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The Wyden Amendment (Public Law 109-54, Section 434) authorizes the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements to benefit resources within watersheds on National Forest System lands. Agreements may be with willing Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and landowners to conduct activities on public or private lands for the following purposes:

• Protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources,
• Reduction of risk for natural disaster where public safety is threatened, or
• A combination of both.

This authority was initially provided in FY 1998 and has been extended through the end of FY 2011. Since the authorization does not provide for additional funding, any dollars spent on private land must come from existing appropriations

Wyden Amendment Reauthorized