The "Save Our Sequoias Act" aims to preserve giant sequoias in national forests through shared stewardship, coalition oversight, assessments, and collaborative grants. It emphasizes shared stewardship agreements with California and tribal involvement. The Coalition, consisting of federal, state, and tribal entities, would oversee assessments, strategy implementation, and protection projects, while providing public education with Interior Department support. The bill mandates comprehensive health assessments for giant sequoia groves, annual updates on Protection Projects and reforestation, emergency response protocols, and exemptions for certain environmental impact assessments. It establishes Giant Sequoia Strike Teams, collaborative restoration grants, monitoring, stewardship contracting, and an emergency protection fund, prioritizing small businesses, rural areas, and Tribal entities.
Save Our Sequoias Act
This bill provides for the conservation of giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in California.
Specifically, it provides statutory authority for the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition and outlines the coalition's duties. The coalition must submit a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment and annually update it. The information from the assessment must be made available so the information can be integrated into certain other plans. The coalition must also create and maintain a website that contains the assessment, educational materials, searchable information about individual giant sequoia groves, and a searchable database to track the status and costs of reforestation and rehabilitation activities.
In addition, the bill declares an emergency on certain public lands and allows officials to carry out protection plans during the emergency to respond to the threat of wildfires, insects, and drought. The emergency expires after seven years.
The Department of the Interior must develop and implement a Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation Strategy.
Finally, the bill establishes a variety of programs and funds to support the conservation of giant sequoias.
