LPDD Model Law: State Natural Resources Trust Law

This Model Natural Resource Trust Law aims to provide states a tool to improve and expand their forests and natural areas. Modeled after Oregon’s Forest Resource Trust (See Or. Rev. Stat. § 526.700, et seq.), the Model Law establishes a trust to be administered by each state’s department of natural resources in consultation with an advisory committee comprised of stakeholders. Through the trust, the department of natural resources will establish programs to:

• Expand and improve the quality of forests and other natural ecosystems;
• Improve the ability of forests and other natural ecosystems to address climate change and mitigate pollution and greenhouse gases; and
• Improve economic, societal, and recreational opportunities from the state’s natural resources.

While Oregon’s Forest Resource Trust primarily focuses on expanding and improving forest stands by developing programs and providing technical assistance around sustainable timber harvesting, the Model Law takes a broader approach by enumerating various goals and authorizing the department to take certain actions to achieve those goals. The Model Law takes this approach in recognition of the considerable differences between each state’s forests and other natural ecosystems. With flexibility, each state’s department of natural resources can tailor programs to efficiently address local challenges and concerns.

The Model Law initially appropriates funds to establish the trust. It further authorizes the department of natural resources to obtain ongoing funding through a variety of means, including charging fees, applying for grants, and participating in cap and trade programs.

While the Model Law generally provides discretion to each state’s department of natural resources to develop programs tailored to that state’s particular needs, it does emphasize the importance of two programs that each state should adopt. First, each department of natural resources must engage and work with private landowners to meet the Model Law’s goals, because the majority of the nation’s forestland is privately owned by individuals, families, Native American tribes, corporations and nonprofit groups. Second, it includes a program similar to Oregon’s Forest Resource Trust aimed to improve the sustainability and management of forests used for timber harvesting. In exchange for funding or technical assistance, the department would receive for deposit in the trust a share of the profits earned from the improved timber harvest while also increasing the amount and quality of forested land and providing a boost to rural economies. The Department has the ability to develop programs beyond those two.

Finally, the Model Law requires the department of natural resources to provide a report to the legislature every two years.

These documents were drafted by Brennan Meier and Robert Fitzgerald of Goodwin Proctor.  Peer reviewing was contributed by Kathryn Guillou, formerly of the Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and former advisor to the U.S. Forest Service.