1. Authority. The Bureau of Forestry, acting through its director, with the approval of the commissioner, may make grants of funds and enter into contracts for purposes of research related to forest management strategies, effects on wildlife and wildlife habitat, insecticide and spray application technologies, integrated pest management techniques, forest product marketing and utilization and other issues pertinent to the purposes of this subchapter. This research may be funded with any funds available, as long as the cost of environmental and health monitoring of spray projects are part of annual spray project costs and not paid out of General Fund moneys.

2. Research on public lands. The commissioner, director or other chief executive officer of any state agency having jurisdiction over any public land may make that land over which the commissioner, director or officer has jurisdiction available on such terms and conditions as the commissioner, director or officer considers reasonable to any public or private nonprofit entity engaged in spruce budworm control research and related silvicultural control research. The director shall likewise encourage private landowners within the State to make their lands available for the same purposes.