12 2 STA T . 2 043PUBLIC LA W 110 – 24 6—J U NE 1 8, 2008 SEC.80 0 3 . C OM M UNITYF O R EST A N D O P EN SPACE CONSER V ATION PRO G RAM. (a)FIND IN GS.—Congres s fi n d s th at— ( 1 ) the Forest S er v i c e p ro j ects that ,by ca l endar year 203 0, appro x i m ately 4 4,000,000 acres of privately - o w ned forest land will be developed thro u ghout the U nited States
(2) public access to parcels of privately-owned forest land for outdoor recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, and trapping, has declined and, as a result, participation in those activities has also declined in cases in which public access is not secured; (3) rising rates of obesity and other public health problems relating to the inactivity of the citi z ens of the United States have been shown to be ameliorated by improving public access to safe and attractive areas for outdoor recreation; (4) in rapidly-growing communities of all sizes throughout the United States, remaining parcels of forest land play an essential role in protecting public water supplies; ( 5 ) forest parcels owned by local governmental entities and nonprofit organizations are providing important demonstra- tion sites for private landowners to learn forest management techni q ues; ( 6 ) throughout the United States, communities of diverse types and sizes are deriving significant financial and commu- nity benefits from managing forest land owned by local govern- mental entities for timber and other forest products; and ( 7 ) there is an urgent need for local governmental entities to be able to leverage financial resources in order to purchase important parcels of privately-owned forest land as the parcels are offered for sale. (b) C OM M U NI TY FO RE ST A ND OP EN SPA C E CONSER V ATION P RO- GRAM.— T he Cooperative Forestry A ssistance Act of 1 9 7 8 is amended by inserting after section 7 (16 U.S.C. 2103c) the following new section
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‘SEC. 7 A. COMMUNITY FOREST AND OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PRO - GRAM. ‘ ‘(a) D E F INITIONS.— I n this section: ‘‘(1) EL IGI B LE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible entity ’ means a local governmental entity, Indian tribe, or nonprofit organiza- tion that owns or acquires a parcel under the program. ‘‘(2) 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). ‘‘(3) L OCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term ‘local govern- mental entity’ includes any municipal government, county government, or other local government body with jurisdiction over local land use decisions. ‘‘(4) N ONPROFIT ORGANI Z ATION.—The term ‘nonprofit organization’ means any organization that— ‘‘(A) is described in section 170(h)(3) of the Internal R evenue Code of 1986; and ‘‘( B ) operates in accordance with 1 or more of the purposes specified in section 170(h)(4)(A) of that Code. ‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means the community forest and open space conservation program established under subsection (b). 16USC2 1 03d. 16 USC 2103d note .
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