Schools and Roads - Grants to States

The objective of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is to provide stable and predictable payments to States and counties containing National Forest System lands in order to offset revenue losses resulting from declines in t

This program provides federal payments to States and eligible counties with National Forest System lands to help replace reduced timber-related revenues. The assistance supports schools and roads in rural communities and is unique in that payments are statutorily authorized and based on historical revenue levels, providing predictable funding regardless of current timber harvest levels. Each state must spend the funds on road and school programs, and state law sets forth how the payments are to be allocated between road and school projects. State laws differ widely, generally ranging from 30% to 100% for school programs.

Title I payments are made to States or territories of the United States to be allocated to counties in which national forests are situated. Title II project funds are reserved in special account in the U.S. Treasury and may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of entering into and implementing cooperative agreements with willing Federal agencies, State and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and landowners. (16 U.S.C 7122). Title III funds are paid to respective states to be passed-through to participating counties.

A beneficiary of title II special project funds is a person or entity that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a project for protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and other resource objectives consistent with the purposes of the Secure Rural Schools Act on national forests and on non-national forest land where projects would benefit the resources on national forests. (16 U.S.C. 7122) A beneficiary of title III funds is a participating county in which a national forest is situated that has elected to allocate a portion of its State payments for title III county projects.

The Secure Rural Schools Act allows counties in which national forests are situated to elect to share in the State payment (based on a formula in the Act) or to share in the state's 25-percent payment (based on the 7-year rolling average of receipts from national forests in the State). The 25-percent payments to states are to be used for the benefit of public schools and public roads in the counties in which national forests are situated. An eligible county that elects to receive a share of the State payment (based on the formula in the Act) must under some circumstances allocate a portion of that payment for title II special projects on national forests or title III county projects, or both. The portion of the Secure Rural Schools Act State payments not allocated for these purposes are to be used to benefit public schools and public roads in counties in which national forests are situated. The payments to benefit schools and roads are commonly called title I funds. Funds allocated by counties for title II special projects are reserved in a special account in the General Treasury and may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture for projects that improve the maintenance of existing infrastructure, enhance forest ecosystems, and restore and improve land health and water quality on national forests. Funds allocated by counties for title III county projects may be used only to: (1) carry out activities under the Firewise Communities program to provide homeowners in fire sensitive ecosystems education on, and assistance with implementing, techniques in home siting, home construction, and home landscaping that can increase the protection of people and property from wildfires; (2) reimburse the participating county for search and rescue and other emergency services, including firefighting, that are performed on a national forest after the date on which the use was approved, and paid for by the participating county; and (3) develop community wildfire protection plans in coordination with the Forest Service acting on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture.

The 25-percent payments and State payments for amounts allocated to title I and title III are generally made by December 31st or as soon thereafter as practicable each year after the close of the applicable fiscal year. Title II funds are not paid to the State but are reserved in a special account in the General Treasury available for projects recommended by a resource advisory committee and approved by the Forest Supervisor acting on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture. Funds unobligated in one fiscal year remain available in the following fiscal year by which time title II or title III funds must be obligated or be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

Contact a near-by national forest resource advisory committee coordinator for information about awards or other implementation of title II projects recommended by a resource advisory committee prior to the deadline.

For title II, within 30 days of a rejection decision the Forest Supervisor shall notify the resource advisory committee in writing of the rejection and the reasons for the rejection.

A decision to reject a title II project is not subject to administrative appeal or judicial review. (16 U.S.C 7124)