Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/1926

 PUBLIC LAW 108–148—DEC. 3, 2003

117 STAT. 1907

tribe to target watershed forestry projects funded under this subsection. (6) WATERSHED FORESTER.—The Secretary may provide to Indian tribes under this section financial and technical assistance to establish a position of tribal forester to lead tribal programs and coordinate small watershed-level projects. (d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall devote— (1) at least 75 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal year under subsection (e) to the program under subsection (c); and (2) the remainder of the funds to deliver technical assistance, education, and planning in the field to Indian tribes. (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.

TITLE IV—INSECT INFESTATIONS AND RELATED DISEASES SEC. 401. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

16 USC 6551.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— (1) high levels of tree mortality resulting from insect infestation (including the interaction between insects and diseases) may result in— (A) increased fire risk; (B) loss of old trees and old growth; (C) loss of threatened and endangered species; (D) loss of species diversity; (E) degraded watershed conditions; (F) increased potential for damage from other agents of disturbance, including exotic, invasive species; and (G) decreased timber values; (2)(A) forest-damaging insects destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of trees each year; (B) in the West, more than 21,000,000 acres are at high risk of forest-damaging insect infestation, and in the South, more than 57,000,000 acres are at risk across all land ownerships; and (C) severe drought conditions in many areas of the South and West will increase the risk of forest-damaging insect infestations; (3) the hemlock woolly adelgid is— (A) destroying streamside forests throughout the midAtlantic and Appalachian regions; (B) threatening water quality and sensitive aquatic species; and (C) posing a potential threat to valuable commercial timber land in northern New England; (4)(A) the emerald ash borer is a nonnative, invasive pest that has quickly become a major threat to hardwood forests because an emerald ash borer infestation is almost always fatal to affected trees; and (B) the emerald ash borer pest threatens to destroy more than 692,000,000 ash trees in forests in Michigan and Ohio alone, and between 5 and 10 percent of urban street trees in the Upper Midwest;

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