Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§6591 Forest Stands Inventory and Monitoring Program to Improve Detection of and Response to Environmental Threats

Title 16 › CHAPTER 84 — HEALTHY FOREST RESTORATION › SUBCHAPTER VI — MISCELLANEOUS › § 6591

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture must create a program to inventory, monitor, and assess forest stands, with a focus on hardwoods. The work will cover National Forest units not formed from public domain lands and private forest land when the owner agrees. The program must look for and track threats like insects, disease, invasive species, fire, and severe weather. It must measure forest loss, poor regrowth, and how much carbon forests absorb. It must also build an early-warning system so managers can isolate and treat problems before they spread and cause big epidemics like the American chestnut blight. Up to $5,000,000 may be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §6591

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out a comprehensive program to inventory, monitor, characterize, assess, and identify forest stands (with emphasis on hardwood forest stands) and potential forest stands—

(1)in units of the National Forest System (other than those units created from the public domain); and

(2)on private forest land, with the consent of the owner of the land.

(b)Issues to be addressed

In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall address issues including—

(1)early detection, identification, and assessment of environmental threats (including insect, disease, invasive species, fire, and weather-related risks and other episodic events);

(2)loss or degradation of forests;

(3)degradation of the quality forest stands caused by inadequate forest regeneration practices;

(4)quantification of carbon uptake rates; and

(5)management practices that focus on preventing further forest degradation.

(c)Early warning system

In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive early warning system for potential catastrophic environmental threats to forests to increase the likelihood that forest managers will be able to—

(1)isolate and treat a threat before the threat gets out of control; and

(2)prevent epidemics, such as the American chestnut blight in the first half of the twentieth century, that could be environmentally and economically devastating to forests.

(d)Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 6591

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110