16 U.S.C. § 2103 : US Code - Section 2103: Forest land enhancement program

Search 16 U.S.C. § 2103 : US Code - Section 2103: Forest land enhancement program

(a) Establishment
(1) In general
The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a forest land
enhancement program -
(A) to provide financial assistance to State foresters; and
(B) to encourage the long-term sustainability of
nonindustrial private forest lands in the United States by
assisting the owners of nonindustrial private forest lands,
through State foresters, in more actively managing the
nonindustrial private forest lands and related resources of
those owners through the use of State, Federal, and private
sector resource management expertise, financial assistance, and
educational programs.
(2) Coordination and consultation
The Secretary, acting through State foresters, shall implement
the program -
(A) in coordination with the State Forest Stewardship
Coordinating Committees; and
(B) in consultation with other Federal, State, and local
natural resource management agencies, institutions of higher
education, and a broad range of private sector interests.
(b) Program objectives
In implementing the program, the Secretary shall target resources
to achieve the following objectives:
(1) Investing in practices to establish, restore, protect,
manage, maintain, and enhance the health and productivity of the
nonindustrial private forest lands in the United States for
timber, habitat for flora and fauna, soil, water, and air
quality, wetlands, and riparian buffers.
(2) Ensuring that afforestation, reforestation, improvement of
poorly stocked stands, timber stand improvement, practices
necessary to improve seedling growth and survival, and growth
enhancement practices occur where needed to enhance and sustain
the long-term productivity of timber and nontimber forest
resources to help meet future public demand for all forest
resources and provide environmental benefits.
(3) Reducing the risks and helping restore, recover, and
mitigate the damage to forests caused by fire, insects, invasive
species, disease, and damaging weather.
(4) Increasing and enhancing carbon sequestration
opportunities.
(5) Enhancing implementation of agroforestry practices.
(6) Maintaining and enhancing the forest landbase and leverage
State and local financial and technical assistance to owners that
promote the same conservation and environmental values.
(7) Preserving the aesthetic quality of nonindustrial private
forest lands and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation.
(c) State priority plan
(1) Development
The State Forester and State Forest Stewardship Coordinating
Committee of a State shall jointly develop and submit to the
Secretary a State priority plan that is intended to promote
forest management objectives in that State.
(2) Report
Not later than September 30, 2006, each State that implemented
a State priority plan shall submit to the Secretary a report
describing the status of all activities and practices funded
under the program as of that date.
(d) Owner eligibility for assistance
(1) Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for cost-share assistance under the program, an
owner of nonindustrial private forest lands shall agree -
(A) to develop and implement, in cooperation with a State
forester, another State official, or a professional resources
manager, a management plan that -
(i) except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), provides
for the treatment of not more than 1,000 acres of
nonindustrial private forest lands;
(ii) is approved by the State forester; and
(iii) addresses site specific activities and practices; and
(B) to implement approved activities and practices in a
manner consistent with the management plan for a period of not
less than 10 years, unless the State forester approves a
modification to the plan.
(2) Public benefit exception
The Secretary may increase the acreage limitation specified in
paragraph (1)(A)(i) to not more than 5,000 acres for an owner of
nonindustrial private forest lands if the Secretary, in
consultation with the State forester, determines that significant
public benefits will accrue as a result of the provision of cost-
share assistance under the program for the treatment of the
additional acreage.
(3) Plan development exception
An owner may receive cost-share assistance under the program
for the purpose of developing a management plan under subsection
(e) of this section that provides for the treatment of acreage in
excess of the acreage limitations specified in paragraphs
(1)(A)(i) and (2), except that the owner's eligibility for cost-
share assistance to implement approved activities and practices
under the management plan remains subject to the acreage
limitation specified in paragraph (1)(A)(i) or, if the Secretary
makes the determination described in paragraph (2), the acreage
limitation specified in that paragraph.
(e) Management plan
(1) Submission and content
An owner of nonindustrial private forest lands that seeks to
participate in the program shall submit to the State forester of
the State in which the lands are located a management plan that -

(A) identifies and describes projects and activities to be
carried out by the owner to protect or enhance soil, water,
air, range and aesthetic quality, recreation, timber, water,
wetland, or fish and wildlife resources on the lands in a
manner that is compatible with the objectives of the owner;
(B) addresses any criteria established by the State and the
applicable Committee; and
(C) meets the other requirements of this section.
(2) Lands covered
At a minimum, the management plan shall apply to those portions
of the nonindustrial private forest lands of the owner on which
any project or activity funded under the program will be carried
out. In a case in which a project or activity may affect acreage
outside the portion of the land on which the project or activity
is carried out, the management plan shall apply to all lands of
the owner that are in forest cover and may be affected by the
project or activity.
(f) Approved activities
(1) State list
The Secretary shall develop for each State a list of approved
forest activities and practices eligible for cost-share
assistance that meets the purposes of the program. The Secretary
shall develop the list for a State in consultation with the State
forester and the Committee for that State.
(2) Types of activities
Approved activities and practices under paragraph (1) may
consist of activities and practices for the following purposes:
(A) The establishment, management, maintenance, and
restoration of forests for shelterbelts, windbreaks, aesthetic
quality, and other conservation purposes.
(B) The sustainable growth and management of forests for
timber production.
(C) The restoration, use, and enhancement of forest wetland
and riparian areas.
(D) The protection of water quality and watersheds through -
(i) the planting of trees in riparian areas; and
(ii) the enhanced management and maintenance of native
vegetation on land vital to water quality.
(E) The management, maintenance, restoration, or development
of habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.
(F) The control, detection, monitoring, and prevention of the
spread of invasive species and pests on nonindustrial private
forest lands.
(G) The restoration of nonindustrial private forest land
affected by invasive species and pests.
(H) The conduct of other management activities, such as the
reduction of hazardous fuels, that reduce the risks to forests
posed by, and that restore, recover, and mitigate the damage to
forests caused by, fire or any other catastrophic event, as
determined by the Secretary.
(I) The development of management plans;
(J) The conduct of energy conservation and carbon
sequestration activities.
(K) The conduct of other activities approved by the
Secretary, in consultation with the State forester and the
appropriate Committees.
(g) Reimbursement of eligible activities
(1) In general
In the case of an eligible owner that has an approved
management plan, the Secretary shall share the cost of
implementing the approved activities and practices that the
Secretary determines are appropriate.
(2) Rate
The Secretary shall determine the appropriate reimbursement
rate for cost-share payments under paragraph (1) and the schedule
for making those payments.
(3) Maximum cost share
The Secretary shall not make cost-share payments under this
subsection to an owner in an amount in excess of 75 percent, or a
lower percentage as determined by the State forester, of the
total cost to the owner to implement the approved activities and
practices under the management plan.
(4) Aggregate payment limit
The Secretary shall determine the maximum aggregate amount of
cost-share payments that an owner may receive under the program.
(5) Consultation
The Secretary shall make determinations under this subsection
in consultation with the State forester.
(h) Recapture
(1) In general
The Secretary shall establish and implement a mechanism to
recapture payments made to an owner in the event that the owner
fails to implement an approved activity or practice specified in
the management plan for which the owner received cost-share
payments.
(2) Additional remedy
The remedy provided in paragraph (1) is in addition to any
other remedy available to the Secretary.
(i) Distribution of cost-share funds
The Secretary, acting through the State foresters, shall
distribute funds available for cost sharing under the program only
after giving appropriate consideration to the following factors:
(1) The public benefits that would result from the
distribution.
(2) The total acreage of nonindustrial private forest lands in
each State.
(3) The potential productivity of those lands, as determined by
the Secretary.
(4) The number of owners eligible for cost sharing in each
State.
(5) The opportunities to enhance nontimber resources on those
lands, including -
(A) the protection of riparian buffers and forest wetland;
(B) the preservation of fish and wildlife habitat;
(C) the enhancement of soil, air, and water quality; and
(D) the preservation of aesthetic quality and opportunities
for outdoor recreation.
(6) The anticipated demand for timber and nontimber resources
in each State.
(7) The need to improve forest health to minimize the damaging
effects of catastrophic fire, insects, disease, or weather.
(8) The need and demand for agroforestry practices in each
State.
(9) The need to maintain and enhance the forest landbase.
(10) The need for afforestation, reforestation, and timber
stand improvement.
(j) Availability of funds
The Secretary shall use $100,000,000 of funds of the Commodity
Credit Corporation to carry out the Program during the period
beginning on May 13, 2002, and ending on September 30, 2007.
(k) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Nonindustrial private forest lands
The term "nonindustrial private forest lands" means rural
lands, as determined by the Secretary, that -
(A) have existing tree cover or are suitable for growing
trees; and
(B) are owned by any nonindustrial private individual, group,
association, corporation, Indian tribe, or other private legal
entity so long as the individual, group, association,
corporation, tribe, or entity has definitive decision-making
authority over the lands.
(2) Committee
The terms "State Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee" and
"Committee" means (!1) a State Forest Stewardship Coordinating
Committee established under section 2113(b) of this title.
(3) Indian tribe
The term "Indian tribe" has the meaning given the term in
section 450b of title 25.
(4) Owner
The term "owner" means an owner of nonindustrial private forest
land.
(5) Program
The term "program" means the forest land enhancement program
established by this section.
(6) Secretary
The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(7) State forester
The term "State forester" means the director or other head of a
State Forestry Agency or equivalent State official.