I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10325 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for postdisaster reforestation and restoration Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Ms. PETTERSEN (for herself and Mr. EDWARDS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a 

program for post-disaster reforestation and restoration 

Program, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Post-Disaster Refor5 estation and Restoration Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POST-DISASTER REFORESTATION AND RESTORA2 TION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 

5 the Secretary, in coordination with the heads of the cov6 ered agencies, shall identify covered lands requiring refor7 estation and restoration following unplanned disturbances 

8 that are unlikely to experience natural regeneration with9 out assistance. 

10 (b) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—In consultation with the 

11 heads of covered agencies, the Secretary— 

12 (1) shall propose a list of priority projects for 

13 reforestation and restoration for each fiscal year; 

14 (2) may carry out priority projects through— 

15 (A) competitively awarded grants; 

16 (B) contracts; 

17 (C) contracts established under the Indian 

18 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

19 Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and 

20 (D) cooperative agreements, to be awarded 

21 in accordance with applicable requirements es22 tablished by the Secretary; and 

23 (3) may support any grant contract or coopera24 tive agreement that may be necessary to ensure ade25 quate and appropriate seed and seedling availability 

26 to further the objectives of priority projects. 


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1 (c) OUTREACH.—To fulfill requirements of this sec2 tion the heads of covered agencies shall conduct outreach 

3 to— 

4 (1) Indian Tribes; 

5 (2) States; 

6 (3) territories; 

7 (4) units of local government; 

8 (5) Alaska Native organizations; 

9 (6) Native Hawaiian organizations; 

10 (7) institutions of higher education; 

11 (8) Federal agencies with jurisdiction over Fed12 eral land adjoining or proximal to priority projects; 

13 and 

14 (9) other stakeholders as determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 (d) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

17 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

18 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 

19 relevant Congressional Committees a report that includes 

20 the following: 

21 (1) An accounting of all covered lands requiring 

22 reforestation and restoration. 

23 (2) A list of priority projects and implementa24 tion progress to address reforestation and restora25 tion objectives identified. 


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1 (3) An accounting of grants, contracts, and co2 operative agreements established in furtherance of 

3 priority projects. 

4 (4) Outreach efforts by covered agencies to ad5 vance priority projects. 

6 (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat7 ing to seed, seedling, and implementation gaps to 

8 advance priority projects and opportunities to estab9 lish dedicated funding necessary to address any 

10 backlog of reforestation and restoration needs. 

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 

13 agency’’ means— 

14 (A) each Federal land management agency 

15 (as such term is defined in the Federal Lands 

16 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 6801)); and 

18 (B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

19 (2) COVERED LANDS.—The term ‘‘covered 

20 lands’’ means any Federal land or interest in land 

21 administered by a covered agency and Indian Forest 

22 Land or Rangeland. 

23 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

24 means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, na25 tion, pueblo, village, or community individually idenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Dec 31, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10325.IH H10325

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1 tified (including parenthetically) in the list published 

2 most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act 

3 pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized 

4 Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

5 (4) NATURAL REGENERATION.—The term ‘‘nat6 ural regeneration’’ has the meaning given the term 

7 in section (e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Re8 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36 

9 1601). 

10 (5) REFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘reforest11 ation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 (e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re13 sources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36 1601). 

14 (6) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

15 means assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that 

16 has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including 

17 the reestablishment of appropriate plant species 

18 composition and community structure. 

19 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Interior. 

21 (8) UNPLANNED DISTURBANCE.—The term 

22 ‘‘unplanned disturbance’’ means any unplanned dis23 turbance that disrupts ecosystem structure or comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Dec 31, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10325.IH H10325

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1 position and may include a wildfire, an infestation of 

2 insects or disease, or a weather event. 

Æ 


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