COMPETITIVE FORESTRY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS PROGRAM.

SEC. 8708. COMPETITIVE FORESTRY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS PROGRAM. Section 1232 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 582a-8) is amended— (1) in subsection (a) by inserting “or forest restoration” after “research”; and (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows: “(c) Priorities.— “(1) Research.—In awarding the initial grants under subsection (a) the Secretary shall give priority to applicants who will use such grants for research concerning— “(A) the biology of forest organisms, including physiology, genetic mechanisms, and biotechnology; “(B) ecosystem function and management, including forest ecosystem research, biodiversity, forest productivity, pest management, water resources, and alternative silvicultural systems; “(C) wood as a raw material, including forest products and harvesting; “(D) human forest interactions, including outdoor recreation, public policy formulation, economics, sociology, and administrative behavior; “(E) international trade, competition, and cooperation related to forest products; “(F) alternative native crops, products, and services that can be produced from renewable natural resources associated with privately held forest lands; “(G) viable economic production and marketing systems for alternative natural resource products and services; “(H) economic and environmental benefits of various conservation practices on forest lands; “(I) genetic tree improvement; and “(J) market expansion. “(2) Forest restoration.—Grants may be used to support programs that restore forest tree species native to American forests that may have suffered severe levels of mortality caused by non-native insects, plant pathogens, or others pests. “(A) Required component of forest restoration strategy.—To receive a grant under this subsection, an eligible institution shall demonstrate that it offers a program with a forest restoration strategy that incorporates not less than one of the following components: “(i) Collection and conservation of native tree genetic material. “(ii) Production of propagules of native trees in numbers large enough for landscape scale restoration. “(iii) Site preparation of former of native tree habitat. “(iv) Planting of native tree seedlings. “(v) Post-planting maintenance of native trees. “(B) Award of grants.—The Secretary shall award competitive grants under this subsection based on the degree to which the applicant addresses the following criteria: “(i) Risk posed to the forests of that State by non-native pests, as measured by such factors as the number of such pests present in the State. “(ii) The proportion of the State’s forest composed of species vulnerable to non-native pests present in the United States. “(iii) The pests’ rate of spread via natural or human-assisted means.” .