifecycle analysis. Sec. 106. Forest inventory and analysis. Sec. 107. National Forest Foundation activities. Subtitle B—Regeneration Sec. 111. Reforestation programs. Sec. 112. Reforestation trust fund. Sec. 113. Solving shortages for seedlings. Sec. 114. Healthy forest reserve program. Sec. 115. Forestry education and workforce development grant program. Sec. 116. Civilian Conservation Centers reforestation activities. Sec. 117. Forest technology enhancements for conservation and habitat im- provement. Subtitle C—Urban Forests Sec. 121. Urban and community forestry assistance. Sec. 122. Civilian Conservation Center urban forestry demonstration program. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2639 IH Sec. 123. Memorandum of understanding to coordinate urban forestry pro- grams. Subtitle D—International Forests Sec. 131. Sense of Congress. Sec. 132. International Forest Foundation. Sec. 133. International engagement. Sec. 134. Global climate change program. Sec. 135. International forestry cooperation. Sec. 136. Modifications to authorities relating to tropical forests. TITLE II—CARBON SEQUESTRATION THROUGH IMPROVED FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES Sec. 201. Land use planning; supplements to programmatic environmental im- pact statements. Sec. 202. Forest carbon stock on State and private forests. Sec. 203. Good neighbor authority. Sec. 204. Research and development programs. TITLE III—MARKET INCENTIVES FOR CARBON SEQUESTRATION Sec. 301. Biochar demonstration project and grant program. Sec. 302. Sustainable building and residence credit. Sec. 303. Clarification of research and development program for cellulosic bio- chemical and bioplastics. Sec. 304. Tribal and Alaska Native biomass demonstration project extension. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) AFFORESTATION.—The term 3 ‘‘afforestation’’ means a project or activity to estab- 4 lish a forest or stand of native trees in an ecosystem 5 where there is not a forest or tree cover, consistent 6 with the best available science. 7 (2) FOREST CARBON FLUX.—The term ‘‘forest 8 carbon flux’’ means the net annual change in carbon 9 residing within forest carbon pools and in forest car- 10 bon stock. 11 (3) FOREST CARBON POOLS.—The term ‘‘forest 12 carbon pools’’ means the individual, nonoverlapping 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2639 IH categories where forest carbon resides and in- 1 cludes— 2 (A) aboveground biomass, belowground 3 biomass, dead wood, litter, and mineral and or- 4 ganic soils in forest ecosystems, woodlands, and 5 trees outside forests including urban trees; and 6 (B) harvested wood products (in use or in 7 solid waste disposal sites). 8 (4) FOREST CARBON STOCK.—The term ‘‘forest 9 carbon stock’’ means the absolute quantity of carbon 10 stored within all forest carbon pools. 11 (5) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 12 means— 13 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu- 14 reau of Land Management for public lands pur- 15 suant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 16 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 17 1712); or 18 (B) a land and resource management plan 19 prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the 20 National Forest System pursuant to section 6 21 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- 22 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 23 1604). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2639 IH (6) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The 1 term ‘‘forest management activity’’ means a project 2 or activity carried out by the Secretary concerned on 3 National Forest System lands or public lands con- 4 sistent with the forest plan covering the lands. 5 (7) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 6 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 7 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range- 8 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 9 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 10 (8) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 11 has the meaning given that term in section 103 of 12 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 13 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 14 (9) REFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘reforest- 15 ation’’ means the act of renewing tree cover by es- 16 tablishing young trees through natural regeneration, 17 natural regeneration with site preparation, or plant- 18 ing. 19 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 20 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 21 (11) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 22 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 23 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 24 spect to National Forest System lands; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2639 IH (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 1 spect to public lands. 2 (12) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 3 means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec- 4 retary of Interior. 5 TITLE I—CARBON SEQUESTRA- 6 TION THROUGH REFOREST- 7 ATION ACTIVITIES 8 Subtitle A—Reforestation Goals 9 SEC. 101. NATIONAL FOREST CARBON STOCK TARGETS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall set 12 targets for increased forest carbon stock for the purposes 13 of sequestering and storing carbon while meeting other re- 14 source management objectives. Such targets shall— 15 (1) be based on the best available scientific in- 16 formation; 17 (2) consider both natural and artificial regen- 18 eration, with an emphasis on the regeneration of na- 19 tive species; 20 (3) be established at levels, consistent with 21 other statutory management purposes on Federal 22 lands, which represent the optimal feasible and sus- 23 tainable increase in the forest carbon stock private, 24 State, Tribal, and Federal landowners can achieve 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2639 IH by January 1, 2030, and every 10 years thereafter 1 through January 1, 2100; 2 (4) be informed by the report provided by the 3 Trillion Trees Task Force established in section 102; 4 (5) incorporate data from the forest inventory 5 and analysis program under section 3(e) of the For- 6 est and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research 7 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1642(e)) and other applica- 8 ble Federal agency data; 9 (6) be consistent with multiple use and sus- 10 tained yield requirements, policies, and objectives on 11 National Forest, State, Tribal, and other public or 12 private land; 13 (7) be consistent with other benefits related to 14 forest function and health including soil health and 15 productivity, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, im- 16 proved air and water quality, job creation, outdoor 17 recreation, and forest products and byproducts; 18 (8) be established at levels that account for— 19 (A) long-term and short-term carbon se- 20 questration and storage; 21 (B) forest carbon flux; and 22 (C) assessments of existing forested acres, 23 considering variations in landscape; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2639 IH (9) incorporate input from State, Tribal, and 1 local stakeholders and members of the public; and 2 (10) be published in the Federal Register, to- 3 gether with a statement of the basis and justification 4 for such targets. 5 (b) NATURAL REGENERATION.—In this subsection, 6 the term ‘‘natural regeneration’’ means the establishment 7 of a tree or tree age class from natural seedling, sprouting, 8 or suckering, in accordance with the management objec- 9 tives of an applicable forest plan. 10 (c) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 11 construed to establish any requirements with respect to 12 private landowners. 13 SEC. 102. TRILLION TREES TASK FORCE. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 15 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 16 shall establish the Trillion Trees Task Force (in this sec- 17 tion referred to as the ‘‘task force’’) to assist the Secretary 18 with meeting the targets and purposes established under 19 section 101(a). 20 (b) DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE.— 21 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 22 date the task force is established under subsection 23 (a), the task force shall submit to the Secretary a 24 report that includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2639 IH (A) recommendations for the national for- 1 est carbon stock targets established under sec- 2 tion 101; 3 (B) plant growth targets, including long- 4 term growth targets, required to achieve the na- 5 tional forest carbon stock targets established 6 under section 101, taking into account— 7 (i) forest carbon flux; 8 (ii) multiple use and sustained yield 9 requirements, policies, and objectives; 10 (iii) natural regeneration; 11 (iv) adverse natural and anthropo- 12 genic disturbances; and 13 (v) other factors impacting domestic 14 forestlands; and 15 (C) program and policy recommendations 16 designed to achieve the national forest carbon 17 stock targets established under section 101, 18 while— 19 (i) still maintaining sustainable levels 20 of board feet harvested from public lands; 21 (ii) promoting forest products mar- 22 kets, including for new and innovative for- 23 est products and byproducts; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2639 IH (iii) improving the natural regenera- 1 tion of public and private forests (with an 2 emphasis on the regeneration of native spe- 3 cies) through active forest management. 4 (2) OVERSIGHT.—Following the submission of 5 the report described in paragraph (1), the task force 6 shall provide continued oversight of the implementa- 7 tion of the national forest carbon stock targets, and 8 provide the Secretary with— 9 (A) yearly reports on the progress made 10 towards achieving the national forest carbon 11 stock targets established under section 101; and 12 (B) ongoing program and policy rec- 13 ommendations designed to achieve the national 14 forest carbon stock targets established under 15 section 101. 16 (3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The task force 17 shall— 18 (A) submit to Congress a copy of the re- 19 port under paragraph (1); and 20 (B) not later than 2 years after the report 21 under paragraph (1) is submitted to the Sec- 22 retary and Congress, and every 5 years there- 23 after, submit a report to Congress on the imple- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.IH H2639 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2639 IH mentation of, and progress towards meeting, 1 the targets set under section 101. 2 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 3 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The task force shall con- 4 sist of 15 ex officio members and 15 discretionary 5 members. 6 (A) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Presi- 7 dent shall appoint 15 representatives from the 8 executive branch. 9 (B) DISCRETIONARY MEMBERS.—The Sec- 10 retary shall appoint 1 discretionary member 11 from each of the following: 12 (i) A State land management agency. 13 (ii) A private forest landowner with 14 total land holdings of greater than 15 1,000,000 acres. 16 (iii) A private forest landowner with 17 total land holdings of less than 1,000,000 18 acres. 19 (iv) A family forest landowner. 20 (v) A pulp [Text truncated for display. 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