Sec. 4. Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition

682 words·~3 min read·/bill/117/hr/8168/ih/section-4

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

In accordance with the timeline and agreement established in section 3(a)(1), the Secretary, in consultation with the parties to such agreement, shall establish, and appoint members to, the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition. A previously established group that meets the membership requirements under subsection

(b)may be designated by the Secretary as the Coalition under paragraph

(1)if the parties to the agreement established under section 3 approve such designation. The Secretary shall appoint to the Coalition 1 member from each of— the National Park Service, representing Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks; the National Park Service, representing Yosemite National Park; the Forest Service, representing Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument; the Forest Service, representing Sierra National Forest; the Forest Service, representing Tahoe National Forest; the Bureau of Land Management, representing Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area; the Tribe, representing the Black Mountain Grove; the State of California, representing Calaveras Big Trees State Park; the State of California, representing Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest; an academic institution with demonstrated experience managing and owning a giant sequoia grove, representing Whitaker’s Research Forest; and the County of Tulare, California, representing Balch Park. The Coalition may designate organizations or agencies with demonstrated experience and knowledge on giant sequoia management and resiliency as affiliate partners of the Coalition to enhance the work of the Coalition under subsection (c). Upon the written request of a local government in California whose jurisdictional boundaries encompass at least 1 giant sequoia grove, the Secretary shall appoint 1 member from such government to serve as a member of the Coalition, subject to the same requirements outlined in this section. The term of an appointment as a member of the Coalition shall be 5 years. Members of the Coalition may serve no more than 2 terms. The Secretary shall appoint a new member to fill a vacancy on the Coalition not later than 6 months after the date on which such vacancy occurs. Decisions of the Coalition shall be made by majority vote, a quorum of 6 members of the Coalition being present. Not later than 60 days after all members of the Coalition are appointed under subsection (a), the Coalition shall hold its first meeting. The Coalition shall meet not less than twice per year. The Secretary shall appoint members under subsection (b)(1) who have a demonstrated experience and knowledge on managing giant sequoia groves. The duties of the Coalition are to— carry out the Assessment under section 5; observe implementation, and provide policy recommendations to the Secretary, with respect to— Protection Projects carried out under section 6; and the Strategy established under section 7; facilitate collaboration and coordination on Protection Projects, particularly projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries; facilitate information sharing, including best available science as described in section 5(c) and mapping resources; and support the development and dissemination of educational materials and programs that inform the public about the threats to the health and resiliency of giant sequoia groves and actions being taken to reduce the risk to such groves from high-severity wildfire, insects, and drought. All members of the Coalition who are officers or employees of the United States shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the United States. All members of the Coalition not described in subparagraph

(A)shall serve without compensation. A member of the Coalition may be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses incurred while attending a meeting of the Coalition or any other meeting of members approved for reimbursement by the Coalition in the same amounts and under the same conditions as Federal employees under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. The Secretary may pay the expenses of the Coalition that the Secretary determines to be reasonable and appropriate. The Secretary shall make personnel of the Department of the Interior available to the Coalition for administrative support, technical services, development and dissemination of educational materials, and staff support that the Secretary determines necessary to carry out this section. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Coalition.