[BCNnet] Please take action on S144 Federal Matching Funds for Invasive Plant Control

[Donald Dann]

BCN friends;

This came to me from a Sierra Club friend.  Good native habitats are a
prerequisite for healthy bird populations.  Please ask your Congressman and
Senators Durbin and Fitzgerald to support this legislation.  Thanks,

Donnie

Donald R. Dann
Highland Park/Lake County



At the 2004 Native Plants in the Landscape Conference in Millersville
many individuals asked to be informed about opportunities to act on
passage of S144 which would provide federal matching funds for
non-native invasive plant control projects to rescue our native plants
and animals at a level more commensurate with the scope of the problem.

There is a remarkable concensus in the conservation community, world-wide,
that alien (non-native) invasive species form monocultures over 30-90% of
our parkland and other natural areas depending on the ecoregion. We also now
know that it is practicable to control most of them, but at about ten times
the present effort.

The House Committee on Resources passed The Noxious Weed Control Act of
2004, S. 144, a bill that would authorize $500 million over five years to to
provide assistance through states to control or eradicate harmful non-native
weeds on public and private lands. S144 is now in the Agriculture Committee.
The Senate passed S. 144 early last year.

Your United States representative is especially important to contact at this
time to express support for S.144 which will leverage lots of local
participation and in-kind support. Each letter is very effective and
essential since there is little opposition to this bill but many
representatives are not aware of the importance of this bill. They will vote
for it if they know their constituents want it and there is little
opposition.

The federal matching funds provided for in the bipartisan bill constitute a
critical lifeline for cash-strapped weed control and eradication efforts. It
combines volunteer work with contract or staff work at parks and natural
areas to control weeds in ways volunteers cannot do effectively or find hard
to do as equal matching in kind contributions, about $15 for every hour a
volunteer works.

This will be a great morale booster that I believe will expand our program
many fold. I believe it will mean many times as much area now covered by
alien plants will instead once again be covered by native plants and animals
than would otherwise be the case because it is the booster most needed.

The bill provides federal matching funds to state and local weed control
projects on public and private lands to help defray the costs of expertise,
labor, and educational efforts, as well as those associated with keeping
inventories, mapping, management, monitoring, and equipment.

This is a good bipartisan bill with support and buy-in as to provisions from
both environmental and economic interests. For example, the Maryland Native
Plant Society contributed the IPM requirement, SEC. 5 (a) (7) below, in
comments on the draft language.

I suggest we follow a strategy to move the national legislation these
thousands of volunteers need so much to get the assistance they need and
maintain morale.

Nonnative plant species threaten the existence of so many native plants, and
are devaluing grazing lands so widely! , that both Republicans and Democrats
have recognized the need to act now. Seventy million acres have already been
lost to weed infestations in areas that previously supported a great
diversity of wildlife such as bighorn sheep, grouse, elk, moose, deer, and
wintering bald eagles. Economic losses include losses due to erosion and
flooding, degradation of habitats that support fishing, tourism, and other
recreational activities, and, perhaps most importantly, the loss of
biodiversity; a critical, nonrenewable source of new discoveries in science
and medicine.

I believe that we all have the responsibility to protect the local ecosystem
that cleans our air and water, stabilizes the soil, buffers life and
property against flood damage, and provides food and shelter for innumerable
species. To date however, effective action has been hampered by inadequate
funding at all levels of government and by inadequate coordination.



=========
S 144 RFH
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 144
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2003
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned AN ACT To require the Secretary of
the Interior to establish a program to provide assistance through States to
eligible weed management entities to control or eradicate harmful, nonnative
weeds on public and private land. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Noxious Weed Control
Act of 2003'. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) NOXIOUS WEED- The term `noxious weed' has the same meaning as in the
Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702(10)).
(2) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States of the United
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island, and
any other possession of the United States.
(4) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b).
(5) WEED MANAGEMENT ENTITY- The term `weed management entity' means an
entity that--
(A) is recognized by the State in which it is established;
! (B) is established by and includes local stakeholders, including Indian
tribes;
(C) is established for the purpose of controlling or eradicating harmful,
invasive weeds and increasing public knowledge and education concerning the
need to control or eradicate harmful, invasive weeds; and
(D) is multijurisdicational and multidisciplinary in nature. SEC. 3.
ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The Secretary shall establish a program to provide
financial assistance through States to eligible weed management entities to
control or eradicate weeds. In developing the program, the Secretary shall
consult with the National Invasive Species Council, the Invasive Species
Advisory Committee, representatives from States and Indian tribes with weed
management entities or that have particular problems with noxious weeds, and
public and private entities with experience in noxious weed management. SEC.
4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES. The Se! cretary shall
allocate funds to States to provide funding to weed management entities to
carry out projects approved by States to control or eradicate noxious weeds
on the basis of the severity or potential severity of the noxious weed
problem, the extent to which the Federal funds will be used to leverage
non-federal funds, the extent to which the State has made progress in
addressing noxious weed problems, and such other factors as the Secretary
deems relevant. The Secretary shall provide special consideration for States
with approved weed management entities established by Indian Tribes, and may
provide an additional allocation to a State to meet the particular needs and
projects that such a weed management entity will address. SEC. 5.
ELIGIBILITY AND USE OF FUNDS.
(a) REQUIREMENTS- The Secretary shall prescribe requirements for
applications by States for funding, including provisions for auditing of and
reporting on the use of the fund! s and criteria to ensure that weed
management entities recognized by States are capable of carrying out
projects, monitoring and reporting on the use of funds, and are
knowledgeable about and experienced in noxious weed management and represent
private and public interests adversely affected by noxious weeds. Eligible
activities for funding shall include--
(1) applied research to solve locally significant weed management problems
and solutions, except that such research may not exceed 8 percent of the
available funds in any year;
(2) incentive payments to encourage the formation of new weed management
entities, except that such payments may not exceed 25 percent of the
available funds in any year; and
(3) projects relating to the control or eradication or noxious weeds,
including education, inventories and mapping, management, monitoring, and
similar activities, including the payment of the cost of personnel and
equipment that promote su! ch control or eradication, and other activities
to promote such control or eradication, if the results of the activities are
disseminated to the public.
(b) PROJECT SELECTION- A State shall select projects for funding to a weed
management entity on a competitive basis considering--
(1) the seriousness of the noxious weed problem or potential problem
addressed by the project;
(2) the likelihood that the project will prevent or resolve the problem, or
increase knowledge about resolving similar problems in the future;
(3) the extent to which the payment will leverage non-Federal funds to
address the noxious weed problem addressed by the project;
(4) the extent to which the weed management entity has made progress in
addressing noxious weed problems;
(5) the extent to which the project will provide a comprehensive approach to
the control or eradication of noxious weeds;
(6) the extent to which the project will reduce the total populati! on of a
noxious weed;
(7) the extent to which the project uses the principles of integrated
vegetation management and sound science; and
(8) such other factors that the State determines to be relevant.
(c) INFORMATION AND REPORT- As a condition of the receipt
of funding, States shall require such information from grant recipients as
necessary and shall submit to the Secretary a report that describes the
purposes and results of each project for which the payment or award was
used, by not later than 6 months after completion of the projects.
(d) FEDERAL SHARE- The Federal share of any project or activity approved by
a State or Indian tribe under this Act may not exceed 50 percent unless the
State meets criteria established by the Secretary that accommodates
situations where a higher percentage is necessary to meet the needs of an
underserved area or addresses a critical need that can not be met otherwise.
SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS.
(A) LAN! DOWNER CONSENT; LAND UNDER CULTIVATION-
Any activity involving real property, either private or public, may be
carried out under this Act only with the consent of the landowner and no
project may be undertaken on property that is devoted to the cultivation of
row crops, fruits, or vegetables.
(b) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW- A weed management entity
may carry out a project to address the noxious weed problem in more than one
State only if the entity meets the requirements of the State laws in all
States in which the entity will undertake the project.
(c) USE OF FUNDS- Funding under this Act may not be used to carry out a
project--
(1) to control or eradicate animals, pests, or submerged or floating noxious
aquatic weeds; or
(2) to protect an agricultural commodity (as defined in section 102 of the
Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602)) other than--
(A) livestock (as defined in section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of
1949! (7 U.S.C. 1471); or
(B) an animal- or insect-based product.
SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.
Assistance authorized under this Act is intended to supplement, and not
replace, assistance available to weed management entities, areas, and
districts for control or eradication of harmful, invasive weeds on public
lands and private lands, including funding available under the `Pulling
Together Initiative' of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the
provision of funds to any entity under this Act shall have no effect on the
amount of any payment received by a county from the Federal Government under
chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the Payments
in Lieu of Taxes Act). SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. To carry out
this Act there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007, of which not more
than 5 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal year may be used by
the Secretary for administrative costs of Federal agencies. Passed the
Senate March 4, 2003.
Attest:
EMILY J. REYNOLDS,
Secretary.
END