Sec. 5. Giant sequoia health and resiliency assessment
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Not later than 180 days after the first meeting of the Coalition, the Coalition shall submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment that, based on the best available science— identifies— each giant sequoia grove that has experienced a— stand-replacing disturbance; or disturbance but continues to have living giant sequoias within the grove, including identifying the tree mortality and regeneration of giant sequoias within such grove; each giant sequoia grove that is at high risk of experiencing a stand-replacing disturbance; lands located near giant sequoia groves that are at risk of experiencing high-severity wildfires that could adversely impact such giant sequoia groves; and each giant sequoia grove that has experienced a disturbance and is unlikely to naturally regenerate and is in need of reforestation; analyzes the resiliency of each giant sequoia grove to threats, such as— high-severity wildfire; insects, including beetle kill; and drought; with respect to Protection Projects, proposes a list of highest priority Protection Projects to be carried out under section 6, giving priority to projects located on lands identified under subparagraphs
(B)and
(C)of subsection (a)(1); examines how historical, Tribal, or current approaches to wildland fire suppression and forest management activities across various jurisdictions have impacted the health and resiliency of giant sequoia groves with respect to— high-severity wildfires; insects, including beetle kill; and drought; and includes program and policy recommendations that address— Federal and State policies that impede activities to improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoias and proposed policy changes to address such impediments; new Federal and State policies necessary to increase the pace and scale of treatments that improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoias; options to enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration, particularly for cross-boundary projects, to improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoias; and research gaps that should be addressed to improve the best available science on the giant sequoias. Not later than 1 year after the submission of the Assessment under subsection (a), and annually thereafter, the Coalition shall submit an updated Assessment to the relevant Congressional Committees that— includes any new data, information, or best available science that has changed or become available since the previous Assessment was submitted; with respect to Protection Projects— includes information on the number of Protection Projects initiated the previous year and the estimated timeline for completing those projects; includes information on the number of Protection Projects planned in the upcoming year and the estimated timeline for completing those projects; provides status updates and long-term monitoring reports on giant sequoia groves after the completion of Protection Projects; if the Secretary concerned failed to initiate at least 7 Protection Projects in the previous year, a written explanation that includes— a detailed explanation of what impediments resulted in failing to initiate at least 7 Protection Projects; a detailed explanation of what actions the Secretary concerned is taking to ensure that at least 7 Protection Projects are initiated the following year; and recommendations to Congress on any policies that need to be changed to assist the Secretary concerned in initiating Protection Projects; and with respect to reforestation and rehabilitation of giant sequoias— contains updates on the implementation of the Strategy under section 7, including grove-level data on reforestation and rehabilitation activities; and provides status updates and monitoring reports on giant sequoia groves that have experienced natural or artificial regeneration as part of the Strategy under section 7. The Coalition shall create and maintain a website that— publishes the Assessment, annual updates to the Assessment, and other educational materials developed by the Coalition; contains searchable information about individual giant sequoia groves, including the— resiliency of such groves to threats described in paragraphs
(1)and
(2)of subsection (a); Protection Projects that have been proposed, initiated, or completed in such groves; and reforestation and rehabilitation activities that have been proposed, initiated, or completed in such groves; and maintains a searchable database to track— the status of Federal environmental reviews and authorizations for specific Protection Projects and reforestation and rehabilitation activities; and the projected cost of Protection Projects and reforestation and rehabilitation activities. The Coalition shall include information on the status of Protection Projects in the searchable database created under paragraph (1)(C), including— a comprehensive permitting timetable; the status of the compliance of each lead agency, cooperating agency, and participating agency with the permitting timetable; any modifications of the permitting timetable required under subparagraph (A), including an explanation as to why the permitting timetable was modified; and information about project-related public meetings, public hearings, and public comment periods, which shall be presented in English and the predominant language of the community or communities most affected by the project, as that information becomes available. In utilizing the best available science for the Assessment, the Coalition shall include— data and peer-reviewed research from academic institutions with a demonstrated history of studying giant sequoias and with experience analyzing distinct management strategies to improve giant sequoia resiliency; traditional ecological knowledge from the Tribe related to improving the health and resiliency of giant sequoia groves; and data from Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments or agencies. In carrying out this section, the Secretary may enter into memorandums of understanding or agreements with other Federal agencies or departments, State or local governments, Tribal governments, private entities, or academic institutions to improve, with respect to the Assessment, the use and integration of— advanced remote sensing and geospatial technologies; statistical modeling and analysis; or any other technology the Secretary determines will benefit the quality of information used in the Assessment. The Coalition shall make information from this Assessment available to the Secretary concerned and State of California to integrate into the— State of California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan; Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy (or successor plan); and Department of the Interior’s Wildfire Risk Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment Plan (or successor plan). The development and submission of the Assessment under subsection
(a)shall not be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ).
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Sec. 5
Giant sequoia health and resiliency assessment
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