The Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall establish a competitive forestry, natural resources, and environmental grant program to award grants for the conduct of research or forest restoration as described in subsection (c).
Grants made under this section may be used to update research facilities and equipment available to facilitate the conduct of state-of-the-art research in forestry, natural resources, and the environment.
The Secretary, in consultation with the Cooperative Forestry Research Council appointed under section 582a–4(b) of this title, may develop criteria and priorities for the awarding of grants for use under paragraph (1).
The Secretary shall request the Cooperative Forestry Research Council referred to in subsection (d)(2) to provide recommendations regarding grant priorities.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.