Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes in accordance with— To be eligible for nomination under subsection (c), a collaborative forest landscape restoration proposal shall— be based on a landscape restoration strategy that— identifies and prioritizes ecological restoration treatments for a 10-year period within a landscape that is— would carry out any forest restoration treatments that reduce hazardous fuels by— be developed and implemented through a collaborative process that— describe plans to— analyze any anticipated cost savings, including those resulting from— estimate— describe the collaborative process through which the proposal was developed, including a description of— benefit local economies by providing local employment or training opportunities through contracts, grants, or agreements for restoration planning, design, implementation, or monitoring with— A proposal shall be submitted to— if actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the appropriate— A Regional Forester may nominate for selection by the Secretary any proposals that meet the eligibility criteria established by subsection (b). Any proposal nominated by the Regional Forester that proposes actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior shall include the concurrence of the appropriate— With respect to each proposal that is nominated under paragraph (2)— the appropriate Regional Forester shall— if actions under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior are proposed, the nomination shall include a plan to fund such actions, consistent with the strategy, by the appropriate— After consulting with the advisory panel established under subsection (e), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall, subject to paragraph (2), select the best proposals that— In selecting proposals under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give special consideration to— The Secretary may select not more than— Subject to subparagraph (B), after consulting with the advisory panel established under subsection (e), if the Secretary determines that a proposal that has been selected under paragraph (1) and is being carried out continues to meet the eligibility criteria established by subsection (b), the Secretary, on a case-by-case basis, may issue for the proposal a 1-time extension of the 10-year period requirement under paragraph (1)(B) of that subsection. The extension described in subparagraph (A)— The Secretary shall establish and maintain an advisory panel comprised of not more than 15 members to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, each proposal that has been nominated under subsection (c)(2). The Secretary shall ensure that the membership of the advisory panel is fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory panel. The advisory panel shall include experts in ecological restoration, fire ecology, fire management, rural economic development, strategies for ecological adaptation to climate change, fish and wildlife ecology, and woody biomass and small-diameter tree utilization. There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the “Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund”, to be used to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of carrying out and monitoring ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected to be carried out under subsection (d). The cost of carrying out ecological restoration treatments as provided in paragraph (1) may, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, include cancellation and termination costs required to be obligated for contracts to carry out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected to be carried out under subsection (d). The Fund shall consist of such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under paragraph (6). On request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary such amounts as the Secretary determines are appropriate, in accordance with paragraph (1). The Secretary shall not expend money from the Fund on any 1 proposal— The limitation described in subparagraph (B)(i) shall not apply to a proposal for which a 1-time extension is granted under subsection (d)(4). The Secretary shall establish an accounting and reporting system for the Fund. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, to remain available until expended. Not later than 180 days after the date on which a proposal is selected to be carried out, the Secretary shall create, in collaboration with the interested persons, an implementation work plan and budget to implement the proposal that includes— a business plan that addresses— Amounts transferred to the Secretary from the Fund shall be used to carry out ecological restoration treatments that are— The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior and interested persons, shall prepare an annual report on the accomplishments of each selected proposal that includes— a summary of the costs of— The Secretary shall, in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior and interested persons, use a multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess the positive or negative ecological, social, and economic effects of projects implementing a selected proposal for not less than 15 years after project implementation commences. Not later than 5 years after the first fiscal year in which funding is made available to carry out ecological restoration projects under the program, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit a report on the program, including an assessment of whether, and to what extent, the program is fulfilling the purposes of this chapter, to—