§ 6501. Purposes

The purposes of this chapter are—

(1) to reduce wildfire risk to communities, municipal water supplies, and other at-risk Federal land through a collaborative process of planning, prioritizing, and implementing hazardous fuel reduction projects;

(2) to authorize grant programs to improve the commercial value of forest biomass (that otherwise contributes to the risk of catastrophic fire or insect or disease infestation) for producing electric energy, useful heat, transportation fuel, and petroleum-based product substitutes, and for other commercial purposes;

(3) to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape;

(4) to promote systematic gathering of information to address the impact of insect and disease infestations and other damaging agents on forest and rangeland health;

(5) to improve the capacity to detect insect and disease infestations at an early stage, particularly with respect to hardwood forests; and

(6) to protect, restore, and enhance forest ecosystem components—

(A) to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species;

(B) to improve biological diversity; and

(C) to enhance productivity and carbon sequestration.

(Pub. L. 108–148, § 2, Dec. 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 1888.)

References In Text

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 108–148, Dec. 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 1887, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note below and Tables.

Short Title

Short Title

Pub. L. 108–148, § 1(a), Dec. 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 1887, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter and section 2103b of this title and amending sections 6601, 8606, and 8609 of Title 7, Agriculture] may be cited as the ‘Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003’.”