1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2709 |
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5 | 5 | | To improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoias, and for other purposes. |
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6 | 6 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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7 | 7 | | APRIL8, 2025 |
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8 | 8 | | Mr. F |
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9 | 9 | | ONG(for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. WEB- |
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10 | 10 | | STERof Florida, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. |
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11 | 11 | | V |
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12 | 12 | | ALADAO, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. CORREA, Mrs. KIM, Mr. |
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13 | 13 | | R |
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14 | 14 | | UTHERFORD, Mr. HARDERof California, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. GOLD- |
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15 | 15 | | ENof Maine, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. KILEYof California, |
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16 | 16 | | Mr. B |
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17 | 17 | | ERA, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. ISSA, Mr. BENTZ, Mr. |
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18 | 18 | | F |
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19 | 19 | | ULCHER, Mr. MOOREof Utah, and Ms. LEEof Nevada) introduced the |
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20 | 20 | | following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, |
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21 | 21 | | and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be sub- |
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22 | 22 | | sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of |
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23 | 23 | | such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
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24 | 24 | | A BILL |
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25 | 25 | | To improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoias, and |
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26 | 26 | | for other purposes. |
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27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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28 | 28 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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29 | 29 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 |
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30 | 30 | | (a) S |
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31 | 31 | | HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 |
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32 | 32 | | ‘‘Save Our Sequoias Act’’. 5 |
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33 | 33 | | (b) T |
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34 | 34 | | ABLE OFCONTENTS.— 6 |
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37 | 37 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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38 | 38 | | Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. |
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39 | 39 | | Sec. 2. Definitions. |
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40 | 40 | | Sec. 3. Shared stewardship agreement for giant sequoias. |
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41 | 41 | | Sec. 4. Giant sequoia lands coalition. |
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42 | 42 | | Sec. 5. Giant sequoia health and resiliency assessment. |
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43 | 43 | | Sec. 6. Giant sequoia emergency response. |
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44 | 44 | | Sec. 7. Giant sequoia reforestation and rehabilitation strategy. |
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45 | 45 | | Sec. 8. Giant sequoia strike teams. |
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46 | 46 | | Sec. 9. Giant sequoia collaborative restoration grants. |
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47 | 47 | | Sec. 10. Good neighbor authority for giant sequoias. |
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48 | 48 | | Sec. 11. Stewardship contracting for giant sequoias. |
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49 | 49 | | Sec. 12. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Program and Fund. |
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50 | 50 | | Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations. |
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51 | 51 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. |
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52 | 52 | | 1 |
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53 | 53 | | In this Act: 2 |
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54 | 54 | | (1) A |
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55 | 55 | | SSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘Assessment’’ 3 |
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56 | 56 | | means the Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency As-4 |
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57 | 57 | | sessment required by section 5. 5 |
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58 | 58 | | (2) C |
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59 | 59 | | OALITION.—The term ‘‘Coalition’’ means 6 |
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60 | 60 | | the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition codified under 7 |
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61 | 61 | | section 4(a). 8 |
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62 | 62 | | (3) C |
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63 | 63 | | OLLABORATIVE PROCESS .—The term ‘‘col-9 |
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64 | 64 | | laborative process’’ means a process relating to the 10 |
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65 | 65 | | management of covered National Forest system 11 |
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66 | 66 | | lands or covered public lands by which a project or 12 |
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67 | 67 | | forest management activity is developed and imple-13 |
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68 | 68 | | mented by the Secretary concerned through collabo-14 |
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69 | 69 | | ration with multiple interested persons representing 15 |
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70 | 70 | | diverse interests. 16 |
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71 | 71 | | (4) C |
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72 | 72 | | OVERED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM 17 |
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73 | 73 | | LANDS.—The term ‘‘covered National Forest System 18 |
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74 | 74 | | lands’’ means the proclaimed National Forest Sys-19 |
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77 | 77 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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78 | 78 | | tem lands reserved or withdrawn from the public do-1 |
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79 | 79 | | main of the United States covering the Sequoia Na-2 |
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80 | 80 | | tional Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monu-3 |
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81 | 81 | | ment, Sierra National Forest, and Tahoe National 4 |
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82 | 82 | | Forest. 5 |
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83 | 83 | | (5) C |
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84 | 84 | | OVERED PUBLIC LANDS .—The term ‘‘cov-6 |
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85 | 85 | | ered public lands’’ means— 7 |
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86 | 86 | | (A) the Case Mountain Extensive Recre-8 |
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87 | 87 | | ation Management Area in California managed 9 |
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88 | 88 | | by the Bureau of Land Management; and 10 |
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89 | 89 | | (B) Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia 11 |
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90 | 90 | | National Park, and Yosemite National Park in 12 |
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91 | 91 | | California managed by the National Park Serv-13 |
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92 | 92 | | ice. 14 |
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93 | 93 | | (6) G |
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94 | 94 | | IANT SEQUOIA.—The term ‘‘giant se-15 |
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95 | 95 | | quoia’’ means a tree of the species Sequoiadendron 16 |
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96 | 96 | | giganteum. 17 |
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97 | 97 | | (7) G |
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98 | 98 | | ROVE-SPECIFIC HAZARDOUS FUELS RE -18 |
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99 | 99 | | DUCTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘grove-specific haz-19 |
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100 | 100 | | ardous fuels reduction plan’’ means a plan developed 20 |
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101 | 101 | | by the applicable land management agency prior to 21 |
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102 | 102 | | conducting an analysis under the National Environ-22 |
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103 | 103 | | mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to ad-23 |
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104 | 104 | | dress hazardous fuels in 1 or more giant sequoia 24 |
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105 | 105 | | groves. 25 |
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108 | 108 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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109 | 109 | | (8) PROTECTION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Protec-1 |
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110 | 110 | | tion Project’’ means a Giant Sequoia Protection 2 |
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111 | 111 | | Project carried out under section 6. 3 |
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112 | 112 | | (9) R |
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113 | 113 | | EFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘reforest-4 |
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114 | 114 | | ation’’ means the act of renewing tree cover, taking 5 |
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115 | 115 | | into consideration species composition and resilience, 6 |
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116 | 116 | | by establishing young trees through natural regen-7 |
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117 | 117 | | eration, artificial or natural regeneration with site 8 |
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118 | 118 | | preparation, planting or direct seeding, or vegetation 9 |
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119 | 119 | | competition control following artificial or natural re-10 |
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120 | 120 | | generation. 11 |
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121 | 121 | | (10) R |
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122 | 122 | | EHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita-12 |
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123 | 123 | | tion’’ means any action taken during the 5-year pe-13 |
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124 | 124 | | riod beginning on the last day of a wildland fire to 14 |
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125 | 125 | | repair or improve fire-impacted lands which are un-15 |
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126 | 126 | | likely to recover to management-approved conditions. 16 |
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127 | 127 | | (11) R |
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128 | 128 | | ELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -17 |
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129 | 129 | | TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant Congressional Commit-18 |
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130 | 130 | | tees’’ means— 19 |
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131 | 131 | | (A) the Committees on Natural Resources, 20 |
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132 | 132 | | Agriculture, and Appropriations of the House of 21 |
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133 | 133 | | Representatives; and 22 |
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134 | 134 | | (B) the Committees on Energy and Nat-23 |
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135 | 135 | | ural Resources, Agriculture, Nutrition, and 24 |
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136 | 136 | | Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate. 25 |
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139 | 139 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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140 | 140 | | (12) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘re-1 |
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141 | 141 | | sponsible official’’ means an employee of the Depart-2 |
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142 | 142 | | ment of the Interior or Forest Service who has the 3 |
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143 | 143 | | authority to make and implement a decision on a 4 |
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144 | 144 | | proposed action. 5 |
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145 | 145 | | (13) S |
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146 | 146 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 6 |
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147 | 147 | | means the Secretary of the Interior. 7 |
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148 | 148 | | (14) S |
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149 | 149 | | ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term 8 |
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150 | 150 | | ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 9 |
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151 | 151 | | (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-10 |
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152 | 152 | | spect to covered National Forest System lands, 11 |
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153 | 153 | | or their designee; and 12 |
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154 | 154 | | (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-13 |
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155 | 155 | | spect to covered public lands, or their designee. 14 |
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156 | 156 | | (15) S |
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157 | 157 | | TRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means 15 |
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158 | 158 | | the Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation 16 |
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159 | 159 | | Strategy established under section 7. 17 |
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160 | 160 | | (16) S |
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161 | 161 | | TRIKE TEAM.—The term ‘‘Strike Team’’ 18 |
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162 | 162 | | means a Giant Sequoia Strike Team established 19 |
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163 | 163 | | under section 8. 20 |
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164 | 164 | | (17) T |
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165 | 165 | | RIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 21 |
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166 | 166 | | Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reserva-22 |
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167 | 167 | | tion, California. 23 |
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170 | 170 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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171 | 171 | | SEC. 3. SHARED STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENT FOR GIANT SE-1 |
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172 | 172 | | QUOIAS. 2 |
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173 | 173 | | (a) I |
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174 | 174 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after re-3 |
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175 | 175 | | ceiving a request from the Governor of the State of Cali-4 |
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176 | 176 | | fornia or the Tribe, the Secretary shall enter into or ex-5 |
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177 | 177 | | pand an existing shared stewardship agreement or enter 6 |
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178 | 178 | | into a similar agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture, 7 |
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179 | 179 | | the Governor of the State of California, and the Tribe to 8 |
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180 | 180 | | jointly carry out the short-term and long-term manage-9 |
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181 | 181 | | ment and conservation of giant sequoias. 10 |
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182 | 182 | | (b) P |
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183 | 183 | | ARTICIPATION.— 11 |
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184 | 184 | | (1) I |
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185 | 185 | | N GENERAL.—If the Secretary has not re-12 |
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186 | 186 | | ceived a request from the Governor of the State of 13 |
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187 | 187 | | California or the Tribe under subsection (a) before 14 |
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188 | 188 | | the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment 15 |
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189 | 189 | | of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into the agree-16 |
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190 | 190 | | ment under subsection (a) and jointly implement 17 |
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191 | 191 | | such agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture. 18 |
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192 | 192 | | (2) F |
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193 | 193 | | UTURE PARTICIPATION.—If the Secretary 19 |
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194 | 194 | | receives a request from the Governor of the State of 20 |
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195 | 195 | | California or the Tribe any time after entering into 21 |
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196 | 196 | | the agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture 22 |
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197 | 197 | | under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall accept the 23 |
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198 | 198 | | Governor of the State of California or the Tribe as 24 |
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199 | 199 | | a party to such agreement. 25 |
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202 | 202 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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203 | 203 | | SEC. 4. GIANT SEQUOIA LANDS COALITION. 1 |
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204 | 204 | | (a) C |
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205 | 205 | | ODIFICATION.—The Coalition is the entity es-2 |
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206 | 206 | | tablished under the charter titled ‘‘Giant Sequoia Lands 3 |
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207 | 207 | | Coalition Charter’’ (or successor charter) signed during 4 |
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208 | 208 | | the period beginning June 2, 2022 and ending August 2, 5 |
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209 | 209 | | 2022 by each of the following: 6 |
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210 | 210 | | (1) The National Park Service, representing Se-7 |
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211 | 211 | | quoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. 8 |
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212 | 212 | | (2) The National Park Service, representing 9 |
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213 | 213 | | Yosemite National Park. 10 |
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214 | 214 | | (3) The Forest Service, representing Sequoia 11 |
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215 | 215 | | National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monu-12 |
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216 | 216 | | ment. 13 |
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217 | 217 | | (4) The Forest Service, representing Sierra Na-14 |
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218 | 218 | | tional Forest. 15 |
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219 | 219 | | (5) The Forest Service, representing Tahoe Na-16 |
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220 | 220 | | tional Forest. 17 |
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221 | 221 | | (6) The Bureau of Land Management, rep-18 |
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222 | 222 | | resenting Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Man-19 |
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223 | 223 | | agement Area. 20 |
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224 | 224 | | (7) The Tribe, representing the Tule River In-21 |
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225 | 225 | | dian Reservation. 22 |
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226 | 226 | | (8) The State of California, representing 23 |
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227 | 227 | | Calaveras Big Trees State Park. 24 |
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228 | 228 | | (9) The State of California, representing Moun-25 |
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229 | 229 | | tain Home Demonstration State Forest. 26 |
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233 | 233 | | (10) The University of California, Berkeley, 1 |
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234 | 234 | | representing Whitaker’s Research Forest. 2 |
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235 | 235 | | (11) The County of Tulare, California, rep-3 |
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236 | 236 | | resenting Balch Park. 4 |
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237 | 237 | | (b) D |
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238 | 238 | | UTIES.—In addition to the duties specified in 5 |
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239 | 239 | | the charter referenced in subsection (a), the Coalition 6 |
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240 | 240 | | shall— 7 |
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241 | 241 | | (1) produce the Assessment under section 5; 8 |
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242 | 242 | | (2) observe implementation, and provide policy 9 |
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243 | 243 | | recommendations to the Secretary concerned, with 10 |
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244 | 244 | | respect to— 11 |
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245 | 245 | | (A) Protection Projects carried out under 12 |
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246 | 246 | | section 6; and 13 |
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247 | 247 | | (B) the Strategy established under section 14 |
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248 | 248 | | 7; 15 |
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249 | 249 | | (3) facilitate collaboration and coordination on 16 |
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250 | 250 | | Protection Projects, particularly projects that cross 17 |
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251 | 251 | | jurisdictional boundaries; 18 |
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252 | 252 | | (4) facilitate information sharing, including best 19 |
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253 | 253 | | available science as described in section 5(c) and 20 |
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254 | 254 | | mapping resources; and 21 |
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255 | 255 | | (5) support the development and dissemination 22 |
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256 | 256 | | of educational materials and programs that inform 23 |
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257 | 257 | | the public about the threats to the health and resil-24 |
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258 | 258 | | iency of giant sequoia groves and actions being 25 |
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261 | 261 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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262 | 262 | | taken to reduce the risk to such groves from high- 1 |
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263 | 263 | | severity wildfire, insects, and drought. 2 |
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264 | 264 | | (c) A |
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265 | 265 | | DMINISTRATIVESUPPORT, TECHNICALSERV-3 |
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266 | 266 | | ICES, ANDSTAFFSUPPORT.—The Secretary shall make 4 |
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267 | 267 | | personnel of the Department of the Interior available to 5 |
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268 | 268 | | the Coalition for administrative support, technical serv-6 |
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269 | 269 | | ices, development and dissemination of educational mate-7 |
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270 | 270 | | rials, and staff support that the Secretary determines nec-8 |
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271 | 271 | | essary to carry out this section. 9 |
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272 | 272 | | SEC. 5. GIANT SEQUOIA HEALTH AND RESILIENCY ASSESS-10 |
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273 | 273 | | MENT. 11 |
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274 | 274 | | (a) I |
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275 | 275 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 12 |
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276 | 276 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Coalition shall sub-13 |
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277 | 277 | | mit to the relevant Congressional Committees a Giant Se-14 |
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278 | 278 | | quoia Health and Resiliency Assessment that, based on 15 |
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279 | 279 | | the best available science— 16 |
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280 | 280 | | (1) identifies— 17 |
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281 | 281 | | (A) each giant sequoia grove that has ex-18 |
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282 | 282 | | perienced a— 19 |
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283 | 283 | | (i) stand-replacing disturbance; or 20 |
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284 | 284 | | (ii) disturbance but continues to have 21 |
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285 | 285 | | living giant sequoias within the grove, in-22 |
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286 | 286 | | cluding identifying the tree mortality and 23 |
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287 | 287 | | regeneration of giant sequoias within such 24 |
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288 | 288 | | grove; 25 |
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291 | 291 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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292 | 292 | | (B) each giant sequoia grove that is at 1 |
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293 | 293 | | high risk of experiencing a stand-replacing dis-2 |
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294 | 294 | | turbance; 3 |
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295 | 295 | | (C) lands located near giant sequoia groves 4 |
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296 | 296 | | that are at risk of experiencing high-severity 5 |
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297 | 297 | | wildfires that could adversely impact such giant 6 |
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298 | 298 | | sequoia groves; and 7 |
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299 | 299 | | (D) each giant sequoia grove that has ex-8 |
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300 | 300 | | perienced a disturbance and is unlikely to natu-9 |
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301 | 301 | | rally regenerate and is in need of reforestation; 10 |
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302 | 302 | | (2) analyzes the resiliency of each giant sequoia 11 |
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303 | 303 | | grove to threats, such as— 12 |
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304 | 304 | | (A) high-severity wildfire; 13 |
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305 | 305 | | (B) insects, including beetle kill; and 14 |
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306 | 306 | | (C) drought; 15 |
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307 | 307 | | (3) with respect to Protection Projects, pro-16 |
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308 | 308 | | poses a list of highest priority Protection Projects to 17 |
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309 | 309 | | be carried out under section 6, giving priority to 18 |
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310 | 310 | | projects located on lands identified under subpara-19 |
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311 | 311 | | graphs (B) and (C) of subsection (a)(1); 20 |
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312 | 312 | | (4) examines how historical, Tribal, or current 21 |
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313 | 313 | | approaches to wildland fire suppression and forest 22 |
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314 | 314 | | management activities across various jurisdictions 23 |
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315 | 315 | | have impacted the health and resiliency of giant se-24 |
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316 | 316 | | quoia groves with respect to— 25 |
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319 | 319 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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320 | 320 | | (A) high-severity wildfires; 1 |
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321 | 321 | | (B) insects, including beetle kill; and 2 |
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322 | 322 | | (C) drought; and 3 |
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323 | 323 | | (5) includes program and policy recommenda-4 |
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324 | 324 | | tions that address— 5 |
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325 | 325 | | (A) Federal and State policies that impede 6 |
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326 | 326 | | activities to improve the health and resiliency of 7 |
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327 | 327 | | giant sequoias and proposed policy changes to 8 |
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328 | 328 | | address such impediments; 9 |
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329 | 329 | | (B) new Federal and State policies nec-10 |
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330 | 330 | | essary to increase the pace and scale of treat-11 |
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331 | 331 | | ments that improve the health and resiliency of 12 |
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332 | 332 | | giant sequoias; 13 |
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333 | 333 | | (C) options to enhance communication, co-14 |
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334 | 334 | | ordination, and collaboration, particularly for 15 |
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335 | 335 | | cross-boundary projects, to improve the health 16 |
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336 | 336 | | and resiliency of giant sequoias; and 17 |
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337 | 337 | | (D) research gaps that should be ad-18 |
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338 | 338 | | dressed to improve the best available science on 19 |
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339 | 339 | | the giant sequoias. 20 |
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340 | 340 | | (b) A |
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341 | 341 | | NNUALUPDATES.—Not later than 1 year after 21 |
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342 | 342 | | the submission of the Assessment under subsection (a), 22 |
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343 | 343 | | and annually thereafter, the Coalition shall submit an up-23 |
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344 | 344 | | dated Assessment to the relevant Congressional Commit-24 |
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345 | 345 | | tees that— 25 |
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349 | 349 | | (1) includes any new data, information, or best 1 |
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350 | 350 | | available science that has changed or become avail-2 |
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351 | 351 | | able since the previous Assessment was submitted; 3 |
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352 | 352 | | (2) with respect to Protection Projects— 4 |
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353 | 353 | | (A) includes information on the number of 5 |
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354 | 354 | | Protection Projects initiated the previous year 6 |
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355 | 355 | | and the estimated timeline for completing those 7 |
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356 | 356 | | projects; 8 |
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357 | 357 | | (B) includes information on the number of 9 |
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358 | 358 | | Protection Projects planned in the upcoming 10 |
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359 | 359 | | year and the estimated timeline for completing 11 |
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360 | 360 | | those projects; 12 |
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361 | 361 | | (C) provides status updates and long-term 13 |
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362 | 362 | | monitoring reports on giant sequoia groves 14 |
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363 | 363 | | after the completion of Protection Projects; and 15 |
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364 | 364 | | (D) if the Secretary concerned failed to re-16 |
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365 | 365 | | duce hazardous fuels in at least 3 giant sequoia 17 |
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366 | 366 | | groves in the previous year, a written expla-18 |
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367 | 367 | | nation that includes— 19 |
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368 | 368 | | (i) a detailed explanation of what im-20 |
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369 | 369 | | pediments resulted in failing to reduce haz-21 |
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370 | 370 | | ardous fuels in at least 3 giant sequoia 22 |
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371 | 371 | | groves; 23 |
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372 | 372 | | (ii) a detailed explanation of what ac-24 |
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373 | 373 | | tions the Secretary concerned is taking to 25 |
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376 | 376 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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377 | 377 | | ensure that hazardous fuels are reduced in 1 |
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378 | 378 | | at least 3 giant sequoia groves the fol-2 |
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379 | 379 | | lowing year; and 3 |
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380 | 380 | | (iii) recommendations to Congress on 4 |
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381 | 381 | | any policies that need to be changed to as-5 |
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382 | 382 | | sist the Secretary concerned in reducing 6 |
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383 | 383 | | hazardous fuels in giant sequoia groves; 7 |
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384 | 384 | | and 8 |
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385 | 385 | | (3) with respect to reforestation and rehabilita-9 |
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386 | 386 | | tion of giant sequoias— 10 |
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387 | 387 | | (A) contains updates on the implementa-11 |
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388 | 388 | | tion of the Strategy under section 7, including 12 |
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389 | 389 | | grove-level data on reforestation and rehabilita-13 |
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390 | 390 | | tion activities; and 14 |
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391 | 391 | | (B) provides status updates and moni-15 |
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392 | 392 | | toring reports on giant sequoia groves that have 16 |
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393 | 393 | | experienced natural or artificial regeneration as 17 |
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394 | 394 | | part of the Strategy under section 7. 18 |
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395 | 395 | | (c) D |
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396 | 396 | | ASHBOARD.— 19 |
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397 | 397 | | (1) R |
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398 | 398 | | EQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN .—The Coali-20 |
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399 | 399 | | tion shall create and maintain a website that— 21 |
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400 | 400 | | (A) publishes the Assessment, annual up-22 |
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401 | 401 | | dates to the Assessment, and other educational 23 |
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402 | 402 | | materials developed by the Coalition; 24 |
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405 | 405 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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406 | 406 | | (B) contains searchable information about 1 |
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407 | 407 | | individual giant sequoia groves, including the— 2 |
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408 | 408 | | (i) resiliency of such groves to threats 3 |
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409 | 409 | | described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 4 |
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410 | 410 | | subsection (a); 5 |
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411 | 411 | | (ii) Protection Projects that have been 6 |
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412 | 412 | | proposed, initiated, or completed in such 7 |
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413 | 413 | | groves; and 8 |
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414 | 414 | | (iii) reforestation and rehabilitation 9 |
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415 | 415 | | activities that have been proposed, initi-10 |
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416 | 416 | | ated, or completed in such groves; and 11 |
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417 | 417 | | (C) maintains a searchable database to 12 |
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418 | 418 | | track— 13 |
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419 | 419 | | (i) the status of Federal environ-14 |
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420 | 420 | | mental reviews and authorizations for spe-15 |
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421 | 421 | | cific Protection Projects and reforestation 16 |
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422 | 422 | | and rehabilitation activities; and 17 |
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423 | 423 | | (ii) the projected cost of Protection 18 |
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424 | 424 | | Projects and reforestation and rehabilita-19 |
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425 | 425 | | tion activities. 20 |
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426 | 426 | | (2) S |
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427 | 427 | | EARCHABLE DATABASE .—The Coalition 21 |
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428 | 428 | | shall include information on the status of Protection 22 |
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429 | 429 | | Projects in the searchable database created under 23 |
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430 | 430 | | paragraph (1)(C), including— 24 |
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431 | 431 | | (A) a comprehensive permitting timetable; 25 |
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434 | 434 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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435 | 435 | | (B) the status of the compliance of each 1 |
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436 | 436 | | lead agency, cooperating agency, and partici-2 |
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437 | 437 | | pating agency with the permitting timetable; 3 |
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438 | 438 | | (C) any modifications of the permitting 4 |
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439 | 439 | | timetable required under subparagraph (A), in-5 |
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440 | 440 | | cluding an explanation as to why the permitting 6 |
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441 | 441 | | timetable was modified; and 7 |
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442 | 442 | | (D) information about project-related pub-8 |
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443 | 443 | | lic meetings, public hearings, and public com-9 |
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444 | 444 | | ment periods, which shall be presented in 10 |
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445 | 445 | | English and the predominant language of the 11 |
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446 | 446 | | community or communities most affected by the 12 |
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447 | 447 | | project, as that information becomes available. 13 |
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448 | 448 | | (d) B |
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449 | 449 | | ESTAVAILABLESCIENCE.—In utilizing the best 14 |
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450 | 450 | | available science for the Assessment, the Coalition shall 15 |
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451 | 451 | | include— 16 |
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452 | 452 | | (1) data and peer-reviewed research from aca-17 |
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453 | 453 | | demic institutions with a demonstrated history of 18 |
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454 | 454 | | studying giant sequoias and with experience ana-19 |
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455 | 455 | | lyzing distinct management strategies to improve 20 |
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456 | 456 | | giant sequoia resiliency; 21 |
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457 | 457 | | (2) traditional ecological knowledge from the 22 |
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458 | 458 | | Tribe related to improving the health and resiliency 23 |
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459 | 459 | | of giant sequoia groves; and 24 |
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462 | 462 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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463 | 463 | | (3) data from Federal, State, Tribal, and local 1 |
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464 | 464 | | governments or agencies. 2 |
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465 | 465 | | (e) T |
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466 | 466 | | ECHNOLOGYIMPROVEMENTS.—In carrying out 3 |
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467 | 467 | | this section, the Secretary may enter into memorandums 4 |
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468 | 468 | | of understanding or agreements with other Federal agen-5 |
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469 | 469 | | cies or departments, State or local governments, Tribal 6 |
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470 | 470 | | governments, private entities, or academic institutions to 7 |
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471 | 471 | | improve, with respect to the Assessment, the use and inte-8 |
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472 | 472 | | gration of— 9 |
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473 | 473 | | (1) advanced remote sensing and geospatial 10 |
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474 | 474 | | technologies; 11 |
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475 | 475 | | (2) statistical modeling and analysis; or 12 |
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476 | 476 | | (3) any other technology the Secretary deter-13 |
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477 | 477 | | mines will benefit the quality of information used in 14 |
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478 | 478 | | the Assessment. 15 |
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479 | 479 | | (f) P |
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480 | 480 | | LANNING.—The Coalition shall make informa-16 |
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481 | 481 | | tion from this Assessment available to the Secretary con-17 |
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482 | 482 | | cerned and State of California to integrate into the— 18 |
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483 | 483 | | (1) State of California’s Wildfire and Forest 19 |
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484 | 484 | | Resilience Action Plan; 20 |
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485 | 485 | | (2) Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis 21 |
---|
486 | 486 | | Strategy (or successor plan); and 22 |
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487 | 487 | | (3) Department of the Interior’s Wildfire Risk 23 |
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488 | 488 | | Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment 24 |
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489 | 489 | | Plan (or successor plan). 25 |
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492 | 492 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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493 | 493 | | (g) RELATION TO THE NATIONALENVIRONMENTAL 1 |
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494 | 494 | | P |
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495 | 495 | | OLICYACT OF1969.—The development and submission 2 |
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496 | 496 | | of the Assessment under subsection (a) shall not be sub-3 |
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497 | 497 | | ject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 4 |
---|
498 | 498 | | U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 5 |
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499 | 499 | | SEC. 6. GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 6 |
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500 | 500 | | (a) E |
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501 | 501 | | MERGENCYRESPONSETOPROTECTGIANTSE-7 |
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502 | 502 | | QUOIAS.— 8 |
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503 | 503 | | (1) I |
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504 | 504 | | N GENERAL.— 9 |
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505 | 505 | | (A) E |
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506 | 506 | | MERGENCY DETERMINATION .—Con-10 |
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507 | 507 | | gress determines that— 11 |
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508 | 508 | | (i) an emergency exists on covered 12 |
---|
509 | 509 | | public lands and covered National Forest 13 |
---|
510 | 510 | | System lands that makes it necessary to 14 |
---|
511 | 511 | | carry out Protection Projects that take 15 |
---|
512 | 512 | | needed actions to respond to the threat of 16 |
---|
513 | 513 | | wildfires, insects, and drought to giant se-17 |
---|
514 | 514 | | quoias; and 18 |
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515 | 515 | | (ii) Protection Projects are necessary 19 |
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516 | 516 | | to control the immediate impacts of the 20 |
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517 | 517 | | emergency described in clause (i) and are 21 |
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518 | 518 | | needed to mitigate harm to life, property, 22 |
---|
519 | 519 | | or important natural or cultural resources 23 |
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520 | 520 | | on covered public lands and covered Na-24 |
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521 | 521 | | tional Forest System lands. 25 |
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524 | 524 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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525 | 525 | | (B) APPLICATION.—The emergency deter-1 |
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526 | 526 | | mination established under subparagraph (A) 2 |
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527 | 527 | | shall apply to all covered public lands and cov-3 |
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528 | 528 | | ered National Forest System lands. 4 |
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529 | 529 | | (C) E |
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530 | 530 | | XPIRATION.—The emergency deter-5 |
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531 | 531 | | mination established under subparagraph (A) 6 |
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532 | 532 | | shall expire on the date that is 7 years after the 7 |
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533 | 533 | | date of the enactment of this Act. 8 |
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534 | 534 | | (2) I |
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535 | 535 | | MPLEMENTATION.—While the emergency 9 |
---|
536 | 536 | | determination established under subsection (a) is in 10 |
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537 | 537 | | effect, the following shall apply: 11 |
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538 | 538 | | (A) The following shall have the force and 12 |
---|
539 | 539 | | effect of law: 13 |
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540 | 540 | | (i) Section 220.4(b) of title 36, Code 14 |
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541 | 541 | | of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 15 |
---|
542 | 542 | | 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na-16 |
---|
543 | 543 | | tional Forest System lands. 17 |
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544 | 544 | | (ii) Section 46.150 of title 43, Code of 18 |
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545 | 545 | | Federal Regulations (as in effect October 19 |
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546 | 546 | | 12, 2022), with respect to covered public 20 |
---|
547 | 547 | | lands. 21 |
---|
548 | 548 | | (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code 22 |
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549 | 549 | | of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 23 |
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550 | 550 | | 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na-24 |
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552 | 552 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 19 |
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553 | 553 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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554 | 554 | | tional Forest System lands and covered 1 |
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555 | 555 | | public lands. 2 |
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556 | 556 | | (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code 3 |
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557 | 557 | | of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 4 |
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558 | 558 | | 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na-5 |
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559 | 559 | | tional Forest System lands and covered 6 |
---|
560 | 560 | | public lands. 7 |
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561 | 561 | | (B) A responsible official may carry out a 8 |
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562 | 562 | | Protection Project described by paragraph (4) 9 |
---|
563 | 563 | | before initiating— 10 |
---|
564 | 564 | | (i) an analysis under section 102 of 11 |
---|
565 | 565 | | the National Environmental Policy Act of 12 |
---|
566 | 566 | | 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); 13 |
---|
567 | 567 | | (ii) consultation under section 7 of the 14 |
---|
568 | 568 | | Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 15 |
---|
569 | 569 | | U.S.C. 1536); and 16 |
---|
570 | 570 | | (iii) consultation under section 106 of 17 |
---|
571 | 571 | | the National Historic Preservation Act (16 18 |
---|
572 | 572 | | U.S.C. 470(f)). 19 |
---|
573 | 573 | | (C) The rules established under sub-20 |
---|
574 | 574 | | sections (d) and (e), section 40807 of the Infra-21 |
---|
575 | 575 | | structure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 22 |
---|
576 | 576 | | 6592c(d) and (e)) shall apply with respect to 23 |
---|
577 | 577 | | Protection Projects by substituting ‘‘Protection 24 |
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578 | 578 | | Projects’’ for ‘‘authorized emergency action 25 |
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581 | 581 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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582 | 582 | | under this section’’ each place it appears in 1 |
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583 | 583 | | such subsections. 2 |
---|
584 | 584 | | (D) Protection Projects shall be subject to 3 |
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585 | 585 | | the requirements of section 106 of title I of the 4 |
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586 | 586 | | Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 5 |
---|
587 | 587 | | U.S.C. 6511 et seq.). 6 |
---|
588 | 588 | | (3) P |
---|
589 | 589 | | ROTECTION PROJECTS .—The responsible 7 |
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590 | 590 | | official shall carry out the following forest manage-8 |
---|
591 | 591 | | ment activities, consistent with applicable grove-spe-9 |
---|
592 | 592 | | cific hazardous fuels reduction plans or activities 10 |
---|
593 | 593 | | recommend by the Assessment under section 5, as 11 |
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594 | 594 | | Protection Projects under the emergency determina-12 |
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595 | 595 | | tion under this section: 13 |
---|
596 | 596 | | (A) Conducting hazardous fuels manage-14 |
---|
597 | 597 | | ment, including mechanical thinning, mastica-15 |
---|
598 | 598 | | tion, and prescribed burning. 16 |
---|
599 | 599 | | (B) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, 17 |
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600 | 600 | | dying trees, or trees at risk of dying, as deter-18 |
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601 | 601 | | mined by the responsible official. 19 |
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602 | 602 | | (C) Removing trees to address over-20 |
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603 | 603 | | stocking or crowding in a forest stand, con-21 |
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604 | 604 | | sistent with the appropriate basal area of the 22 |
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605 | 605 | | forest stand as determined by the responsible 23 |
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606 | 606 | | official. 24 |
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609 | 609 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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610 | 610 | | (D) Activities included in the applicable 1 |
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611 | 611 | | grove-specific hazardous fuels reduction plan. 2 |
---|
612 | 612 | | (E) Using chemical treatments to address 3 |
---|
613 | 613 | | insects and disease and control vegetation com-4 |
---|
614 | 614 | | petition. 5 |
---|
615 | 615 | | (F) Any combination of activities described 6 |
---|
616 | 616 | | in this paragraph. 7 |
---|
617 | 617 | | (4) R |
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618 | 618 | | EQUIREMENTS.— 8 |
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619 | 619 | | (A) I |
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620 | 620 | | N GENERAL.—Protection Projects 9 |
---|
621 | 621 | | carried out under paragraph (3) and reforest-10 |
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622 | 622 | | ation and rehabilitation activities carried out 11 |
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623 | 623 | | under this Act that are described by subpara-12 |
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624 | 624 | | graph (D) are a category of actions hereby des-13 |
---|
625 | 625 | | ignated as being categorically excluded from the 14 |
---|
626 | 626 | | preparation of an environmental assessment or 15 |
---|
627 | 627 | | an environmental impact statement under sec-16 |
---|
628 | 628 | | tion 102 of the National Environmental Policy 17 |
---|
629 | 629 | | Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 18 |
---|
630 | 630 | | (B) A |
---|
631 | 631 | | VAILABILITY.—The Secretary con-19 |
---|
632 | 632 | | cerned shall use the categorical exclusion estab-20 |
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633 | 633 | | lished under subparagraph (A) in accordance 21 |
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634 | 634 | | with this section. 22 |
---|
635 | 635 | | (C) I |
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636 | 636 | | NTERAGENCY COOPERATION .—Con-23 |
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637 | 637 | | gress finds that Protection Projects carried out 24 |
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638 | 638 | | under this section are consistent with improving 25 |
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641 | 641 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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642 | 642 | | the health and resiliency of critical habitat for 1 |
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643 | 643 | | threatened and endangered species, including 2 |
---|
644 | 644 | | the Pacific fisher and California spotted owl. 3 |
---|
645 | 645 | | (D) R |
---|
646 | 646 | | EQUIREMENTS.—A Protection 4 |
---|
647 | 647 | | Project or reforestation or rehabilitation activity 5 |
---|
648 | 648 | | is described by this subparagraph if such Pro-6 |
---|
649 | 649 | | tection Project or reforestation or rehabilitation 7 |
---|
650 | 650 | | activity— 8 |
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651 | 651 | | (i) covers an area of no more than— 9 |
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652 | 652 | | (I) 2,000 acres within giant se-10 |
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653 | 653 | | quoia groves where a grove-specific 11 |
---|
654 | 654 | | hazardous fuels reduction plan has 12 |
---|
655 | 655 | | been developed by the relevant land 13 |
---|
656 | 656 | | management agency or on lands iden-14 |
---|
657 | 657 | | tified under section 5(a)(1)(B); and 15 |
---|
658 | 658 | | (II) 3,000 acres on lands identi-16 |
---|
659 | 659 | | fied under section 5(a)(1)(C); 17 |
---|
660 | 660 | | (ii) was— 18 |
---|
661 | 661 | | (I) proposed by the Assessment 19 |
---|
662 | 662 | | under section 5(a)(3); 20 |
---|
663 | 663 | | (II) developed through a collabo-21 |
---|
664 | 664 | | rative process; or 22 |
---|
665 | 665 | | (III) proposed by a resource advi-23 |
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666 | 666 | | sory committee (as defined in section 24 |
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667 | 667 | | 201 of the Secure Rural Schools and 25 |
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670 | 670 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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671 | 671 | | Community Self-Determination Act of 1 |
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672 | 672 | | 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121)); and 2 |
---|
673 | 673 | | (iii) occurs on Federal land or non- 3 |
---|
674 | 674 | | Federal land with the consent of the non- 4 |
---|
675 | 675 | | Federal landowner. 5 |
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676 | 676 | | (E) U |
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677 | 677 | | SE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES .—To the 6 |
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678 | 678 | | maximum extent practicable, the Secretary con-7 |
---|
679 | 679 | | cerned shall use the authorities provided under 8 |
---|
680 | 680 | | this section in combination with other authori-9 |
---|
681 | 681 | | ties to carry out Protection Projects, includ-10 |
---|
682 | 682 | | ing— 11 |
---|
683 | 683 | | (i) good neighbor agreements entered 12 |
---|
684 | 684 | | into under section 8206 of the Agricultural 13 |
---|
685 | 685 | | Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); and 14 |
---|
686 | 686 | | (ii) stewardship contracting projects 15 |
---|
687 | 687 | | entered into under section 604 of the 16 |
---|
688 | 688 | | Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 17 |
---|
689 | 689 | | (16 U.S.C. 6591c). 18 |
---|
690 | 690 | | (F) S |
---|
691 | 691 | | AVINGS CLAUSE.—With respect to 19 |
---|
692 | 692 | | joint Protection Projects and reforestation and 20 |
---|
693 | 693 | | rehabilitation activities involving the Tribe, 21 |
---|
694 | 694 | | nothing in this section shall be construed to add 22 |
---|
695 | 695 | | any additional regulatory requirements onto the 23 |
---|
696 | 696 | | Tribe. 24 |
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699 | 699 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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700 | 700 | | (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To the maximum extent 1 |
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701 | 701 | | practicable, the Secretary concerned shall reduce haz-2 |
---|
702 | 702 | | ardous fuels in no fewer than 3 giant sequoia groves each 3 |
---|
703 | 703 | | year. 4 |
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704 | 704 | | SEC. 7. GIANT SEQUOIA REFORESTATION AND REHABILITA-5 |
---|
705 | 705 | | TION STRATEGY. 6 |
---|
706 | 706 | | (a) R |
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707 | 707 | | EFORESTATION AND REHABILITATIONSTRAT-7 |
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708 | 708 | | EGY.— 8 |
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709 | 709 | | (1) I |
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710 | 710 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 9 |
---|
711 | 711 | | after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-10 |
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712 | 712 | | retary, in consultation with the Coalition, shall de-11 |
---|
713 | 713 | | velop and implement a strategy, to be known as the 12 |
---|
714 | 714 | | Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation 13 |
---|
715 | 715 | | Strategy, to enhance the reforestation and rehabili-14 |
---|
716 | 716 | | tation of giant sequoia groves that— 15 |
---|
717 | 717 | | (A) identifies giant sequoia groves in need 16 |
---|
718 | 718 | | of natural or artificial regeneration, giving 17 |
---|
719 | 719 | | highest priority to groves identified under sec-18 |
---|
720 | 720 | | tion 5(a)(1)(A)(i); 19 |
---|
721 | 721 | | (B) creates a priority list of reforestation 20 |
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722 | 722 | | and rehabilitation activities; 21 |
---|
723 | 723 | | (C) identifies and addresses— 22 |
---|
724 | 724 | | (i) barriers to reforestation or reha-23 |
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725 | 725 | | bilitation including— 24 |
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728 | 728 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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729 | 729 | | (I) regulatory and funding bar-1 |
---|
730 | 730 | | riers; 2 |
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731 | 731 | | (II) seedling shortages or related 3 |
---|
732 | 732 | | nursery infrastructure capacity con-4 |
---|
733 | 733 | | straints; 5 |
---|
734 | 734 | | (III) labor and workforce short-6 |
---|
735 | 735 | | ages; 7 |
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736 | 736 | | (IV) technology and science gaps; 8 |
---|
737 | 737 | | and 9 |
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738 | 738 | | (V) site preparation challenges; 10 |
---|
739 | 739 | | (ii) potential public-private partner-11 |
---|
740 | 740 | | ship opportunities to complete high-priority 12 |
---|
741 | 741 | | reforestation or rehabilitation projects; 13 |
---|
742 | 742 | | (iii) a timeline for addressing the 14 |
---|
743 | 743 | | backlog of reforestation for giant sequoias 15 |
---|
744 | 744 | | in the 10-year period after the agreement 16 |
---|
745 | 745 | | is entered into under section 3; and 17 |
---|
746 | 746 | | (iv) strategies to ensure genetic diver-18 |
---|
747 | 747 | | sity across giant sequoia groves; and 19 |
---|
748 | 748 | | (D) includes program and policy rec-20 |
---|
749 | 749 | | ommendations needed to improve the efficiency 21 |
---|
750 | 750 | | or effectiveness of the Strategy. 22 |
---|
751 | 751 | | (2) A |
---|
752 | 752 | | SSESSMENT.—The Secretary may incor-23 |
---|
753 | 753 | | porate the Strategy into the Assessment under sec-24 |
---|
754 | 754 | | tion 5. 25 |
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757 | 757 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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758 | 758 | | (b) PRIORITYREFORESTATION PROJECTSAMEND-1 |
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759 | 759 | | MENT.—Section 3(e)(4)(C)(ii)(I) of the Forest and 2 |
---|
760 | 760 | | Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 3 |
---|
761 | 761 | | (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)(4)(C)(ii)(I)) is amended— 4 |
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762 | 762 | | (1) in item (bb), by striking ‘‘and’’; 5 |
---|
763 | 763 | | (2) in item (cc), by striking the period and in-6 |
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764 | 764 | | serting ‘‘; and’’; and 7 |
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765 | 765 | | (3) by adding at the end the following: 8 |
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766 | 766 | | ‘‘(dd) shall include reforest-9 |
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767 | 767 | | ation and rehabilitation activities 10 |
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768 | 768 | | conducted under section 7 of the 11 |
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769 | 769 | | Save Our Sequoias Act.’’. 12 |
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770 | 770 | | (c) I |
---|
771 | 771 | | MPLEMENTATION.—Section 4(d)(1) of the Wil-13 |
---|
772 | 772 | | derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)) is amended by inserting 14 |
---|
773 | 773 | | ‘‘Nothing in this Act precludes reforestation (as defined 15 |
---|
774 | 774 | | in section 2 of the Save our Sequoias Act) activities to 16 |
---|
775 | 775 | | reestablish giant sequoias following a wildfire.’’ after the 17 |
---|
776 | 776 | | period at the end. 18 |
---|
777 | 777 | | SEC. 8. GIANT SEQUOIA STRIKE TEAMS. 19 |
---|
778 | 778 | | (a) G |
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779 | 779 | | IANTSEQUOIASTRIKETEAMS.— 20 |
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780 | 780 | | (1) E |
---|
781 | 781 | | STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary con-21 |
---|
782 | 782 | | cerned shall each establish a Giant Sequoia Strike 22 |
---|
783 | 783 | | Team to assist the Secretary concerned with the im-23 |
---|
784 | 784 | | plementation of— 24 |
---|
785 | 785 | | (A) primarily, section 6; and 25 |
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788 | 788 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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789 | 789 | | (B) secondarily, section 7. 1 |
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790 | 790 | | (2) D |
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791 | 791 | | UTIES.—Each Strike Team shall— 2 |
---|
792 | 792 | | (A) assist the Secretary concerned with 3 |
---|
793 | 793 | | any reviews, including analysis under the Na-4 |
---|
794 | 794 | | tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 5 |
---|
795 | 795 | | U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), consultations under the 6 |
---|
796 | 796 | | National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 7 |
---|
797 | 797 | | U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and consultations under 8 |
---|
798 | 798 | | the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 9 |
---|
799 | 799 | | 1531 et seq.); 10 |
---|
800 | 800 | | (B) implement any necessary site prepara-11 |
---|
801 | 801 | | tion work in advance of or as part of a Protec-12 |
---|
802 | 802 | | tion Project or reforestation or rehabilitation 13 |
---|
803 | 803 | | activity; 14 |
---|
804 | 804 | | (C) implement Protection Projects under 15 |
---|
805 | 805 | | section 6; and 16 |
---|
806 | 806 | | (D) implement reforestation or rehabilita-17 |
---|
807 | 807 | | tion activities under section 7. 18 |
---|
808 | 808 | | (3) M |
---|
809 | 809 | | EMBERS.—The Secretary concerned may 19 |
---|
810 | 810 | | appoint no more than 10 individuals each to serve 20 |
---|
811 | 811 | | on a Strike Team comprised of— 21 |
---|
812 | 812 | | (A) employees of the Department of the 22 |
---|
813 | 813 | | Interior; 23 |
---|
814 | 814 | | (B) employees of the Forest Service; 24 |
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817 | 817 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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818 | 818 | | (C) private contractors from any nonprofit 1 |
---|
819 | 819 | | organization, State government, Tribal Govern-2 |
---|
820 | 820 | | ment, local government, academic institution, or 3 |
---|
821 | 821 | | private organization; and 4 |
---|
822 | 822 | | (D) volunteers from any nonprofit organi-5 |
---|
823 | 823 | | zation, State government, Tribal Government, 6 |
---|
824 | 824 | | local government, academic institution, or pri-7 |
---|
825 | 825 | | vate organization. 8 |
---|
826 | 826 | | SEC. 9. GIANT SEQUOIA COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION 9 |
---|
827 | 827 | | GRANTS. 10 |
---|
828 | 828 | | (a) I |
---|
829 | 829 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 11 |
---|
830 | 830 | | with the parties to the agreement under section 3, shall 12 |
---|
831 | 831 | | establish a program to award grants to eligible entities 13 |
---|
832 | 832 | | to advance, facilitate, or improve giant sequoia health and 14 |
---|
833 | 833 | | resiliency. 15 |
---|
834 | 834 | | (b) E |
---|
835 | 835 | | LIGIBLEENTITY.—The Secretary may award 16 |
---|
836 | 836 | | grants under this section to any nonprofit organization, 17 |
---|
837 | 837 | | Tribal Government, local government, academic institu-18 |
---|
838 | 838 | | tion, or private organization to help advance, facilitate, or 19 |
---|
839 | 839 | | improve giant sequoia health and resiliency. 20 |
---|
840 | 840 | | (c) P |
---|
841 | 841 | | RIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-21 |
---|
842 | 842 | | tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 22 |
---|
843 | 843 | | that— 23 |
---|
844 | 844 | | (1) primarily, are likely to have the greatest im-24 |
---|
845 | 845 | | pact on giant sequoia health and resiliency; and 25 |
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848 | 848 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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849 | 849 | | (2) secondarily— 1 |
---|
850 | 850 | | (A) are small businesses or tribal entities, 2 |
---|
851 | 851 | | particularly in rural areas; and 3 |
---|
852 | 852 | | (B) create or support jobs, particularly in 4 |
---|
853 | 853 | | rural areas. 5 |
---|
854 | 854 | | (d) U |
---|
855 | 855 | | SE OFGRANTFUNDS.—Funds from grants 6 |
---|
856 | 856 | | awarded under this section shall be used to— 7 |
---|
857 | 857 | | (1) create, expand, or develop markets for haz-8 |
---|
858 | 858 | | ardous fuels removed under section 6, including 9 |
---|
859 | 859 | | markets for biomass and biochar; 10 |
---|
860 | 860 | | (2) facilitate hazardous fuel removal under sec-11 |
---|
861 | 861 | | tion 6, including by reducing the cost of trans-12 |
---|
862 | 862 | | porting hazardous fuels removed as part of a Protec-13 |
---|
863 | 863 | | tion Project; 14 |
---|
864 | 864 | | (3) expand, enhance, develop, or create facilities 15 |
---|
865 | 865 | | or land that can store or process hazardous fuels re-16 |
---|
866 | 866 | | moved under section 6; 17 |
---|
867 | 867 | | (4) establish, develop, expand, enhance, or im-18 |
---|
868 | 868 | | prove nursery capacity or infrastructure necessary to 19 |
---|
869 | 869 | | facilitate the Strategy established under section 7; or 20 |
---|
870 | 870 | | (5) support tribal management and conserva-21 |
---|
871 | 871 | | tion of giant sequoias, including funding for tribal 22 |
---|
872 | 872 | | historic preservation officers. 23 |
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875 | 875 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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876 | 876 | | SEC. 10. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY FOR GIANT SE-1 |
---|
877 | 877 | | QUOIAS. 2 |
---|
878 | 878 | | Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 3 |
---|
879 | 879 | | U.S.C. 2113a) is amended— 4 |
---|
880 | 880 | | (1) in subsection (a)— 5 |
---|
881 | 881 | | (A) in paragraph (3)(A)— 6 |
---|
882 | 882 | | (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 7 |
---|
883 | 883 | | the end; 8 |
---|
884 | 884 | | (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 9 |
---|
885 | 885 | | clause (iii); and 10 |
---|
886 | 886 | | (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 11 |
---|
887 | 887 | | following: 12 |
---|
888 | 888 | | ‘‘(ii) Kings Canyon National Park, 13 |
---|
889 | 889 | | Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite Na-14 |
---|
890 | 890 | | tional Park; or’’; 15 |
---|
891 | 891 | | (B) in paragraph (4)(A)— 16 |
---|
892 | 892 | | (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 17 |
---|
893 | 893 | | the end; 18 |
---|
894 | 894 | | (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 19 |
---|
895 | 895 | | clause (iv); 20 |
---|
896 | 896 | | (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 21 |
---|
897 | 897 | | following: 22 |
---|
898 | 898 | | ‘‘(iii) activities conducted under sec-23 |
---|
899 | 899 | | tion 6 of the Save Our Sequoias Act;’’; 24 |
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902 | 902 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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903 | 903 | | (iv) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, 1 |
---|
904 | 904 | | by striking the period at the end and in-2 |
---|
905 | 905 | | serting ‘‘; or’’; and 3 |
---|
906 | 906 | | (v) by adding at the end the following: 4 |
---|
907 | 907 | | ‘‘(v) any combination of activities 5 |
---|
908 | 908 | | specified in clauses (i) through (iv).’’. 6 |
---|
909 | 909 | | (C) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or In-7 |
---|
910 | 910 | | dian tribe’’; and 8 |
---|
911 | 911 | | (D) in paragraph (10)(B) by striking 9 |
---|
912 | 912 | | ‘‘land.’’ and inserting ‘‘land, Kings Canyon Na-10 |
---|
913 | 913 | | tional Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yo-11 |
---|
914 | 914 | | semite National Park.’’; and 12 |
---|
915 | 915 | | (2) in subsection (b)— 13 |
---|
916 | 916 | | (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 14 |
---|
917 | 917 | | Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 15 |
---|
918 | 918 | | (B) by amending paragraph (2)(C) to read 16 |
---|
919 | 919 | | as follows: 17 |
---|
920 | 920 | | ‘‘(C) T |
---|
921 | 921 | | REATMENT OF REVENUE .— 18 |
---|
922 | 922 | | ‘‘(i) I |
---|
923 | 923 | | N GENERAL.—Funds received 19 |
---|
924 | 924 | | from the sale of timber by a Governor, an 20 |
---|
925 | 925 | | Indian tribe, or a county under a good 21 |
---|
926 | 926 | | neighbor agreement shall be retained and 22 |
---|
927 | 927 | | used by the Governor, Indian tribe, or 23 |
---|
928 | 928 | | county, as applicable— 24 |
---|
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932 | 932 | | ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res-1 |
---|
933 | 933 | | toration services under such good 2 |
---|
934 | 934 | | neighbor agreement; and 3 |
---|
935 | 935 | | ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain-4 |
---|
936 | 936 | | ing after carrying out the services 5 |
---|
937 | 937 | | under clause (i), to carry out author-6 |
---|
938 | 938 | | ized restoration services within the 7 |
---|
939 | 939 | | State under other good neighbor 8 |
---|
940 | 940 | | agreements. 9 |
---|
941 | 941 | | ‘‘(ii) S |
---|
942 | 942 | | PECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN NA -10 |
---|
943 | 943 | | TIONAL PARKS.—Funds received from the 11 |
---|
944 | 944 | | sale of timber by a Governor, an Indian 12 |
---|
945 | 945 | | tribe, or a county under a good neighbor 13 |
---|
946 | 946 | | agreement carried out within the bound-14 |
---|
947 | 947 | | aries of Kings Canyon National Park, Se-15 |
---|
948 | 948 | | quoia National Park, or Yosemite National 16 |
---|
949 | 949 | | Park shall be retained and used by the 17 |
---|
950 | 950 | | Governor, Indian tribe, or county, as appli-18 |
---|
951 | 951 | | cable— 19 |
---|
952 | 952 | | ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res-20 |
---|
953 | 953 | | toration services under such good 21 |
---|
954 | 954 | | neighbor agreement; 22 |
---|
955 | 955 | | ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain-23 |
---|
956 | 956 | | ing after carrying out the services 24 |
---|
957 | 957 | | under clause (i), to carry out author-25 |
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960 | 960 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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961 | 961 | | ized restoration services under other 1 |
---|
962 | 962 | | good neighbor agreements within the 2 |
---|
963 | 963 | | boundaries of the park unit in which 3 |
---|
964 | 964 | | the initial good neighbor agreement 4 |
---|
965 | 965 | | occurred; and 5 |
---|
966 | 966 | | ‘‘(III) if there are no further 6 |
---|
967 | 967 | | good neighbor agreements to carry 7 |
---|
968 | 968 | | out under clause (ii), to transfer to 8 |
---|
969 | 969 | | the park unit in which the initial good 9 |
---|
970 | 970 | | neighbor agreement occurred to be 10 |
---|
971 | 971 | | used for giant sequoia conservation 11 |
---|
972 | 972 | | and management. 12 |
---|
973 | 973 | | ‘‘(iii) T |
---|
974 | 974 | | ERMINATION OF EFFECTIVE -13 |
---|
975 | 975 | | NESS.—The authority provided by this 14 |
---|
976 | 976 | | subparagraph terminates effective October 15 |
---|
977 | 977 | | 1, 2030.’’; 16 |
---|
978 | 978 | | (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, In-17 |
---|
979 | 979 | | dian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 18 |
---|
980 | 980 | | (D) by amending paragraph (4) to read as 19 |
---|
981 | 981 | | follows: 20 |
---|
982 | 982 | | ‘‘(4) A |
---|
983 | 983 | | UTHORIZED RESTORATION SERVICES IN 21 |
---|
984 | 984 | | CERTAIN NATIONAL PARKS .—Authorized restoration 22 |
---|
985 | 985 | | services occurring in Kings Canyon National Park, 23 |
---|
986 | 986 | | Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park 24 |
---|
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989 | 989 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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990 | 990 | | shall be carried out in accordance with section 1 |
---|
991 | 991 | | 100753 of title 54, United States Code.’’. 2 |
---|
992 | 992 | | (3) C |
---|
993 | 993 | | ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 3 |
---|
994 | 994 | | 8206(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 4 |
---|
995 | 995 | | 2113a(a)) is amended— 5 |
---|
996 | 996 | | (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, 6 |
---|
997 | 997 | | Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 7 |
---|
998 | 998 | | (B) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, In-8 |
---|
999 | 999 | | dian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. 9 |
---|
1000 | 1000 | | SEC. 11. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING FOR GIANT SE-10 |
---|
1001 | 1001 | | QUOIAS. 11 |
---|
1002 | 1002 | | (a) N |
---|
1003 | 1003 | | ATIONALPARKSERVICE.—Section 604(a)(2) of 12 |
---|
1004 | 1004 | | the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 13 |
---|
1005 | 1005 | | 6591c(c)) is amended to read— 14 |
---|
1006 | 1006 | | ‘‘(2) D |
---|
1007 | 1007 | | IRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 15 |
---|
1008 | 1008 | | the Director of the Bureau of Land Management 16 |
---|
1009 | 1009 | | with respect to Bureau of Land Management lands 17 |
---|
1010 | 1010 | | and the Director of the National Park Service with 18 |
---|
1011 | 1011 | | respect to lands within Kings Canyon National 19 |
---|
1012 | 1012 | | Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite Na-20 |
---|
1013 | 1013 | | tional Park.’’. 21 |
---|
1014 | 1014 | | (b) G |
---|
1015 | 1015 | | IANTSEQUOIASTEWARDSHIPCONTRACTS.— 22 |
---|
1016 | 1016 | | Section 604(c) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 23 |
---|
1017 | 1017 | | 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(c)) is amended by adding at the 24 |
---|
1018 | 1018 | | end the following: 25 |
---|
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1022 | 1022 | | ‘‘(8) Promoting the health and resiliency of 1 |
---|
1023 | 1023 | | giant sequoias.’’. 2 |
---|
1024 | 1024 | | SEC. 12. GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY PROTECTION PRO-3 |
---|
1025 | 1025 | | GRAM AND FUND. 4 |
---|
1026 | 1026 | | (a) I |
---|
1027 | 1027 | | NGENERAL.—Chapter 1011 of title 54, United 5 |
---|
1028 | 1028 | | States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the fol-6 |
---|
1029 | 1029 | | lowing: 7 |
---|
1030 | 1030 | | ‘‘§ 101123. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Pro-8 |
---|
1031 | 1031 | | gram and Fund 9 |
---|
1032 | 1032 | | ‘‘(a) G |
---|
1033 | 1033 | | IANTSEQUOIAEMERGENCY PROTECTION 10 |
---|
1034 | 1034 | | P |
---|
1035 | 1035 | | ROGRAM.—The National Park Foundation, in coordina-11 |
---|
1036 | 1036 | | tion with the National Forest Foundation, shall design 12 |
---|
1037 | 1037 | | and implement a comprehensive program to assist and 13 |
---|
1038 | 1038 | | promote philanthropic programs of support that benefit— 14 |
---|
1039 | 1039 | | ‘‘(1) primarily, the management and conserva-15 |
---|
1040 | 1040 | | tion of giant sequoias on National Park Service and 16 |
---|
1041 | 1041 | | covered National Forest System lands to promote re-17 |
---|
1042 | 1042 | | siliency to wildfires, insects, and drought; and 18 |
---|
1043 | 1043 | | ‘‘(2) secondarily, the reforestation of giant se-19 |
---|
1044 | 1044 | | quoias on National Park Service and covered Na-20 |
---|
1045 | 1045 | | tional Forest System lands impacted by wildfire. 21 |
---|
1046 | 1046 | | ‘‘(b) G |
---|
1047 | 1047 | | IANTSEQUOIAEMERGENCY PROTECTION 22 |
---|
1048 | 1048 | | F |
---|
1049 | 1049 | | UND.—The National Park Foundation, in coordination 23 |
---|
1050 | 1050 | | with the National Forest Foundation, shall establish a 24 |
---|
1051 | 1051 | | joint special account to be known as the Giant Sequoia 25 |
---|
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1054 | 1054 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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1055 | 1055 | | Emergency Protection Fund (referred to as ‘the Fund’ in 1 |
---|
1056 | 1056 | | this section), to be administered in support of the program 2 |
---|
1057 | 1057 | | established under subsection (a). 3 |
---|
1058 | 1058 | | ‘‘(1) F |
---|
1059 | 1059 | | UNDS FOR GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY 4 |
---|
1060 | 1060 | | PROTECTION.—The Fund shall consist of any gifts, 5 |
---|
1061 | 1061 | | devises, or bequests that are provided to the Na-6 |
---|
1062 | 1062 | | tional Park Foundation or National Forest Founda-7 |
---|
1063 | 1063 | | tion for such purpose. 8 |
---|
1064 | 1064 | | ‘‘(2) U |
---|
1065 | 1065 | | SE OF FUNDS.—Funds shall be available 9 |
---|
1066 | 1066 | | to the National Park Foundation and National For-10 |
---|
1067 | 1067 | | est Foundation without further appropriation, sub-11 |
---|
1068 | 1068 | | ject to the provisions in paragraph (3), for projects 12 |
---|
1069 | 1069 | | and activities approved by the Chief of the Forest 13 |
---|
1070 | 1070 | | Service or the Director of the National Park Service 14 |
---|
1071 | 1071 | | as appropriate, or their designees, to— 15 |
---|
1072 | 1072 | | ‘‘(A) primarily, support the management 16 |
---|
1073 | 1073 | | and conservation of giant sequoias on National 17 |
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1074 | 1074 | | Park Service and covered National Forest Sys-18 |
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1075 | 1075 | | tem lands to promote resiliency to wildfires, in-19 |
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1076 | 1076 | | sects, and drought; and 20 |
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1077 | 1077 | | ‘‘(B) secondarily, support the reforestation 21 |
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1078 | 1078 | | of giant sequoias on National Park Service and 22 |
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1079 | 1079 | | covered National Forest System lands impacted 23 |
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1080 | 1080 | | by wildfire. 24 |
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1083 | 1083 | | •HR 2709 IH |
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1084 | 1084 | | ‘‘(3) TRIBAL SUPPORT.—Of the funds provided 1 |
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1085 | 1085 | | to the National Park Foundation and National For-2 |
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1086 | 1086 | | est Foundation under paragraph (2), not less than 3 |
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1087 | 1087 | | 15 percent of such funds shall be used to support 4 |
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1088 | 1088 | | tribal management and conservation of giant se-5 |
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1089 | 1089 | | quoias including funding for tribal historic preserva-6 |
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1090 | 1090 | | tion officers. 7 |
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1091 | 1091 | | ‘‘(c) S |
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1092 | 1092 | | UMMARY.—Beginning 1 year after the date of 8 |
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1093 | 1093 | | the enactment of this Act, the National Park Foundation 9 |
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1094 | 1094 | | and National Forest Foundation shall include with their 10 |
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1095 | 1095 | | annual reports a summary of the status of the program 11 |
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1096 | 1096 | | and Fund created under this section that includes— 12 |
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1097 | 1097 | | ‘‘(1) a statement of the amounts deposited in 13 |
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1098 | 1098 | | the Fund during the fiscal year; 14 |
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1099 | 1099 | | ‘‘(2) the amount of the balance remaining in 15 |
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1100 | 1100 | | the Fund at the end of the fiscal year; and 16 |
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1101 | 1101 | | ‘‘(3) a description of the program and projects 17 |
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1102 | 1102 | | funded during the fiscal year. 18 |
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1103 | 1103 | | ‘‘(d) C |
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1104 | 1104 | | OVEREDNATIONALFORESTSYSTEMLANDS 19 |
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1105 | 1105 | | D |
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1106 | 1106 | | EFINED.—In this section, the term ‘covered National 20 |
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1107 | 1107 | | Forest System lands’ has the meaning given such term 21 |
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1108 | 1108 | | in section 2 of the Save Our Sequoias Act. 22 |
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1109 | 1109 | | ‘‘(e) T |
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1110 | 1110 | | ERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The au-23 |
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1111 | 1111 | | thority provided by this section shall terminate 7 years 24 |
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1115 | 1115 | | after the date of enactment of the Save Our Sequoias 1 |
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1116 | 1116 | | Act.’’. 2 |
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1117 | 1117 | | (b) C |
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1118 | 1118 | | ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—The table of sec-3 |
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1119 | 1119 | | tions for chapter 1011 of title 54, United States Code, 4 |
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1120 | 1120 | | is amended by inserting at the end the following: 5 |
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1121 | 1121 | | ‘‘101123. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Program and Fund.’’. |
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1122 | 1122 | | SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. |
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1123 | 1123 | | 6 |
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1124 | 1124 | | (a) I |
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1125 | 1125 | | NGENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap-7 |
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1126 | 1126 | | propriations made in advance for such purposes, the Sec-8 |
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1127 | 1127 | | retary concerned shall allocate up to— 9 |
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1128 | 1128 | | (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 10 |
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1129 | 1129 | | (2) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 11 |
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1130 | 1130 | | (3) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 12 |
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1131 | 1131 | | through 2030; and 13 |
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1132 | 1132 | | (4) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2031 14 |
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1133 | 1133 | | through 2032. 15 |
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1134 | 1134 | | (b) L |
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1135 | 1135 | | IMITATION.—Of the amounts authorized under 16 |
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1136 | 1136 | | subsection (a), not less than 90 percent of funds shall be 17 |
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1137 | 1137 | | used to carry out section 6 and section 9 of this Act. 18 |
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1138 | 1138 | | (c) S |
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1139 | 1139 | | AVINGSCLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act affects— 19 |
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1140 | 1140 | | (1) the allocation of previously appropriated 20 |
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1141 | 1141 | | funds from prior fiscal years, consistent with appli-21 |
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1142 | 1142 | | cable laws and regulations; and 22 |
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1146 | 1146 | | (2) the prerogative of the Secretary concerned 1 |
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1147 | 1147 | | to establish Departmental funding priorities, con-2 |
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1148 | 1148 | | sistent with applicable laws and regulations. 3 |
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1149 | 1149 | | Æ |
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