Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 831 (is) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to set aside up to $2 per person from park entrance fees or assess up to $2 per person visiting the Grand Canyon or other national park to secure bonds for capital improvements to the park, and for ot...S. 831 (is) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to set aside up to $2 per person from park entrance fees or assess up to $2 per person visiting the Grand Canyon or other national park to secure bonds for capital improvements to the park, and for ot...
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 830
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to
expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect
forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2003
Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Allen, and Ms. Mikulski)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
ForestryYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to
expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect
forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Forestry
Program Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) trees and forests are critical to the long-term health
and proper functioning of the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake
Bay watershed;
(2) the Chesapeake Bay States are losing forest land to
urban growth at a rate of nearly 100 acres per day; and
(3) the Forest Service has a vital role to play in
assisting States, local governments, and nonprofit
organizations in carrying out forest conservation, restoration,
and stewardship projects and activities.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to
protect, restore, and manage forests in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed; and
(2) to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay
Agreement'' means the formal, voluntary agreements--
(A) executed to achieve the goal of restoring and
protecting the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the living
resources of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and
(B) signed by the Council.
(2) Chesapeake bay state.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay
State'' means each of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia and the
District of Columbia.
(3) Coordinator.--The term ``Coordinator'' means the
Coordinator of the program designated under section 4(b)(1)(B).
(4) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Chesapeake Bay
Executive Council.
(5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Chesapeake Bay
watershed forestry program carried out under section 4(a).
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service
and the Coordinator.
SEC. 4. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED FORESTRY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a Chesapeake Bay
watershed forestry program under which the Secretary shall make grants
and provide technical assistance to eligible entities to restore and
conserve forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including grants and
assistance--
(1) to promote forest conservation and stewardship efforts
in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Chesapeake Bay
watershed;
(2) to manage National Forest System land in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed in a manner that protects water quality and
sustains watershed health;
(3) to assist in developing and carrying out projects and
partnerships in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(4) to conduct research, assessment, and planning
activities to restore and protect forest land in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed;
(5) to develop communication and education resources to
enhance public understanding of the value of forests in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
(6) to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
(b) Office; Coordinator.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
(A) maintain an office within the Forest Service to
carry out the program; and
(B) designate an employee of the Forest Service as
Coordinator of the program.
(2) Duties.--As part of the program, the Coordinator, in
cooperation with the Secretary and the Chesapeake Bay Program,
shall--
(A) provide grants and technical assistance to
restore and protect forests in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed;
(B) enter into partnerships to carry out forest
restoration and conservation activities at a watershed
scale using the resources and programs of the Forest
Service;
(C) carry out activities, in collaboration with
other units of the Forest Service, that contribute to
the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
(D) represent the Forest Service in deliberations
of the Chesapeake Bay Program; and
(E) support and collaborate with the Forestry Work
Group in planning and implementing program activities.
(c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive assistance under
the program, an entity shall be--
(1) a Chesapeake Bay State;
(2) a political subdivision of a Chesapeake Bay State;
(3) an organization operating in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed that is described in section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of that Code; or
(4) any other person in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that
the Secretary determines to be eligible.
(d) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
eligible entities under the program to carry out projects to
protect, restore, and manage forests in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
(2) Federal share.--The Federal share of a grant made under
the program shall not exceed 75 percent, as determined by the
Secretary.
(3) Types of projects.--The Secretary may make a grant to
an eligible entity for any project in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed that--
(A) improves habitat and water quality through the
establishment, protection, or stewardship of riparian
or wetland forests or stream corridors;
(B) builds the capacity of State and local
organizations to implement forest conservation,
restoration, and stewardship actions;
(C) develops and implements watershed management
plans that--
(i) address forest conservation needs; and
(ii) reduce urban runoff;
(D) provides outreach and assistance to private
landowners and communities to restore or conserve
forests in the watershed;
(E) implements communication, education, or
technology transfer programs that broaden public
understanding of the value of trees and forests in
sustaining and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(F) coordinates and implements community-based
watershed partnerships and initiatives that--
(i) focus on the restoration or protection
of urban and rural forests; or
(ii) focus programs of the Forest Service
on restoring or protecting watersheds;
(G) provides enhanced forest resource data to
support watershed management;
(H) enhances upland forest health to reduce risks
to watershed function and water quality; or
(I) conducts inventory assessment or monitoring
activities to measure environmental change associated
with projects carried out under the program.
(4) State watershed foresters.--Funds made available under
section 6 may be used by a Chesapeake Bay State to employ a
State watershed forester to carry out activities and coordinate
watershed-level projects relating to the program.
(e) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Council, shall conduct a study of urban and rural forests in
the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including--
(A) an assessment of forest loss and fragmentation
in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(B) an identification of forest land within the
Chesapeake Bay watershed that should be restored or
protected; and
(C) recommendations for expanded and targeted
actions and programs that are needed to achieve the
goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after amounts are first
made available under section 6, the Secretary shall submit to
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate a report that describes the results of the study.
SEC. 5. WATERSHED FORESTRY RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the Council,
shall establish a watershed forestry research program for the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
(b) Administration.--In carrying out the watershed forestry
research program established under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall--
(1) use a combination of applied research, modeling,
demonstration projects, implementation standards, strategies
for adaptive management, training, and education to meet the
needs of the residents of the Chesapeake Bay States for
managing forests in urban, developing, and rural areas;
(2) solicit input from local managers and Federal, State,
and private researchers, with respect to air and water quality,
social and economic implications, environmental change, and
other Chesapeake Bay watershed forestry issues in urban and
rural areas; and
(3) collaborate with the Chesapeake Bay Program Scientific
and Technical Advisory Committee and universities in the
Chesapeake Bay States to--
(A) address issues in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
and
(B) support modeling and informational needs of the
Chesapeake Bay program.
(c) Watershed Forestry Research Strategy.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in
collaboration with the Northeast Forest Research Station and the
Southern Forest Research Station, shall submit to Congress a strategy
for research to address Chesapeake Bay watershed goals.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program
$3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2010, of which--
(1) not more than $500,000 shall be used to conduct the
study required under section 4(e); and
(2) not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal year shall be
used to carry out the watershed forestry research program under
section 5.
SEC. 7. REPORT.
Not later than December 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, the
Coordinator shall submit to the Secretary a comprehensive report on
activities carried out under the program.
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