§ 2101. Findings, purpose, and policy

§ 2101. Findings, purpose, and policy

(a) Findings Congress finds that—

(1) most of the productive forest land of the United States is in private, State, and local governmental ownership, and the capacity of the United States to produce renewable forest resources is significantly dependent on such non-Federal forest lands;

(2) adequate supplies of timber and other forest resources are essential to the United States, and adequate supplies are dependent on efficient methods for establishing, managing, and harvesting trees and processing, marketing, and using wood and wood products;

(3) nearly one-half of the wood supply of the United States comes from nonindustrial private timberlands and such percentage could rise with expanded assistance programs;

(4) managed forest lands provide habitats for fish and wildlife, as well as aesthetics, outdoor recreation opportunities, and other forest resources;

(5) the soil, water, and air quality of the United States can be maintained and improved through good stewardship of privately held forest resources;

(6) insects and diseases affecting trees occur and sometimes create emergency conditions on all land, whether Federal or non-Federal, and efforts to prevent and control such insects and diseases often require coordinated action by both Federal and non-Federal land managers;

(7) fires in rural areas threaten human lives, property, forests and other resources, and Federal-State cooperation in forest fire protection has proven effective and valuable;

(8) trees and forests are of great environmental and economic value to urban areas;

(9) managed forests contribute to improving the quality, quantity, and timing of water yields that are of broad benefit to society;

(10) over half the forest lands of the United States are in need of some type of conservation treatment;

(11) forest landowners are being faced with increased pressure to convert their forest land to development and other purposes;

(12) increased population pressures and user demands are being placed on private, as well as public, landholders to provide a wide variety of products and services, including fish and wildlife habitat, aesthetic quality, and recreational opportunities;

(13) stewardship of privately held forest resources requires a long-term commitment that can be fostered through local, State, and Federal governmental actions;

(14) the Department of Agriculture, through the coordinated efforts of its agencies with forestry responsibilities, cooperating with other Federal agencies, State foresters, and State political subdivisions, has the expertise and experience to assist private landowners in achieving individual goals and public benefits regarding forestry;

(15) the products and services resulting from nonindustrial private forest land stewardship provide income and employment that contribute to the economic health and diversity of rural communities; 11 See 1990 Amendment note below.

(16) sustainable agroforestry systems and tree planting in semiarid lands can improve environmental quality and maintain farm yields and income; and ^1

(18) 22 So in original. Probably should be “(17)”. the same forest resource supply, protection, and management issues that exist in the United States are also present on an international scale, and the forest and rangeland renewable resources of the world are threatened by deforestation due to conversion to agriculture of lands better suited to other purposes, over-grazing, over-harvesting, and other causes which pose a direct adverse threat to people, the global environment, and the world economy.^1

(b) Purpose It is the purpose of this chapter to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this chapter referred to as the “Secretary”), with respect to non-Federal forest lands in the United States, and forest lands in foreign countries, of the United States, to assist in—

(1) the establishment of a coordinated and cooperative Federal, State, and local forest stewardship program for management of the non-Federal forest lands;

(2) the encouragement of the production of timber;

(3) the prevention and control of insects and diseases affecting trees and forests;

(4) the prevention and control of rural fires;

(5) the efficient utilization of wood and wood residues, including the recycling of wood fiber;

(6) the improvement and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat;

(7) the planning and conduct of urban forestry programs;

(8) broadening existing forest management, fire protection, and insect and disease protection programs on non-Federal forest lands to meet the multiple use objectives of landowners in an environmentally sensitive manner;

(9) providing opportunities to private landowners to protect ecologically valuable and threatened non-Federal forest lands; and

(10) strengthening educational, technical, and financial assistance programs that provide assistance to owners of non-Federal forest lands in the United States, and forest lands in foreign countries,.33 So in original.

(c) Priorities In allocating funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this chapter, the Secretary shall focus on the following national private forest conservation priorities, notwithstanding other priorities specified elsewhere in this chapter:

(1) Conserving and managing working forest landscapes for multiple values and uses.

(2) Protecting forests from threats, including catastrophic wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, windstorms, snow or ice storms, flooding, drought, invasive species, insect or disease outbreak, or development, and restoring appropriate forest types in response to such threats.

(3) Enhancing public benefits from private forests, including air and water quality, soil conservation, biological diversity, carbon storage, forest products, forestry-related jobs, production of renewable energy, wildlife, wildlife corridors and wildlife habitat, and recreation.

(d) Reporting requirement Not later than September 30, 2011, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing how funds were used under this chapter, and through other programs administered by the Secretary, to address the national priorities specified in subsection (c) and the outcomes achieved in meeting the national priorities.

(e) Policy It is the policy of Congress that it is in the national interest for the Secretary to work through and in cooperation with State foresters, or equivalent State officials, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector in implementing Federal programs affecting non-Federal forest lands.

(f) Construction This chapter shall be construed to complement the policies and direction under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.).

(Pub. L. 95–313, § 2, July 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 365; Pub. L. 101–513, title VI, § 611(b)(1), (2), formerly § 607(b)(1), (2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 2072, renumbered § 611(b)(1), (2), Pub. L. 102–574, § 2(a)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4593; Pub. L. 101–624, title XII, § 1212, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3521; Pub. L. 110–234, title VIII, § 8001, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1279; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title VIII, § 8001, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2041.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b) to (d) and (f), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–313, July 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 365, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables.

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 93–378, Aug. 17, 1974, 88 Stat. 476, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 1600 et seq.) of chapter 36 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1600 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Pub. L. 101–513 and Pub. L. 101–624 were approved by the President after Congress adjourned and in reverse order of passage by Congress. Accordingly, the amendments made by Pub. L. 101–624 were executed to text prior to the amendments made by Pub. L. 101–513 to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

2008—Subsecs. (c) to (f). Pub. L. 110–246, § 8001, added subsecs. (c) and (d) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (e) and (f), respectively.

1990—Pub. L. 101–624 amended section generally, substituting present provisions for provisions which set forth Congressional findings and declarations, and statements of purpose and national interest, and which related to application with forest and rangeland renewable resources provisions. See Codification note above.

Pub. L. 101–513, § 607(b)(1), directed the amendment of subsec. (a) by striking out “and” at end of par. (16), substituting “; and” for period at end of par. (17), and adding par. (18) at end. The amendment of pars. (16) and (17) was executed to pars. (15) and (16) to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See Codification note above.

Pub. L. 101–513, § 607(b)(2), which directed the amendment of subsec. (b) by inserting “in the United States, and forest lands in foreign countries,” after “non-Federal forest lands,” the first place it appears and in paragraph (10), was executed by making the insertion after “non-Federal forest lands” to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See Codification note above.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2008 Amendment

Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.

Effective Date

Section 17, formerly section 14, of Pub. L. 95–313, as renumbered § 17 by Pub. L. 101–624, title XII, § 1215(1), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3525, provided that: “The provisions of this Act [see Short Title note below] shall become effective October 1, 1978.”

Short Title of 1990 Amendment

Pub. L. 101–624, title XII, § 1201, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3521, provided that: “This title [enacting sections 582a–8, 1648, 1649, 1674a, 2103a to 2103c, 2106a, 2113, and 2114 of this title, amending this section and sections 1642, 1672, 1674, 2102 to 2106, and 2108 to 2110 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 582a, 1601, 1642, and 2112 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Forest Stewardship Act of 1990’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 95–313, § 1, July 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 365, provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 1510 and 1606 of this title, repealing sections 565, 566, 567, 568c to 568e, 594–1 to 594–5, 594a, and 1509 of this title, and sections 2651 to 2654 of Title 7, Agriculture, enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1606 of this title, and repealing provisions set out as notes under sections 568c and 594–1 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978’.”

America the Beautiful Act of 1990