Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/200

 104 STAT. 3522 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 "SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND POLICY. "(a) FINDINGS.— Congress finds that— "(1) most of the productive forest land of the United States is in private, State, and local governmental ownership, and the capacity of the United States to produce renewable forest resources is significantly dependent on such non-Federal forest lands; "(2) adequate supplies of timber and other forest resources are essential to the United States, and adequate supplies are dependent on efficient methods for establishing, managing, and harvesting trees and processing, marketing, and using wood and wood products; "(3) nearly one-half of the wood supply of the United States comes from nonindustrial private timberlands and such percentage could rise with expanded assistance programs; "(4) managed forest lands provide habitats for fish and wildlife, as well as aesthetics, outdoor recreation opportunities, and other forest resources; "(5) the soil, water, and air qusdity of the United States can be maintained and improved through good stewardship of privately held forest resources; "(6) insects and diseases affecting trees occur and sometimes create emergency conditions on all land, whether Federal or non-Federal, and efforts to prevent and control such insects and diseases often require coordinated action by both Federal and non-Federal land managers; "(7) fires in rural areas threaten human lives, property, forests and other resources, and Federal-State cooperation in forest fire protection has proven effective and valuable; "(8) trees and forests are of great environmental and economic value to urban areas; "(9) managed forests contribute to improving the quality, quantity, and timing of water)delds that are of broad benefit to society; "(10) over half the forest lands of the United States are in need of some type of conservation treatment; "(11) forest landowners are being faced with increased pressure to convert their forest land to development and other purposes; "(12) increased population pressures and user demands are being placed on private, as well as public, landholders to provide a wide variety of products and services, including fish and wildlife habitat, aesthetic quality, and recreational opportunities; "(13) stewardship of privately held forest resources requires a long-term commitment that can be fostered through local. State, and Federal governmental actions; "(14) the Department of Agriculture, through the coordinated efforts of its agencies with forestry responsibilities, cooperating with other Federal agencies, State foresters, and State political subdivisions, has the expertise and experience to assist private landowners in achieving individual goals and public benefits regarding forestry; "(15) the products and services resulting from nonindustrial private forest land stewardship provide income and employ-

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