II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4424 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed 

by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western United States, 

to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning 

by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the 

Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on 

units of the National Forest System in the western 

United States, to acknowledge and support the longstanding use of cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘National Prescribed Fire Act of 2024’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—USE OF FUNDS 

Sec. 101. Prescribed fire accounts. 

Sec. 102. Policies and practices. 

Sec. 103. Collaborative prescribed fire program. 

TITLE II—FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH 

Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts. 

Sec. 202. Human resources. 

Sec. 203. Liability of certified prescribed fire managers. 

Sec. 204. Prescribed fire claims fund study. 

Sec. 205. Environmental review. 

Sec. 206. Prescribed fire education program. 

TITLE III—REPORTING 

Sec. 301. Annual reports to the National Fire Planning and Operations Database. 

Sec. 302. Annual implementation report. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) in 2018, the Forest Service Fire Modeling 

9 Institute determined that 63,070,000 acres of Na10 tional Forest System land and 171,200,000 acres of 

11 other forest land were at high or very high risk of 

12 experiencing a wildfire that would be difficult to sup13 press; 


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1 (2) according to the National Interagency Co2 ordination Center, between 2010 and 2019, in the 

3 United States, on average— 

4 (A) 64,000 wildfires burned 6,847,000 

5 acres annually; and 

6 (B) 100,000 prescribed fires burned only 

7 3,672,000 acres annually; 

8 (3) indigenous communities have used cultural 

9 burning to manage landscapes since time immemo10 rial; 

11 (4) according to the National Interagency Co12 ordination Center, the annual cost of suppressing 

13 wildfires in a State with an active prescribed burn14 ing program is less than 1 percent of the annual 

15 cost of suppressing wildfires in a State without an 

16 active prescribed burning program, despite each 

17 State having the same number of wildfires; 

18 (5) according to a 2021 Environmental Protec19 tion Agency report assessing the air quality and 

20 health impacts of prescribed fire compared to wild21 fire, smoke impacts from prescribed fire were found 

22 to be smaller in magnitude and shorter in duration; 

23 (6) according to a 2019 study conducted by 

24 Stanford University, smoke from prescribed fires exVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:38 Jul 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4424.IS S4424

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1 poses children to fewer negative health effects than 

2 the detrimental smoke generated by wildfires; 

3 (7) according to a 2015 study published in 

4 Ecology, trees that have not been burnt by a low-in5 tensity fire are unusually prone to bark beetle at6 tacks, and between 2000 and 2010, bark beetles 

7 killed the majority of trees on 32,000,000 acres of 

8 the 193,000,000 acres of National Forest System 

9 land; 

10 (8) as of March 1, 2023, there were— 

11 (A) 38 prescribed fire councils in 34 

12 States; and 

13 (B) 113 prescribed burn associations in 19 

14 States; 

15 (9) according to the 2021 National Prescribed 

16 Fire Use Survey Report— 

17 (A) 41 States regulate prescribed fires by 

18 issuing burn permits; 

19 (B) 23 States offer prescribed burn man20 ager certification courses to facilitate respon21 sible burning on private land; 

22 (C) only 5 States (Vermont, Massachu23 setts, Missouri, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) 

24 lack laws to reduce liability associated with the 

25 responsible use of prescribed fire; and 


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1 (D) only 8 States (Florida, Montana, Ne2 vada, Colorado, Michigan, Georgia, South Caro3 lina, and Washington) have laws that use a 

4 standard of gross negligence for determining li5 abilities for the responsible use of prescribed 

6 fire; and 

7 (10) as of September 30, 2019, 31 States have 

8 a formal process to track the number of acres treat9 ed for forestry purposes using prescribed fire. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

13 means— 

14 (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 

15 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

16 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

17 (B) units of the National Park System; 

18 (C) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

19 System; 

20 (D) land held in trust by the United States 

21 for the benefit of Indian Tribes or members of 

22 an Indian Tribe; and 

23 (E) National Forest System land. 

24 (2) LANDSCAPE-SCALE PRESCRIBED FIRE

25 PLAN.—The term ‘‘landscape-scale prescribed fire 


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1 plan’’ means a decision document prepared pursuant 

2 to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

3 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that— 

4 (A) covers a unit of the National Forest 

5 System, a Bureau of Land Management dis6 trict, or a subunit thereof; 

7 (B) analyzes the site-specific environmental 

8 consequences of prescribed fire on the land de9 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

10 (C) obviates the need for subsequent deci11 sions pursuant to the National Environmental 

12 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

13 with respect to the unit, district, or subunit de14 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

15 (3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National 

17 Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

18 in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 

19 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

20 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

21 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National 

22 Forest System’’ does not include the national 

23 grasslands and land utilization projects admin24 istered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones 

25 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 


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1 (4) PRESCRIBED FIRE.—The term ‘‘prescribed 

2 fire’’ means a fire deliberately ignited to burn 

3 wildland fuels in a natural or modified state— 

4 (A) under specified environmental condi5 tions that are intended to allow the fire to be 

6 confined to a predetermined area and produce 

7 the fireline intensity and rate of spread re8 quired to attain planned resource management 

9 objectives; 

10 (B) that does not include pile burning; and 

11 (C) in accordance with applicable law, in12 cluding applicable regulations. 

13 (5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

14 means— 

15 (A) the Secretary; and 

16 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 TITLE I—USE OF FUNDS 

20 SEC. 101. PRESCRIBED FIRE ACCOUNTS. 

21 (a) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.—In 

22 this section, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

23 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 

24 an account established by this section for the De25 partment of Agriculture; and 


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1 (2) the Secretary, with respect to an account 

2 established by this section for the Department of the 

3 Interior. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—There are es5 tablished in the Treasury of the United States the fol6 lowing accounts: 

7 (1) The Prescribed Fire account for the De8 partment of Agriculture. 

9 (2) The Prescribed Fire account for the De10 partment of the Interior. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the accounts established 

13 by subsection (b) a total of $300,000,000 for fiscal year 

14 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

15 (d) PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET REQUESTS.—For fiscal 

16 year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary 

17 concerned shall submit, in the budget justification mate18 rials submitted to Congress in support of the budget of 

19 the relevant Department for each fiscal year (as submitted 

20 with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) 

21 of title 31, United States Code)— 

22 (1) a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire 

23 Management appropriation account of the Secretary 

24 concerned to carry out the activities described in 

25 subsection (e); and 


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1 (2) an accounting of costs with respect to pre2 scribed fire, by region of the National Forest System 

3 or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, for 

4 the previous 3 years, including— 

5 (A) the amount spent on prescribed fire; 

6 (B) the number of acres treated with pre7 scribed fire; and 

8 (C) the number of personnel dedicated to 

9 carrying out prescribed fire. 

10 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

11 (1) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

12 concerned shall use amounts in the accounts estab13 lished by subsection (b)— 

14 (A) to develop, in coordination with State, 

15 local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed fire 

16 operational strategy for each region of the Na17 tional Forest System or the Department of the 

18 Interior, as applicable, specifically for using 

19 funding provided through the Infrastructure In20 vestment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 

21 135 Stat. 429) and other additional sources of 

22 funding, that describes— 

23 (i) the fire deficit by region; 

24 (ii) staffing and funding needs; 


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1 (iii) plans to apply prescribed fire; 

2 and 

3 (iv) regional targets to demonstrate 

4 an increase in prescribed fire with respect 

5 to— 

6 (I) existing programs; and 

7 (II) activities carried out using 

8 additional funding sources; 

9 (B) with respect to prescribed fires— 

10 (i) to carry out necessary environ11 mental reviews; 

12 (ii) to conduct outreach to the public, 

13 Indian Tribes and beneficiaries, and adja14 cent landowners; 

15 (iii) to conduct any required pre-igni16 tion cultural and environmental surveys; 

17 and 

18 (iv) to implement prescribed fires on 

19 Federal land; 

20 (C) to hire additional, dedicated personnel 

21 and procure additional equipment, including un22 manned aerial systems equipped with an aerial 

23 ignition system, to implement a greater number 

24 of prescribed fires; 


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1 (D) to fund an increase in staffing (includ2 ing in-person and hybrid staff) in order to pro3 vide training for the implementation of pre4 scribed fire and management of smoke; 

5 (E) to conduct post-prescribed fire activi6 ties, such as— 

7 (i) reseeding to prevent the spread of 

8 invasive species; and 

9 (ii) recurring application of fire to 

10 maintain desired conditions; 

11 (F) to conduct monitoring for safety and 

12 fire effects on ecosystem resilience and risk 

13 mitigation; and 

14 (G) to use key performance indicators, in15 cluding— 

16 (i) the annual number of acres of Na17 tional Forest System land or public lands, 

18 as applicable, where completed treatment 

19 effectively mitigates wildfire risk or main20 tains or restores ecological integrity with 

21 respect to— 

22 (I) land in the wildland-urban 

23 interface; and 

24 (II) land not in the wildland25 urban interface; 


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1 (ii) the number of acres in a desired 

2 condition as a result of fire management 

3 objectives, as determined by the Secretary 

4 concerned; 

5 (iii) the number of acres treated with 

6 prescribed fire and the quantity of emis7 sions from prescribed fires; 

8 (iv) the number of acres where treat9 ment results in changes in fire regime con10 dition class; and 

11 (v) the number of burns conducted by 

12 Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led organiza13 tions or pursuant to an agreement with an 

14 Indian Tribe or Indigenous-led organiza15 tion. 

16 (2) JOINT COORDINATION.—The Secretaries 

17 shall coordinate to jointly develop a common data 

18 management and analysis system for planning and 

19 post-treatment accountability. 

20 (3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

21 concerned may— 

22 (A) assist State, Tribal, local government, 

23 or private prescribed fire programs— 

24 (i) to establish a training or certifi25 cation program for teams comprised of 


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1 citizens or local fire services to conduct 

2 prescribed fires on private land, consistent 

3 with any standards developed by the Na4 tional Wildfire Coordinating Group or 

5 State prescribed fire standards; 

6 (ii) to enable additional fire managers 

7 and apparatus, whether provided by the 

8 local resources of an agency, private con9 tractors, nongovernmental organizations, 

10 Indian Tribes, local fire services, or quali11 fied individuals, to assist in implementing 

12 a prescribed fire; 

13 (iii) in funding the completion of the 

14 claims funds study under section 204; or 

15 (iv) to finance the implementation of 

16 a prescribed fire on State, Tribal, or pri17 vate land and any post-prescribed fire ac18 tivities as are determined to be necessary 

19 by the Secretary concerned; 

20 (B) provide technical or financial assist21 ance to a prescribed fire council or prescribed 

22 burn association for the establishment or oper23 ation of the council or association; and 


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1 (C) provide funding for the collaborative 

2 prescribed fire program established under sec3 tion 103. 

4 (f) PRIORITIZATION OF FUNDING.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 the Secretary concerned shall coordinate with Fed7 eral, State, and local agencies, Indian Tribes, and 

8 nongovernmental organizations, including through 

9 the Wildland Fire Leadership Council, to establish 

10 prioritization criteria for expending funds under this 

11 section for each activity described in subsection (e). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In establishing criteria 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 

14 give priority to a project that is— 

15 (A) implemented across a large contiguous 

16 area; 

17 (B) cross-boundary in nature; 

18 (C) in an area that is— 

19 (i) threatening to, or located in, the 

20 wildland-urban interface and identified as 

21 a priority area in a statewide forest re22 source assessment or Community Wildfire 

23 Protection Plan; or 


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1 (ii) identified as important to the pro2 tection of a Tribal trust resource or the re3 served or treaty rights of an Indian Tribe; 

4 (D) on acres at high or very high risk of 

5 experiencing a wildfire that would be difficult to 

6 suppress; 

7 (E) in an area that is designated as critical 

8 habitat and in need of ecological restoration or 

9 enhancement that can be achieved with the aid 

10 of prescribed fire; or 

11 (F) supportive of potential operational de12 lineations or a strategic response zone. 

13 SEC. 102. POLICIES AND PRACTICES. 

14 Beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, and for each of the 

16 9 fiscal years thereafter, the Secretaries shall conduct pre17 scribed fires on Federal land such that the total number 

18 and combined size of all prescribed fires on Federal land 

19 is 10 percent greater than the total number and combined 

20 size of all prescribed fires on Federal land in the preceding 

21 fiscal year. 

22 SEC. 103. COLLABORATIVE PRESCRIBED FIRE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 within the Department of the Interior a collaborative pre25 scribed fire program (referred to in this section as the 


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1 ‘‘program’’) to provide financial assistance to eligible enti2 ties, including units of Federal land management agencies 

3 within the Department of Agriculture and the Department 

4 of the Interior, Indian Tribes, State or local governments, 

5 nongovernmental organizations, and prescribed fire coun6 cils, for the implementation of proposals to conduct pre7 scribed fires in priority landscapes in accordance with ap8 plicable existing policies. 

9 (b) PROPOSAL CRITERIA.—To be eligible for selection 

10 for the program, a proposal shall— 

11 (1) identify and prioritize planned prescribed 

12 fires for a 6-year period within a landscape; 

13 (2) establish annual accomplishment targets for 

14 prescribed fires under the proposal; 

15 (3) be developed through a collaborative proc16 ess; 

17 (4) be implemented across multiple jurisdic18 tions; 

19 (5) provide an estimate of— 

20 (A) the amount of annual Federal financial 

21 assistance necessary to implement the proposal; 

22 and 

23 (B) the amount of non-Federal funds that 

24 would be leveraged to implement the proposal; 


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1 (6) describe benefits to sensitive wildlife, inver2 tebrate, and plant species of concern; and 

3 (7) describe any established record of successful 

4 collaborative planning or use of prescribed fire by 

5 the entity submitting the proposal. 

6 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Subject to the avail7 ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall select pro8 posals for financial assistance under the program that, as 

9 determined by the Secretary, would likely treat the most 

10 strategic acres at high or very high risk of experiencing 

11 a wildfire that would threaten critical values and be dif12 ficult to suppress. 

13 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

14 (1) NUMBER OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

15 may not provide more than $20,000,000 in total 

16 funding under the program in any fiscal year. 

17 (2) PROJECT FUNDING.—The Secretary may 

18 not provide more than $1,000,000 to any 1 project 

19 under the program in any fiscal year. 

20 (3) PROJECT PERFORMANCE.—The Secretary 

21 shall cease funding any proposal that, for 3 consecu22 tive years, fails to meet the annual accomplishment 

23 targets that were established under subsection 

24 (b)(2). 


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1 (e) EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING EXCHANGES.—Not less 

2 frequently than once every 3 years, a recipient of financial 

3 assistance under the program shall provide to local entities 

4 and non-local entities an experiential, group training 

5 event, such as Prescribed Fire Training Exchange, relat6 ing to prescribed fires. 

7 (f) REPORTING.— 

8 (1) PROJECT REPORTING.—A recipient of fi9 nancial assistance under the program shall annually 

10 submit to the Secretary a report summarizing, at a 

11 minimum— 

12 (A) the number of acres mitigated with 

13 prescribed fire by the recipient under the pro14 gram; 

15 (B) the amount of Federal and non-Fed16 eral funds used by the recipient under the pro17 gram; and 

18 (C) the status and progress of any collabo19 rative relationships associated with the project. 

20 (2) PROGRAM REPORTING.—Not later than 2 

21 years after the first fiscal year in which funding is 

22 made available to carry out prescribed fires under 

23 the program, and every 2 years thereafter, the Sec24 retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

25 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 


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1 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa2 tives a report on the program. 

3 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033, 

6 to remain available until expended. 

7 TITLE II—FACILITATING IMPLE8 MENTATION AND OUTREACH 

9 SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS. 

10 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

12 (1) a State; 

13 (2) an Indian Tribe; 

14 (3) a county or municipal government; 

15 (4) a fire district; 

16 (5) a nongovernmental organization; and 

17 (6) a private entity. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretaries may enter 

19 into a cooperative agreement or contract with an eligible 

20 entity to authorize the eligible entity to coordinate, plan, 

21 or conduct a prescribed fire on Federal land. 

22 (c) SUBCONTRACTS.—A State, Indian Tribe, or coun23 ty that enters into a cooperative agreement or contract 

24 under subsection (b) may enter into a subcontract, in ac25 cordance with applicable contracting procedures of the 


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1 State, Indian Tribe, or county, to conduct a prescribed 

2 fire on Federal land pursuant to that cooperative agree3 ment or contract. 

4 (d) AGENT OF SECRETARY.—A cooperative agree5 ment or contract entered into under subsection (b) may 

6 authorize the eligible entity to serve as the agent for the 

7 Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture in coordinating, 

8 planning, or conducting a prescribed fire— 

9 (1) on Federal land; or 

10 (2) across an area that— 

11 (A) includes adjacent landowners; and 

12 (B) includes Federal land. 

13 (e) APPLICABLE LAW.—A prescribed fire conducted 

14 under this section shall be carried out on a project-to15 project basis under existing authorities of the applicable 

16 agency responsible for the management of the Federal 

17 land. 

18 (f) PRESERVATION OF DECISION AUTHORITY.—No 

19 project authorized under this section may be undertaken 

20 without the prior written approval of the Secretary or the 

21 Secretary of Agriculture. 

22 (g) LONG-TERM CONTRACTS.—A cooperative agree23 ment or contract with an eligible entity under subsection 

24 (b) may authorize the eligible entity to conduct a series 


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1 of prescribed fires on Federal land for a period of not 

2 longer than 10 years. 

3 SEC. 202. HUMAN RESOURCES. 

4 (a) PRESCRIBED FIRE WORKFORCE.— 

5 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

6 Congress that— 

7 (A) in order to develop a prescribed fire 

8 workforce, training in prescribed fire should be 

9 developed with an emphasis on ecological out10 comes and wildfire risk reduction and outside of 

11 the parameters of suppression-oriented training; 

12 (B) the Secretaries should hire additional 

13 employees and provide or support training and 

14 development activities, including through part15 nerships with educational institutions, non16 governmental organizations, States, and Tribal 

17 entities, to increase the number of skilled and 

18 qualified practitioners dedicated to prescribed 

19 fire with smoke management skills; 

20 (C) qualifications or certifications in pre21 scribed fire should be broad to support an all22 hands, all-lands approach to burning that is re23 spectful of diverse cultural traditions and other 

24 experiential learning; and 


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1 (D) training in prescribed fire may be re2 gionally focused and should include topics of— 

3 (i) cultural fire history and traditions, 

4 which should be provided by or with the 

5 consent of Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led 

6 organizations; 

7 (ii) fire ecology; and 

8 (iii) smoke management. 

9 (2) OVERTIME PAYMENTS.— 

10 (A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the 

11 amendment made by subparagraph (B) is to 

12 allow the Secretaries to use additional new 

13 budget authority for wildfire suppression for the 

14 cost of overtime payments to employees imple15 menting a prescribed fire. 

16 (B) AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 251(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II) of the Balanced Budget 

18 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

19 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(F)(ii)(II)) is amended— 

20 (i) in item (bb), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (ii) in item (cc), by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(dd) overtime payments to 

2 employees (including individuals 

3 employed in carrying out a con4 tract between an Indian Tribe 

5 and the Department of Agri6 culture or the Department of the 

7 Interior) implementing a pre8 scribed fire (as defined in section 

9 3 of the National Prescribed Fire 

10 Act of 2024).’’. 

11 (3) INCREASING WORKFORCE RETENTION.— 

12 (A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para13 graph is to require the Secretaries to carry out 

14 activities to retain sufficient workforce to imple15 ment prescribed fires and to remain competitive 

16 with other non-Federal firefighting programs. 

17 (B) HAZARD PAY.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal em19 ployee in any classification series carrying 

20 out work completed during prescribed fire, 

21 as identified by the Secretaries, shall be 

22 entitled to be paid the appropriate dif23 ferential under subsection (d) of section 

24 5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if 


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1 such employee was covered by such sub2 section. 

3 (ii) REGULATIONS.—The Director of 

4 the Office of Personnel Management may 

5 prescribe regulations to carry out this sub6 paragraph. 

7 (C) OTHER BENEFITS.—The Secretaries 

8 shall implement measures to promote retention 

9 among Federal wildland firefighters of any clas10 sification series carrying out work related to 

11 wildland fire and prescribed fire, such as portal12 to-portal pay, quarterly bonuses, or other bene13 fits. 

14 (D) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR FUELS AS15 SIGNMENTS.—To attract and retain a skilled 

16 fuels workforce, the Secretaries shall implement 

17 pay incentives that account for and offset the 

18 more competitive pay options offered through 

19 wildfire suppression assignments, including 

20 such options as bonus pay, per diem payments, 

21 or grading-up fuels positions. 

22 (4) DEDICATED PRESCRIBED FIRE TASK

23 FORCES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall— 


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1 (i) not later than 180 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, establish at 

3 least 1 multiparty task force of Federal 

4 employees and non-Federal entities within 

5 each Geographic Area Coordination Center 

6 to plan, lead, and support prescribed fire 

7 across ownership boundaries that are pri8 orities at the landscape, region, State, or 

9 Federal level; and 

10 (ii) support each task force estab11 lished under clause (i) by assigning a dedi12 cated Federal employee— 

13 (I) to aid necessary administra14 tive functions relating to partnership 

15 agreements; and 

16 (II) to coordinate prescribed fire 

17 across ownership boundaries. 

18 (B) TERM OF EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL

19 TASK FORCE MEMBERS.—Federal employees as20 signed under subparagraph (A) may be hired as 

21 permanent, full-time employees using direct hir22 ing authority by the Secretaries. 

23 (C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

24 Secretaries may enter into 1 or more coopera25 tive agreements to carry out this paragraph. 


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1 (5) CONVERSION OF SEASONAL FIREFIGHTERS

2 TO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES.—The Secretaries may 

3 noncompetitively convert a Federal seasonal em4 ployee to a Federal permanent employee if— 

5 (A) the listed job duties of the employee 

6 include wildland firefighting; 

7 (B) the employee received a rating of at 

8 least ‘‘Fully Successful’’ in each of the perform9 ance appraisals of the employee for the 5 most 

10 recent seasons of Federal employment of the 

11 employee; and 

12 (C) the job duties and performance stand13 ards of the position into which the permanent 

14 employee converts emphasize implementing pre15 scribed fires. 

16 (6) EMPLOYMENT OF FORMERLY INCARCER17 ATED INDIVIDUALS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in 

19 consultation with the Attorney General and 

20 State departments of corrections, shall seek to 

21 provide career pathways, training, and wrap22 around support services, including through 

23 partnerships with the Corps Network, to indi24 viduals described in subparagraph (B) to work 

25 as prescribed fire practitioners. 


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1 (B) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi2 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in3 dividual that— 

4 (i) has been convicted in any court of 

5 a criminal offense, other than arson, and 

6 was sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

7 for that offense; and 

8 (ii) during the term of imprisonment 

9 described in clause (i), served on a 

10 wildland firefighting crew or received other 

11 comparable training. 

12 (7) UNDERREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES.—To 

13 further address the gender disparity in wildland fire14 fighting, the Secretaries shall support the develop15 ment and participation of women and nonbinary in16 dividuals pursuant to Executive Order 13988 (42 

17 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to preventing and com18 bating discrimination on the basis of gender identity 

19 or sexual orientation) in leadership opportunities, 

20 mentorship networks, and training in prescribed fire, 

21 including the Fire Leadership for Women course and 

22 Women-In-Fire Training Exchange and other re23 lated opportunities— 

24 (A) to develop strong leaders; 


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1 (B) to increase the number of women over2 seeing prescribed fires; and 

3 (C) to enhance the longevity and success of 

4 women in wildland fire management. 

5 (8) VETERANS CREWS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in 

7 consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Af8 fairs, shall seek— 

9 (i) to provide a career pathway to in10 dividuals described in subparagraph (B) to 

11 work as prescribed fire practitioners; and 

12 (ii) to establish crews composed pre13 dominantly of veterans to conduct pre14 scribed fires. 

15 (B) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi16 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in17 dividual who— 

18 (i) served in the active military, naval, 

19 or air service; and 

20 (ii) was discharged or released under 

21 conditions other than dishonorable. 

22 (9) INTER-TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec23 retaries may provide funding to Tribal, Indigenous24 led, and inter-Tribal organizations, including the 


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1 Intertribal Timber Council, to provide training and 

2 workforce development opportunities in wildland fire. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL TRAINING CENTERS.—Subject to 

4 the availability of appropriations, not later than 2 years 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

6 cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture (and the 

7 Secretary of Defense in the case of a center located on 

8 a military installation), shall— 

9 (1) establish, operate, and facilitate a pre10 scribed fire training program or center in each Geo11 graphic Area Coordination Center region where such 

12 a program or center does not exist on the date of 

13 enactment of this Act; 

14 (2) support the establishment of an Indigenous15 led prescribed fire and cultural burning training cen16 ter operated by an Indian Tribe or partnership of 

17 Indian Tribes; 

18 (3) establish a virtual prescribed fire training 

19 center; and 

20 (4) establish and operate a training center for 

21 managing wildfire for resource objectives. 

22 (c) COMPETENCIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS.— 

23 (1) UPDATES TO REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

24 FOR SPECIFIC FIREFIGHTER POSITIONS.—The Sec25 retaries, in coordination with the Fire Executive 


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1 Council, the National Association of State Foresters, 

2 and the Intertribal Timber Council, shall task the 

3 National Wildfire Coordinating Group to add a re4 quirement for an individual to obtain the necessary 

5 certification to serve in— 

6 (A) the position of a single-resource boss; 

7 and 

8 (B) any other positions determined to be 

9 necessary by the Secretaries. 

10 (2) ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE.—The Secre11 taries shall require significant additional experience, 

12 gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, to obtain 

13 a certification described in paragraph (1). 

14 (d) INDEMNITY OF FEDERAL AND TRIBAL EMPLOY15 EES.—Except in the case of gross negligence, a Federal 

16 employee, an employee contracted by an Indian Tribe, or 

17 an Indian Tribe as a contracting entity, acting pursuant 

18 to a contract under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 

19 U.S.C. 5321 et seq.) overseeing a prescribed fire, if that 

20 prescribed fire escaped or caused loss or damage— 

21 (1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 

22 and 

23 (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex24 cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 

25 United States Code. 


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1 (e) INDEMNITY OF OTHER COOPERATORS.—Except 

2 in the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in3 volved in a prescribed fire on Federal land or under Fed4 eral authority, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused 

5 loss or damage— 

6 (1) shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; 

7 and 

8 (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex9 cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (f) INDEMNITY FOR PRESCRIBED FIRES.—Except in 

12 the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in13 volved in a prescribed fire on any land, if that prescribed 

14 fire escaped, caused harm or damage, or required suppres15 sion resources— 

16 (1) shall not be liable for or subject to recovery 

17 of Federal fire suppression costs and costs of inves18 tigation incurred by Federal agencies; and 

19 (2) shall not be liable for monetary damages for 

20 loss or damage to any natural resource or timber 

21 values on Federal land. 

22 (g) ENHANCING INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN FED23 ERAL AND NON-FEDERAL PRACTITIONERS.— 

24 (1) QUALIFICATION DATABASES AND DISPATCH

25 SYSTEMS.—The Secretaries shall establish a collaboVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:38 Jul 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4424.IS S4424

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1 rative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal2 agency fire practitioners, including those without ju3 risdictional authority, to be included in wildfire re4 source ordering and reimbursement processes. 

5 (2) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—The Secre6 taries shall— 

7 (A) develop partnership agreements for 

8 prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, 

9 Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities 

10 that choose to be included in resource ordering 

11 and reimbursement processes under paragraph 

12 (1); 

13 (B) create agreements and structures nec14 essary to include non-Federal-agency and other 

15 nontraditional partners in direct work with 

16 Federal agencies to address prescribed fires; 

17 and 

18 (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner 

19 meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating 

20 Group standards as eligible to be included in 

21 statewide participating agreements. 

22 SEC. 203. LIABILITY OF CERTIFIED PRESCRIBED FIRE MAN23 AGERS. 

24 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED LAW.—In this section, 

25 the term ‘‘covered law’’ means a State law that establishes 


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1 the standard of care in a civil suit against a certified pre2 scribed fire manager for an escaped prescribed fire to be 

3 ‘‘gross negligence’’, if the certified prescribed fire man4 ager— 

5 (1) obtained a permit for the prescribed fire; 

6 (2) conducted the prescribed fire consistent 

7 with a written prescribed fire plan; 

8 (3) was at the site of the prescribed fire for the 

9 duration of the prescribed fire; 

10 (4) ensured adequate personnel, equipment, and 

11 firebreaks were in place during the prescribed fire, 

12 in accordance with the written prescribed fire plan; 

13 and 

14 (5) complied with any applicable Federal, Trib15 al, State, and local laws. 

16 (b) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Subject to the 

17 availability of appropriations, in accordance with rec18 ommendation A3C of the special report of the Western 

19 Governors’ National Forest and Rangeland Management 

20 Initiative, dated June 2017, the Secretary may enter into 

21 a memorandum of agreement with the National Gov22 ernors’ Association to host a conference, at which gov23 ernors can meet to discuss the benefits of addressing li24 ability protection and possible incentives for States to 

25 enact a covered law. 


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1 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary may provide not more 

2 than $1,000,000 under the memorandum of agreement 

3 under subsection (b). 

4 SEC. 204. PRESCRIBED FIRE CLAIMS FUND STUDY. 

5 (a) COMMISSIONING OF STUDY.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre7 taries, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 

8 Management and Budget, shall complete a study of the 

9 feasibility, design, and effectiveness of a national pre10 scribed fire claims fund (or similar mechanism) to increase 

11 the pace and scale of prescribed fire across all lands by 

12 multiple users and for multiple objectives. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub14 section (a) shall include an analysis of the following: 

15 (1) The feasibility at the national level of a 

16 claims fund or other mechanism to supplement, re17 place, or backstop private insurance for prescribed 

18 fire and adverse smoke impacts. 

19 (2) The design and administration of such a 

20 fund. 

21 (3) The effectiveness of a national claims fund 

22 or other mechanism to supplement, replace, or back23 stop private market insurance for non-Federal or 

24 State government prescribed fire practitioners. 


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1 (4) The eligibility requirements for submission 

2 of claims to such a fund with an emphasis on equity 

3 and inclusivity of all types of prescribed fire practi4 tioners and methods of practice. 

5 (5)(A) The role and influence of State liability 

6 laws on prescribed fire practitioner liability; 

7 (B) the impact of State liability laws on the 

8 availability and affordability of insurance for pre9 scribed fire; and 

10 (C) how States may be incentivized to enact 

11 laws clearly establishing and reducing practitioner li12 ability for civil suits and suppression and investiga13 tion cost recovery. 

14 SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

15 (a) SMOKE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.— 

16 (1) POLICY.—The Secretaries shall ensure that 

17 policies, training, and programs of the Secretaries 

18 are consistent with this subsection— 

19 (A) to facilitate greater use of prescribed 

20 fire; and 

21 (B) to address public health and safety, in22 cluding impacts from smoke from wildfires and 

23 prescribed fires. 

24 (2) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—The Secretaries 

25 may expend funding appropriated for hazardous fuel 


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1 reduction to mitigate the impacts of smoke from 

2 prescribed fire. 

3 (3) COORDINATION AMONG FEDERAL, TRIBAL, 

4 AND STATE AIR QUALITY AGENCIES AND FEDERAL, 

5 TRIBAL, AND STATE LAND MANAGEMENT AGEN6 CIES.—The Administrator of the Environmental 

7 Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal and 

8 State land management agencies, shall coordinate 

9 with State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies 

10 that regulate smoke under the Clean Air Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) to facilitate the use of pre12 scribed fire on Federal land and State, Tribal, and 

13 private land, including by— 

14 (A) streamlining the decisionmaking proc15 ess for approving the use of prescribed fire 

16 under a State, Tribal, or local government 

17 smoke management program; and 

18 (B)(i) promoting basic smoke management 

19 practices; 

20 (ii) disseminating information about basic 

21 smoke management practices; and 

22 (iii) educating landowners that use pre23 scribed fire about the importance of— 

24 (I) using basic smoke management 

25 practices; and 


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1 (II) including basic smoke manage2 ment practices as a component of a pre3 scribed fire plan. 

4 (4) EXCEPTIONAL EVENT DEMONSTRATIONS.— 

5 (A) REQUIREMENT TO SEEK EXCEPTIONAL

6 EVENT DEMONSTRATION.—Subject to subpara7 graph (C), the appropriate State or Tribal air 

8 quality agency shall develop and submit to the 

9 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

10 Agency a demonstration in accordance with sec11 tion 50.14 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula12 tions (or successor regulations), if— 

13 (i) the Secretary, the Secretary of Ag14 riculture, a State land management agen15 cy, or an Indian Tribe conducts a pre16 scribed fire on Federal land, Tribally 

17 owned fee land, or State land, as applica18 ble, in accordance with a State or Tribal 

19 smoke management program that incor20 porates basic smoke management prac21 tices; and 

22 (ii) the prescribed fire described in 

23 clause (i) contributes to an exceedance or 

24 other violation of a national ambient air 

25 quality standard under section 109 of the 


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1 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409), as meas2 ured using a Federal reference monitor or 

3 an equivalent method. 

4 (B) DEMONSTRATION ASSISTANCE.—For 

5 an exceedance or other violation described in 

6 clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

7 or Secretary of Agriculture, with the concur8 rence of the State or Tribal air quality agency, 

9 shall assist with the development of the dem10 onstration under that subparagraph. 

11 (C) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Subparagraph 

12 (A) shall not apply if the exceedance or other 

13 violation described in clause (ii) of that sub14 paragraph is the result of— 

15 (i) a violation of a smoke management 

16 program; 

17 (ii) a failure to use basic smoke man18 agement practices; or 

19 (iii) a violation of permit conditions 

20 relating to the protection of air quality and 

21 public health. 

22 (5) EXEMPTION FOR LARGE PRESCRIBED

23 FIRES.— 

24 (A) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

25 EXEMPTION.—Consistent with subsection (b) of 


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1 section 118 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 7418), a prescribed fire conducted on Federal 

3 land by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri4 culture that burns more than 1,000 acres per 

5 day shall be deemed to be in the paramount in6 terest of the United States and shall be exempt 

7 from requirements with respect to the control of 

8 pollution from Federal facilities under that Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) if the Secretary or the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture determines that the 

11 prescribed fire— 

12 (i) will be conducted in an area where 

13 the terrain or fuel load makes the area in14 accessible or unsafe for firefighting per15 sonnel; 

16 (ii) is necessary to reduce hazardous 

17 fuels; 

18 (iii) will be conducted to minimize 

19 smoke impacts on populated areas through 

20 the use of basic smoke management prac21 tices; and 

22 (iv) will be conducted under a smoke 

23 management program, if applicable. 

24 (B) STATE EXEMPTION.—If the Secretary 

25 concerned conducts a prescribed fire that is 


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1 deemed to be in the paramount interest of the 

2 United States under subparagraph (A) on Fed3 eral land, a prescribed fire conducted by a State 

4 land management agency on State or private 

5 land that is contiguous to that Federal land 

6 shall be exempt from any applicable national 

7 ambient air quality standards under section 109 

8 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409). 

9 (C) TRIBAL EXEMPTION.—Consistent with 

10 subsection (b) of section 118 of the Clean Air 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 7418), a prescribed fire con12 ducted on Tribal land by, or in accordance with 

13 an agreement with, an Indian Tribe that burns 

14 more than 1,000 acres per day shall be deemed 

15 to be in the paramount interest of the United 

16 States and shall be exempt from requirements 

17 with respect to the control of pollution from 

18 Federal facilities under that Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 7401 et seq.) if the Indian Tribe determines 

20 that the prescribed fire— 

21 (i) will be conducted in an area where 

22 the terrain or fuel load makes the area in23 accessible or unsafe for firefighting per24 sonnel; 


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1 (ii) is necessary to reduce hazardous 

2 fuels; 

3 (iii) will be conducted to minimize 

4 smoke impacts on populated areas through 

5 the use of basic smoke management prac6 tices; and 

7 (iv) will be conducted under a smoke 

8 management program, if applicable. 

9 (D) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Consistent with 

10 section 118(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 7418(b))— 

12 (i) an exemption granted under this 

13 paragraph shall apply to the applicable en14 tity for a period of not more than 1 year; 

15 and 

16 (ii) on a new determination of the 

17 Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or 

18 an Indian Tribe under subparagraph (A) 

19 or (C), as applicable, additional exemptions 

20 under this paragraph may be granted for 

21 subsequent periods after the expiration of 

22 the exemption described in clause (i), each 

23 of which shall apply for a period of not 

24 more than 1 year. 

25 (6) STATE AND TRIBAL STANDARDS.— 


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1 (A) APPROVAL OF STATE OR TRIBAL

2 STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding section 110 of 

3 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410), when ap4 proving a State or Tribal implementation plan 

5 under that section, the Administrator of the 

6 Environmental Protection Agency may not ap7 prove any standards with respect to— 

8 (i) preventing nuisance impacts that 

9 result from prescribed fires that incor10 porate basic smoke management practices; 

11 or 

12 (ii) criteria pollutants that result from 

13 prescribed fires that are more stringent 

14 than what is required to meet the national 

15 ambient air quality standards for those 

16 pollutants under section 109 of that Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a 

18 Federal reference monitor or an equivalent 

19 method. 

20 (B) STATE AND TRIBAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

21 A State or an Indian Tribe may not enforce 

22 standards in a State or Tribal implementation 

23 plan that was approved under the Clean Air Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) before the date of en25 actment of this Act with respect to— 


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1 (i) preventing nuisance impacts that 

2 result from prescribed fires that incor3 porate basic smoke management practices; 

4 or 

5 (ii) criteria pollutants that result from 

6 prescribed fires that are more stringent 

7 than what is required to meet the national 

8 ambient air quality standards for those 

9 pollutants under section 109 of that Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a 

11 Federal reference monitor or an equivalent 

12 method. 

13 (C) AMENDMENT TO ANTI-BACKSLIDING

14 PROVISION.—If a State or Tribal implementa15 tion plan under section 110 of the Clean Air 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 7410) is revised to include a 

17 smoke management program for prescribed 

18 fires in that implementation plan, subsection (l) 

19 of that section shall not apply with respect to 

20 that revision. 

21 (7) EVALUATION.—The Secretary or the Sec22 retary of Agriculture, as applicable, shall conduct an 

23 evaluation to facilitate learning new approaches for 

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1 quent prescribed fires if the Secretary or the Sec2 retary of Agriculture— 

3 (A) conducts a prescribed fire on Federal 

4 land— 

5 (i) for which a demonstration is devel6 oped and submitted under paragraph 

7 (4)(A); or 

8 (ii) that is subject to an exemption 

9 under paragraph (5)(A); and 

10 (B) the prescribed fire described in sub11 paragraph (A) contributes to an exceedance of 

12 a national ambient air quality standard under 

13 section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 7409). 

15 (8) PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH.—To address 

16 the public health and safety risk of the expanded use 

17 of prescribed fire under this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Agriculture and the Secretary, in coordination with 

19 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency and the Director of the Centers for Disease 

21 Control and Prevention, shall conduct research to 

22 improve or develop— 

23 (A) wildland fire smoke prediction models; 

24 (B) smoke impact display tools for the 

25 public and decisionmakers; 


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1 (C) appropriate, cost-effective, and con2 sistent mitigation strategies for communities 

3 impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed 

4 fire; 

5 (D) consistent nationally and scientifically 

6 supported messages regarding personal protec7 tion equipment for the public; and 

8 (E) prescribed fire activity tracking and 

9 emission inventory systems for planning and 

10 post-treatment accountability. 

11 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE FEDERAL

12 PRESCRIBED FIRE PLANS.— 

13 (1) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.— 

14 In this subsection, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ 

15 means— 

16 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re17 spect to a unit of the National Forest System; 

18 and 

19 (B) the Secretary, with respect to a Bu20 reau of Land Management district. 

21 (2) INCLUSION OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE PRE22 SCRIBED FIRE PLANS.—The Secretary concerned 

23 shall, with respect to units of the National Forest 

24 System and Bureau of Land Management districts 

25 with existing prescribed fire programs— 


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1 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, determine which of those 

3 units or districts have landscape-scale pre4 scribed fire plans; and 

5 (B) not later than 2 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act— 

7 (i) determine whether each plan de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) requires revi9 sion; 

10 (ii) establish a schedule for the revi11 sion of each plan described in subpara12 graph (A) that requires revision; and 

13 (iii) develop landscape-scale prescribed 

14 fire plans for any units or districts that do 

15 not have landscape-scale fire plans. 

16 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—In car17 rying out paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned 

18 shall— 

19 (A) comply with— 

20 (i) the National Environmental Policy 

21 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

22 (ii) the Endangered Species Act of 

23 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

24 (iii) division A of subtitle III of title 

25 54, United States Code; and 


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1 (iv) any other applicable laws; and 

2 (B) consider the site-specific environmental 

3 consequences of the landscape-scale prescribed 

4 fire decisions under this subsection. 

5 (4) COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT.—In car6 rying out paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned 

7 shall collaborate with diverse actors from academia, 

8 the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 

9 research and development, nongovernmental organi10 zations, cultural fire practitioners, and other enti11 ties, as determined appropriate by the Secretary 

12 concerned. 

13 (5) CONSULTATION WITH INDIAN TRIBES.—The 

14 Secretary concerned shall engage in government-to15 government consultation with Indian Tribes in com16 plying with this subsection. 

17 (6) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there19 after, the Secretary concerned shall submit to Con20 gress a report on the progress of the Secretary con21 cerned with respect to carrying out this subsection. 

22 SEC. 206. PRESCRIBED FIRE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act24 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Sec25 retary, acting through the Director of the Office of 


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1 Wildland Fire, shall carry out a national prescribed fire 

2 education program focused on fire ecology and prescribed 

3 fire planning and implementation. 

4 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—A prescribed fire edu5 cation program authorized under subsection (a) may in6 clude— 

7 (1) public service advertisements; 

8 (2) the use of social media; 

9 (3) campaign and educational activities and ma10 terials; 

11 (4) commercial licensing; 

12 (5) character images and appearances; and 

13 (6) awards and recognition. 

14 TITLE III—REPORTING 

15 SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PLAN16 NING AND OPERATIONS DATABASE. 

17 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en18 sure an accurate reporting of annual prescribed fire ac19 complishments in the United States. 

20 (b) COST-SHARE.—Subject to the availability of ap21 propriations, the Secretary may provide financial assist22 ance to States to pay a portion of the costs associated 

23 with annually reporting prescribed fire accomplishments. 

24 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—If, by December 31 

25 of each year, a State has not reported to the National Fire 


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1 Planning and Operations Database, at a minimum, the 

2 number of acres mitigated using prescribed fire in the 

3 State, the State shall not be eligible to receive any 

4 amounts made available under this Act for the previous 

5 fiscal year. 

6 SEC. 302. ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall 

9 each submit to Congress a report on the activities carried 

10 out under this Act. 

Æ 


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