Sec. 303. Stewardship end result contracting projects
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/bill/118/hr/7408/ih/section-303·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary may enter into an agreement or contract with a private person or other public or private entity to perform forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services that are consistent with the purposes for which the United States Fish and Wildlife Service lands that are the subject of the agreement were established and local and rural community needs. A source for performance or an agreement or contract entered into under subsection
(a)shall be selected on a best-value basis, including consideration of source under other public and private agreements or contracts. A contract entered into under this section may, at the discretion of the Secretary, be considered a contract for the sale of forest products under such terms as the Secretary may prescribe without regard to any other provision of law. The Secretary may enter into an agreement or contract under subsection
(a)for an initial period of not more than 20 years. The Secretary may apply the value of forest products removed as an offset against the cost of forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services received pursuant to an agreement or contract under this section. The value of timber or other forest products used as an offset— shall be determined using appropriate methods of appraisal commensurate with the quantity of products to be removed; and may— be determined using a unit of measure appropriate to the contracts; and may include valuing products on a per-acre basis. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may determine the appropriate contracting officer to enter into and administer an agreement or contract under this section. The Secretary may collect monies from an agreement or contract under this section if the collection is a secondary objective of negotiating the contract that will best achieve the purpose of this section. Monies from an agreement or contract under this section shall remain available until expended for forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services at the project site from which the monies are collected, or at another project site. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the value of services received by the Secretary under a stewardship contract project conducted under this section, and any payments made or resources provided by the contractor or Secretary, shall not be considered monies received from United States Fish and Wildlife Service lands. Notwithstanding the fact that a contractor did not harvest the timber, the Secretary may collect deposits from a contractor covering the costs of removal of timber or other forest products. The Secretary may require performance and payment bonds under sections 28.103–2 and 28.103–3 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, in an amount that the contracting officer considers sufficient to protect the investment in receipts by the Federal Government generated by the contractor from the estimated value of the forest products to be removed under a contract under this section. If the offset value of the forest products exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments, the Secretary may— use the excess to satisfy any outstanding liabilities from cancelled agreements or contracts; or if there are no outstanding liabilities described in subparagraph (A), apply the excess to other authorized stewardship projects. Notwithstanding section 3903(b)(1) of title 41, United States Code, the Secretary may obligate funds in stages that are economically or programmatically viable to cover any potential cancellation or termination costs for an agreement or contract under this section. The Secretary shall establish a monitoring and evaluation process that accesses the stewardship contracting projects conducted under this section. Other than the Secretary, participants in the process described in this paragraph may include— any cooperating governmental agencies, including Tribal governments; and other interested groups or individuals.