Reforestation Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3106 To amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to promote reforestation following unplanned events on Federal land, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Ag- riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to promote reforestation following unplanned events on Federal land, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reforestation Act of 4 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3106 IS SEC. 2. REFORESTATION FOLLOWING WILDFIRES AND 1 OTHER UNPLANNED EVENTS. 2 (a) FOREST AND RANGELAND RENEWABLE RE- 3 SOURCES PLANNING ACT OF 1974.— 4 (1) NATIONAL FOREST COVER POLICY.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Forest 6 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 7 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601) is amended— 8 (i) by redesignating subsection (e) as 9 subsection (f); 10 (ii) by redesignating the second sub- 11 section (d) (relating to the policy of Con- 12 gress regarding forested land in the Na- 13 tional Forest System) as subsection (e); 14 and 15 (iii) in subsection (e) (as so redesig- 16 nated)— 17 (I) in paragraph (2)— 18 (aa) in the first sentence— 19 (AA) by striking ‘‘9 of 20 this Act, the Secretary shall 21 annually for eight years fol- 22 lowing the enactment of this 23 subsection’’ and inserting 24 ‘‘9, the Secretary shall, an- 25 nually during each of the 10 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3106 IS years beginning after the 1 date of enactment of the Re- 2 forestation Act of 2019’’; 3 and 4 (BB) by striking 5 ‘‘eight-year’’ and inserting 6 ‘‘10-year’’; 7 (bb) in the second sentence, 8 by striking ‘‘such eight-year pe- 9 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘the 10-year 10 period’’; and 11 (cc) in the third sentence, by 12 striking ‘‘1978’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘2021’’; 14 (II) in paragraph (3), in the first 15 sentence, by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ 16 and inserting ‘‘subsection’’; and 17 (III) by adding at the end the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(4) REFORESTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 21 ‘‘(i) NATURAL REGENERATION.— 22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 23 ‘natural regeneration’ means the es- 24 tablishment of a tree or tree age class 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3106 IS from natural seeding, sprouting, or 1 suckering in accordance with the man- 2 agement objectives of an applicable 3 land management plan. 4 ‘‘(II) INCLUSION.—The term 5 ‘natural regeneration’ may include 6 any site preparation activity to en- 7 hance the success of regeneration to 8 the desired species composition and 9 structure. 10 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY LAND.—The term ‘pri- 11 ority land’ means National Forest System 12 land that, due to an unplanned event— 13 ‘‘(I) is unstocked; 14 ‘‘(II) requires reforestation to 15 meet the objectives of an applicable 16 land management plan; and 17 ‘‘(III) is unlikely to experience 18 natural regeneration without assist- 19 ance. 20 ‘‘(iii) REFORESTATION.—The term 21 ‘reforestation’ means the act of renewing 22 tree cover by establishing young trees 23 through— 24 ‘‘(I) natural regeneration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3106 IS ‘‘(II) natural regeneration with 1 site preparation; or 2 ‘‘(III) planting direct seeding, 3 taking into consideration species com- 4 position and resilience. 5 ‘‘(iv) UNPLANNED EVENT.— 6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 7 ‘unplanned event’ means any un- 8 planned disturbance that— 9 ‘‘(aa) disrupts ecosystem or 10 forest structure or composition; 11 or 12 ‘‘(bb) changes resources, 13 substrate availability, or the 14 physical environment. 15 ‘‘(II) INCLUSIONS.—The term 16 ‘unplanned event’ may include— 17 ‘‘(aa) a wildfire; 18 ‘‘(bb) an infestation of in- 19 sects or disease; 20 ‘‘(cc) a weather event; and 21 ‘‘(dd) animal damage. 22 ‘‘(v) UNSTOCKED.—The term 23 ‘unstocked’, with respect to forest land, 24 means that a percentage of forested land 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3106 IS area of the forest land fails to achieve com- 1 pliance with a stocking level required 2 under an applicable land management 3 plan. 4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Each reforestation 5 activity under this section shall be carried out 6 in accordance with applicable Forest Service 7 management practices and definitions, including 8 those contained in— 9 ‘‘(i) the amendment numbered 2400– 10 2014–1 to chapter 2470 (relating to sil- 11 vicultural practices) of the Forest Service 12 document numbered FSM 2400 (relating 13 to forest management) (or a successor 14 amendment or manual); and 15 ‘‘(ii) section 219.19 of title 36, Code 16 of Federal Regulations (or a successor reg- 17 ulation). 18 ‘‘(C) REFORESTATION PRIORITY.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 20 this subsection, the Secretary shall give 21 priority to projects on the priority list de- 22 scribed in clause (ii). 23 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY LIST.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3106 IS ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Chief of 1 the Forest Service shall, based on rec- 2 ommendations from regional foresters, 3 create a priority list of reforestation 4 projects that— 5 ‘‘(aa) primarily take place 6 on priority land; 7 ‘‘(bb) promote effective re- 8 forestation following unplanned 9 events; and 10 ‘‘(cc) may include activities 11 to ensure adequate and appro- 12 priate seed availability. 13 ‘‘(II) RANKING.—The Chief of 14 the Forest Service shall rank projects 15 on the priority list under subclause (I) 16 based on— 17 ‘‘(aa) documentation of an 18 effective reforestation project 19 plan; 20 ‘‘(bb) the ability to measure 21 the progress and success of the 22 project; and 23 ‘‘(cc) the ability of a project 24 to provide benefits relating to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3106 IS forest function and health, soil 1 health and productivity, wildlife 2 habitat, improved air and water 3 quality, carbon sequestration po- 4 tential, resilience, job creation, 5 and enhanced recreational oppor- 6 tunities.’’. 7 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8 9 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 9 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105) is amended, in the un- 10 designated matter following paragraph (5) of 11 subsection (g)— 12 (i) by striking ‘‘section 3(d)’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘subsection (e) of section 3’’; and 14 (ii) by striking ‘‘1601(d)’’ and insert- 15 ing ‘‘1601’’. 16 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM PROGRAM ELE- 17 MENTS.—Section 9 of the Forest and Rangeland Re- 18 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 19 1607) is amended, in the second sentence, by strik- 20 ing ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 21 (b) REFORESTATION TRUST FUND.—Section 303 of 22 Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a) is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking 24 ‘‘$30,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$60,000,000’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 3106 IS (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 1 (A) by striking ‘‘section 3(d)’’ and insert- 2 ing ‘‘subsection (e) of section 3’’; and 3 (B) by striking ‘‘1601(d)’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘1601’’. 5 (c) STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING 6 PROJECTS.—Section 604(c) of the Healthy Forests Res- 7 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(c)) is amended by 8 adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(8) With respect to projects under subsection 10 (b) entered into only by the Chief, reforestation in 11 accordance with subsection (e)(4)(C)(ii) of section 3 12 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 13 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601).’’. 14 (d) GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY.—Section 8206 of 15 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amend- 16 ed— 17 (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)— 18 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 19 end; 20 (B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 21 (iv); and 22 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol- 23 lowing: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 3106 IS ‘‘(iii) with respect to National Forest 1 System land only, reforestation activities; 2 and’’; and 3 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(C) REFORESTATION PRIORITY.—The 6 Secretary shall enter into good neighbor agree- 7 ments under this section with respect to forest, 8 rangeland, and watershed restoration services 9 described in subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii) in accord- 10 ance with subsection (e)(4)(C)(ii) of section 3 11 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- 12 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 13 1601).’’. 14 SEC. 3. REPORT. 15 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 16 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Agri- 17 culture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- 18 trition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 19 Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and make 20 publicly available on the website of the Forest Service, a 21 report that describes, with respect to the preceding year— 22 (1) an evaluation of the degree to which the 23 Secretary has achieved compliance with the require- 24 ments contained in the amendments made by this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 3106 IS Act, including, as a result of those amendments, the 1 number of acres covered by reforestation projects 2 that follow unplanned events (such as wildfires); 3 (2) the authorities, expressed by the number of 4 acres replanted, used to replant forests impacted by 5 unplanned events, including through— 6 (A) stewardship contracts under section 7 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 8 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c); and 9 (B) good neighbor agreements under sec- 10 tion 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 11 U.S.C. 2113a); 12 (3) the number of acres of National Forest Sys- 13 tem land affected by, and the substance of reforest- 14 ation needs on that land resulting from, unplanned 15 events; and 16 (4) the number of acres in need of reforestation 17 under subsection (e)(1) of section 3 of the Forest 18 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 19 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601). 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3106.IS S3106 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS