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drafting environmental legislation
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The BLM LANDS REFORESTION and AQUIFER RECHARGE BILL
(Helping our Farmers and Ranchers)
Summary
The BLM Lands Reforestation Bill proposes funding for reforestation and landscape restoration on millions of acres of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands, primarily in twelve western states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, & WY). Passage of this Bill will allocate one billion dollars per year to the BLM, and highlights the essential role of forests in creating rain, alleviating drought, lowering local and regional temperatures, saving topsoil, & decreasing erosion.
Given that 80-90% of rainfall on land (inland from the coasts) is from transpiration through trees and other plants (rather than from evaporation), forests and woodlands are essential in creating rain for drinking, irrigation of crops, providing water for livestock, aquifer replenishment, and other purposes. When forests are cut down, drought and heating accelerate. Once forests and other natural vegetation have been cut down or lost in some other manner, the best remedy to bring back the rain, end droughts, and cool down the air, is reforestation. Given the increase in drought and temperature in the twelve western states, and BLM’s management of nearly 247 million acres in these states, reforestation of significant tracts of BLM land is the best way to solve the heat and drought-related problems that are accelerating multiple crises in the United States.
Overview of BLM Lands
The twelve states with the most BLM-managed lands are all in the western USA. They are (in millions of acres): Alaska (69.71); Nevada (47.86); Utah (22.89); Wyoming (18.38); Oregon (16.22); California (14.57); Arizona (14.25); New Mexico (12.78); Idaho (11.85); Colorado (8.25); Montana (8.04); and Washington (0.37). There are other states that have lesser, but still significant amounts of BLM lands, that may also benefit from this reforestation program. These include Louisiana (0.31); Arkansas (0.29); South Dakota 0.28); Wisconsin (0.16); Minnesota (0.15); and Alabama (0.11).
There are enormous watersheds that will be replenished due to implementation of this bill. For example, the Missouri River watershed is 529,000 square miles and includes over one fifth of all agricultural land in the USA. It flows through and irrigates ten states including Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. The Colorado River watershed is a quarter of a million square miles and flows through parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, & California, supplying water to 40 million people. Most all watersheds from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River will be recharged – ie, the Platte, Arkansas, Niobrara, Snake, Columbia, Sacramento, Rio Grande, Pecos, etc...
A Few Benefits of this Bill
Implementation of this Bill will bring enormous benefits to farmers, ranchers, urban and rural water consumers, water & power utilities, as well as to many additional groups throughout arid, warming, and drought-stricken parts of the country. The findings come from research and writings of Thomas J. Goreau; Douglas Sheil; Victor Gorshkov, Anastassia Makarieva, the University of California at Merced; the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy at University of Nebraska; the World Bank; & other sources.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Bill shall be called the “BLM Lands Reforestation and Aquifer Recharge Bill.”
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
FINDINGS ON THE SCIENCE & BENEFITS OF REFORESTATION
The legislature finds that:
Reforestation can INCREASE RAINFALL and MINIMIZE DROUGHT
Restoring vegetation restores the water cycles by increasing transpiration and causing more rain.
When the forests are still in place, trees and other plants suck up water from the ground and the water vapor moves up into the atmosphere where much of it becomes rain.
Restoring vegetation increases recharge of groundwater and aquifers because water flows down the plant roots and into the ground. Reforestation restores springs, streams, and wetlands.
Replanting the forest will lead to the restoration of our water supply for drinking and for other uses.
Putting the carbon in the ground (from trees and other vegetation) is the first step for retaining the water. The more carbon there is in the soil, the more water the soil will hold.
Given that the predominant wind pattern in the USA is from west to east, it is likely that some of the rains associated with reforestation of the twelve western BLM states, will move eastward to the Great Plains states and beyond, thus benefiting those regions.
When you get strong or frequent rains, with a forested watershed, that water is held for a long time, and it trickles out slowly, so you retain the water in the landscape – even in the dry season. Months later, there is still water on the landscape because you have retained it in the soil.
So, we’ve got to accelerate the transpiration cycle. If we want rain way inland – from California’s Central Valley to the Great Basin to the Great Plains, it must be recycled thru the vegetation. So, keeping our existing forests and planting new forests, is the key.
Reforestation can DECREASE LOCAL and REGIONAL TEMPERATURES
Loss of forests leads to the loss of evapotranspiration from trees & other plants that would otherwise cool the land. This is because water absorbs a lot of heat when it evaporates. When trees are cut down, this cycle is interrupted.
Reforestation, if given time, will bring about a 15 to 20 degree (Fahrenheit) difference in the daily change in temperature. But where evapotranspiration is eliminated due to deforestation, it will become unbearably hot.
The cycle of water and heat being pumped out of the ground and into the atmosphere is what cools the Earth’s surface down. That is something we can restore.
We can lower local temperatures by accelerating the water cycle – & reforestation is the way to accomplish this.
We’ve got to restore the carbon (trees and vegetation) to restore the water cycles, & when we do that, we can have a huge impact on lowering local and regional temperature.
Reforestation can REPLENISH TOPSOIL and MINIMIZE EROSION
Trees and vegetation hold topsoil in place. When trees and vegetation are absent, topsoil washes away, and this leads to barren, unproductive landscapes that may never recover.
When the topsoil washes away, you lose carbon in the soil, and the soil will not retain water (because carbon from plants holds the water)
So, the surface layer of carbon is eroded away, the fertility of the land is lost.
You can stabilize severely eroding slopes with trees, shrubs, and plants that have incredibly deep roots because that is how the water gets into the ground: down the roots.
The worst thing to do is to let the land be bare. Not only does that cause the carbon to oxidize but it also prevents the rain from getting down into the ground – which is where we want to retain it.
When soil is exposed to the elements, it oxidizes, essentially burning the soil carbon. With large-scale reforestation, we can reverse this downward trajectory.
(B) PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to reforest and restore barren, degraded, and deforested lands and other appropriate areas within lands under management of the BLM. Reforestation will improve biodiversity, biomass, necromass, soil stabilization, water infiltration and the ecosystem at large. It will lead to increased rain, cooler temperatures, less erosion, greater water storage, and fewer out-of-control wildfires. It will help solve a wide range of serious problems faced by farmers, ranchers, water consumers, and others who depend upon water.
BENEFITS FROM ENACTING THIS BILL INCLUDE:
RANCHING and FARMING
Reforestation can minimize the impacts of drought and heat on ranching and farming. Ranchers have been severely threatened in recent years by historic heat and drought. Intense heat and a record-breaking dry spell, covering more than 40 percent of the continental U.S. from 2020 to 2022, has put pressure on livestock herds and crops from California’s Central Valley to the Great Basin to the Great Plains and in many other farming areas across the country. Drought risk is almost universally a concern, regardless of crop or growing region. The increased rain and lower temperatures that will come from implementation of this bill will lead to improved crop yields near areas that have been reforested.
IDLE and BARREN LANDS
Reforestation can restore productivity to idle and barren lands. Over one million acres of agricultural land in the western states have been idled in recent years due to drought conditions and drought-related water cutbacks. Without sufficient water, some farms and homesteads may need to be abandoned. Reforestation can minimize drought and desertification.
The ECONOMY
The Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy estimates that as droughts become longer and more severe as a result of climate change, the U.S. agricultural industry could lose $10-14 billion every year. For example, the drought of 2012 led to $14.5 billion in production loss payments from the federal Crop Insurance Program. Likewise, damages from the 2020 wildfires in Colorado, California, Oregon & Washington totaled about one billion dollars. And these wildfires were caused largely by drought.
In California alone, the 2021 drought directly cost the agriculture sector about $1.1 billion and nearly 8,750 full and part-time jobs, according to estimates in an analysis led by UC Merced researchers. Once the effects on other economic sectors are considered, total impacts are estimated at $1.7 billion and 14,634 full and part-time jobs lost.
WILDFIRES
Reforestation will reduce the frequency and intensity of wildfires, and the rain and cooling it produces will aid in fighting wildfires. Reforestation will lead to fewer financial losses from wildfires; decreased expenses in fighting wildfires; decreased loss of wildlife and human lives from wildfires; and overall diminished threats to public safety from forest fires and range fires. Currently 36 million acres of BLM-managed public lands are at a high or very high fire risk.
WILDLIFE
Passage of the BLM Lands Reforestation Bill will restore millions of acres of wildlife habitat, and in doing so, will help to bring back populations of numerous declining plant and animal species. Wildlife will return if we give it space to recover and if we strive to live alongside it harmoniously. Measures such as connecting protected areas, and improving woodland, wetland, and grassland habitats through reforestation can be highly effective.
CONFLICT and MIGRATION
According to the World Bank, water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP, spur migration, and spark violence. Food price spikes caused by droughts can inflame latent conflicts and drive migration from one region to another within the USA, and from countries with even worse droughts into the USA.
SECTION 3. THE BILL
DEFINITIONS—In this Bill:
1.“Department,” “Bureau,” and “BLM” all mean the Bureau of Land Management.
2.”Reforestation” means planting trees or allowing trees to regrow on land that had previously been covered with trees, shrubs, and woodlands. Reforestation involves re-establishment of forests and woodlands that have been destroyed, usually due to timber harvest, deforestation, or drought. Reforestation also involves replanting of trees and other vegetation in lands that are barren or lacking sufficient topsoil.
3. “Restoration” means helping degraded lands recover much or all of their original ecological conditions. It involves the re-establishment of forest structure, ecological processes, productivity, and species diversity.
(B) FOREST RESTORATION AND REFORESTATION
Passage of this bill will allocate one billion dollars per year to the BLMs annual budget for the next 20 years.
(C1) FUNDING
This bill will allocate one billion dollars per year to the BLMs annual budget for the next 20 years. Funds will come from general government revenues. Reforestation is the least expensive solution to drought and temperature rise compared to digging wells; importing water from outside the USA; rationing water; building more dams; creating chemical clouds to diminish the sun’s rays; repairing leaky water lines; desalination; etc…
The BLM and Department of the Interior will determine a proper allocation formula. For example, 5% to each of the 12 western states, and the remaining 40% allocated to reforest BLM lands in one or more of the 12 states. This 40% would be allocated at the discretion of the Director of BLM, but the full amount must be allocated each year. No more than 3% of the funds in any year could be allocated to reforest BLM lands outside of the twelve primary BLM states. Given that results from the BLM Lands Reforestation Program will take decades to be fully realized, it is best to fund this reforestation program as soon as possible.
(C2) Reforestation is the least expensive solution
Reforestation is the least expensive solution to the problems of drought and rising temperatures. Doing nothing will lead to the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in agricultural revenues; tens of billions of dollars in livestock sales; and to the bankruptcy of tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers.
(D) IMPLEMENTATION
The reforestation plan for BLM lands in each state will be developed by the regional directors of BLM operations in that state, with approval by the national Director of the BLM. BLM may reforest the lands under its management by whatever methods are efficient, productive, and reasonable in each state. It may reforest and restore these lands using permanent and/or seasonal expansions to its existing staff, or by contracting out to private companies, individuals, & non-profits that have the knowledge base to operate in this agricultural/ ecological niche.
Scientists, land use officials, and other experts within the BLM and elsewhere within the US Department of the Interior will provide input on where, when, and in what manner to replant the forest. Considerations include topography; humidity; advantages and disadvantages of various tree and shrub varieties; proximity to existing water resources; land type; terrain conditions; slope; topsoil quality and quantity; climate; proximity to coastal areas (which receive more rainfall); retention of ecologically valuable grasslands; potential damage from rust, beetles, aphids, and so on. BLM officials may also solicit input from outside experts as well as stakeholders on BLM lands from water consumers to ranchers, farmers, miners, foresters, fishermen, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, scientists, nearby residents, power providers, etc…
(E) OTHER LAND USES
This bill is silent regarding the treatment of other uses on BLM lands. This bill is not intended to interfere with other permitted uses on BLM lands.
SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this bill shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision is declared to be invalid or is preempted by federal law or regulation, the validity of the remainder of this bill shall not be affected.
SECTION 5. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
With the passage of this bill, it is suggested that the BLM conduct internal audits of the effectiveness of this reforestation program on a state by state basis every year; a vendor by vendor basis every year; and based upon a the number of trees planted and surviving (by species) every year. The audit should consider increases and decreases to biomass, necromass, vegetation biodiversity, wildlife biodiversity, genetic diversity (versus genetic monocultures), afforestation, changes in rainfall, desertification, ecosystem health, and other criteria. It is also suggested that BLM report its findings to Congress every four years.
It should be understood that the trees and shrubs being planted with these funds are part of a rainmaking bank to supply water for farmers and ranchers, to public and private water utilities, to replenish rivers, lakes, and aquifers, to expand wetlands, to create wildlife habitat; to lower temperatures in the ground, the water, and the atmosphere around us; and not part of a timber bank to be harvested for building and construction uses, for fuel, or for other uses that diminish biomass and tree numbers and tree species diversity.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Bill shall take effect on July 1, 2024.
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