§ 6601 — Forestry Rural Revitalization

(a) The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Cooperative Extension System, and in consultation with the Forest Service, shall establish and implement educational programs and provide technical assistance to assist businesses, industries, and policymakers to create jobs, raise incomes, and increase public revenues in manners consistent with environmental concerns. (b) Each program established under subsection (a) shall— (1) transfer technologies to natural resource-based industries in the United States to make such industries more efficient, productive, and competitive; (2) assist businesses to identify global marketing opportunities, conduct business on an international basis, and market themselves more effectively; and (3) train local leaders in strategic community economic development. (c) The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish specific programs under subsection (a) to— (1) deliver educational services focused on community economic analysis, economic diversification, economic impact analysis, retention and expansion of existing commodity and noncommodity industries, amenity resource and tourism development, and entrepreneurship focusing on forest lands and rural communities; (2) use Cooperative Extension System databases and analytical tools to help communities diversify their economic bases, add value locally to raw forest product materials, and retain revenues by helping to develop local businesses and industries to supply forest products locally; and (3) use the full resources of the Cooperative Extension System, including land-grant universities and county offices, to promote economic development that is sustainable and environmentally sound. (1) The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with the State and Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit at the Forest Products Laboratory, and in collaboration with eligible institutions, may carry out a program— (A) to accelerate adoption of technologies using biomass and small-diameter materials; (B) to create community-based enterprises through marketing activities and demonstration projects; and (C) to establish small-scale business enterprises to make use of biomass and small-diameter materials. (2) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2023.