Forest Conservation Easement Program Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3424 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agri- culture to establish the forest conservation easement program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2023 Mr. KELLY of Mississippi (for himself and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the forest conserva- tion easement program, 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 ‘‘Forest Conservation 4 Easement Program Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FOREST CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XII of the Food Security 7 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3424 IH (1) by redesignating subtitle I (16 U.S.C. 3871 1 et seq.) as subtitle J; and 2 (2) by inserting after subtitle H (16 U.S.C. 3 3865 et seq.) the following: 4 ‘‘Subtitle I—Forest Conservation 5 Easement Program 6 ‘‘SEC. 1267. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 8 lish a forest conservation easement program for the con- 9 servation and restoration of eligible land and natural re- 10 sources through the acquisition of conservation easements 11 or other interests in land. 12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program 13 are— 14 ‘‘(1) to protect the viability and sustainability 15 of forest land and related ecological and human con- 16 servation values of eligible land by limiting the nega- 17 tive impacts of non-forest land uses; 18 ‘‘(2) to protect and enhance forest ecosystem 19 and landscape functions and values; 20 ‘‘(3) to promote the restoration, protection, and 21 improvement of habitat of threatened and endan- 22 gered species and other at-risk species; 23 ‘‘(4) to maintain and enhance biodiversity; 24 ‘‘(5) to enhance carbon sequestration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(6) to protect and restore watersheds for 1 water quality and quantity improvements; 2 ‘‘(7) to prevent encroachment around military 3 bases and installations; and 4 ‘‘(8) to carry out the purposes and functions of 5 the healthy forests reserve program established 6 under title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 7 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.), as in effect on the 8 day before the date of enactment of this section. 9 ‘‘SEC. 1267A. DEFINITIONS. 10 ‘‘In this subtitle: 11 ‘‘(1) BEGINNING FOREST LANDOWNER.—The 12 term ‘beginning forest landowner’ means a person 13 that— 14 ‘‘(A)(i) has not previously owned forest 15 land; or 16 ‘‘(ii) has owned forest land for not more 17 than 10 years; and 18 ‘‘(B) meets such other criteria as the Sec- 19 retary may establish. 20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 21 tity’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) an agency of State or local govern- 23 ment or an Indian Tribe (including a land re- 24 source council established under State law); or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(B) an organization that is— 1 ‘‘(i) organized for, and at all times 2 since the formation of the organization has 3 been operated principally for, 1 or more of 4 the conservation purposes specified in 5 clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 6 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 7 of 1986; 8 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec- 9 tion 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt 10 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 11 Code; or 12 ‘‘(iii) described in— 13 ‘‘(I) paragraph (1) or (2) of sec- 14 tion 509(a) of that Code; or 15 ‘‘(II) section 509(a)(3) of that 16 Code and is controlled by an organiza- 17 tion described in section 509(a)(2) of 18 that Code. 19 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 20 means private land (which shall include land owned 21 by any organization described in paragraph (2)(B) 22 and land owned by any other private entity, without 23 any eligibility requirement in addition to the eligi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3424 IH bility requirements established by this subtitle) or 1 Tribal land— 2 ‘‘(A) that is— 3 ‘‘(i) forest land; or 4 ‘‘(ii) being restored to forest land; 5 ‘‘(B) in the case of a forest land ease- 6 ment— 7 ‘‘(i) that is subject to a pending offer 8 for purchase of a forest land easement 9 from an eligible entity; and 10 ‘‘(ii)(I) the enrollment of which would 11 protect forest uses and related conserva- 12 tion values by conserving land; or 13 ‘‘(II) the protection of which will fur- 14 ther a State or local policy consistent with 15 the purposes of the program; and 16 ‘‘(C) in the case of a forest reserve ease- 17 ment, the enrollment of which will maintain, re- 18 store, enhance, or otherwise measurably— 19 ‘‘(i) increase the likelihood of recovery 20 of a species that is listed as endangered or 21 threatened under section 4 of the Endan- 22 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 23 1533); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(ii) improve the well-being of a spe- 1 cies that is— 2 ‘‘(I) not listed as endangered or 3 threatened under that section; and 4 ‘‘(II)(aa) a candidate for that 5 listing, a State-listed species, or a spe- 6 cial concern species; or 7 ‘‘(bb) designated as a species of 8 greatest conservation need by a State 9 wildlife action plan. 10 ‘‘(4) FOREST LAND EASEMENT.—The term ‘for- 11 est land easement’ means an easement or other in- 12 terest in eligible land that— 13 ‘‘(A) is conveyed to an eligible entity for 14 the purpose of protecting natural resources and 15 the forest nature of the eligible land; and 16 ‘‘(B) permits the landowner the right to 17 continue working forest production and related 18 uses. 19 ‘‘(5) FOREST RESERVE EASEMENT.—The term 20 ‘forest reserve easement’ means an easement or 21 other interest in eligible land that— 22 ‘‘(A) is conveyed to the Secretary for the 23 purpose of protecting natural resources and the 24 forest nature of the eligible land; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(B) permits the landowner the right to 1 continue working forest production and related 2 uses consistent with the applicable forest re- 3 serve easement plan developed under section 4 1267C(c)(1)(A). 5 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 6 the forest conservation easement program estab- 7 lished under this subtitle. 8 ‘‘(7) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FOREST LAND- 9 OWNER.—The term ‘socially disadvantaged forest 10 landowner’ means a forest landowner who is a mem- 11 ber of a socially disadvantaged group (as defined in 12 section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva- 13 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))). 14 ‘‘(8) VETERAN FOREST LANDOWNER.—The 15 term ‘veteran forest landowner’ means a forest land- 16 owner who— 17 ‘‘(A) has served in the Armed Forces (as 18 defined in section 101 of title 38, United States 19 Code); and 20 ‘‘(B)(i) has not previously owned forest 21 land; 22 ‘‘(ii) has owned forest land for not more 23 than 10 years; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(iii) is a veteran (as defined in that sec- 1 tion) who has first obtained status as a veteran 2 (as so defined) during the most recent 10-year 3 period. 4 ‘‘SEC. 1267B. FOREST LAND EASEMENTS. 5 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 6 shall facilitate and provide funding for— 7 ‘‘(1) the purchase by eligible entities of forest 8 land easements in eligible land; 9 ‘‘(2) the development of a voluntary forest man- 10 agement plan under subsection (b)(4)(F); and 11 ‘‘(3) technical assistance to implement this sec- 12 tion. 13 ‘‘(b) COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall protect 15 the forest use and related conservation values of eli- 16 gible land through cost-share assistance to eligible 17 entities for purchasing forest land easements. 18 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.— 19 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as pro- 20 vided in subparagraph (C), an agreement de- 21 scribed in paragraph (4) shall provide for a 22 Federal share of 50 percent of the fair market 23 value of the forest land easement. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET 1 VALUE.—The fair market value of a forest land 2 easement shall be determined by the Secretary 3 using— 4 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Standards of Profes- 5 sional Appraisal Practice; 6 ‘‘(ii) an areawide market analysis or 7 survey; or 8 ‘‘(iii) another industry-approved meth- 9 od. 10 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may 11 provide for a Federal share of not to exceed 75 12 percent of the fair market value of a forest land 13 easement in the case of— 14 ‘‘(i) forests of special environmental 15 significance, as determined by the Sec- 16 retary; or 17 ‘‘(ii) eligible land owned by— 18 ‘‘(I) a beginning forest land- 19 owner; 20 ‘‘(II) a socially disadvantaged 21 forest landowner; 22 ‘‘(III) a veteran forest landowner; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(IV) a limited resource forest 1 landowner, as defined by the Sec- 2 retary. 3 ‘‘(D) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under an agree- 5 ment described in paragraph (4), the eligi- 6 ble entity shall provide a share that covers 7 the difference between— 8 ‘‘(I) the Federal share that is 9 provided under this paragraph; and 10 ‘‘(II) the fair market value of the 11 forest land easement. 12 ‘‘(ii) PERMISSIBLE FORMS.—The non- 13 Federal share provided by an eligible entity 14 under this subparagraph may comprise— 15 ‘‘(I) cash resources; 16 ‘‘(II) a charitable donation or 17 qualified conservation contribution (as 18 defined in section 170(h) of the Inter- 19 nal Revenue Code of 1986) from the 20 private forest landowner from which 21 the forest land easement will be pur- 22 chased; 23 ‘‘(III) costs associated with se- 24 curing a deed to the forest land ease- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3424 IH ment, including the cost of appraisal, 1 survey, inspection, and title; and 2 ‘‘(IV) other costs, as determined 3 by the Secretary. 4 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF APPLICA- 5 TIONS.— 6 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es- 7 tablish evaluation and ranking criteria to maxi- 8 mize the benefit of Federal investment under 9 the program. 10 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In evaluating applica- 11 tions under the program, the Secretary shall 12 give priority to an application for the purchase 13 of a forest land easement that, as determined 14 by the Secretary— 15 ‘‘(i) maintains the viability of working 16 forest land; and 17 ‘‘(ii) will, not later than the time of 18 acquisition of the forest land easement, in- 19 clude a forest management plan developed 20 for the eligible land, which may comprise— 21 ‘‘(I) a forest stewardship plan de- 22 scribed in section 5(f) of the Coopera- 23 tive Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 24 (16 U.S.C. 2103a(f)); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(II) another plan approved by 1 the applicable State forester or State 2 forestry agency; 3 ‘‘(III) a plan developed under a 4 third-party certification system; or 5 ‘‘(IV) another plan determined 6 appropriate by the Secretary. 7 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing 8 the criteria under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 9 retary shall emphasize support for— 10 ‘‘(i) protecting forest uses and related 11 conservation values of the eligible land; 12 ‘‘(ii) reducing fragmentation; and 13 ‘‘(iii) maximizing the areas protected 14 from conversion to non-forest uses. 15 ‘‘(D) ACCOUNTING FOR GEOGRAPHIC DIF- 16 FERENCES.—The Secretary may adjust the cri- 17 teria established under subparagraph (A) to ac- 18 count for geographic differences, if the adjust- 19 ments— 20 ‘‘(i) meet the purposes of the pro- 21 gram; and 22 ‘‘(ii) continue to maximize the benefit 23 of the Federal investment under the pro- 24 gram. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Jun 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(E) BIDDING DOWN.—If the Secretary 1 determines that 2 or more applications for cost- 2 share assistance are comparable in achieving 3 the purpose of the program, the Secretary shall 4 not assign a higher priority to any of those ap- 5 plications solely on the basis of lesser cost to 6 the program. 7 ‘‘(4) AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 9 enter into agreements with eligible entities to 10 stipulate the terms and conditions under which 11 the eligible entity is permitted to use cost-share 12 assistance provided under this section. 13 ‘‘(B) LENGTH OF AGREEMENTS.— 14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An agreement 15 under subparagraph (A) shall be for a 16 term that is— 17 ‘‘(I) in the case of an eligible en- 18 tity certified under paragraph (5), not 19 less than 5 years; and 20 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other eli- 21 gible entity, not less than 3, but not 22 more than 5, years, unless the Sec- 23 retary determines that an extension of 24 time is justified. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(ii) EXPEDITING CLOSINGS.—The 1 Secretary is encouraged to expedite closing 2 on forest land easements, as practicable. 3 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 4 An eligibl [Text truncated for display. 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