Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2828 To require the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a programmatic environ- mental impact statement allowing for adaptive management of certain Federal land in Malheur County, Oregon, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 7, 2019 Mr. SCHUMER (for Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a pro- grammatic environmental impact statement allowing for adaptive management of certain Federal land in Malheur County, Oregon, 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 ‘‘Malheur Community 4 Empowerment for the Owyhee Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2828 IS (1) ACTIVE MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘active 1 management’’ means those actions that are proposed 2 or implemented— 3 (A) to address degraded or non-functioning 4 resource conditions that would not improve 5 without on-the-ground treatments; 6 (B) to respond to specific, identified re- 7 source conditions described in subparagraph 8 (A); and 9 (C) to meet resource objectives and desired 10 outcomes. 11 (2) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—The term 12 ‘‘adaptive management’’ means management based 13 on a relationship between research and management 14 practices in which management practices are devel- 15 oped and modified based on a recurring evaluation 16 of data, collected on a recurring basis by and for the 17 Monitoring Network, for the purpose of allowing 18 timely reactions to changing conditions on Federal 19 land— 20 (A) to achieve, retain, or improve the eco- 21 logical health and functionality of the Federal 22 land; and 23 (B) to achieve desired future conditions on 24 the Federal land. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2828 IS (3) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 1 Bureau of Land Management. 2 (4) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 3 Native Seed Center established under section 4 6(e)(1)(A). 5 (5) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis- 6 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Reclamation. 7 (6) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 8 Malheur County, Oregon. 9 (7) CULTURAL.—The term ‘‘cultural’’ means 10 relating to the sites, areas, or artifacts of, or tradi- 11 tional uses of land by, indigenous peoples. 12 (8) CULTURAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘cul- 13 tural resources’’ means— 14 (A) the sites, areas, and artifacts of indige- 15 nous peoples; and 16 (B) the existing uses of land by indigenous 17 peoples. 18 (9) ECOLOGICAL HEALTH.—The term ‘‘ecologi- 19 cal health’’ means the ability of the ecological proc- 20 esses of an ecosystem to function in a manner that 21 maintains the structure, composition, activity, and 22 resilience of the ecosystem over time, including an 23 ecologically appropriate diversity of plant commu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2828 IS nities, habitats, and conditions that are sustainable 1 through successional processes. 2 (10) FEDERAL LAND.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 4 land’’ means all land in the County the title to 5 which is held by the United States. 6 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal 7 land’’ does not include— 8 (i) any Forest Service land; or 9 (ii) any land held in trust by the Bu- 10 reau of Indian Affairs. 11 (11) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 12 species’’ means a species of nonnative aggressive 13 plant with the potential to cause— 14 (A) significant damage to a native eco- 15 system; or 16 (B) significant economic losses. 17 (12) LOOP ROAD.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘loop road’’ 19 means a route determined by the Malheur CEO 20 Group that is managed and maintained by the 21 Bureau and the County for the purpose of pro- 22 viding directed tourism and educational oppor- 23 tunities in the County. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2828 IS (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘loop road’’ 1 includes each of the roads described in para- 2 graphs (2) through (5) of section 6(a). 3 (13) MALHEUR CEO ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 4 The term ‘‘Malheur CEO Advisory Committee’’ 5 means the Malheur Community Empowerment for 6 Owyhee Group Advisory Committee established 7 under section 4(c)(7)(A). 8 (14) MALHEUR CEO GROUP.—The term 9 ‘‘Malheur CEO Group’’ means the Malheur Commu- 10 nity Empowerment for Owyhee Group established 11 under section 4(c)(1). 12 (15) MONITORING DATA.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘monitoring 14 data’’ means data that is— 15 (i) collected through a memorandum 16 of understanding entered into under sec- 17 tion 4(e)(1); and 18 (ii) provided to the Bureau at a fre- 19 quency sufficient— 20 (I) to monitor the ecological 21 functionality of Federal land subject 22 to a programmatic environmental im- 23 pact statement prepared under section 24 4(a)(1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2828 IS (II) to use for adaptive manage- 1 ment of that Federal land. 2 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘monitoring 3 data’’ includes data in existence on the date of 4 enactment of this Act. 5 (16) MONITORING NETWORK.—The term ‘‘Mon- 6 itoring Network’’ means the network of monitoring 7 partners and protocols established under section 8 4(e)(1), including the parties to, and protocols estab- 9 lished under, each memorandum of understanding 10 entered into under that section for the purpose of 11 implementing adaptive management of the Federal 12 land. 13 (17) NATIVE SEED CENTER ESTABLISHMENT 14 GROUP.—The term ‘‘Native Seed Center Establish- 15 ment Group’’ means the group established pursuant 16 to the memorandum of understanding entered into 17 under section 6(e)(1)(B). 18 (18) PASSIVE MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘pas- 19 sive management’’ means those actions that are pro- 20 posed or implemented to address degraded or non- 21 functioning resource conditions that are expected to 22 improve without additional on-the-ground actions, 23 such that resource objectives and desired outcomes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2828 IS are anticipated to be reached without additional 1 human intervention. 2 (19) RESTORATION AREA.—The term ‘‘restora- 3 tion area’’ means an area of Federal land in need 4 of active or passive management— 5 (A) to restore the ecological health of the 6 area; or 7 (B) to prevent the ecological degradation 8 of the area from— 9 (i) demonstrably encroaching invasive 10 species; or 11 (ii) other threats. 12 (20) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 13 means the Secretary of the Interior. 14 SEC. 3. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES. 15 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to promote 16 the long-term ecological health of the Federal land to sup- 17 port communities and natural resources. 18 (b) OBJECTIVES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—To further the purpose de- 20 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary shall manage 21 the Federal land for the benefit of present and fu- 22 ture generations— 23 (A) to support and grow local communities 24 and economies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2828 IS (B) to protect the cultural resources and 1 western traditions for which the Federal land is 2 known; 3 (C) to maintain grazing on the Federal 4 land— 5 (i) for the economic well-being of the 6 County; and 7 (ii) as a tool to improve the ecological 8 health of the Federal land; 9 (D) to protect and enhance the cultural, 10 ecological, and economic needs of the Burns 11 Paiute Tribe; 12 (E) to maintain and enhance the latest 13 available science-based adaptive management of 14 the Federal land; 15 (F) to prevent invasive species encroach- 16 ment and large fires through management prac- 17 tices that focus on restoration of the ecosystem; 18 (G) to ensure the conservation and im- 19 proved management of the ecological, social, 20 and economic environment, including geological, 21 biological, wildlife, fish, riparian, and scenic re- 22 sources; 23 (H) to address the management uncertain- 24 ties on the Federal land to provide greater sta- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2828 IS bility of natural resource management on the 1 Federal land; and 2 (I) to promote and foster cooperation, com- 3 munication, and understanding, and reduce 4 conflict, among all users of the Federal land. 5 (2) APPROACH.—The Secretary shall carry out 6 the duties of the Secretary under this Act in a man- 7 ner that— 8 (A) furthers the purpose described in sub- 9 section (a) and the objectives described in para- 10 graph (1); 11 (B) ensures the collection of relevant data 12 to monitor and evaluate the ecological health of 13 the Federal land; 14 (C) ensures that adaptive management ac- 15 tions improve the ecological health of the Fed- 16 eral land; 17 (D) builds inclusivity in the County by pro- 18 moting the involvement of local grazing allot- 19 ment holders, institutions of higher education, 20 volunteers, Federal agencies, and other inter- 21 ested parties in the Monitoring Network while 22 standardizing data collection; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2828 IS (E) promotes cooperation, communication, 1 and understanding within the County to reduce 2 conflict among all users of Federal land. 3 SEC. 4. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL LAND IN 4 THE COUNTY. 5 (a) PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 6 STATEMENT.— 7 (1) PREPARATION.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 9 after the date of enactment of this Act, and 10 every 10 years thereafter, the Secretary, in con- 11 sultation with the Commissioner and after ob- 12 taining input from the Malheur CEO Group, 13 shall prepare a programmatic environmental 14 impact statement in accordance with the Na- 15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 16 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for the Federal land 17 using— 18 (i) existing and up-to-date planning 19 documents, processes, and data; and 20 (ii) in the case of the first pro- 21 grammatic environmental impact state- 22 ment, any planning and data documenta- 23 tion that is in development on the date of 24 enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2828 IS (B) PRIORITIES.— 1 (i) PRIORITY ACTIONS FOR MISSING 2 DATA.—The Secretary shall give priority to 3 the completion of any analysis relating to 4 areas on the landscape for which planning 5 or data are lacking during the year in 6 which a programmatic environmental im- 7 pact statement under subparagraph (A) is 8 prepared. 9 (ii) BASELINE SOIL AND VEGETATIVE 10 HEALTH ASSESSMENTS.—In carrying out 11 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall give 12 priority to the completion of baseline soil 13 and vegetative health assessments on the 14 Federal land. 15 (C) PROTECTION OF THE FEDERAL 16 LAND.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 17 Secretary shall include an analysis of the condi- 18 tions and actions necessary to ensure that the 19 adaptive management carried out under a pro- 20 grammatic environmental impact statement will 21 not degrade the ecological health of the Federal 22 land. 23 (D) SUPPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING 24 GRAZING REGULATIONS.—A programmatic envi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2828 IS ronmental impact statement under subpara- 1 graph (A) shall supplement, and not supplant, 2 existing grazing regulations, including part 3 4100 of subchapter D of chapter II of subtitle 4 B of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or 5 successor regulations). 6 (E) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER LAW.— 7 The Secretary shall ensure that each pro- 8 grammatic environmental impact statement 9 under subparagraph (A) takes consideration of, 10 and is consistent with— 11 (i) the Archaeological Resources Pro- 12 tection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et 13 seq.); 14 (ii) the Native American Graves Pro- 15 tection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 16 3001 et seq.); 17 (iii) division A of subtitle III of title 18 54, United States Code (formerly known 19 as the ‘‘National Historic Preservation 20 Act’’); and 21 (iv) Executive Order No. 13007 (42 22 U.S.C. 1996 note; relating to Indian sa- 23 cred sites). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2828 IS (2) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—Each pro- 1 grammatic environmental impact statement under 2 paragraph (1)(A) shall— 3 (A) provide baseline information on the ec- 4 ological health of the Federal land; 5 (B) define desired future ecological condi- 6 tions and outcomes; 7 (C) negate the need for project-specific en- 8 vironmental analysis for the management activi- 9 ties listed in clauses (i) through (ix) of subpara- 10 graph (D); and 11 (D) to restore and improve the ecological 12 health of the Federal land and related riparian 13 areas, lead to or enhance the use of adaptive 14 management of the Federal land for— 15 (i) the management of invasive species 16 through the use, as the Secretary deter- 17 mines to be appropriate, of available tools, 18 including— 19 (I) mechanical tools; 20 (II) hand tools; 21 (III) chemical tools; 22 (IV) biological tools; and 23 (V) livestock for varied season 24 use; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2828.IS S2828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 2828 IS (ii) the maintenance of existing water 1 infrastructure; 2 (iii) the improvement, incl [Text truncated for display. 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