II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4729 

To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to waive the cost share 

requirement under the emergency forest restoration program for land 

damaged by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2022 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to waive 

the cost share requirement under the emergency forest 

restoration program for land damaged by the Hermit’s 

Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hermit’s Peak/Calf 

5 Canyon Fire Forest Restoration Program Relief Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 4729 IS

1 (1) on April 6, 2022, the Forest Service initi2 ated the Las Dispensas-Gallinas prescribed burn on 

3 Federal land in the Santa Fe National Forest in 

4 San Miguel County, New Mexico, when erratic winds 

5 were prevalent in the area, which was also suffering 

6 from severe drought after many years of insufficient 

7 precipitation; 

8 (2) on April 6, 2022, the prescribed burn, 

9 which became known as the ‘‘Hermit’s Peak Fire’’, 

10 exceeded the containment capabilities of the Forest 

11 Service, was declared a wildfire, and spread to other 

12 Federal and non-Federal land; 

13 (3) on April 19, 2022, the Calf Canyon Fire, 

14 also in San Miguel County, New Mexico, began 

15 burning on Federal land and was later identified as 

16 the result of a pile burn in January 2022 that re17 mained dormant under the surface before re18 emerging; 

19 (4) on April 27, 2022, the Hermit’s Peak Fire 

20 and the Calf Canyon Fire merged, and both fires 

21 were reported as the ‘‘Hermit’s Peak Fire’’ or the 

22 ‘‘Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire’’; 

23 (5) by May 2, 2022, the fire had grown in size 

24 and caused evacuations in multiple villages and com25 munities in San Miguel County and Mora County, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 4729 IS

1 including at the San Miguel county jail, the State’s 

2 psychiatric hospital, the United World College, and 

3 New Mexico Highlands University; 

4 (6) on May 4, 2022, the President issued a 

5 major disaster declaration for the counties of Colfax, 

6 Mora, and San Miguel, New Mexico; 

7 (7) on May 20, 2022, Chief of the Forest Serv8 ice Randy Moore ordered a 90-day review of pre9 scribed burn policies to reduce the risk of wildfires 

10 and ensure the safety of the communities involved; 

11 (8) the Forest Service has assumed responsi12 bility for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire; 

13 (9) the fire resulted in the loss of Federal, 

14 State, local, Tribal, and private property; and 

15 (10) the United States should compensate the 

16 victims of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. 

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

18 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that victims of 

19 the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire are eligible to receive 

20 100 percent funding for the cost of carrying out emer21 gency measures under the emergency forest restoration 

22 program under section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act 

23 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 4729 IS

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF HERMIT’S PEAK/CALF CANYON 

2 FIRE. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon 

4 Fire’’ means— 

5 (1) the fire resulting from the initiation by the 

6 Forest Service of a prescribed burn in the Santa Fe 

7 National Forest in San Miguel County, New Mexico, 

8 on April 6, 2022; 

9 (2) the pile burn holdover resulting from a pre10 scribed burn by the Forest Service in January 2022, 

11 which reemerged on April 19, 2022; and 

12 (3) the merger of the fires described in para13 graphs (1) and (2), reported as the ‘‘Hermit’s Peak 

14 Fire’’ or the ‘‘Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire’’. 

15 SEC. 5. WAIVER OF COST SHARE REQUIREMENT FOR LAND 

16 DAMAGED BY HERMIT’S PEAK/CALF CANYON 

17 FIRE. 

18 The Secretary of Agriculture shall waive the cost 

19 share requirement under subsection (d) of section 407 of 

20 the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) with 

21 respect to a payment provided under that section for res22 toration of land damaged by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Can23 yon Fire. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB