Sec. 1. 12 MRSA c. 801-A, as amended, is further amended by repealing the chapter headnote and enacting the following in its place:

CHAPTER 801-A

FOREST CERTIFICATION INCENTIVE COST-SHARE FUND

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §8011, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is amended to read:

§8011. Cost-share fund established; purpose

There is established a certified forest resource manager grant forest certification incentive cost-share fund, referred to in this chapter as the "grant cost-share fund," from which the bureau may award grants provide cost-share funds. A grant Cost- share funds may be awarded to a licensed professional forester to assist that forester in obtaining initial independent 3rd-party certification as a forest resource manager or to a landowner to assist the landowner in obtaining independent 3rd-party certification that the landowner's forest land is well managed. Forest land managed by a certified forest resource manager may achieve certification as a well-managed forest through clear review and acceptance procedures.

The bureau may accept donations and grants from public and private sources for deposit in the grant cost-share fund. All money received from appropriations, donations and grants to the grant cost-share fund must be deposited in a nonlapsing, dedicated account.

Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §8012, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. KKKK, §1, is amended to read:

3. Independent 3rd-party certification. "Independent 3rd-party certification" means a system that verifies sustainable forest management through an independent 3rd-party audit of a licensed professional forester's management of a client's forest lands. that forest management is consistent with a certification program's standards through an independent 3rd-party audit of the management of forest lands.__To be considered an "independent 3rd-party certification" system:

A.__The certification program, including, but not limited to, the standards for awarding certification and the protocols for ascertaining compliance, must be developed and administered by an entity with no financial interest in the