Title III—Watershed
Forestry Assistance
T his title provides assistance to expand forest stewardship
capacities and activities through forestry best management practices
and other means
to address watershed issues on non-Federal forested and potentially forested
land (Section 302), including lands under Tribal jurisdiction (Section
303). The title’s overall purposes include:
- Improving public understanding
of the connection between forest management and watershed health
- Encouraging
property owners to maintain tree cover and use tree plantings and
vegetative treatments as creative solutions to watershed
problems
- Enhancing forest management and riparian buffer use in watersheds,
with an emphasis on community watersheds
- Establishing partnerships
and collaborative watershed approaches to forest management, stewardship,
and conservation
Watershed Forestry Assistance
This program, which is to be administered
by the USDA Forest Service and implemented by the State foresters or
equivalent State officials,
authorizes an appropriation of $15 million each fiscal year from 2004
through 2008. This section directs the USDA Forest Service, in cooperation
with participating State foresters, to:
- Engage interested members of
the public, including nonprofit organizations and local watershed councils,
to develop a program of technical assistance
to protect water quality
- Establish a watershed forestry cost-share
program that provides for:
- Awards to communities, nonprofit groups,
and nonindustrial forest landowners for watershed forestry projects
- Selection
of priority watersheds by State forest stewardship committees or
their equivalents to target funding for projects
- Creation of State
watershed forester positions
Tribal Watershed Forestry Assistance
This program, which is to be administered
by the USDA Forest Service and implemented by participating Tribes,
authorizes appropriations
of $2,500,000 each fiscal year from 2004 through 2008. This section
directs the USDA Forest Service, in cooperation with participating
Tribes, to:
- Develop a program to provide technical assistance to
protect water quality
- Establish a watershed forestry program that
provides for:
- Annual
awards to Tribes for watershed forestry projects
- Selection
of priority watersheds to target funding for projects
- Opportunities
to create Tribal watershed forester positions
Developing Program
Guidelines
The guidelines for implementing Sections 302 and 303
will highlight the link between healthy forests, healthy watersheds,
and clean
water;
encourage the use of forests and forestry practices in protecting and
restoring watersheds; and promote partnerships and collaborative approaches
through community-based, watershed-scale planning and management of forested
landscapes. The guidelines will provide
information on the technical and financial assistance available; outline
eligibility requirements for Tribes, landowners, and other entities;
and discuss criteria for allocation of funds. Tables
1 and 2 provide
timelines for developing the guidelines.
Table 1—The timeline for developing Section 302 guidelines
during
2004 (Watershed Forestry Assistance Program)
| Month |
Task |
| January |
Form a workgroup including representatives
of State forestry agencies, the USDA Forest
Service, and USDA Cooperative State
Research Education and Extension Service. |
February to
September |
Develop and implement a communication
plan
September for public outreach. |
| March |
March Publish the Federal
Register notice of intent to
develop guidelines. A 30-day comment period
will be provided. |
March to
September |
Develop and refine drafts of the guidelines
based
September on comments from the public, other agencies,
and interested stakeholders. |
| October |
Issue the final guidelines and publish
the
Federal Register notice of availability of the
guidelines.
|
Table 2—The timeline for developing Section 303 guidelines during 2004
(Tribal Watershed Forestry Assistance Program)
| Month |
Task |
| January |
Begin coordination with Tribes and Tribal
organizations. |
February to
March |
Request input from Tribes
through a Federal Register notice and other means on Tribes’preferences
for Tribal coordination, their need for technical assistance, and
an overall approach
for implementing Section 303. |
March to
September |
Form a workgroup of USDA Forest Service
September and Tribal representatives to develop and refine
drafts of the guidelines. |
| October |
Publish the Federal
Register notice
of availability of the guidelines and distribute the final
guidelines to the Tribes.
|
|
