Native Plant Species Pilot Program Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6024 To establish a pilot program for native plant species, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) the United States has a significant interest 8 in— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Mar 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6024 IH (A) preserving the worldwide system of 1 richly varied habitats; 2 (B) protecting native plant biodiversity and 3 the ecosystems that support that biodiversity; 4 and 5 (C) protecting the quality of life of people 6 in the United States; 7 (2) native plants are an inseparable part of the 8 natural beauty of the landscape of the United 9 States, which must be preserved; 10 (3) the extensive root systems of native plants 11 control erosion, moderate floods, filter water to im- 12 prove water quality, decrease the amount of water 13 needed for landscape maintenance, and sequester 14 carbon to combat climate change; 15 (4) native plants provide food and habitat for 16 pollinators and wildlife; 17 (5) native plants supply an important genetic 18 record for future food, agriculture, and plant-derived 19 products; 20 (6) native plant communities are important 21 components of cultural landscapes; 22 (7) the use of native plant materials for res- 23 toration or enhancement contributes to the preserva- 24 tion of cultural landscapes; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6024 IH (8) the use of native plant species in revegeta- 1 tion efforts after construction activities and adjacent 2 to roadways increases habitat for a variety of polli- 3 nators and other native animal species; 4 (9) supporting native plant communities within 5 or adjacent to agricultural areas provides important 6 wildlife habitat that would not otherwise be avail- 7 able; 8 (10) the use of native plants in landscaping can 9 reduce the need for herbicides and water use; and 10 (11) of the 20,000 known native plant species 11 in North America, it has been estimated that nearly 12 25 to 30 percent are at risk of extinction as a result 13 of factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, tem- 14 perature shifts, and pesticide use. 15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means, 18 with respect to invasive species, containing, sup- 19 pressing, or reducing populations of invasive species. 20 (2) ERADICATE.—The term ‘‘eradicate’’ means, 21 with respect to invasive species, removing or destroy- 22 ing an entire population of invasive species. 23 (3) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 24 species’’ means, with respect to a particular eco- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6024 IH system, a nonnative organism, the introduction of 1 which causes or is likely to cause economic or envi- 2 ronmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant 3 health. 4 (4) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 5 adapted’’ means, with respect to plants, plants 6 that— 7 (A) originate from an area that is geo- 8 graphically proximate to a planting area; and 9 (B) are environmentally adapted to and 10 likely to become established and persist in that 11 planting area. 12 (5) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REGION.—The 13 term ‘‘National Park Service region’’ means each of 14 the following unified Interior regions designated by 15 the Secretary of the Interior: 16 (A) Alaska. 17 (B) Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf. 18 (C) Columbia-Pacific Northwest. 19 (D) California-Great Basin. 20 (E) Great Lakes. 21 (F) Lower Colorado-Basin. 22 (G) Mississippi-Basin. 23 (H) Missouri-Basin. 24 (I) North Atlantic-Appalachian. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6024 IH (J) Pacific Islands. 1 (K) South Atlantic-Gulf. 2 (L) Upper Colorado-Basin. 3 (6) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 4 plant species’’ means, with respect to a particular 5 ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of 6 an introduction, historically occurred or currently oc- 7 curs in that ecosystem. 8 (7) NONNATIVE OR ALIEN.—The term ‘‘non- 9 native or alien’’ means, with respect to a particular 10 ecosystem, an organism, including the seeds, eggs, 11 spores, or other biological material of the organism 12 capable of propagating that species, that occurs out- 13 side of the natural range of the organism. 14 (8) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant mate- 15 rial’’ means a plant or the seeds, eggs, spores, or 16 other biological material of a plant capable of propa- 17 gating the species of the plant. 18 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 20 rector of the National Park Service. 21 SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIVE PLANT SPECIES. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6024 IH tablish a pilot program in 2 or more National Park Service 1 regions to promote the use of native plant materials. 2 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out land man- 3 agement activities on Federal land under the jurisdiction 4 of the Secretary, including maintenance and restoration 5 in response to degradation caused by human activity or 6 natural events (such as fire, flood, or infestation), the Sec- 7 retary shall— 8 (1) to the extent practicable, give preference to 9 the use of locally adapted native plant materials; 10 (2) incorporate efforts to prevent, control, or 11 eradicate the spread of invasive species; and 12 (3) identify situations in which the use of non- 13 native or alien plant materials may be warranted, in- 14 cluding situations in which— 15 (A) emergency conditions require the pro- 16 tection of basic resource values; 17 (B) an interim nonpersistent measure is 18 needed to aid in the reestablishment of a native 19 plant species; 20 (C) native plant materials are not reason- 21 ably available; and 22 (D) the plant community subject to a land 23 management activity has been permanently al- 24 tered. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6024 IH (c) COORDINATION.—To accelerate the adoption of 1 native plants throughout programs of the Department of 2 the Interior, the Secretary shall, in carrying out the pilot 3 program, coordinate activities with— 4 (1) the National Seed Strategy of the Bureau 5 of Land Management; 6 (2) the Plant Conservation Alliance; and 7 (3) the Plant Materials Centers of the Natural 8 Resources Conservation Service. 9 (d) DURATION.—The authority to carry out the pilot 10 program terminates on the date that is 5 years after the 11 date on which the pilot program is established under sub- 12 section (a). 13 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 14 on which the authority to carry out the pilot program ter- 15 minates under subsection (d), the Secretary shall submit 16 to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro- 17 gram. 18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec- 20 essary to carry out this Act. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6024 IH SEC. 5. STUDY ON COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF USING NATIVE 1 PLANT MATERIALS IN CARRYING OUT LAND 2 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL 3 LAND. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, con- 6 sistent with section 4, conduct a study to review existing 7 data to determine the cost-effectiveness of using native 8 plant materials in land management activities on Federal 9 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or other Fed- 10 eral land management agencies. 11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 12 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 13 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 14 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 15 House of Representatives a report describing the results 16 of the study required under subsection (a). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6024.IH H6024 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS