The proposed Repairing Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees Act (2021) would lift the $30 million annual cap on funds that may be drawn from the federal Reforestation Trust Fund. If enacted, the bill would make up to $123 million available annually for reforestation on lands managed by the Forest Service, providing carbon sequestration and other benefits.
Over a decade, the legislation could help reforest 1.4 million acres with 1.2 billion trees. The bill’s sponsors said it would help forests sequester 758 million metric tons of carbon over a decade and create 49,000 jobs, citing a report by American Forests.