[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24851-24855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09138]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 24851]]
Executive Order 14072 of April 22, 2022
Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities,
and Local Economies
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Strengthening America's forests,
which are home to cherished expanses of mature and old-
growth forests on Federal lands, is critical to the
health, prosperity, and resilience of our communities--
particularly in light of the threat of catastrophic
wildfires. Forests provide clean air and water, sustain
the plant and animal life fundamental to combating the
global climate and biodiversity crises, and hold
special importance to Tribal Nations. We go to these
special places to hike, camp, hunt, fish, and engage in
recreation that revitalizes our souls and connects us
to history and nature. Many local economies thrive
because of these outdoor and forest management
activities, including in the sustainable forest product
sector.
Globally, forests represent some of the most biodiverse
parts of our planet and play an irreplaceable role in
reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Terrestrial
carbon sinks absorb around 30 percent of the carbon
dioxide emitted by human activities each year. Here at
home, America's forests absorb more than 10 percent of
annual United States economy-wide greenhouse gas
emissions. Conserving old-growth and mature forests on
Federal lands while supporting and advancing climate-
smart forestry and sustainable forest products is
critical to protecting these and other ecosystem
services provided by those forests.
Despite their importance, the world's forests are
quickly disappearing; only a small fraction of the
world's mature and old-growth forests remains. Here at
home, the primary threats to forests, including mature
and old-growth forests, include climate impacts,
catastrophic wildfires, insect infestation, and
disease. We can and must take action to conserve,
restore, reforest, and manage our magnificent forests
here at home and, working closely with international
partners, throughout the world.
It is the policy of my Administration, in consultation
with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments,
as well as the private sector, nonprofit organizations,
labor unions, and the scientific community, to pursue
science-based, sustainable forest and land management;
conserve America's mature and old-growth forests on
Federal lands; invest in forest health and restoration;
support indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and
cultural and subsistence practices; honor Tribal treaty
rights; and deploy climate-smart forestry practices and
other nature-based solutions to improve the resilience
of our lands, waters, wildlife, and communities in the
face of increasing disturbances and chronic stress
arising from climate impacts. It is also the policy of
my Administration, as outlined in Conserving and
Restoring America the Beautiful, to support
collaborative, locally led conservation solutions.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) I
signed into law provides generational investments in
ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction. As
we use this funding, we will seek opportunities,
consistent with the IIJA, to conserve our mature and
old-growth forests on Federal lands and restore the
health and vibrancy of our Nation's forests by reducing
the threat of catastrophic wildfires through ecological
treatments that create
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resilient forest conditions using active, science-based
forest management and prescribed fires; by
incorporating indigenous traditional ecological
knowledge; and by scaling up and optimizing climate-
smart reforestation. My Administration also is
committed to doing its part to combat deforestation
around the world and to working with our international
partners toward sustainable management of the world's
lands, waters, and ocean.
Sec. 2. Restoring and Conserving the Nation's Forests,
Including Mature and Old-Growth Forests. My
Administration will manage forests on Federal lands,
which include many mature and old-growth forests, to
promote their continued health and resilience; retain
and enhance carbon storage; conserve biodiversity;
mitigate the risk of wildfires; enhance climate
resilience; enable subsistence and cultural uses;
provide outdoor recreational opportunities; and promote
sustainable local economic development. Science-based
reforestation is one of the greatest opportunities both
globally and in the United States for the land sector
to contribute to climate and biodiversity goals. To
further conserve mature and old-growth forests and
foster long-term United States forest health through
climate-smart reforestation for the benefit of
Americans today and for generations to come, the
following actions shall be taken, in consultation with
State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments and
the public, and to the extent consistent with
applicable law:
(a) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Agriculture (Secretaries)--the Federal Government's
primary land managers--shall continue to jointly pursue
wildfire mitigation strategies, which are already
driving important actions to confront a pressing threat
to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands:
catastrophic wildfires driven by decades of fire
exclusion and climate change.
(b) The Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management,
and the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System lands, shall, within 1 year of
the date of this order, define, identify, and complete
an inventory of old-growth and mature forests on
Federal lands, accounting for regional and ecological
variations, as appropriate, and shall make such
inventory publicly available.
(c) Following completion of the inventory, the
Secretaries shall:
(i) coordinate conservation and wildfire risk reduction activities,
including consideration of climate-smart stewardship of mature and old-
growth forests, with other executive departments and agencies (agencies),
States, Tribal Nations, and any private landowners who volunteer to
participate;
(ii) analyze the threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands,
including from wildfires and climate change; and
(iii) develop policies, with robust opportunity for public comment, to
institutionalize climate-smart management and conservation strategies that
address threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands.
(d) The Secretaries, in coordination with the heads
of other agencies as appropriate, shall within 1 year
of the date of this order:
(i) develop a Federal goal that charges agencies to meet agency-specific
reforestation targets by 2030, including an assessment of reforestation
opportunities on Federal lands and through existing Federal programs and
partnerships;
(ii) develop, in collaboration with Federal, State, Tribal, and private-
sector partners, a climate-informed plan (building on existing efforts) to
increase Federal cone and seed collection and to ensure seed and seedling
nursery capacity is sufficient to meet anticipated reforestation demand;
and
(iii) develop, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, with State,
local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and with the private sector,
nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and the scientific community,
recommendations for community-led local and regional economic development
opportunities to create and sustain jobs in the sustainable forest product
sector, including innovative materials, and in outdoor recreation,
[[Page 24853]]
while supporting healthy, sustainably managed forests in timber
communities.
Sec. 3. Stopping International Deforestation. As
described in the Plan to Conserve Global Forests:
Critical Carbon Sinks, my Administration has committed
to deliver, by 2030, on collective global goals to end
natural forest loss and to restore at least an
additional 200 million hectares of forests and other
ecosystems, while showcasing new economic models that
reflect the services provided by critical ecosystems
around the world. The plan recognizes that conserving
and restoring global forest and peatland ecosystems,
particularly in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast
Asia, can provide significant global greenhouse gas
emissions mitigation, both by preventing the emissions
caused by deforestation and by increasing the amount of
carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere and stored
in soils and forest biomass. My Administration is also
committed to combating illegal logging and stopping
trade in illegally sourced wood products pursuant to
the Lacey Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq., and
to addressing the related importation of commodities
sourced from recently deforested land. To further
advance these commitments, conserve these critical
ecosystems, and address drivers of global
deforestation--including illegal forest clearing to
produce agricultural commodities--the following actions
shall be taken:
(a) within 1 year of the date of this order, the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary
of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland
Security (through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection), the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration, the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, the
United States Trade Representative, and the Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, shall submit a report
to the President evaluating options, including
recommendations for proposed legislation, for a whole-
of-government approach to combating international
deforestation that includes:
(i) an analysis of the feasibility of limiting or removing specific
commodities grown on lands deforested either illegally or after December
31, 2020, from agricultural supply chains; and
(ii) an analysis of the potential for public-private partnerships with
major agricultural commodity buyers, traders, financial institutions, and
other actors to voluntarily reduce or eliminate the purchase of such
commodities and incentivize sourcing of sustainably produced agricultural
commodities.
(b) within 1 year of the date of this order, the
Secretary of State, in coordination with other
appropriate agencies, shall submit a report to the
President on how agencies that engage in international
programming, assistance, finance, investment, trade,
and trade promotion, can, consistent with applicable
law, accomplish the following:
(i) incorporate the assessment of risk of deforestation and other land
conversion into guidance on foreign assistance and investment programming
related to infrastructure development, agriculture, settlements, land use
planning or zoning, and energy siting and generation;
(ii) address deforestation and land conversion risk in new relevant trade
agreements and seek to address such risks, where possible, in the
implementation of existing trade agreements;
(iii) identify and engage in international processes and fora, as
appropriate, to pursue approaches to combat deforestation and enhance
sustainable land use opportunities in preparing climate, development, and
finance strategies;
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(iv) engage other major commodity-importing and commodity-producing
countries to advance common interests in addressing commodity-driven
deforestation; and
(v) assess options to direct foreign assistance and other agency programs
and tools, as appropriate, to help threatened forest communities transition
to an economically sustainable future, with special attention to the
participation of and the critical role played by indigenous peoples and
local communities and landholders in protecting and restoring forests and
in reducing deforestation and forest degradation.
Sec. 4. Deploying Nature-Based Solutions to Tackle
Climate Change and Enhance Resilience. Just as forest
conservation, restoration, and adaptation generate
broad benefits related to climate change and other
areas, other nature-based solutions can advance
multiple benefits. These solutions include actions that
protect coasts and critical marine ecosystems, reduce
flooding, moderate extreme heat, replenish groundwater
sources, capture and store carbon dioxide, conserve
biodiversity, and improve the productivity of
agricultural and forest lands to produce food and
fiber. To ensure that agencies pursue nature-based
solutions, to the extent consistent with applicable law
and supported by science, the following actions shall
be taken:
(a) The Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Assistant to the President
and National Climate Advisor shall, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense (through the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works), the Secretary
of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Commerce (through the Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy,
the Secretary of Homeland Security (through the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency), the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration, and the heads of other
agencies as appropriate, submit a report to the
National Climate Task Force to identify key
opportunities for greater deployment of nature-based
solutions across the Federal Government, including
through potential policy, guidance, and program
changes.
(b) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall issue guidance related to the valuation of
ecosystem and environmental services and natural assets
in Federal regulatory decision-making, consistent with
the efforts to modernize regulatory review required by
my Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2021
(Modernizing Regulatory Review).
(c) Implementation of the United States Global
Change Research Program shall include an assessment of
the condition of nature within the United States in a
report carrying out section 102 of the Global Change
Research Act of 1990, 15 U.S.C. 2932.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 22, 2022.
[FR Doc. 2022-09138
Filed 4-26-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P