[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3476 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3476
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of
Agriculture to establish the forest conservation easement program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2025
Mr. Kelly of Mississippi (for himself, Ms. Goodlander, Mr. Moore of
Alabama, Mr. Guest, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Dean of
Pennsylvania, and Mr. Tonko) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of
Agriculture to establish the forest conservation easement program, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Forest Conservation Easement Program
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FOREST CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subtitle I (16 U.S.C. 3871 et seq.) as
subtitle J; and
(2) by inserting after subtitle H (16 U.S.C. 3865 et seq.)
the following:
``Subtitle I--Forest Conservation Easement Program
``SEC. 1267. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a forest
conservation easement program for the conservation and restoration of
eligible land and natural resources through the acquisition of
conservation easements or other interests in land.
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the program are--
``(1) to protect the viability and sustainability of forest
land and related ecological and human conservation values of
eligible land by limiting the negative impacts of non-forest
land uses;
``(2) to protect and enhance forest ecosystem and landscape
functions and values;
``(3) to promote the restoration, protection, and
improvement of habitat of threatened and endangered species and
other at-risk species;
``(4) to maintain and enhance biodiversity;
``(5) to enhance carbon sequestration;
``(6) to protect and restore watersheds for water quality
and quantity improvements;
``(7) to prevent encroachment around military bases and
installations; and
``(8) to carry out the purposes and functions of the
healthy forests reserve program established under title V of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et
seq.), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of
this section.
``SEC. 1267A. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subtitle:
``(1) Beginning forest landowner.--The term `beginning
forest landowner' means a person that--
``(A)(i) has not previously owned forest land; or
``(ii) has owned forest land for not more than 10
years; and
``(B) meets such other criteria as the Secretary
may establish.
``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) an agency of State or local government or an
Indian Tribe (including a land resource council
established under State law); or
``(B) an organization that is--
``(i) organized for, and at all times since
the formation of the organization has been
operated principally for, 1 or more of the
conservation purposes specified in clause (i),
(ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
``(ii) an organization described in section
501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of that Code; or
``(iii) described in--
``(I) paragraph (1) or (2) of
section 509(a) of that Code; or
``(II) section 509(a)(3) of that
Code and is controlled by an
organization described in section
509(a)(2) of that Code.
``(3) Eligible land.--The term `eligible land' means
private land (which shall include land owned by any
organization described in paragraph (2)(B) and land owned by
any other private entity, without any eligibility requirement
in addition to the eligibility requirements established by this
subtitle) or Tribal land--
``(A) that is--
``(i) forest land; or
``(ii) being restored to forest land;
``(B) in the case of a forest land easement--
``(i) that is subject to a pending offer
for purchase of a forest land easement from an
eligible entity; and
``(ii)(I) the enrollment of which would
protect forest uses and related conservation
values by conserving land; or
``(II) the protection of which will further
a State or local policy consistent with the
purposes of the program; and
``(C) in the case of a forest reserve easement, the
enrollment of which will maintain, restore, enhance, or
otherwise measurably--
``(i) increase the likelihood of recovery
of a species that is listed as endangered or
threatened under section 4 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); or
``(ii) improve the well-being of a species
that is--
``(I) not listed as endangered or
threatened under that section; and
``(II)(aa) a candidate for that
listing, a State-listed species, or a
special concern species; or
``(bb) designated as a species of
greatest conservation need by a State
wildlife action plan.
``(4) Forest land easement.--The term `forest land
easement' means an easement or other interest in eligible land
that--
``(A) is conveyed to an eligible entity for the
purpose of protecting natural resources and the forest
nature of the eligible land; and
``(B) permits the landowner the right to continue
working forest production and related uses.
``(5) Forest reserve easement.--The term `forest reserve
easement' means an easement or other interest in eligible land
that--
``(A) is conveyed to the Secretary for the purpose
of protecting natural resources and the forest nature
of the eligible land; and
``(B) permits the landowner the right to continue
working forest production and related uses consistent
with the applicable forest reserve easement plan
developed under section 1267C(c)(1)(A).
``(6) Program.--The term `program' means the forest
conservation easement program established under this subtitle.
``(7) Socially disadvantaged forest landowner.--The term
`socially disadvantaged forest landowner' means a forest
landowner who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group (as
defined in section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))).
``(8) Veteran forest landowner.--The term `veteran forest
landowner' means a forest landowner who--
``(A) has served in the Armed Forces (as defined in
section 101 of title 38, United States Code); and
``(B)(i) has not previously owned forest land;
``(ii) has owned forest land for not more than 10
years; or
``(iii) is a veteran (as defined in that section)
who has first obtained status as a veteran (as so
defined) during the most recent 10-year period.
``SEC. 1267B. FOREST LAND EASEMENTS.
``(a) Availability of Assistance.--The Secretary shall facilitate
and provide funding for--
``(1) the purchase by eligible entities of forest land
easements in eligible land;
``(2) the development of a voluntary forest management plan
under subsection (b)(4)(F); and
``(3) technical assistance to implement this section.
``(b) Cost-Share Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall protect the forest
use and related conservation values of eligible land through
cost-share assistance to eligible entities for purchasing
forest land easements.
``(2) Scope of assistance available.--
``(A) Federal share.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (C), an agreement described in paragraph
(4) shall provide for a Federal share of 50 percent of
the fair market value of the forest land easement.
``(B) Determination of fair market value.--The fair
market value of a forest land easement shall be
determined by the Secretary using--
``(i) the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice;
``(ii) an areawide market analysis or
survey; or
``(iii) another industry-approved method.
``(C) Exceptions.--The Secretary may provide for a
Federal share of not to exceed 75 percent of the fair
market value of a forest land easement in the case of--
``(i) forests of special environmental
significance, as determined by the Secretary;
or
``(ii) eligible land owned by--
``(I) a beginning forest landowner;
``(II) a socially disadvantaged
forest landowner;
``(III) a veteran forest landowner;
or
``(IV) a limited resource forest
landowner, as defined by the Secretary.
``(D) Non-federal share.--
``(i) In general.--Under an agreement
described in paragraph (4), the eligible entity
shall provide a share that covers the
difference between--
``(I) the Federal share that is
provided under this paragraph; and
``(II) the fair market value of the
forest land easement.
``(ii) Permissible forms.--The non-Federal
share provided by an eligible entity under this
subparagraph may comprise--
``(I) cash resources;
``(II) a charitable donation or
qualified conservation contribution (as
defined in section 170(h) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) from the
private forest landowner from which the
forest land easement will be purchased;
``(III) costs associated with
securing a deed to the forest land
easement, including the cost of
appraisal, survey, inspection, and
title; and
``(IV) other costs, as determined
by the Secretary.
``(3) Evaluation and ranking of applications.--
``(A) Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish
evaluation and ranking criteria to maximize the benefit
of Federal investment under the program.
``(B) Priority.--In evaluating applications under
the program, the Secretary shall give priority to an
application for the purchase of a forest land easement
that, as determined by the Secretary--
``(i) maintains the viability of working
forest land; and
``(ii) will, not later than the time of
acquisition of the forest land easement,
include a forest management plan developed for
the eligible land, which may comprise--
``(I) a forest stewardship plan
described in section 5(f) of the
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of
1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103a(f));
``(II) another plan approved by the
applicable State forester or State
forestry agency;
``(III) a plan developed under a
third-party certification system; or
``(IV) another plan determined
appropriate by the Secretary.
``(C) Considerations.--In establishing the criteria
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall emphasize
support for--
``(i) protecting forest uses and related
conservation values of the eligible land;
``(ii) reducing fragmentation; and
``(iii) maximizing the areas protected from
conversion to non-forest uses.
``(D) Accounting for geographic differences.--The
Secretary may adjust the criteria established under
subparagraph (A) to account for geographic differences,
if the adjustments--
``(i) meet the purposes of the program; and
``(ii) continue to maximize the benefit of
the Federal investment under the program.
``(E) Bidding down.--If the Secretary determines
that 2 or more applications for cost-share assistance
are comparable in achieving the purpose of the program,
the Secretary shall not assign a higher priority to any
of those applications solely on the basis of lesser
cost to the program.
``(4) Agreements with eligible entities.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into
agreements with eligible entities to stipulate the
terms and conditions under which the eligible entity is
permitted to use cost-share assistance provided under
this section.
``(B) Length of agreements.--
``(i) In general.--An agreement under
subparagraph (A) shall be for a term that is--
``(I) in the case of an eligible
entity certified under paragraph (5),
not less than 5 years; and
``(II) in the case of any other
eligible entity, not less than 3, but
not more than 5, years, unless the
Secretary determines that an extension
of time is justified.
``(ii) Expediting closings.--The Secretary
is encouraged to expedite closing on forest
land easements, as practicable.
``(C) Minimum terms and conditions.--An eligible
entity shall be authorized to use its own terms and
conditions for forest land easements so long as the
Secretary determines such terms and conditions--
``(i) are consistent with--
``(I) the purposes of the program;
and
``(II) the forestry activities to
be conducted on the eligible land;
``(ii) permit effective enforcement of the
conservation purposes of the forest land
easements;
``(iii) include a right of enforcement for
the Secretary that--
``(I) may be used only if the terms
and conditions of the forest land
easement are not enforced by the
eligible entity; and
``(II) does not extend to a right
of inspection unless--
``(aa)(AA) the holder of
the forest land easement fails
to provide monitoring reports
in a timely manner; or
``(BB) the Secretary has a
reasonable and articulable
belief that the terms and
conditions of the forest land
easement have been violated;
and
``(bb) prior to the
inspection, the Secretary
notifies the eligible entity
an