To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study on lands that could be included in a National Forest in Hawai'i, and for other purposes.

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7045 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 7, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources AN ACT To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study on lands that could be included in a National Forest in Hawai’i, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7045.RFS H7045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 7045 RFS SECTION 1. HAWAI’I NATIONAL FOREST STUDY. 1 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to identify 2 lands within the study area that would— 3 (1) support the conservation of biodiversity not 4 found elsewhere in the National Forest System; 5 (2) support or expand the research mission of 6 the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry; 7 (3) promote shared stewardship with local com- 8 munities, including indigenous populations, the State 9 of Hawai’i, and non-profit groups; and 10 (4) support or expand the international pro- 11 grams of the Forest Service related to conservation 12 of forest ecosystems, sustainable forestry, protection 13 of threatened, endangered, and migratory species, 14 controlling the spread of invasive species, inter- 15 national reforestation, and other forest restoration 16 efforts. 17 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 20 shall conduct a study to identify available land with- 21 in the study area that could be included in a Na- 22 tional Forest in Hawai’i. 23 (2) COORDINATION REQUIREMENT.—The Sec- 24 retary shall conduct the study under paragraph (1) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7045.RFS H7045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 7045 RFS in coordination the Hawai’i Department of Land 1 and Natural Resources. 2 (3) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In car- 3 rying out the study under paragraph (1), the Sec- 4 retary— 5 (A) shall consult with— 6 (i) the Hawai’i Department of Land 7 and Natural Resources; and 8 (ii) the Hawai’i Department of Agri- 9 culture; and 10 (B) may consult with such other govern- 11 mental or nonprofit entities as the Secretary 12 determines appropriate. 13 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 15 submit a report to the Committee on Energy and 16 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 17 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa- 18 tives that identifies— 19 (A) available land within the study area 20 that could be included in a National Forest in 21 Hawai’i; 22 (B) the ownership of the land within the 23 study area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7045.RFS H7045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 7045 RFS (C) any undeveloped land in the study area 1 that may be at risk of development; and 2 (D) any actions that could be carried out 3 to preserve the open and undeveloped character 4 of the land within the study area. 5 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes the 6 Secretary to take any action that would affect the use of 7 any land not owned by the United States. 8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 (1) AVAILABLE LAND.—The term ‘‘available 10 land’’ means any land within the study areas that 11 is— 12 (A) Federally owned; 13 (B) managed by a Federal land manage- 14 ment agency in partnership with a non-Federal 15 entity; or 16 (C) land not described in subparagraph 17 (A) or (B) that fulfills the purpose of this sec- 18 tion, as determined by the Secretary. 19 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 21 Chief of the Forest Service. 22 (3) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 23 means the islands of Hawai’i, Maui, Moloka’i, 24 La¯na’i, O’ahu and Kaua’i in the State of Hawai’i. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7045.RFS H7045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 7045 RFS (4) UNDEVELOPED LAND.—The term ‘‘undevel- 1 oped land’’ means land— 2 (A) that is located within the study area; 3 (B) that is free or primarily free of struc- 4 tures; and 5 (C) the development of which is likely to 6 affect adversely the scenic, research, wildlife, or 7 recreational value of the study area. 8 Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7045.RFS H7045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS