H.R. 2709

Save Our Sequoias Act

Sponsor: Vince Fong · 29 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Save Our Sequoias Act

This bill provides for the conservation of giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in California.

Specifically, it provides statutory authority for the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition and outlines the coalition's duties. The coalition must submit a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment and annually update it. The information from the assessment must be made available so the information can be integrated into certain other plans. The coalition must also create and maintain a website that contains the assessment, educational materials, searchable information about individual giant sequoia groves, and a searchable database to track the status and costs of reforestation and rehabilitation activities.

In addition, the bill declares an emergency on certain public lands and allows officials to carry out protection plans during the emergency to respond to the threat of wildfires, insects, and drought. The emergency expires after seven years.

The Department of the Interior must develop and implement a Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation Strategy.

Finally, the bill establishes a variety of programs and funds to support the conservation of giant sequoias.

Text of the bill

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Sec. 2. Definitions

In this Act:

(1) Assessment. The term Assessment means the Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment required by section 5.

(2) Coalition. The term Coalition means the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition codified under section 4(a).

(3) Collaborative process. The term collaborative process means a collaborative process as described in section 4003(b)(2) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303(b)(2)).

(4) Covered national forest system lands. The term covered National Forest System lands means the proclaimed National Forest System lands reserved or withdrawn from the public domain of the United States covering the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument, Sierra National Forest, and Tahoe National Forest.

(5) Covered public lands. The term covered public lands means—

(A) the Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area in California managed by the Bureau of Land Management; and

(B) Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park in California managed by the National Park Service.

(6) Giant sequoia. The term giant sequoia means a tree of the species Sequoiadendron giganteum.

(7) Protection project. The term Protection Project means a Giant Sequoia Protection Project carried out under section 6.

(8) Reforestation. The term reforestation means the act of renewing tree cover, taking into consideration species composition and resilience, by establishing young trees through—

(A) natural regeneration;

(B) natural regeneration with site preparation and vegetation competition control; or

(C) planting or direct seeding.

(9) Rehabilitation. The term rehabilitation means any action taken during the 5-year period beginning on the last day of a wildland fire to repair or improve fire-impacted lands which are unlikely to recover to management-approved conditions.

(10) Relevant congressional committees. The term relevant Congressional Committees means—

(A) the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate.

(11) Responsible official. The term responsible official means an employee of the Department of the Interior or Forest Service who has the authority to make and implement a decision on a proposed action.

(12) Secretary. The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(13) Secretary concerned. The term Secretary concerned means—

(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to covered National Forest System lands, or their designee; and

(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to covered public lands, or their designee.

(14) Strategy. The term Strategy means the Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation Strategy established under section 7.

(15) Strike team. The term Strike Team means a Giant Sequoia Strike Team established under section 8.

(16) Tribe. The term Tribe means the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, California.