§ 2106a. Emergency reforestation assistance

• (a) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to provide assistance under this section to eligible landowners who suffer destruction of 35 percent or more of a commercial tree stand due to damaging weather, related condition, or wildfire.
• (b) The assistance, if any, provided by the Secretary under this section shall consist of either—
  • (1) reimbursement of up to 65 percent of the cost of reestablishing such tree stand damaged by the damaging weather, related condition, or wildfire in excess of 35 percent mortality; or
  • (2) at the discretion of the Secretary, provision of sufficient tree seedlings to reestablish such tree stand.
• (c)
  • (1) No person may receive an amount in excess of $25,000 in any fiscal year, or an equivalent value in tree seedlings, under this section.
  • (2) A person who has qualifying gross revenues in excess of $2,000,000 annually, as determined by the Secretary, shall not be eligible to receive any disaster payment or other benefits under this section.
  • (3) In implementing this section, the Secretary shall issue regulations—
    • (A) defining the term “person” for the purposes of this section that shall conform, to the extent practicable, to the regulations defining the term “person” issued under section 1308 1 1 See References in Text note below. of title 7 (before the amendment made by section 1603(a) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008);
    • (B) prescribing such rules as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable application of the limitations established under this subsection; and
    • (C) ensuring that no person receives duplicative payments or assistance under this section, the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), and the environmental quality incentives program established under subchapter A of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 [ 16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.], or other Federal program.
• (d) As used in this section—
  • (1) the term “damaging weather” includes drought, hail, excessive moisture, freeze, tornado, hurricane, excessive wind, or any combination thereof;
  • (2) the term “eligible landowner” means a person who—
    • (A) produces annual crops from trees for commercial purposes and owns 500 acres or less of such trees;
    • (B) owns 1,000 acres or less of private forest land; or
    • (C) owns more than 1,000 acres but less than 5,000 acres of private forest land if the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, determines the person eligible;
  • (3) the term “qualifying gross revenues” means—
    • (A) if a majority of the person’s annual income is received from farming, ranching, and forestry operations, the gross revenue from the person’s farming, ranching, and forestry operations; and
    • (B) if less than a majority of the person’s annual income is received from farming, ranching, and forestry operations, the person’s gross revenue from all sources;
  • (4) the term “related condition” includes insect infestations, disease, or other deterioration of a tree stand that is accelerated or exacerbated by damaging weather;
  • (5) the term “reestablish” includes site preparation, reforestation of a damaged stand, and timber stand improvement practices, including thinning, prescribed burning, and other practices approved by the Secretary for reforestation;
  • (6) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture; and
  • (7) the term “wildfire” means any forest or range fire.
• (e) The Secretary shall use funds provided under this section to reimburse landowners for approved reforestation practices that were implemented before November 28, 1990 . The Secretary shall not make reimbursements for reforestation practices that were implemented prior to September 1, 1989 .