I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8557 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Ms. SCHRIER (for herself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Oversight and Accountability, and 

the Budget, 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 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 00:10 Jul 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8557.IH H8557

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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 employees (including in2 dividuals employed in carrying out a contract between an 

3 Indian Tribe and the Department of Agriculture or the 

4 Department of the Interior) implementing a prescribed 

5 fire (as defined in section 3 of the National Prescribed 

6 Fire Act of 2024).’’. 

7 (3) INCREASING WORKFORCE RETENTION.— 

8 (A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para9 graph is to require the Secretaries to carry out 

10 activities to retain sufficient workforce to imple11 ment prescribed fires and to remain competitive 

12 with other non-Federal firefighting programs. 

13 (B) HAZARD PAY.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal em15 ployee in any classification series carrying 

16 out work completed during prescribed fire, 

17 as identified by the Secretaries, shall be 

18 entitled to be paid the appropriate dif19 ferential under subsection (d) of section 

20 5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if 

21 such employee was covered by such sub22 section. 

23 (ii) REGULATIONS.—The Director of 

24 the Office of Personnel Management may 


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1 prescribe regulations to carry out this sub2 paragraph. 

3 (C) OTHER BENEFITS.—The Secretaries 

4 shall implement measures to promote retention 

5 among Federal wildland firefighters of any clas6 sification series carrying out work related to 

7 wildland fire and prescribed fire, such as portal8 to-portal pay, quarterly bonuses, or other bene9 fits. 

10 (D) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR FUELS AS11 SIGNMENTS.—To attract and retain a skilled 

12 fuels workforce, the Secretaries shall implement 

13 pay incentives that account for and offset the 

14 more competitive pay options offered through 

15 wildfire suppression assignments, including 

16 such options as bonus pay, per diem payments, 

17 or grading-up fuels positions. 

18 (4) DEDICATED PRESCRIBED FIRE TASK

19 FORCES.— 

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

21 (i) not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, establish at 

23 least 1 multiparty task force of Federal 

24 employees and non-Federal entities within 

25 each Geographic Area Coordination Center 


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1 to plan, lead, and support prescribed fire 

2 across ownership boundaries that are pri3 orities at the landscape, region, State, or 

4 Federal level; and 

5 (ii) support each task force estab6 lished under clause (i) by assigning a dedi7 cated Federal employee— 

8 (I) to aid necessary administra9 tive functions relating to partnership 

10 agreements; and 

11 (II) to coordinate prescribed fire 

12 across ownership boundaries. 

13 (B) TERM OF EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL

14 TASK FORCE MEMBERS.—Federal employees as15 signed under subparagraph (A) may be hired as 

16 permanent, full-time employees using direct hir17 ing authority by the Secretaries. 

18 (C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

19 Secretaries may enter into 1 or more coopera20 tive agreements to carry out this paragraph. 

21 (5) CONVERSION OF SEASONAL FIREFIGHTERS

22 TO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES.—The Secretaries may 

23 noncompetitively convert a Federal seasonal em24 ployee to a Federal permanent employee if— 


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1 (A) the listed job duties of the employee 

2 include wildland firefighting; 

3 (B) the employee received a rating of at 

4 least ‘‘Fully Successful’’ in each of the perform5 ance appraisals of the employee for the 5 most 

6 recent seasons of Federal employment of the 

7 employee; and 

8 (C) the job duties and performance stand9 ards of the position into which the permanent 

10 employee converts emphasize implementing pre11 scribed fires. 

12 (6) EMPLOYMENT OF FORMERLY INCARCER13 ATED INDIVIDUALS.— 

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

15 consultation with the Attorney General and 

16 State departments of corrections, shall seek to 

17 provide career pathways, training, and wrap18 around support services, including through 

19 partnerships with the Corps Network, to indi20 viduals described in subparagraph (B) to work 

21 as prescribed fire practitioners. 

22 (B) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi23 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in24 dividual that— 


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1 (i) has been convicted in any court of 

2 a criminal offense, other than arson, and 

3 was sentenced to a term of imprisonment 

4 for that offense; and 

5 (ii) during the term of imprisonment 

6 described in clause (i), served on a 

7 wildland firefighting crew or received other 

8 comparable training. 

9 (7) UNDERREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES.—To 

10 further address the gender disparity in wildland fire11 fighting, the Secretaries shall support the develop12 ment and participation of women in leadership op13 portunities, mentorship networks, and training in 

14 prescribed fire, including the Fire Leadership for 

15 Women course and Women-In-Fire Training Ex16 change and other related opportunities— 

17 (A) to develop strong leaders; 

18 (B) to increase the number of women over19 seeing prescribed fires; and 

20 (C) to enhance the longevity and success of 

21 women in wildland fire management. 

22 (8) VETERANS CREWS.— 

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

24 consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Af25 fairs, shall seek— 


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1 (i) to provide a career pathway to in2 dividuals described in subparagraph (B) to 

3 work as prescribed fire practitioners; and 

4 (ii) to establish crews composed pre5 dominantly of veterans to conduct pre6 scribed fires. 

7 (B) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An indi8 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A) is an in9 dividual who— 

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

11 or air service; and 

12 (ii) was discharged or released under 

13 conditions other than dishonorable. 

14 (9) INTER-TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec15 retaries may provide funding to Tribal, Indigenous16 led, and inter-Tribal organizations, including the 

17 Intertribal Timber Council, to provide training and 

18 workforce development opportunities in wildland fire. 

19 (b) ADDITIONAL TRAINING CENTERS.—Subject to 

20 the availability of appropriations, not later than 2 years 

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

22 cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture (and the 

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

24 a military installation), shall— 


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1 (1) establish, operate, and facilitate a pre2 scribed fire training program or center in each Geo3 graphic Area Coordination Center region where such 

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

5 enactment of this Act; 

6 (2) support the establishment of an Indigenous7 led prescribed fire and cultural burning training cen8 ter operated by an Indian Tribe or partnership of 

9 Indian Tribes; 

10 (3) establish a virtual prescribed fire training 

11 center; and 

12 (4) establish and operate a training center for 

13 managing wildfire for resource objectives. 

14 (c) COMPETENCIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS.— 

15 (1) UPDATES TO REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

16 FOR SPECIFIC FIREFIGHTER POSITIONS.—The Sec17 retaries, in coordination with the Fire Executive 

18 Council, the National Association of State Foresters, 

19 and the Intertribal Timber Council, shall task the 

20 National Wildfire Coordinating Group to add a re21 quirement for an individual to obtain the necessary 

22 certification to serve in— 

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

24 and 


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1 (B) any other positions determined to be 

2 necessary by the Secretaries. 

3 (2) ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE.—The Secre4 taries shall require significant additional experience, 

5 gained exclusively during a prescribed fire, to obtain 

6 a certification described in paragraph (1). 

7 (d) INDEMNITY OF FEDERAL AND TRIBAL EMPLOY8 EES.—Except in the case of gross negligence, a Federal 

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

10 an Indian Tribe as a contracting entity, acting pursuant 

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

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

13 prescribed fire escaped or caused loss or damage— 

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

15 and 

16 (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex17 cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (e) INDEMNITY OF OTHER COOPERATORS.—Except 

20 in the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in21 volved in a prescribed fire on Federal land or under Fed22 eral authority, if that prescribed fire escaped or caused 

23 loss or damage— 

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

25 and 


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1 (2) shall not be subject to civil proceedings, ex2 cept in accordance with section 2672 of title 28, 

3 United States Code. 

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

5 the case of gross negligence, an individual or entity in6 volved in a prescribed fire on any land, if that prescribed 

7 fire escaped, caused harm or damage, or required suppres8 sion resources— 

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

10 of Federal fire suppression costs and costs of inves11 tigation incurred by Federal agencies; and 

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

13 loss or damage to any natural resource or timber 

14 values on Federal land. 

15 (g) ENHANCING INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN FED16 ERAL AND NON-FEDERAL PRACTITIONERS.— 

17 (1) QUALIFICATION DATABASES AND DISPATCH

18 SYSTEMS.—The Secretaries shall establish a collabo19 rative process to create mechanisms for non-Federal20 agency fire practitioners, including those without ju21 risdictional authority, to be included in wildfire re22 source ordering and reimbursement processes. 

23 (2) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—The Secre24 taries shall— 


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1 (A) develop partnership agreements for 

2 prescribed fire with all relevant State, Federal, 

3 Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities 

4 that choose to be included in resource ordering 

5 and reimbursement processes under paragraph 

6 (1); 

7 (B) create agreements and structures nec8 essary to include non-Federal-agency and other 

9 nontraditional partners in direct work with 

10 Federal agencies to address prescribed fires; 

11 and 

12 (C) treat any prescribed fire practitioner 

13 meeting the National Wildfire Coordinating 

14 Group standards as eligible to be included in 

15 statewide participating agreements. 

16 SEC. 203. LIABILITY OF CERTIFIED PRESCRIBED FIRE MAN17 AGERS. 

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

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

20 the standard of care in a civil suit against a certified pre21 scribed fire manager for an escaped prescribed fire to be 

22 ‘‘gross negligence’’, if the certified prescribed fire man23 ager— 

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


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1 (2) conducted the prescribed fire consistent 

2 with a written prescribed fire plan; 

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

4 duration of the prescribed fire; 

5 (4) ensured adequate personnel, equipment, and 

6 firebreaks were in place during the prescribed fire, 

7 in accordance with the written prescribed fire plan; 

8 and 

9 (5) complied with any applicable Federal, Trib10 al, State, and local laws. 

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

12 availability of appropriations, in accordance with rec13 ommendation A3C of the special report of the Western 

14 Governors’ National Forest and Rangeland Management 

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

16 a memorandum of agreement with the National Gov17 ernors’ Association to host a conference, at which gov18 ernors can meet to discuss the benefits of addressing li19 ability protection and possible incentives for States to 

20 enact a covered law. 

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

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

23 under subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 204. PRESCRIBED FIRE CLAIMS FUND STUDY. 

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

3 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre4 taries, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 

5 Management and Budget, shall complete a study of the 

6 feasibility, design, and effectiveness of a national pre7 scribed fire claims fund (or similar mechanism) to increase 

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

9 multiple users and for multiple objectives. 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub11 section (a) shall include an analysis of the following: 

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

13 claims fund or other mechanism to supplement, re14 place, or backstop private insurance for prescribed 

15 fire and adverse smoke impacts. 

16 (2) The design and administration of such a 

17 fund. 

18 (3) The effectiveness of a national claims fund 

19 or other mechanism to supplement, replace, or back20 stop private market insurance for non-Federal or 

21 State government prescribed fire practitioners. 

22 (4) The eligibility requirements for submission 

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

24 and inclusivity of all types of prescribed fire practi25 tioners and methods of practice. 


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

2 laws on prescribed fire practitioner liability; 

3 (B) the impact of State liability laws on 

4 the availability and affordability of insurance 

5 for prescribed fire; and 

6 (C) how States may be incentivized to 

7 enact laws clearly establishing and reducing 

8 practitioner liability for civil suits and suppres9 sion and investigation cost recovery. 

10 SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

11 (a) SMOKE MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.— 

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

13 policies, training, and programs of the Secretaries 

14 are consistent with this subsection— 

15 (A) to facilitate greater use of prescribed 

16 fire; and 

17 (B) to address public health and safety, in18 cluding impacts from smoke from wildfires and 

19 prescribed fires. 

20 (2) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—The Secretaries 

21 may expend funding appropriated for hazardous fuel 

22 reduction to mitigate the impacts of smoke from 

23 prescribed fire. 

24 (3) COORDINATION AMONG FEDERAL, TRIBAL, 

25 AND STATE AIR QUALITY AGENCIES AND FEDERAL, 


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1 TRIBAL, AND STATE LAND MANAGEMENT AGEN2 CIES.—The Administrator of the Environmental 

3 Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal and 

4 State land management agencies, shall coordinate 

5 with State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies 

6 that regulate smoke under the Clean Air Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) to facilitate the use of pre8 scribed fire on Federal land and State, Tribal, and 

9 private land, including by— 

10 (A) streamlining the decision-making proc11 ess for approving the use of prescribed fire 

12 under a State, Tribal, or local government 

13 smoke management program; and 

14 (B)(i) promoting basic smoke management 

15 practices; 

16 (ii) disseminating information about 

17 basic smoke management practices; and 

18 (iii) educating landowners that use 

19 prescribed fire about the importance of— 

20 (I) using basic smoke manage21 ment practices; and 

22 (II) including basic smoke man23 agement practices as a component of 

24 a prescribed fire plan. 

25 (4) EXCEPTIONAL EVENT DEMONSTRATIONS.— 


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1 (A) REQUIREMENT TO SEEK EXCEPTIONAL

2 EVENT DEMONSTRATION.—Subject to subpara3 graph (C), the appropriate State or Tribal air 

4 quality agency shall develop and submit to the 

5 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

6 Agency a demonstration in accordance with sec7 tion 50.14 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula8 tions (or successor regulations), if— 

9 (i) the Secretary, the Secretary of Ag10 riculture, a State land management agen11 cy, or an Indian Tribe conducts a pre12 scribed fire on Federal land, Tribally 

13 owned fee land, or State land, as applica14 ble, in accordance with a State or Tribal 

15 smoke management program that incor16 porates basic smoke management prac17 tices; and 

18 (ii) the prescribed fire described in 

19 clause (i) contributes to an exceedance or 

20 other violation of a national ambient air 

21 quality standard under section 109 of the 

22 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409), as meas23 ured using a Federal reference monitor or 

24 an equivalent method. 


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1 (B) DEMONSTRATION ASSISTANCE.—For 

2 an exceedance or other violation described in 

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

4 or Secretary of Agriculture, with the concur5 rence of the State or Tribal air quality agency, 

6 shall assist with the development of the dem7 onstration under that subparagraph. 

8 (C) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Subparagraph 

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

10 violation described in clause (ii) of that sub11 paragraph is the result of— 

12 (i) a violation of a smoke management 

13 program; 

14 (ii) a failure to use basic smoke man15 agement practices; or 

16 (iii) a violation of permit conditions 

17 relating to the protection of air quality and 

18 public health. 

19 (5) EXEMPTION FOR LARGE PRESCRIBED

20 FIRES.— 

21 (A) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

22 EXEMPTION.—Consistent with subsection (b) of 

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

24 7418), a prescribed fire conducted on Federal 

25 land by the Secretary or the Secretary of AgriVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jul 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8557.IH H8557

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1 culture that burns more than 1,000 acres per 

2 day shall be deemed to be in the paramount in3 terest of the United States and shall be exempt 

4 from requirements with respect to the control of 

5 pollution from Federal facilities under that Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) if the Secretary or the 

7 Secretary of Agriculture determines that the 

8 prescribed fire— 

9 (i) will be conducted in an area where 

10 the terrain or fuel load makes the area in11 accessible or unsafe for firefighting per12 sonnel; 

13 (ii) is necessary to reduce hazardous 

14 fuels; 

15 (iii) will be conducted to minimize 

16 smoke impacts on populated areas through 

17 the use of basic smoke management prac18 tices; and 

19 (iv) will be conducted under a smoke 

20 management program, if applicable. 

21 (B) STATE EXEMPTION.—If the Secretary 

22 concerned conducts a prescribed fire that is 

23 deemed to be in the paramount interest of the 

24 United States under subparagraph (A) on Fed25 eral land, a prescribed fire conducted by a State 


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1 land management agency on State or private 

2 land that is contiguous to that Federal land 

3 shall be exempt from any applicable national 

4 ambient air quality standards under section 109 

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

6 (C) TRIBAL EXEMPTION.—Consistent with 

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

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 7418), a prescribed fire con9 ducted on Tribal land by, or in accordance with 

10 an agreement with, an Indian Tribe that burns 

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

12 to be in the paramount interest of the United 

13 States and shall be exempt from requirements 

14 with respect to the control of pollution from 

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

16 7401 et seq.) if the Indian Tribe determines 

17 that the prescribed fire— 

18 (i) will be conducted in an area where 

19 the terrain or fuel load makes the area in20 accessible or unsafe for firefighting per21 sonnel; 

22 (ii) is necessary to reduce hazardous 

23 fuels; 

24 (iii) will be conducted to minimize 

25 smoke impacts on populated areas through 


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1 the use of basic smoke management prac2 tices; and 

3 (iv) will be conducted under a smoke 

4 management program, if applicable. 

5 (D) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Consistent with 

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

7 7418(b))— 

8 (i) an exemption granted under this 

9 paragraph shall apply to the applicable en10 tity for a period of not more than 1 year; 

11 and 

12 (ii) on a new determination of the 

13 Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or 

14 an Indian Tribe under subparagraph (A) 

15 or (C), as applicable, additional exemptions 

16 under this paragraph may be granted for 

17 subsequent periods after the expiration of 

18 the exemption described in clause (i), each 

19 of which shall apply for a period of not 

20 more than 1 year. 

21 (6) STATE AND TRIBAL STANDARDS.— 

22 (A) APPROVAL OF STATE OR TRIBAL

23 STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding section 110 of 

24 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7410), when ap25 proving a State or Tribal implementation plan 


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1 under that section, the Administrator of the 

2 Environmental Protection Agency may not ap3 prove any standards with respect to— 

4 (i) preventing nuisance impacts that 

5 result from prescribed fires that incor6 porate basic smoke management practices; 

7 or 

8 (ii) criteria pollutants that result from 

9 prescribed fires that are more stringent 

10 than what is required to meet the national 

11 ambient air quality standards for those 

12 pollutants under section 109 of that Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a 

14 Federal reference monitor or an equivalent 

15 method. 

16 (B) STATE AND TRIBAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 A State or an Indian Tribe may not enforce 

18 standards in a State or Tribal implementation 

19 plan that was approved under the Clean Air Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) before the date of en21 actment of this Act with respect to— 

22 (i) preventing nuisance impacts that 

23 result from prescribed fires that incor24 porate basic smoke management practices; 

25 or 


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1 (ii) criteria pollutants that result from 

2 prescribed fires that are more stringent 

3 than what is required to meet the national 

4 ambient air quality standards for those 

5 pollutants under section 109 of that Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 7409), as measured using a 

7 Federal reference monitor or an equivalent 

8 method. 

9 (C) AMENDMENT TO ANTI-BACKSLIDING

10 PROVISION.—If a State or Tribal implementa11 tion plan under section 110 of the Clean Air 

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

13 smoke management program for prescribed 

14 fires in that implementation plan, subsection (l) 

15 of that section shall not apply with respect to 

16 that revision. 

17 (7) EVALUATION.—The Secretary or the Sec18 retary of Agriculture, as applicable, shall conduct an 

19 evaluation to facilitate learning new approaches for 

20 predicting and preventing exceedances during subse21 quent prescribed fires if the Secretary or the Sec22 retary of Agriculture— 

23 (A) conducts a prescribed fire on Federal 

24 land— 


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1 (i) for which a demonstration is devel2 oped and submitted under paragraph 

3 (4)(A); or 

4 (ii) that is subject to an exemption 

5 under paragraph (5)(A); and 

6 (B) the prescribed fire described in sub7 paragraph (A) contributes to an exceedance of 

8 a national ambient air quality standard under 

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

10 7409). 

11 (8) PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH.—To address 

12 the public health and safety risk of the expanded use 

13 of prescribed fire under this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Agriculture and the Secretary, in coordination with 

15 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

16 Agency and the Director of the Centers for Disease 

17 Control and Prevention, shall conduct research to 

18 improve or develop— 

19 (A) wildland fire smoke prediction models; 

20 (B) smoke impact display tools for the 

21 public and decisionmakers; 

22 (C) appropriate, cost-effective, and con23 sistent mitigation strategies for communities 

24 impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed 

25 fire; 


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1 (D) consistent nationally and scientifically 

2 supported messages regarding personal protec3 tion equipment for the public; and 

4 (E) prescribed fire activity tracking and 

5 emission inventory systems for planning and 

6 post-treatment accountability. 

7 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE FEDERAL

8 PRESCRIBED FIRE PLANS.— 

9 (1) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.— 

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

11 means— 

12 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re13 spect to a unit of the National Forest System; 

14 and 

15 (B) the Secretary, with respect to a Bu16 reau of Land Management district. 

17 (2) INCLUSION OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE PRE18 SCRIBED FIRE PLANS.—The Secretary concerned 

19 shall, with respect to units of the National Forest 

20 System and Bureau of Land Management districts 

21 with existing prescribed fire programs— 

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

23 enactment of this Act, determine which of those 

24 units or districts have landscape-scale pre25 scribed fire plans; and 


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

2 of enactment of this Act— 

3 (i) determine whether each plan de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) requires revi5 sion; 

6 (ii) establish a schedule for the revi7 sion of each plan described in subpara8 graph (A) that requires revision; and 

9 (iii) develop landscape-scale prescribed 

10 fire plans for any units or districts that do 

11 not have landscape-scale fire plans. 

12 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—In car13 rying out paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned 

14 shall— 

15 (A) comply with— 

16 (i) the National Environmental Policy 

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

18 (ii) the Endangered Species Act of 

19 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

20 (iii) division A of subtitle III of title 

21 54, United States Code; and 

22 (iv) any other applicable laws; and 

23 (B) consider the site-specific environmental 

24 consequences of the landscape-scale prescribed 

25 fire decisions under this subsection. 


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1 (4) COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT.—In car2 rying out paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned 

3 shall collaborate with diverse actors from academia, 

4 the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management 

5 research and development, nongovernmental organi6 zations, cultural fire practitioners, and other enti7 ties, as determined appropriate by the Secretary 

8 concerned. 

9 (5) CONSULTATION WITH INDIAN TRIBES.—The 

10 Secretary concerned shall engage in government-to11 government consultation with Indian Tribes in com12 plying with this subsection. 

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

14 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there15 after, the Secretary concerned shall submit to Con16 gress a report on the progress of the Secretary con17 cerned with respect to carrying out this subsection. 

18 SEC. 206. PRESCRIBED FIRE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act20 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Sec21 retary, acting through the Director of the Office of 

22 Wildland Fire, shall carry out a national prescribed fire 

23 education program focused on fire ecology and prescribed 

24 fire planning and implementation. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—A prescribed fire edu2 cation program authorized under subsection (a) may in3 clude— 

4 (1) public service advertisements; 

5 (2) the use of social media; 

6 (3) campaign and educational activities and ma7 terials; 

8 (4) commercial licensing; 

9 (5) character images and appearances; and 

10 (6) awards and recognition. 

11 TITLE III—REPORTING 

12 SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PLAN13 NING AND OPERATIONS DATABASE. 

14 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en15 sure an accurate reporting of annual prescribed fire ac16 complishments in the United States. 

17 (b) COST-SHARE.—Subject to the availability of ap18 propriations, the Secretary may provide financial assist19 ance to States to pay a portion of the costs associated 

20 with annually reporting prescribed fire accomplishments. 

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

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

23 Planning and Operations Database, at a minimum, the 

24 number of acres mitigated using prescribed fire in the 

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


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1 amounts made available under this Act for the previous 

2 fiscal year. 

3 SEC. 302. ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

6 each submit to Congress a report on the activities carried 

7 out under this Act. 

Æ 


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