Cooperative agreements to address mountain pine beetle infestations

(a) Definition of covered entity In this section, the term covered entity means each of the following: (1) The Governor of a State. (2) An Indian Tribe. (3) A county or municipal government. (4) The chief executive officer of a political subdivision of a State. (b) Cooperative agreement authorization The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into a cooperative agreement with a covered entity to provide for activities to support the detection, treatment, and mitigation of mountain pine beetle infestations on land subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary or that covered entity, which may include the following: (1) Coordinated monitoring and data sharing. (2) Joint planning and implementation of projects. (3) Processing beetle kill or infested trees. (4) Increasing wood processing and workforce development capacity. (5) Hazard reduction in areas affected by mountain pine beetle infestations, consistent with the applicable forest plan. (c) Technical assistance (1) Monitoring and management On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to the monitoring and management of mountain pine beetle infestations, including with respect to— (A) detection; (B) spread dynamics; and (C) mitigation strategies. (2) Workforce and wood processing On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to— (A) workforce capacity; (B) wood processing infrastructure; (C) market creation and development for the byproducts of beetle kill or infested trees, including— (i) mass timber; (ii) facilitating wood energy innovation; and (iii) affordable housing construction; and (D) other matters relating to processing beetle kill or infested trees.