118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8790 

AN ACT 

To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 and improve forest management activities on 

National Forest System lands, on public lands under 

the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, 

and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 

fire-prone forested lands, 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 ‘‘Fix Our Forests Act’’. 

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. Definitions. 

TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION 

Subtitle A—Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High Priority Firesheds 

Sec. 101. Designation of fireshed management areas. 

Sec. 102. Fireshed center. 

Sec. 103. Fireshed registry. 

Sec. 104. Shared stewardship. 

Sec. 105. Fireshed assessments. 

Sec. 106. Emergency fireshed management. 

Sec. 107. Sunset. 

Subtitle B—Expanding Collaborative Tools to Reduce Wildfire Risk and 

Improve Forest Health 

Sec. 111. Modification of the treatment of certain revenue and payments under 

good neighbor agreements. 

Sec. 112. Fixing stewardship end result contracting. 

Sec. 113. Intra-agency strike teams. 

Sec. 114. Locally-led restoration. 

Sec. 115. Joint Chiefs landscape restoration partnership program. 

Sec. 116. Collaborative forest landscape restoration program. 

Sec. 117. Utilizing grazing for wildfire risk reduction. 

Sec. 118. Program to support priority reforestation and restoration projects of 

Department of the Interior. 

Subtitle C—Litigation Reform 

Sec. 121. Commonsense litigation reform. 

Sec. 122. Consultation on forest plans. 

TITLE II—PROTECTING COMMUNITIES IN THE WILDLAND-URBAN 

INTERFACE 

Sec. 201. Community wildfire risk reduction program. 

Sec. 202. Community wildfire defense research program. 

Sec. 203. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance relating to electric transmission and distribution facility rights-of-way. 

Sec. 204. Categorical exclusion for electric utility lines rights-of-way. 

Sec. 205. Seeds of success. 

TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND TECHNOLOGY 
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Sec. 301. Biochar innovations and opportunities for conservation, health, and 

advancements in research. 

Sec. 302. Accurate hazardous fuels reduction reports. 

Sec. 303. Public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration 

partnership. 

Sec. 304. GAO study on Forest Service policies. 

Sec. 305. Forest Service Western headquarters study. 

Sec. 306. Keeping forest plans current and monitored. 

Sec. 307. Container Aerial Firefighting System (CAFFS). 

Sec. 308. Study on pine beetle infestation. 

TITLE IV—ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR 

FIREFIGHTERS 

Sec. 401. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program. 

TITLE V—WHITE OAK RESILIENCE 

Sec. 501. White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition. 

Sec. 502. Forest Service pilot program. 

Sec. 503. Department of the Interior white oak review and restoration. 

Sec. 504. White oak regeneration and upland oak habitat. 

Sec. 505. Tree nursery shortages. 

Sec. 506. White oak research. 

Sec. 507. USDA formal initiative. 

Sec. 508. Authorities. 

TITLE VI—EXPANSION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 

UNDER WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM 

Sec. 601. Water source protection program. 

Sec. 602. Watershed condition framework technical corrections. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the Fireshed Center appointed under 

5 section 102. 

6 (2) FIRESHED.—The term ‘‘fireshed’’ means a 

7 landscape-scale area that faces similar wildfire 

8 threat where a response strategy could influence the 

9 wildfire outcome. 
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1 (3) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECT.—The 

2 term ‘‘fireshed management project’’ means a 

3 project under section 106. 

4 (4) FIRESHED REGISTRY.—The term ‘‘Fireshed 

5 Registry’’ means the fireshed registry established 

6 under section 103. 

7 (5) FOREST PLAN.—The term ‘‘forest plan’’ 

8 means— 

9 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu10 reau of Land Management for public lands pur11 suant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

12 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

13 1712); 

14 (B) a land and resource management plan 

15 prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the 

16 National Forest System pursuant to section 6 

17 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re18 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

19 1604); or 

20 (C) a forest management plan (as defined 

21 in section 304 of the National Indian Forests 

22 Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3104)) 

23 with respect to Indian forest land or rangeland. 

24 (6) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

25 the Governor or any other appropriate executive offi-
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1 cial of an affected State or Indian Tribe or the Com2 monwealth of Puerto Rico. 

3 (7) HAZARDOUS FUELS MANAGEMENT ACTIVI4 TIES.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels management ac5 tivities’’ means any vegetation management activities 

6 (or combination thereof) that reduce the risk of 

7 wildfire, including mechanical thinning, mastication, 

8 prescribed burning, cultural burning (as determined 

9 by the applicable Indian Tribe), timber harvest, and 

10 grazing. 

11 (8) HFRA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘at-risk com12 munity’’, ‘‘community wildfire protection plan’’, and 

13 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ have the meanings given 

14 such terms, respectively, in section 101 of the 

15 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

16 6511). 

17 (9) INDIAN FOREST LAND OR RANGELAND.— 

18 The term ‘‘Indian forest land or rangeland’’ means 

19 land that— 

20 (A) is held in trust by, or with a restriction 

21 against alienation by, the United States for an 

22 Indian Tribe or a member of an Indian Tribe; 

23 and 

24 (B)(i)(I) is Indian forest land (as defined 

25 in section 304 of the National Indian Forest 
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1 Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103)); 

2 or 

3 (II) has a cover of grasses, 

4 brush, or any similar vegetation; or 

5 (ii) formerly had a forest cover or veg6 etative cover that is capable of restoration. 

7 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

8 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

10 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

11 (11) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.—The 

12 term ‘‘National Forest System lands’’ has the mean13 ing given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest 

14 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

15 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609). 

16 (12) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

17 has the meaning given that term in section 103 of 

18 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

19 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that the term in20 cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or21 egon and California Railroad Grant lands. 

22 (13) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant Congressional Commit24 tees’’ means— 
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1 (A) the Committees on Natural Resources 

2 and Agriculture of the House of Representa3 tives; and 

4 (B) the Committees on Energy and Nat5 ural Resources and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

6 Forestry of the Senate. 

7 (14) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘re8 sponsible official’’ means an employee of the Depart9 ment of the Interior or Forest Service who has the 

10 authority to make and implement a decision on a 

11 proposed action. 

12 (15) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

13 means each of— 

14 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

15 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

16 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

17 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

18 (17) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

19 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

20 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re21 spect to National Forest System lands; and 

22 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re23 spect to public lands. 
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1 (18) SPECIAL DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘special 

2 district’’ means a political subdivision of a State 

3 that— 

4 (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or 

5 control; 

6 (B) was created by or pursuant to the laws 

7 of the State for the purpose of performing a 

8 limited and specific governmental or proprietary 

9 function; and 

10 (C) is distinct from any other local govern11 ment unit within the State. 

12 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

13 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

14 each territory of the United States. 

15 TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

16 RESTORATION 

17 Subtitle A—Addressing Emergency 

18 Wildfire Risks in High Priority 

19 Firesheds 

20 SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF FIRESHED MANAGEMENT 

21 AREAS. 

22 (a) DESIGNATION OF FIRESHED MANAGEMENT

23 AREAS.— 

24 (1) INITIAL DESIGNATIONS.—For the period be25 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act and 
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1 ending on the date that is 5 years after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, there are designated fireshed 

3 management areas, which— 

4 (A) shall be comprised of individual land5 scape-scale firesheds identified as being a high 

6 risk fireshed in the ‘‘Wildfire Crisis Strategy’’ 

7 published by the Forest Service in January 

8 2022; 

9 (B) shall be comprised of individual land10 scape-scale firesheds identified by the Secretary, 

11 in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte12 rior, as being in the top 20 percent of the 7,688 

13 firesheds published by the Rocky Mountain Re14 search Station of the Forest Service in 2019 for 

15 wildfire exposure based on the following cri16 teria— 

17 (i) wildfire exposure and cor18 responding risk to communities, including 

19 risk to structures and life; 

20 (ii) wildfire exposure and cor21 responding risk to municipal watersheds, 

22 including tribal water supplies and sys23 tems; and 

24 (iii) risk of forest conversion due to 

25 wildfire; 
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1 (C) shall not overlap with any other 

2 fireshed management areas; 

3 (D) may contain Federal and non-Federal 

4 land, including Indian forest lands or range5 lands; and 

6 (E) where the Secretary concerned shall 

7 carry out fireshed management projects. 

8 (2) FURTHER FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREA

9 DESIGNATIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is 5 

11 years after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, 

13 in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte14 rior, shall submit to the relevant Congressional 

15 Committees an updated map of firesheds based 

16 on the Fireshed Registry maintained under sec17 tion 103. 

18 (B) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 60 

19 days after submitting an updated fireshed map 

20 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, 

21 based on such map, designate additional 

22 fireshed management areas that are identified 

23 as being in the top 20 percent of firesheds at 

24 risk of wildfire exposure based on the criteria 
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1 specified in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and 

2 (E) of paragraph (1). 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF NEPA.—The designation of 

4 fireshed management areas under this section shall not 

5 be subject to the requirements of the National Environ6 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

7 SEC. 102. FIRESHED CENTER. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

10 through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the 

11 Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Direc12 tor of the U.S. Geological Survey, shall jointly estab13 lish a Fireshed Center (hereinafter referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Center’’) comprised of at least one career rep15 resentative from each of the following: 

16 (A) The Forest Service. 

17 (B) The Bureau of Land Management. 

18 (C) The National Park Service. 

19 (D) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

20 (E) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

21 (F) The U.S. Geological Survey. 

22 (G) The Department of Defense. 

23 (H) The Department of Homeland Secu24 rity. 

25 (I) The Department of Energy. 
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1 (J) The Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency. 

3 (K) The National Science Foundation. 

4 (L) The National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration. 

6 (M) The National Aeronautics and Space 

7 Administration. 

8 (N) The National Institute of Standards 

9 and Technology. 

10 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary, acting through 

11 the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary 

12 of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 

13 U.S. Geological Survey, shall jointly appoint a Direc14 tor of the Center, who— 

15 (A) shall be an employee of the U.S. Geo16 logical Survey or the Forest Service; 

17 (B) shall serve an initial term of not more 

18 than 7 years; and 

19 (C) may serve one additional term of not 

20 more than 7 years after the initial term de21 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

22 (3) ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATION.—The Sec23 retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv24 ice and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

25 the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, may 
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1 jointly appoint additional representatives of Federal 

2 agencies to the Center, as the Secretaries determine 

3 necessary. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Center are to— 

5 (1) comprehensively assess and predict, using 

6 data tools (including artificial intelligence) and other 

7 decision support products, fire and smoke in the 

8 wildland and built environment interface across ju9 risdictions to inform— 

10 (A) land and fuels management; 

11 (B) community (including at-risk commu12 nities identified in fireshed assessments con13 ducted under section 105), public health, and 

14 built environment risk reduction; and 

15 (C) fire response and post-fire recovery; 

16 (2) provide data aggregation, real-time land 

17 and fuels management services, and science-based 

18 decision support services; 

19 (3) reduce fragmentation and duplication across 

20 Federal land management agencies with respect to 

21 predictive service and decision support functions re22 lated to wildland fire and smoke; 

23 (4) promote coordination and sharing of data 

24 regarding wildland fire and smoke decision making 

25 between Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, 
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1 local governments, academic or research institutions, 

2 and private entities; 

3 (5) streamline procurement processes and cy4 bersecurity systems related to addressing wildland 

5 fire and smoke; 

6 (6) amplify and distribute existing, and develop 

7 as necessary, publicly accessible data, models, tech8 nologies (including mapping technologies), assess9 ments, and National Weather Service fire weather 

10 forecasts to support short- and long-term planning 

11 regarding wildland fire and smoke risk reduction 

12 and post-fire recovery while avoiding duplicative ef13 forts; 

14 (7) maintain the Fireshed Registry established 

15 under section 103; and 

16 (8) disseminate data tools (including artificial 

17 intelligence) and other decision support products, for 

18 use in manners consistent with the purposes de19 scribed paragraphs (1) through (7), to the following: 

20 (A) Federal agencies. 

21 (B) Indian Tribes. 

22 (C) State and local governments. 

23 (D) Academic or research institutions. 

24 (E) Other entities, public or private, iden25 tified by the Director. 
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1 (c) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Center 

2 may enter into memorandums of understanding, con3 tracts, or other agreements with State governments, In4 dian Tribes, local governments, academic or research insti5 tutions, and private entities to improve the information 

6 and operations of the Center. 

7 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV8 ICES, AND STAFF SUPPORT.— 

9 (1) USGS SUPPORT.—The Secretary of the In10 terior shall make personnel of the U.S. Geological 

11 Survey available to the Center for such administra12 tive support, technical services, and development and 

13 dissemination of data as the Secretary determines 

14 necessary to carry out this section. 

15 (2) USFS SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall 

16 make personnel of the Forest Service available to 

17 the Center for such administrative support, technical 

18 services, and the development and dissemination of 

19 information related to fireshed management and the 

20 Fireshed Registry as the Secretary determines nec21 essary to carry out this section. 

22 SEC. 103. FIRESHED REGISTRY. 

23 (a) FIRESHED REGISTRY.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Director of the Fireshed Center appointed 

25 under section 102, shall maintain a Fireshed Registry on 
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1 a publicly accessible website that provides interactive 

2 geospatial data on individual firesheds, including informa3 tion on— 

4 (1) wildfire exposure delineated by ownership, 

5 including rights-of-way for utilities and other public 

6 or private purposes; 

7 (2) any hazardous fuels management activities 

8 that have occurred within an individual fireshed in 

9 the past 10 years; 

10 (3) wildfire exposure with respect to such 

11 fireshed delineated by— 

12 (A) wildfire exposure and corresponding 

13 risk to communities, including risk to structures 

14 and life; 

15 (B) wildfire exposure and corresponding 

16 risk to municipal watersheds, including tribal 

17 water supplies and systems; and 

18 (C) risk of forest conversion due to wild19 fire; 

20 (4) the percentage of the fireshed that has 

21 burned in wildfires in the past 10 years, including, 

22 to the extent practicable, delineations of acres that 

23 have burned at a high severity; 

24 (5) spatial patterns of wildfire exposure, includ25 ing plausible extreme fire events; and 
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1 (6) any hazardous fuels management activities 

2 planned for the fireshed, including fireshed manage3 ment projects. 

4 (b) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS.— 

5 The Director shall make data from the Fireshed Registry 

6 available to local communities developing or updating com7 munity wildfire protection plans. 

8 (c) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN.—As part of the 

9 website containing the Fireshed Registry, the Director 

10 shall— 

11 (1) publish fireshed assessments created under 

12 section 105; and 

13 (2) maintain a searchable database to track— 

14 (A) the status of Federal environmental re15 views, permits, and authorizations for fireshed 

16 management projects, including— 

17 (i) a comprehensive permitting time18 table; 

19 (ii) the status of the compliance of 

20 each lead agency, cooperating agency, and 

21 participating agency with the permitting 

22 timetable with respect to such fireshed 

23 management projects; 

24 (iii) any modifications of the permit25 ting timetable required under clause (i), in-
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1 cluding an explanation as to why the per2 mitting timetable was modified; and 

3 (iv) information about project-related 

4 public meetings, public hearings, and pub5 lic comment periods, which shall be pre6 sented in English and the predominant 

7 language of the community or communities 

8 most affected by the project, as that infor9 mation becomes available; 

10 (B) the projected cost of such fireshed 

11 management projects; and 

12 (C) in the case of completed fireshed man13 agement projects, the effectiveness of such 

14 projects in reducing the wildfire exposure within 

15 an applicable fireshed, including wildfire expo16 sure described in subparagraphs (A) through 

17 (C) of subsection (a)(3). 

18 (d) RELIANCE ON EXISTING ASSESSMENTS.—In car19 rying out this section, the Director may rely on assess20 ments completed or data gather through existing partner21 ships, to the extent practicable. 

22 SEC. 104. SHARED STEWARDSHIP. 

23 (a) JOINT AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 90 days 

24 after receiving a written request from a Governor of a 

25 State or an Indian Tribe, the Secretary concerned shall 
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1 enter into a shared stewardship agreement (or similar 

2 agreement) with such Governor or Indian Tribe to joint3 ly— 

4 (1) promote the reduction of wildfire exposure, 

5 based on the criteria in section 101(a)(1)(B), in 

6 fireshed management areas across jurisdictional 

7 boundaries; and 

8 (2) conduct fireshed assessments under section 

9 105. 

10 (b) ADDITIONAL FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREAS.— 

11 With respect to a shared stewardship agreement (or simi12 lar agreement) with a Governor of a State or an Indian 

13 Tribe entered into under subsection (a), the Secretary con14 cerned, if requested by such Governor or Indian Tribe, 

15 may— 

16 (1) designate additional fireshed management 

17 areas under such agreement; and 

18 (2) update such agreement to address new wild19 fire threats. 

20 SEC. 105. FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS. 

21 (a) FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date on which the Secretary concerned enters 

24 into an agreement with a Governor of a State or an 

25 Indian Tribe under section 104, the Secretary con-
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1 cerned and such Governor or Indian Tribe shall, 

2 with respect to the fireshed management areas des3 ignated in such State, jointly conduct a fireshed as4 sessment that— 

5 (A) identifies— 

6 (i) using the best available science, 

7 wildfire exposure risks within each such 

8 fireshed management area, including sce9 nario planning and wildfire hazard map10 ping and models; and 

11 (ii) each at-risk community within 

12 each fireshed management area; 

13 (B) identifies potential fireshed manage14 ment projects to be carried out in such fireshed 

15 management areas, giving priority— 

16 (i) primarily, to projects with the pur17 pose of reducing— 

18 (I) wildfire exposure and cor19 responding risk to communities, in20 cluding risk to structures and life; 

21 (II) wildfire exposure and cor22 responding risk to municipal water23 sheds, including tribal water supplies 

24 and systems; 
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1 (III) risk of forest conversion due 

2 to wildfire; or 

3 (IV) any combination of purposes 

4 described in subclauses (I) through 

5 (III); and 

6 (ii) secondarily, to projects with the 

7 purpose of protecting— 

8 (I) critical infrastructure, includ9 ing utility infrastructure; 

10 (II) wildlife habitats, including 

11 habitat for species listed under the 

12 Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 1531 et seq.); 

14 (III) the built environment, in15 cluding residential and commercial 

16 buildings; 

17 (IV) resources of an Indian 

18 Tribe, as defined by the Indian Tribe; 

19 or 

20 (V) any combination of purposes 

21 described in subclauses (I) through 

22 (IV); 

23 (C) includes— 

24 (i) a strategy for reducing the threat 

25 of wildfire to at-risk communities in the 
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1 wildland-urban interface on both Federal 

2 and non-Federal land; 

3 (ii) a timeline for the implementation 

4 of fireshed management projects; 

5 (iii) long-term benchmark goals for 

6 the completion of fireshed management 

7 projects in the highest wildfire exposure 

8 areas so that such projects contribute to 

9 the development and maintenance of 

10 healthy and resilient landscapes; 

11 (iv) policies to ensure fireshed man12 agement projects comply with applicable 

13 forest plans and incorporate the best avail14 able science; and 

15 (v) a strategy for reducing the threat 

16 of wildfire to improve the effectiveness of 

17 wildland firefighting, particularly the effec18 tiveness of fuels treatments that would im19 prove wildland firefighter safety during 

20 wildfires; 

21 (D) shall be regularly updated based on 

22 the best available science, as determined by the 

23 Secretary concerned; and 

24 (E) shall be publicly available on a website 

25 maintained by the Secretary concerned. 
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1 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION.— 

2 Upon the written request of a local government, the 

3 Secretary concerned and the Governor of the State 

4 in which the local government is located may allow 

5 such local government to participate in producing 

6 the fireshed assessment under paragraph (1) for 

7 such State. 

8 (3) INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT.— 

9 (A) MEMORANDUMS OF UNDER10 STANDING.—In carrying out a fireshed assess11 ment under this subsection, the Secretary con12 cerned may enter into memorandums of under13 standing with other Federal agencies or depart14 ments (including the National Oceanic and At15 mospheric Administration), States, Indian 

16 Tribes, private entities, or research or edu17 cational institutions to improve, with respect to 

18 such assessment, the use and integration of— 

19 (i) advanced remote sensing and 

20 geospatial technologies; 

21 (ii) statistical modeling and analysis; 

22 or 

23 (iii) any other technology or combina24 tion of technologies and analyses that the 

25 Secretary concerned determines will benefit 
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1 the quality of information of such an as2 sessment. 

3 (B) BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE.—In using 

4 the best available science for the fireshed as5 sessments completed under subsection (a)(1), 

6 the Secretary concerned and Governor shall, to 

7 the maximum extent practicable, incorporate— 

8 (i) traditional ecological knowledge 

9 from Indian Tribes; 

10 (ii) data from State forest action 

11 plans and State wildfire risk assessments; 

12 (iii) data from the Fireshed Registry 

13 maintained under section 103; and 

14 (iv) data from other Federal, State, 

15 Tribal, and local governments or agencies. 

16 (b) APPLICABILITY OF NEPA.—Fireshed assess17 ments conducted under this section shall not be subject 

18 to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 

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

20 SEC. 106. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT. 

21 (a) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned, 

23 acting through a responsible official, shall carry out 

24 fireshed management projects in fireshed manage-
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1 ment areas designated under section 101 in accord2 ance with this section. 

3 (2) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—The 

4 responsible official shall carry out the following for5 est and vegetation management activities as fireshed 

6 management projects under this section: 

7 (A) Conducting hazardous fuels manage8 ment activities. 

9 (B) Creating fuel breaks and fire breaks. 

10 (C) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, 

11 dying trees, or trees at risk of dying, as deter12 mined by the responsible official. 

13 (D) Developing, approving, or conducting 

14 routine maintenance under a vegetation man15 agement, facility inspection, and operation and 

16 maintenance plan submitted under section 

17 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Man18 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)). 

19 (E) Removing trees to address over20 stocking or crowding in a forest stand, con21 sistent with the appropriate basal area of the 

22 forest stand as determined by the responsible 

23 official. 

24 (F) Using chemical or re-seeding and 

25 planting treatments to address insects and dis-
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1 ease and control vegetation competition or 

2 invasive species. 

3 (G) Any activities recommended by an ap4 plicable fireshed assessment carried out under 

5 section 105. 

6 (H) Any activities recommended by an ap7 plicable community wildfire protection plan. 

8 (I) Any combination of activities described 

9 in this paragraph. 

10 (3) EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—For any fireshed man12 agement area designated under section 101, the 

13 following shall have the force and effect of law: 

14 (i) Section 220.4(b) of title 36, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

16 date of enactment of this Act), with re17 spect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 

18 Secretary. 

19 (ii) Section 46.150 of title 43, Code of 

20 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

21 date of enactment of this Act), with re22 spect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 

23 Secretary of the Interior. 
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1 (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code 

2 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

3 date of enactment of this Act). 

4 (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code 

5 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

6 date of enactment of this Act). 

7 (B) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING STREAM8 LINED AUTHORITIES IN FIRESHED MANAGE9 MENT AREAS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Fireshed manage11 ment projects carried out under this sec12 tion shall be considered authorized projects 

13 under the following categorical exclusions: 

14 (I) Section 603(a) of the Healthy 

15 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

16 U.S.C. 6591b(a)). 

17 (II) Section 605(a) of the 

18 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

19 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591d(a)). 

20 (III) Section 606(b) of the 

21 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

22 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591e(b)). 

23 (IV) Section 40806(b) of the In24 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

25 (16 U.S.C. 6592b(b)). 
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1 (V) Section 4(c)(4) of the Lake 

2 Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 

3 106–506; 114 Stat. 2353). 

4 (VI) Subject to subsection (d) of 

5 section 40807 of the Infrastructure 

6 Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 6592c) in the same manner as author8 ized emergency actions (as defined in 

9 subsection (a) of such section) are 

10 subject to such subsection. 

11 (ii) USE OF EXPEDITED AUTHORI12 TIES.—In carrying out a fireshed manage13 ment project, the Secretary shall apply a 

14 categorical exclusion under clause (i)— 

15 (I) in a manner consistent with 

16 the statute establishing such categor17 ical exclusion; and 

18 (II) in any area— 

19 (aa) designated as suitable 

20 for timber production within the 

21 applicable forest plan; or 

22 (bb) where timber harvest 

23 activities are not prohibited. 

24 (iii) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT RE25 QUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this sec-
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1 tion, the Secretary concerned shall ensure 

2 compliance with the amendments made to 

3 the National Environmental Policy Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Fiscal Respon5 sibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118–5). 

6 (iv) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

7 To the maximum extent practicable, the 

8 Secretary concerned shall use the authori9 ties provided under this section in com10 bination with other authorities to carry out 

11 fireshed management projects, including— 

12 (I) good neighbor agreements en13 tered into under section 8206 of the 

14 Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

15 2113a) (as amended by this Act); 

16 (II) stewardship contracting 

17 projects entered into under section 

18 604 of the Healthy Forests Restora19 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) 

20 (as amended by this Act); 

21 (III) self-determination contracts 

22 and self-governance compact agree23 ments entered into under the Indian 

24 Self-Determination and Education As-
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1 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

2 and 

3 (IV) agreements entered into 

4 under the Tribal Forest Protection 

5 Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et 

6 seq.). 

7 (b) EXPANSION.— 

8 (1) HFRA AMENDMENTS.—The Healthy For9 ests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended— 

10 (A) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 6502), by in11 serting at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘local 

13 government’ means a county, municipality, or special 

14 district. 

15 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL DISTRICT.—The term ‘special dis16 trict’ means a political subdivision of a State that— 

17 ‘‘(A) has significant budgetary autonomy 

18 or control; 

19 ‘‘(B) was created by or pursuant to the 

20 laws of the State for the purpose of performing 

21 a limited and specific governmental or propri22 etary function; and 

23 ‘‘(C) is distinct from any other local gov24 ernment unit within the State.’’. 
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1 (B) in section 603(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

2 6591b(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘3000 acres’’ and in3 serting ‘‘10,000 acres’’; 

4 (C) in section 603(c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 

5 6591b(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘Fire Regime 

6 Groups I, II, or III’’ and inserting ‘‘Fire Re7 gime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime III, Fire 

8 Regime IV, or Fire Regime V’’; 

9 (D) in section 605(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

10 6591d(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘3000 acres’’ and in11 serting ‘‘10,000 acres’’; and 

12 (E) in section 606(g) (16 U.S.C. 

13 6591e(g)), by striking ‘‘4,500 acres’’ and in14 serting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

15 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS

16 ACT AMENDMENT.—Section 40806(d)(1) of the In17 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

18 6592b(d)(1)), by striking ‘‘3,000 acres’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

20 (3) LAKE TAHOE RESTORATION ACT AMEND21 MENTS.—Section 4(c)(4)(C) of the Lake Tahoe Res22 toration Act (Public Law 106–506; 114 Stat. 2353) 

23 is amended— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘Lake Tahoe Basin Man25 agement Unit’’; and 
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘applicable to the area’’ 

2 before the period at the end. 

3 SEC. 107. SUNSET. 

4 The authority under this subtitle shall terminate on 

5 the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 Subtitle B—Expanding Collabo8 rative Tools to Reduce Wildfire 

9 Risk and Improve Forest Health 

10 SEC. 111. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN 

11 REVENUE AND PAYMENTS UNDER GOOD 

12 NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS. 

13 (a) GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY.—Section 8206 of 

14 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘or Indian 

17 tribe’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (a), by inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(11) SPECIAL DISTRICT.—The term ‘special 

20 district’ means a political subdivision of a State 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) has significant budgetary autonomy 

23 or control; 

24 ‘‘(B) was created by or pursuant to the 

25 laws of the State for the purpose of performing 
33 

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1 a limited and specific governmental or propri2 etary function; and 

3 ‘‘(C) is distinct from any other local gov4 ernment unit within the State.’’. 

5 (3) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

7 Indian tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)(C)— 

9 (i) by striking clause (i) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds received 

12 from the sale of timber or forest product 

13 by a Governor, an Indian tribe, a special 

14 district, or a county under a good neighbor 

15 agreement shall be retained and used by 

16 the Governor, Indian tribe, special district, 

17 or county, as applicable— 

18 ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res19 toration services under the good 

20 neighbor agreement; 

21 ‘‘(II) to carry out reconstruction, 

22 repair, and restoration of non-Na23 tional Forest System roads necessary 

24 to implement projects on Federal 

25 lands; 
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1 ‘‘(III) to construct new perma2 nent roads on Federal lands that 

3 are— 

4 ‘‘(aa) necessary to imple5 ment authorized restoration ac6 tivities; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) approved by the Fed8 eral agency through an environ9 mental analysis or categorical ex10 clusion decision; 

11 ‘‘(IV) to complete new permanent 

12 road construction to replace and de13 commission an existing permanent 

14 road that is adversely impacting for15 est, rangeland, or watershed health; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(V) if there are funds remaining 

18 after carrying out subclauses (I) 

19 through (IV), to carry out authorized 

20 restoration services under other good 

21 neighbor agreements and for the ad22 ministration of a good neighbor au23 thority program by a Governor, In24 dian tribe, special district, or coun25 ty.’’; and 
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1 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, In4 dian tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 

5 and 

6 (D) by striking paragraph (4). 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 8206(a) 

8 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 

11 tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 

13 tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section apply to any project initiated pursuant to a 

16 good neighbor agreement (as defined in section 8206(a) 

17 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)))— 

18 (1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if 

19 the project was initiated after the date of enactment 

20 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public 

21 Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4490); or 

22 (2) on or after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 
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1 SEC. 112. FIXING STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CON2 TRACTING. 

3 Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

4 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, including 

6 retaining and expanding existing forest products in7 frastructure’’ before the period at the end; 

8 (2) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘10 

9 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR LONG-TERM STEWARD13 SHIP CONTRACTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A long-term agree15 ment or contract entered into with an entity 

16 under subsection (b) by the Chief or the Direc17 tor shall provide that in the case of the can18 cellation or termination by the Chief or the Di19 rector of such long-term agreement or contract, 

20 the Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall 

21 provide 10 percent of the agreement or contract 

22 amount to such entity as cancellation or termi23 nation costs. 

24 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF LONG-TERM AGREE25 MENT OR CONTRACT.—In this paragraph, the 

26 term ‘long-term agreement or contract’ means 
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1 an agreement or contract under subsection 

2 (b)— 

3 ‘‘(i) with a term of more than 5 years; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) entered into on or after the date 

6 of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

7 SEC. 113. INTRA-AGENCY STRIKE TEAMS. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

9 shall establish intra-agency strike teams to assist the Sec10 retary concerned with— 

11 (1) any reviews, including analysis under the 

12 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

13 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), consultations under the Na14 tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 

15 470 et seq.), and consultations under the Endan16 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

17 with the intent to accelerate and streamline inter18 agency consultation processes; 

19 (2) the implementation of any necessary site 

20 preparation work in advance of or as part of a 

21 fireshed management project; 

22 (3) the implementation of fireshed management 

23 projects under such section; and 

24 (4) any combination of purposes under para25 graphs (1) through (3). 
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1 (b) MEMBERS.—The Secretary concerned may ap2 point not more than 10 individuals to serve on an intra3 agency strike team comprised of— 

4 (1) employees of the Department under the ju5 risdiction of the Secretary concerned; 

6 (2) employees of a different Federal agency, 

7 with the consent of that agency’s Secretary; 

8 (3) private contractors from any nonprofit orga9 nization, State government, Indian Tribe, local gov10 ernment, quasi-governmental agency, academic insti11 tution, or private organization; and 

12 (4) volunteers from any nonprofit organization, 

13 State government, Indian Tribe, local government, 

14 quasi-governmental agency, academic institution, or 

15 private organization. 

16 (c) SUNSET.—The authority provided under this sec17 tion shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 114. LOCALLY-LED RESTORATION. 

20 (a) THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT.—Section 14(d) of the 

21 National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 

22 472a(d)) is amended by— 

23 (1) striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$55,000’’; and 
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Begin2 ning on January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, 

3 the amount in the first sentence of this subsection 

4 shall be adjusted by the Secretary for changes in the 

5 Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers pub6 lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De7 partment of Labor.’’. 

8 (b) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—Begin9 ning on the date that is 30 days after the date of enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit bids under sec11 tion 14 of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 

12 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) for fireshed management projects 

13 under section 106. 

14 SEC. 115. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PART15 NERSHIP PROGRAM. 

16 Section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

17 Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592d) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

20 at the end; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

22 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

23 and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(D) to recover from wildfires; or 
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1 ‘‘(E) to enhance soil, water, and related 

2 natural resources.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and post-wildfire impacts’’ after ‘‘wildfire 

6 risk’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, 

8 as identified in the corresponding State forest 

9 action plan or similar priority plan (such as a 

10 State wildlife or water plan)’’ before the semi11 colon; 

12 (3) in subsection (g)(2), by inserting ‘‘and at 

13 least once every 2 fiscal years thereafter’’ after ‘‘and 

14 2023’’; and 

15 (4) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

16 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2028’’. 

17 SEC. 116. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA18 TION PROGRAM. 

19 Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage20 ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)(3)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘spe23 cies;’’ and inserting ‘‘species or pathogens;’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
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1 (C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

2 after the semicolon at the end; and 

3 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(I) address standardized monitoring ques5 tions and indicators;’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (c)(3)(A)— 

7 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (B) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

10 end; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) include a plan to provide sup13 port to collaborative processes established 

14 pursuant to subsection (b)(2);’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

21 and’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(G) proposals that seek to use innovative 

25 implementation mechanisms, including good 
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1 neighbor agreements entered into under section 

2 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 

3 U.S.C. 2113a); 

4 ‘‘(H) proposals that seek to remove or 

5 treat insects or diseases, including the removal 

6 of trees killed by, or infested with, bark beetles 

7 in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Mon8 tana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, 

9 South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyo10 ming; 

11 ‘‘(I) proposals that seek to facilitate the 

12 sale of firewood and Christmas trees on lands 

13 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or the 

14 Secretary of the Interior; 

15 ‘‘(J) proposals that seek to reduce the risk 

16 of uncharacteristic wildfire or increase ecologi17 cal restoration activities— 

18 ‘‘(i) within areas across land owner19 ships, including State, Tribal, and private 

20 land; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) within the wildland-urban inter22 face (as defined in section 101 of the 

23 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

24 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and 
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1 ‘‘(K) proposals that seek to enhance water2 shed health and drinking water sources.’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) 4 proposals in any 1 region of the 

7 National Forest System to be funded during 

8 any fiscal year; and’’; 

9 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

10 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

11 (C) as subparagraph (B); and 

12 (4) in subsection (f)(6), by striking ‘‘2019 

13 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 through 2029’’. 

14 SEC. 117. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUC15 TION. 

16 The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

17 Chief of the Forest Service, in coordination with holders 

18 of permits to graze livestock on Federal land, shall develop 

19 a strategy to increase opportunities to utilize livestock 

20 grazing as a wildfire risk reduction strategy, including— 

21 (1) completion of reviews (as required under the 

22 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C. 

23 4321 et seq.)) to allow permitted grazing on vacant 

24 grazing allotments during instances of drought, wild-
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1 fire, or other natural disasters that disrupt grazing 

2 on allotments already permitted; 

3 (2) use of targeted grazing; 

4 (3) increased use of temporary permits to pro5 mote targeted fuels reduction and reduction of 

6 invasive annual grasses; 

7 (4) increased use of grazing as a postfire recov8 ery and restoration strategy, where appropriate; and 

9 (5) use of all applicable authorities under the 

10 law. 

11 SEC. 118. PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIORITY REFOREST12 ATION AND RESTORATION PROJECTS OF DE13 PARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 

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

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte16 rior, in coordination with the heads of covered Federal 

17 agencies, shall establish a program to provide support for 

18 priority projects identified under subsection (c)(2), in ac19 cordance with this section. 

20 (b) SUPPORT.—In carrying out the program under 

21 subsection (a), the Secretary may provide support 

22 through— 

23 (1) cooperative agreements entered into in ac24 cordance with processes established by the Sec25 retary; and 
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1 (2) contracts, including contracts established 

2 pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Edu3 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

4 (c) ANNUAL IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY

5 PROJECTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

7 of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of covered 

8 Federal agencies, shall— 

9 (1) identify lands of the United States adminis10 tered by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Secretary 

11 of the Interior that require reforestation and res12 toration due to unplanned disturbances and that are 

13 unlikely to experience natural regeneration without 

14 assistance; and 

15 (2) establish a list of priority projects for refor16 estation and restoration for the upcoming year, 

17 which may include activities to ensure adequate and 

18 appropriate seed and seedling availability to further 

19 the objectives of other priority projects. 

20 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the program 

21 under subsection (a) and the requirements under sub22 section (c), the Secretary shall consult or collaborate with, 

23 as appropriate, and inform the following: 

24 (1) State and local governments. 

25 (2) Indian Tribes. 
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1 (3) Covered institutions of higher education. 

2 (4) Federal agencies that administer lands of 

3 the United States that adjoin or are proximal to 

4 lands that are the subject of priority projects and 

5 potential priority projects. 

6 (5) Other stakeholders, as determined by the 

7 Secretary. 

8 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the relevant 

11 Congressional Committees a report that includes the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) An accounting of all lands identified under 

14 subsection (c)(1) for the period covered by the re15 port. 

16 (2) A list of priority projects identified under 

17 subsection (c)(2) for the period covered by the re18 port and, with respect to each such priority project, 

19 any support issued under the program under sub20 section (a) and any progress made towards reforest21 ation and restoration. 

22 (3) An accounting of each contract and cooper23 ative agreement established under the program 

24 under subsection (a). 
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1 (4) A description of the actions taken in accord2 ance with subsection (d). 

3 (5) Assessments with respect to— 

4 (A) gaps in— 

5 (i) the implementation of the program 

6 under subsection (a); and 

7 (ii) the progress made under the pro8 gram with respect to priority projects; and 

9 (B) opportunities to procure funding nec10 essary to address any such gaps. 

11 (f) NONDUPLICATION.—In carrying out this section, 

12 the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate with the Sec13 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Defense to en14 sure the nonduplication of activities carried out under sec15 tion 205. 

16 (g) SUNSET.—The authority provided under this sec17 tion shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) COVERED FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

21 ‘‘covered Federal agency’’ means the National Park 

22 Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

23 the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of 

24 Reclamation, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
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1 (2) COVERED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU2 CATION.—The term ‘‘covered institution of higher 

3 education’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘eligible 

4 institutions’’ in section 301(e)(3)). 

5 (3) NATURAL REGENERATION; REFOREST6 ATION.—The terms ‘‘natural regeneration’’ and ‘‘re7 forestation’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

8 section 3(e)(4)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Re9 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

10 1601(3)(4)(A)) 

11 (4) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

12 means activities that facilitate the recovery of an 

13 ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or de14 stroyed, including the reestablishment of appropriate 

15 plant species composition and community structure. 

16 (5) UNPLANNED ECOSYSTEM DISTURBANCE.— 

17 The term ‘‘unplanned ecosystem disturbance’’ means 

18 any unplanned disturbance that disrupts the struc19 ture or composition of an ecosystem, including a 

20 wildfire, an infestation of insects or disease, and a 

21 weather event. 

22 Subtitle C—Litigation Reform 

23 SEC. 121. COMMONSENSE LITIGATION REFORM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—A court shall not enjoin a covered 

25 agency action if the court determines that the plaintiff is 
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1 unable to demonstrate that the claim of the plaintiff is 

2 likely to succeed on the merits. 

3 (b) BALANCING SHORT-AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS

4 OF COVERED AGENCY ACTION IN CONSIDERING INJUNC5 TIVE RELIEF.—As part of its weighing the equities while 

6 considering any request for an injunction that applies to 

7 a covered agency action, the court reviewing such action 

8 shall balance the impact to the ecosystem likely affected 

9 by such action of— 

10 (1) the short- and long-term effects of under11 taking such action; against 

12 (2) the short- and long-term effects of not un13 dertaking such action. 

14 (c) LIMITATIONS ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law (except this section), in the case of 

17 a claim arising under Federal law seeking judicial 

18 review of a covered agency action— 

19 (A) a court shall not hold unlawful, set 

20 aside, or otherwise limit, delay, stay, vacate, or 

21 enjoin such agency action unless the court de22 termines that— 

23 (i) such action poses or will pose a 

24 risk of a proximate and substantial envi25 ronmental harm; and 
50 

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1 (ii) there is no other equitable remedy 

2 available as a matter of law; and 

3 (B) if a court determines that subpara4 graph (A) does not apply to the covered agency 

5 action the only remedy the court may order 

6 with regard to such agency action is to remand 

7 the matter to the agency with instructions to, 

8 during the 180-day period beginning on the 

9 date of the order, take such additional actions 

10 as may be necessary to redress any legal wrong 

11 suffered by, or adverse effect on, the plaintiff, 

12 except such additional actions may not include 

13 the preparation of a new agency document un14 less the court finds the agency was required 

15 and failed to prepare such agency document. 

16 (2) EFFECT OF REMAND.—In the case of a cov17 ered agency action to which paragraph (1)(B) ap18 plies, the agency may— 

19 (A) continue to carry out such agency ac20 tion to the extent the action does not impact 

21 the additional actions required pursuant to such 

22 paragraph; and 

23 (B) if the agency action relates to an agen24 cy document, use any format to correct such 

25 document (including a supplemental environ-
51 

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1 mental document, memorandum, or errata 

2 sheet). 

3 (d) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of law (except this section), a claim arising 

5 under Federal law seeking judicial review of a covered 

6 agency action shall be barred unless— 

7 (1) with respect to an agency document or the 

8 application of a categorical exclusion noticed in the 

9 Federal Register, such claim is filed not later than 

10 120 days after the date of publication of a notice in 

11 the Federal Register of agency intent to carry out 

12 the fireshed management project relating to such 

13 agency document or application, unless a shorter pe14 riod is specified in such Federal law; 

15 (2) in the case of an agency document or the 

16 application of a categorical exclusion not described 

17 in paragraph (1), such claim is filed not later than 

18 120 days after the date that is the earlier of— 

19 (A) the date on which such agency docu20 ment or application is published; and 

21 (B) the date on which such agency docu22 ment or application is noticed; and 

23 (3) in the case of a covered agency action for 

24 which there was a public comment period, such 

25 claim— 
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1 (A) is filed by a party that— 

2 (i) participated in the administrative 

3 proceedings regarding the fireshed man4 agement project relating to such action; 

5 and 

6 (ii) submitted a comment during such 

7 public comment period and such comment 

8 was sufficiently detailed to put the applica9 ble agency on notice of the issue upon 

10 which the party seeks judicial review; and 

11 (B) is related to such comment. 

12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—ln this section: 

13 (1) AGENCY DOCUMENT.—The term ‘‘agency 

14 document’’ means, with respect to a fireshed man15 agement project, a record of decision, environmental 

16 document, or programmatic environmental docu17 ment. 

18 (2) COVERED AGENCY ACTION.—The term 

19 ‘‘covered agency action’’ means— 

20 (A) the establishment of a fireshed man21 agement project by an agency; 

22 (B) the application of a categorical exclu23 sion to a fireshed management project; 

24 (C) the preparation of any agency docu25 ment for a fireshed management project; or 
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1 (D) any other agency action as part of a 

2 fireshed management project. 

3 (3) NEPA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘categorical ex4 clusion’’, ‘‘environmental document’’, and ‘‘pro5 grammatic environmental document’’ have the mean6 ings given such terms, respectively, in section 111 of 

7 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4336e). 

9 SEC. 122. CONSULTATION ON FOREST PLANS. 

10 (a) FOREST SERVICE PLANS.—Section 6(d)(2) of the 

11 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

12 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(d)(2)) is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(2) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION RE15 QUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec17 retary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 

18 under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 

19 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of 

20 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

21 regulation), on a land management plan approved, 

22 amended, or revised under this section when— 

23 ‘‘(A) a new species is listed or critical habi24 tat is designated under the Endangered Species 

25 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 
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1 ‘‘(B) new information reveals effects of the 

2 land management plan that may affect a spe3 cies listed or critical habitat designated under 

4 that Act in a manner or to an extent not pre5 viously considered.’’. 

6 (b) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Sec7 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

8 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(g) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED

11 UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding 

12 any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not be re13 quired to reinitiate consultation under section 7(a)(2) of 

14 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

15 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 50, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations (or a successor regulation), on a land use plan 

17 approved, amended, or revised under this section when— 

18 ‘‘(1) a new species is listed or critical habitat 

19 is designated under the Endangered Species Act of 

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 

21 ‘‘(2) new information reveals effects of the land 

22 use plan that may affect a species listed or critical 

23 habitat designated under that Act in a manner or to 

24 an extent not previously considered.’’. 
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1 TITLE II—PROTECTING COMMU2 NITIES IN THE WILDLAND3 URBAN INTERFACE 

4 SEC. 201. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 

8 jointly establish an interagency program to be known as 

9 the ‘‘Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program’’ that 

10 shall consist of at least one representative from each of 

11 the following: 

12 (1) The Office of Wildland Fire of the Depart13 ment of the Interior. 

14 (2) The National Park Service. 

15 (3) The Bureau of Land Management. 

16 (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv17 ice. 

18 (5) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

19 (6) The Forest Service. 

20 (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agen21 cy. 

22 (8) The United States Fire Administration. 

23 (9) The National Institute of Standards and 

24 Technology. 
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1 (10) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program estab4 lished under subsection (a) is to support interagency co5 ordination in reducing the risk of, and the damages result6 ing from, wildfires in communities (including tribal com7 munities) in the wildland-urban interface through— 

8 (1) advancing research and science in wildfire 

9 resilience and land management, including support 

10 for non-Federal research partnerships; 

11 (2) supporting adoption by Indian Tribes and 

12 local governmental entities of fire-resistant building 

13 methods, codes, and standards; 

14 (3) supporting efforts by Indian Tribes or local 

15 governmental entities to address the effects of 

16 wildland fire on such communities, including prop17 erty damages, air quality, and water quality; 

18 (4) encouraging public-private partnerships to 

19 conduct hazardous fuels management activities in 

20 the wildland-urban interface; 

21 (5) providing technical and financial assistance 

22 targeted towards communities, including tribal com23 munities, through streamlined and unified technical 

24 assistance and grant management mechanisms, in-
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1 cluding the portal and grant application established 

2 under subsection (c), to— 

3 (A) encourage critical risk reduction meas4 ures on private property with high wildfire risk 

5 exposure in such communities; and 

6 (B) mitigate costs for and improve capac7 ity among such communities. 

8 (c) PORTAL AND UNIFORM GRANT APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program es10 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretaries and 

11 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man12 agement Agency shall establish a portal through 

13 which a person may submit a single, uniform appli14 cation for any of the following: 

15 (A) A community wildfire defense grant 

16 under section 40803(f) of the Infrastructure In17 vestment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(f)). 

18 (B) An emergency management perform19 ance grant under section 662 of the Post20 Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 

21 2006 (6 U.S.C. 761). 

22 (C) A grant under section 33 of the Fed23 eral Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

24 (15 U.S.C. 2229). 
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1 (D) A grant under section 34 of the Fed2 eral Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

3 (15 U.S.C. 2229a). 

4 (E) Financial or technical assistance or a 

5 grant under sections 203, 205, 404, 406, or 

6 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5133, 5135, 5170c, 5172, 5187). 

9 (2) SIMPLIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—In es10 tablishing the portal and application under para11 graph (1), the Secretaries and the Administrator 

12 shall seek to reduce the complexity and length of the 

13 application process for the grants described in para14 graph (1). 

15 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretaries 

16 shall provide technical assistance to communities or 

17 persons seeking to apply for financial assistance 

18 through the portal using the application established 

19 under paragraph (1). 

20 (d) SUNSET.—The program established under this 

21 section shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 202. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE RESEARCH PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall, acting 

4 jointly, expand the Joint Fire Science Program to include 

5 a performance-driven research and development program 

6 known as the ‘‘Community Wildfire Defense Research 

7 Program’’ for the purpose of testing and advancing inno8 vative designs to create or improve the wildfire-resistance 

9 of structures and communities. 

10 (b) PROGRAM PRIORITIES.—In carrying out the pro11 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretaries 

12 shall evaluate opportunities to create wildfire-resistant 

13 structures and communities through— 

14 (1) different affordable building materials, in15 cluding mass timber; 

16 (2) home hardening, including policies to 

17 incentivize and incorporate defensible space; 

18 (3) subdivision design and other land use plan19 ning and design; 

20 (4) landscape architecture; and 

21 (5) other wildfire-resistant designs, as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

23 (c) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE INNOVATION

24 PRIZE.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

26 established under subsection (a), the Secretaries 
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1 shall carry out a competition through which a person 

2 may submit to the Secretaries innovative designs for 

3 the creation or improvement of an ignition-resistant 

4 structure or fire-adapted communities. 

5 (2) PRIZE.—Subject to the availability of ap6 propriations made in advance for such purpose, the 

7 Secretaries may award a prize under the competition 

8 described in paragraph (1), based on criteria estab9 lished by the Secretaries and in accordance with 

10 paragraph (3). 

11 (3) SCALE.—In awarding a prize under para12 graph (2), the Secretaries shall prioritize for an 

13 award designs with the most potential to scale to ex14 isting infrastructure. 

15 (d) COLLABORATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In 

16 carrying out the program established under subsection (a), 

17 the Secretaries shall ensure collaboration and nonduplica18 tion of activities with the Building Technologies Office of 

19 the Department of Energy. 

20 (e) SUNSET.—The program established under sub21 section (a) shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 203. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC2 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

3 RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 

4 DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

5 (a) HAZARD TREES WITHIN 150 FEET OF ELECTRIC

6 POWER LINE.—Section 512(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Federal 

7 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

8 1772(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘10’’ and in9 serting ‘‘150’’. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION WITH PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.— 

11 Section 512(c)(3)(E) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 

12 1772(c)(3)(E)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in15 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(iii) consulting with a private land18 owner with respect to any hazard trees 

19 identified for removal from land owned by 

20 the private landowner.’’. 

21 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—Section 

22 512(c)(4)(A)(iv) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 

23 1772(c)(4)(A)(iv)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(iv) ensures that— 

25 ‘‘(I) a plan submitted without a 

26 modification under clause (iii) shall be 
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1 automatically approved 120 days after 

2 being submitted; and 

3 ‘‘(II) with respect to a plan sub4 mitted with a modification under 

5 clause (iii), if not approved within 120 

6 days after being submitted, the Sec7 retary concerned shall develop and 

8 submit a letter to the owner and oper9 ator describing— 

10 ‘‘(aa) a detailed timeline (to 

11 conclude within 165 days after 

12 the submission of the plan) for 

13 completing review of the plan; 

14 ‘‘(bb) any identified defi15 ciencies with the plan and spe16 cific opportunities for the owner 

17 and operator to address such de18 ficiencies; and 

19 ‘‘(cc) any other relevant in20 formation, as determined by the 

21 Secretary concerned.’’. 

22 SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ELECTRIC UTIL23 ITY LINES RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

24 (a) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION ESTABLISHED.—For25 est management activities described in subsection (b) are 
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1 a category of activities hereby designated as being cat2 egorically excluded from the preparation of an environ3 mental assessment or an environmental impact statement 

4 under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 

5 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

6 (b) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES DESIGNATED

7 FOR CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The forest management 

8 activities designated under subsection (a) for a categorical 

9 exclusion are— 

10 (1) the development and approval of a vegeta11 tion management, facility inspection, and operation 

12 and maintenance plan submitted under section 

13 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage14 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)) by the 

15 Secretary concerned; and 

16 (2) the implementation of routine activities con17 ducted under the plan referred to in paragraph (1). 

18 (c) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 

19 On and after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary concerned may use the categorical exclusion estab21 lished under subsection (a) in accordance with this section. 

22 (d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS FROM CATEGOR23 ICAL EXCLUSION.—The categorical exclusion established 

24 under subsection (a) shall not apply to any forest manage25 ment activity conducted— 
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1 (1) in a component of the National Wilderness 

2 Preservation System; or 

3 (2) on National Forest System lands on which 

4 the removal of vegetation is restricted or prohibited 

5 by an Act of Congress. 

6 (e) PERMANENT ROADS.— 

7 (1) PROHIBITION ON ESTABLISHMENT.—A for8 est management activity designated under subsection 

9 (b) shall not include the establishment of a perma10 nent road. 

11 (2) EXISTING ROADS.—The Secretary con12 cerned may carry out necessary maintenance and re13 pair on an existing permanent road for the purposes 

14 of conducting a forest management activity des15 ignated under subsection (b). 

16 (3) TEMPORARY ROADS.—The Secretary con17 cerned shall decommission any temporary road con18 structed for carrying out a forest management activ19 ity designated under subsection (b) not later than 

20 the date that is 3 years after the date on which the 

21 forest management activity is completed. 

22 (f) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Clauses (iii) and (iv) of sec23 tion 106(a)(3) shall apply to forest management activities 

24 designated under subsection (b). 
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1 SEC. 205. SEEDS OF SUCCESS. 

2 (a) STRATEGY ESTABLISHED.—Not later than 2 

3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre4 taries and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly develop 

5 and implement a strategy, to be known as the ‘‘Seeds of 

6 Success strategy’’, to enhance the domestic supply chain 

7 of seeds. 

8 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub9 section (a) shall include a plan for each of the following: 

10 (1) Facilitating sustained interagency coordina11 tion in, and a comprehensive approach to, native 

12 plant materials development and restoration. 

13 (2) Promoting the re-seeding of native or fire14 resistant vegetation post-wildfire, particularly in the 

15 wildland-urban interface. 

16 (3) Creating and consolidating information on 

17 native or fire-resistant vegetation and sharing such 

18 information with State governments, Indian Tribes, 

19 and local governments. 

20 (4) Building regional programs and partner21 ships to promote the development of materials made 

22 from plants native to the United States and restore 

23 such plants to their respective, native habitats within 

24 the United States, giving priority to the building of 

25 such programs and partnerships in regions of the 

26 Bureau of Land Management where such partner-
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1 ships and programs do not already exist as of the 

2 date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (5) Expanding seed storage and seed-cleaning 

4 infrastructure. 

5 (6) Expanding the Warehouse System of the 

6 Bureau of Land Management, particularly the cold 

7 storage capacity of the Warehouse System. 

8 (7) Shortening the timeline for the approval of 

9 permits to collect seeds on public lands managed by 

10 the Bureau of Land Management. 

11 (c) REPORT.—The Secretaries and the Secretary of 

12 Defense shall submit to the relevant Congressional Com13 mittees the strategy developed under paragraph (1). 

14 TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND 

15 TECHNOLOGY 

16 SEC. 301. BIOCHAR INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES 

17 FOR CONSERVATION, HEALTH, AND AD18 VANCEMENTS IN RESEARCH. 

19 (a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the avail22 ability of appropriations made in advance for 

23 such purpose, not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the covered Sec25 retaries shall establish a program to enter into 
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1 partnerships with eligible entities to carry out 

2 demonstration projects to support the develop3 ment and commercialization of biochar in ac4 cordance with this subsection. 

5 (B) LOCATION OF DEMONSTRATION

6 PROJECTS.—In carrying out the program estab7 lished under subparagraph (A), the covered 

8 Secretaries shall, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, enter into partnerships with eligible en10 tities such that not fewer than one demonstra11 tion project is carried out in each region of the 

12 Forest Service and each region of the Bureau 

13 of Land Management. 

14 (2) PROPOSALS.—To be eligible to enter into a 

15 partnership to carry out a biochar demonstration 

16 project under paragraph (1)(A), an eligible entity 

17 shall submit to the covered Secretaries a proposal at 

18 such time, in such manner, and containing such in19 formation as the covered Secretaries may require. 

20 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting proposals under 

21 paragraph (2), the covered Secretaries shall give pri22 ority to entering into partnerships with eligible enti23 ties that submit proposals to carry out biochar dem24 onstration projects that— 
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1 (A) have the most carbon sequestration po2 tential; 

3 (B) have the most potential to create new 

4 jobs and contribute to local economies, particu5 larly in rural areas; 

6 (C) have the most potential to dem7 onstrate— 

8 (i) new and innovative uses of biochar; 

9 (ii) market viability for cost effective 

10 biochar-based products; 

11 (iii) the ecosystem services created or 

12 supported by the use of biochar; 

13 (iv) the restorative benefits of biochar 

14 with respect to forest heath and resiliency, 

15 including forest soils and watersheds; or 

16 (v) any combination of purposes speci17 fied in clauses (i) through (iv); and 

18 (D) are located in areas that have a high 

19 need for biochar production, as determined by 

20 the covered Secretaries, due to— 

21 (i) nearby lands identified as having 

22 high or very high or extreme risk of wild23 fire; 

24 (ii) availability of sufficient quantities 

25 of feedstocks; 
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1 (iii) a high level of demand for 

2 biochar or other commercial byproducts of 

3 biochar; or 

4 (iv) any combination of purposes spec5 ified in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

6 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—In carrying out the pro7 gram established under paragraph (1)(A), the cov8 ered Secretaries may enter into partnerships and 

9 provide funding to such partnerships to carry out 

10 demonstration projects to— 

11 (A) acquire and test various feedstocks and 

12 their efficacy; 

13 (B) develop and optimize commercially and 

14 technologically viable biochar production units, 

15 including mobile and permanent units; 

16 (C) demonstrate— 

17 (i) the production of biochar from for18 est residue; and 

19 (ii) the use of biochar to restore forest 

20 health and resiliency; 

21 (D) build, expand, or establish biochar fa22 cilities; 

23 (E) conduct research on new and innova24 tive uses of biochar; 
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1 (F) demonstrate cost-effective market op2 portunities for biochar and biochar-based prod3 ucts; 

4 (G) carry out any other activities the cov5 ered Secretaries determine appropriate; or 

6 (H) any combination of the purposes speci7 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (F). 

8 (5) FEEDSTOCK REQUIREMENTS.—To the max9 imum extent practicable, an eligible entity that car10 ries out a biochar demonstration project under this 

11 subsection shall, with respect to the feedstock used 

12 under such project, derive at least 50 percent of 

13 such feedstock from forest thinning and manage14 ment activities, including mill residues, conducted on 

15 National Forest System lands or public lands. 

16 (6) REVIEW OF BIOCHAR DEMONSTRATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The covered Secretaries 

18 shall conduct regionally-specific research, in19 cluding economic analyses and life-cycle assess20 ments, on any biochar produced from a dem21 onstration project carried out under the pro22 gram established in paragraph (1)(A), includ23 ing— 

24 (i) the effects of such biochar on— 

25 (I) forest health and resiliency; 
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1 (II) carbon capture and seques2 tration, including increasing soil car3 bon in the short-term and long-term; 

4 (III) productivity, reduced input 

5 costs, and water retention in agricul6 tural practices; 

7 (IV) the health of soil and grass8 lands used for grazing activities, in9 cluding grazing activities on National 

10 Forest System land and public land; 

11 (V) environmental remediation 

12 activities, including abandoned mine 

13 land remediation; and 

14 (VI) other ecosystem services cre15 ated or supported by the use of 

16 biochar; 

17 (ii) the effectiveness of biochar as a 

18 co-product of biofuels or in biochemicals; 

19 and 

20 (iii) the effectiveness of other poten21 tial uses of biochar to determine if any 

22 such use is technologically and commer23 cially viable. 

24 (B) COORDINATION.—The covered Secre25 taries shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
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1 provide data, analyses, and other relevant infor2 mation collected under subparagraph (A) with 

3 recipients of a grant under subsection (b). 

4 (7) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR ESTAB5 LISHING BIOCHAR FACILITIES.—If the covered Sec6 retaries provide to an eligible entity that enters into 

7 a partnership with the covered Secretaries under 

8 paragraph (1)(A) funding for establishing a biochar 

9 facility, such funding may not exceed 35 percent of 

10 the total capital cost of establishing such biochar fa11 cility. 

12 (b) BIOCHAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT

13 PROGRAM.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In15 terior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

16 shall establish or expand an existing applied biochar 

17 research and development grant program to make 

18 competitive grants to eligible institutions to carry 

19 out the activities described in paragraph (3). 

20 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

21 grant under this subsection, an eligible institution 

22 shall submit to the Secretary a proposal at such 

23 time, in such manner, and containing such informa24 tion as the Secretary may require. 
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1 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution 

2 that receives a grant under this subsection shall use 

3 the grant funds to conduct applied research on— 

4 (A) the effect of biochar on forest health 

5 and resiliency, accounting for variations in 

6 biochar, soil, climate, and other factors; 

7 (B) the effect of biochar on soil health and 

8 water retention, accounting for variations in 

9 biochar, soil, climate, and other factors; 

10 (C) the long-term carbon sequestration po11 tential of biochar; 

12 (D) the best management practices with 

13 respect to biochar and biochar-based products 

14 that maximize— 

15 (i) carbon sequestration benefits; and 

16 (ii) the commercial viability and appli17 cation of such products in forestry, agri18 culture, environmental remediation, water 

19 quality improvement, and any other similar 

20 uses, as determined by the Secretary; 

21 (E) the regional uses of biochar to increase 

22 productivity and profitability, including— 

23 (i) uses in agriculture and environ24 mental remediation; and 
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1 (ii) use as a co-product in fuel produc2 tion; 

3 (F) new and innovative uses for biochar 

4 byproducts; and 

5 (G) opportunities to expand markets for 

6 biochar and create related jobs, particularly in 

7 rural areas. 

8 (c) REPORTS.— 

9 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 

10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

11 covered Secretaries shall submit to Congress a re12 port that— 

13 (A) includes policy and program rec14 ommendations to improve the widespread use of 

15 biochar; 

16 (B) identifies any area of research needed 

17 to advance biochar commercialization; and 

18 (C) identifies barriers to further biochar 

19 commercialization, including permitting and 

20 siting considerations. 

21 (2) MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF

22 THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—Beginning with the 

23 second fiscal year that begins after the date of en24 actment of this Act and annually thereafter until the 

25 date described in subsection (d), the covered Secre-
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1 taries shall include in the materials submitted to 

2 Congress in support of the President’s budget pursu3 ant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, 

4 a report describing, for the fiscal year covered by the 

5 report, the status of each demonstration project car6 ried out under subsection (a) and each research and 

7 development grant carried out under subsection (b). 

8 (d) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this section 

9 shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act. 

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) BIOCHAR.—The term ‘‘biochar’’ means car13 bonized biomass produced by converting feedstock 

14 through reductive thermal processing for non-fuel 

15 uses. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti17 ty’’ means— 

18 (A) a State, local, special district, or Tribal 

19 government; 

20 (B) an eligible institution; 

21 (C) a private, non-private, or cooperative 

22 entity or organization; 

23 (D) a National Laboratory (as such term 

24 is defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act 

25 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); or 
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1 (E) a partnership or consortium of two or 

2 more entities described in subparagraphs (A) 

3 through (D). 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi5 ble institution’’ means land-grant colleges and uni6 versities, including institutions eligible for funding 

7 under the— 

8 (A) Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, 

9 chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 

10 (B) Act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 417, 

11 chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including 

12 Tuskegee University; 

13 (C) Public Law 87–788 (commonly known 

14 as the ‘‘McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962’’); or 

15 (D) Equity in Educational Land-Grant 

16 Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public 

17 Law 103–382). 

18 (4) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 

19 excess biomass in the form of plant matter or mate20 rials that serves as the raw material for the produc21 tion of biochar. 

22 (5) COVERED SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘cov23 ered Secretaries’’ means— 

24 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

25 through the Chief of the Forest Service; 
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1 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

2 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

3 Management; and 

4 (C) the Secretary of Energy, acting 

5 through the Director of the Office of Science. 

6 SEC. 302. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE7 PORTS. 

8 (a) INCLUSION OF HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION

9 REPORT IN MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE

10 PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis12 cal year that begins after the date of enactment of 

13 this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec14 retary concerned shall include in the materials sub15 mitted to Congress in support of the President’s 

16 budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United 

17 States Code, a report on the number of acres of 

18 Federal land on which the Secretary concerned car19 ried out hazardous fuels reduction activities during 

20 the preceding fiscal year. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re22 port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

23 concerned shall— 

24 (A) in determining the number of acres of 

25 Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 
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1 carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 

2 during the period covered by the report— 

3 (i) record acres of Federal land on 

4 which hazardous fuels reduction activities 

5 were completed during such period; and 

6 (ii) record each acre described in 

7 clause (i) once in the report, regardless of 

8 whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 

9 activities were carried out on such acre 

10 during such period; and 

11 (B) with respect to the acres of Federal 

12 land recorded in the report, include information 

13 on— 

14 (i) which such acres are located in the 

15 wildland-urban interface; 

16 (ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 

17 moderate, or low) on the first and last day 

18 of the period covered by the report; 

19 (iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac20 tivities completed for such acres, delin21 eating between whether such activities 

22 were conducted— 

23 (I) in a wildfire managed for re24 source benefits; or 

25 (II) through a planned project; 
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1 (iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 

2 fuels activities carried out during the pe3 riod covered by the report; 

4 (v) the region or system unit in which 

5 the acres are located; and 

6 (vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 

7 fuels reduction activities on reducing the 

8 risk of wildfire. 

9 (3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 

10 shall make each report submitted under paragraph 

11 (1) publicly available on the websites of the Depart12 ment of Agriculture and the Department of the Inte13 rior, as applicable. 

14 (b) ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary con17 cerned shall implement standardized procedures for 

18 tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduction 

19 activities carried out by the Secretary concerned. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 

21 required under paragraph (1) shall include— 

22 (A) regular, standardized data reviews of 

23 the accuracy and timely input of data used to 

24 track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 
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1 (B) verification methods that validate 

2 whether such data accurately correlates to the 

3 hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 

4 by the Secretary concerned; 

5 (C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 

6 effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 

7 activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 

8 (D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 

9 that occur partially within the wildland-urban 

10 interface, methods to distinguish which acres 

11 are located within the wildland-urban interface 

12 and which acres are located outside the 

13 wildland-urban interface. 

14 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im15 plementing the standardized procedures required 

16 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 

17 submit to Congress a report that describes— 

18 (A) such standardized procedures; and 

19 (B) program and policy recommendations 

20 to Congress to address any limitations in track21 ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 

22 activities under this subsection. 

23 (c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States shall— 
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1 (1) conduct a study on the implementation of 

2 this section, including any limitations with respect 

3 to— 

4 (A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac5 tivities under subsection (a); or 

6 (B) tracking data related to hazardous 

7 fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 

8 and 

9 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

10 the results of the study under paragraph (1). 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ACTIV13 ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ14 ity’’— 

15 (A) means any vegetation management ac16 tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 

17 mechanical treatments, grazing, and prescribed 

18 burning; and 

19 (B) does not include the awarding of con20 tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac21 tivities. 

22 (2) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

23 lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 

24 Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri25 culture. 
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1 (e) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi2 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 

3 of this section, and the activities authorized by this section 

4 are subject to the availability of appropriations made in 

5 advance for such purposes. 

6 SEC. 303. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DE7 PLOYMENT AND DEMONSTRATION PARTNER8 SHIP. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

11 agency’’ means— 

12 (A) each Federal land management agency 

13 (as such term is defined in the Federal Lands 

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

15 6801)); 

16 (B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

17 Administration; 

18 (C) the United States Fire Administration; 

19 (D) the Federal Emergency Management 

20 Agency; 

21 (E) the National Aeronautics and Space 

22 Administration; 

23 (F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

24 (G) the Department of Defense; 
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1 (H) a State, Tribal, county, or municipal 

2 fire department or district operating through 

3 the United States Fire Administration or pur4 suant to an agreement with a Federal agency; 

5 and 

6 (I) any other Federal agency involved in 

7 wildfire response. 

8 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en9 tity’’ means— 

10 (A) a private entity; 

11 (B) a nonprofit organization; or 

12 (C) an institution of higher education (as 

13 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 

15 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordina17 tion with the heads of the covered agencies, shall establish 

18 a deployment and demonstration pilot program (in this 

19 section referred to as ‘‘Pilot Program’’) for new and inno20 vative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and 

21 mitigation technologies. 

22 (c) FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the Pilot Program, 

23 the Secretaries shall— 

24 (1) incorporate the Pilot Program into the Na25 tional Wildfire Coordinating Group; 
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1 (2) in consultation with the heads of covered 

2 agencies, identify and advance the demonstration 

3 and deployment of key technology priority areas with 

4 respect to wildfire prevention, detection, communica5 tion, and mitigation technologies, including— 

6 (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments 

7 or activities; 

8 (B) dispatch communications; 

9 (C) remote sensing, detection, and track10 ing; 

11 (D) safety equipment; 

12 (E) common operating pictures or oper13 ational dashboards; and 

14 (F) interoperable commercial data; and 

15 (3) connect each covered entity selected to par16 ticipate in the Pilot Program with the appropriate 

17 covered agency to coordinate real-time and on-the18 ground testing of technology during wildland fire 

19 mitigation activities and training. 

20 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to be selected to 

21 participate in the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall 

22 submit to the Secretaries an application at such time, in 

23 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec24 retaries may require, including a proposal to demonstrate 
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1 technologies specific to the key technology priority areas 

2 identified pursuant to subsection (c)(2). 

3 (e) PRIORITIZATION OF EMERGING TECH4 NOLOGIES.—In selecting covered entities to participate in 

5 the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall give priority to 

6 covered entities— 

7 (1) that have participated in the Fire Weather 

8 Testbed of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

9 Administration; or 

10 (2) developing and applying emerging tech11 nologies for wildfire mitigation, including artificial 

12 intelligence, quantum sensing, computing and quan13 tum-hybrid applications, thermal mid-wave infrared 

14 equipped low earth orbit satellites, augmented re15 ality, 5G private networks, and device-to-device com16 munications supporting nomadic mesh networks and 

17 detection. 

18 (f) OUTREACH.—The Secretaries, in coordination 

19 with the heads of covered agencies, shall make public the 

20 key technology priority areas identified pursuant to sub21 section (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply under 

22 subsection (d) to deploy and demonstrate their tech23 nologies to address such priority areas. 

24 (g) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

25 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
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1 annually thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Program, 

2 the Secretaries shall submit to the relevant Congressional 

3 Committees, the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech4 nology of the House of Representatives, and the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate a report that includes, with respect to the Pilot 

7 Program, the following: 

8 (1) A list of participating covered entities. 

9 (2) A brief description of the technologies de10 ployed and demonstrated by each such covered enti11 ty. 

12 (3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring each 

13 such technology and applying the technology at 

14 scale. 

15 (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to cov16 ered entities developing wildfire technologies. 

17 (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat18 ing to, new technologies with potential adoption and 

19 application at-scale in Federal land management 

20 agencies’ wildfire prevention, detection, communica21 tion, and mitigation efforts. 

22 (6) A description of the relationship and coordi23 nation between the Pilot Program and the activities 

24 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis25 tration, including the Fire Weather Testbed. 
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1 (h) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this section 

2 shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 304. GAO STUDY ON FOREST SERVICE POLICIES. 

5 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall— 

8 (1) conduct a study evaluating— 

9 (A) the effectiveness of Forest Service 

10 wildland firefighting operations; 

11 (B) transparency and accountability meas12 ures in the Forest Service’s budget and ac13 counting process; and 

14 (C) the suitability and feasibility of estab15 lishing a new Federal agency with the responsi16 bility of responding and suppressing wildland 

17 fires on Federal lands; and 

18 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

19 the results of the study required under paragraph 

20 (1). 

21 SEC. 305. FOREST SERVICE WESTERN HEADQUARTERS 

22 STUDY. 

23 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Chief of the Forest Service shall— 

25 (1) conduct a study evaluating— 
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1 (A) potential locations for a Western head2 quarters for the Forest Service, including po3 tential locations in at least 3 different States lo4 cated west of the Mississippi river; and 

5 (B) the potential benefits of creating a 

6 Western headquarters for the Forest Service, 

7 including expected— 

8 (i) improvements to customer service; 

9 (ii) improvements to employee recruit10 ment and retention; and 

11 (iii) operational efficiencies and cost 

12 savings; and 

13 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

14 the results of the study required under paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 SEC. 306. KEEPING FOREST PLANS CURRENT AND MON17 ITORED. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

19 (1) to the greatest extent practicable and sub20 ject to the availability of appropriations made in ad21 vance for such purpose— 

22 (A) ensure forest plans comply with the re23 quirements of section 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest 

24 and Rangeland Resources Planning Act of 1974 

25 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)(A)); and 
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1 (B) prioritize revising any forest plan not 

2 in compliance with such section 6(f)(5)(A); 

3 (2) not be considered to be in violation of sec4 tion 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew5 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

6 1604(f)(5)(A)) solely because more than 15 years 

7 have passed without revision of the plan for a unit 

8 of the National Forest System; 

9 (3) not later than 120 days after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act, submit to the relevant 

11 Congressional Committees the date on which each 

12 forest plan required by such section 6 was most re13 cently revised, amended, or modified; 

14 (4) seek to publish a new, complete version of 

15 a forest plan that the Secretary has been directed to 

16 amend, revise, or modify by a court order within 60 

17 days of such amendment, revision, or modification, 

18 subject to the availability of appropriations made in 

19 advance for such purpose; and 

20 (5) maintain a central, publicly accessible 

21 website with links to— 

22 (A) the most recently available forest plan 

23 adopted, amended, or modified by a court order 

24 as a single document; and 
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1 (B) the most recently published forest plan 

2 monitoring report for each unit of the National 

3 Forest System. 

4 (b) GOOD FAITH UPDATES.—If the Secretary is not 

5 acting expeditiously and in good faith, within the funding 

6 available to revise, amend, or modify a plan for a unit 

7 of the National Forest System as required by law or a 

8 court order, subsection (a) shall be void with respect to 

9 such plan and a court of proper jurisdiction may order 

10 completion of the plan on an accelerated basis. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

13 a report to the relevant Congressional Committees sum14 marizing the implementation of this section. 

15 SEC. 307. CONTAINER AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM 

16 (CAFFS). 

17 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri19 culture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

20 with the National Interagency Aviation Committee and the 

21 Interagency Airtanker Board, shall jointly conduct an 

22 evaluation of the container aerial firefighting system to as23 sess the use of such system to mitigate and suppress 

24 wildfires. 
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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

3 and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 

4 National Interagency Aviation Committee and the Inter5 agency Airtanker Board, shall jointly submit to the appro6 priate committees a report that includes the results of the 

7 evaluation required under subsection (a). 

8 (c) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES DEFINED.—In this 

9 section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees’’ means— 

10 (1) the Committees on Agriculture and Natural 

11 Resources of the House of Representatives; and 

12 (2) the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

13 and Forestry and Energy and Natural Resources of 

14 the Senate. 

15 SEC. 308. STUDY ON PINE BEETLE INFESTATION. 

16 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

18 the Chief of the Forest Service, shall— 

19 (1) carry out a study on the causes and effects 

20 of, and solutions for, the infestation of pine beetles 

21 in the North Eastern region of the United States; 

22 and 

23 (2) submit to the relevant Congressional Com24 mittees a report that includes the results of the 

25 study required under paragraph (1). 
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1 TITLE IV—ENSURING CASUALTY 

2 ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIRE3 FIGHTERS 

4 SEC. 401. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 6 

7 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of the Interior shall develop a Wildland Fire 

9 Management Casualty Assistance Program (referred to in 

10 this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to provide assistance to 

11 the next-of-kin of— 

12 (1) firefighters who, while in the line of duty, 

13 suffer illness or are critically injured or killed; and 

14 (2) wildland fire support personnel critically in15 jured or killed in the line of duty. 

16 (b) ASPECTS OF PROGRAM.—The Program shall ad17 dress the following: 

18 (1) The initial and any subsequent notifications 

19 to the next-of-kin of a firefighter or wildland fire 

20 support personnel who— 

21 (A) is killed in the line of duty; or 

22 (B) requires hospitalization or treatment 

23 at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 

24 or illness. 
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1 (2) The reimbursement of next-of-kin for ex2 penses associated with travel to visit a firefighter or 

3 wildland fire support personnel who— 

4 (A) is killed in the line of duty; or 

5 (B) requires hospitalization or treatment 

6 at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 

7 or illness. 

8 (3) The qualifications, assignment, training, du9 ties, supervision, and accountability for the perform10 ance of casualty assistance responsibilities. 

11 (4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance 

12 officers, including notification to survivors of critical 

13 injury or illness in the line of duty and next-of-kin 

14 of the reassignment of such officers to other duties. 

15 (5) Centralized, short-term and long-term case 

16 management procedures for casualty assistance, in17 cluding rapid access by survivors of firefighters or 

18 wildland fire support personnel and casualty assist19 ance officers to expert case managers and coun20 selors. 

21 (6) The provision, through a computer acces22 sible website and other means and at no cost to sur23 vivors and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire 

24 support personnel, of personalized, integrated infor-
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1 mation on the benefits and financial assistance avail2 able to such survivors from the Federal Government. 

3 (7) The provision of information to survivors 

4 and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire sup5 port personnel on mechanisms for registering com6 plaints about, or requests for, additional assistance 

7 related to casualty assistance. 

8 (8) Liaison with the Department of the Inte9 rior, the Department of Justice, and the Social Se10 curity Administration to ensure prompt and accurate 

11 resolution of issues relating to benefits administered 

12 by those agencies for survivors of firefighters or 

13 wildland fire support personnel. 

14 (9) Data collection, in consultation with the 

15 United States Fire Administration and the National 

16 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, re17 garding the incidence and quality of casualty assist18 ance provided to survivors of firefighters or wildland 

19 fire support personnel. 

20 (c) LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFITS.—The Pro21 gram shall not affect existing authorities for Line of Duty 

22 Death benefits for Federal firefighters and wildland fire 

23 support personnel. 

24 (d) NEXT-OF-KIN DEFINED.—In this section, the 

25 term ‘‘next-of-kin’’ means person or persons in the highest 
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1 category of priority as determined by the following list 

2 (categories appear in descending order of priority): 

3 (1) Surviving legal spouse. 

4 (2) Children (whether by current or prior mar5 riage) age 18 years or older in descending prece6 dence by age. 

7 (3) Father or mother, unless by court order 

8 custody has been vested in another (adoptive parent 

9 takes precedence over natural parent). 

10 (4) Siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or 

11 older in descending precedence by age. 

12 (5) Grandfather or grandmother. 

13 (6) Any other relative (precedence to be deter14 mined in accordance with the civil law of descent of 

15 the deceased former member’s State of domicile at 

16 time of death). 

17 TITLE V—WHITE OAK 

18 RESILIENCE 

19 SEC. 501. WHITE OAK RESTORATION INITIATIVE COALI20 TION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The White Oak Restoration Ini22 tiative Coalition shall be established— 

23 (1) as a voluntary collaborative group of Fed24 eral, State, Tribal, and local governments and pri-
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1 vate and non-governmental organizations to carry 

2 out the duties described in subsection (b); and 

3 (2) in accordance with the charter titled ‘‘White 

4 Oak Initiative Coalition Charter’’ adopted by the 

5 White Oak Initiative Board of Directors on March 

6 21, 2023 (or a successor charter). 

7 (b) DUTIES.—In addition to the duties specified in 

8 the charter described in subsection (a)(2), the duties of 

9 the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition are— 

10 (1) to coordinate Federal, State, Tribal, local, 

11 private, and non-governmental restoration of white 

12 oak in the United States; and 

13 (2) to make program and policy recommenda14 tions, consistent with applicable forest management 

15 plans, with respect to— 

16 (A) changes necessary to address Federal 

17 and State policies that impede activities to im18 prove the health, resiliency, and natural regen19 eration of white oak; 

20 (B) adopting or modifying Federal and 

21 State policies to increase the pace and scale of 

22 white oak regeneration and resiliency of white 

23 oak; 

24 (C) options to enhance communication, co25 ordination, and collaboration between forest 
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1 land owners, particularly for cross-boundary 

2 projects, to improve the health, resiliency, and 

3 natural regeneration of white oak; 

4 (D) research gaps that should be ad5 dressed to improve the best available science on 

6 white oak; 

7 (E) outreach to forest landowners with 

8 white oak or white oak regeneration potential; 

9 and 

10 (F) options and policies necessary to im11 prove the quality and quantity of white oak in 

12 tree nurseries. 

13 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV14 ICES, AND STAFF SUPPORT.—The Secretary of the Inte15 rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall make such per16 sonnel available to the White Oak Restoration Initiative 

17 Coalition for administrative support, technical services, 

18 and development and dissemination of educational mate19 rials as the Secretaries determine necessary to carry out 

20 this section. 

21 (d) PRIVATE FUNDING OF WHITE OAK RESTORA22 TION PROJECTS.—Subject to the availability of appropria23 tions made in advance for such purpose, the Secretary of 

24 Agriculture may make funds available to the White Oak 

25 Restoration Initiative Coalition to carry out this section 
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1 from the account established pursuant to section 1241(f) 

2 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(f)). 

3 SEC. 502. FOREST SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act5 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish 

6 and carry out 5 pilot projects in national forests to restore 

7 white oak in such forests through white oak restoration 

8 and natural regeneration practices that are consistent with 

9 applicable forest management plans. 

10 (b) NATIONAL FORESTS RESERVED OR WITHDRAWN

11 FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.—At least 3 pilot projects re12 quired under subsection (a) shall be carried out on na13 tional forests reserved or withdrawn from the public do14 main. 

15 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO COOPERATIVE

16 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of Agriculture may enter 

17 into cooperative agreements to carry out the pilot projects 

18 required under subsection (a). 

19 (d) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

20 terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 503. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WHITE OAK RE23 VIEW AND RESTORATION. 

24 (a) ASSESSMENT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte2 rior shall carry out an assessment of land under the 

3 administrative jurisdiction of the Department of the 

4 Interior, including fish and wildlife refuges and 

5 abandoned mine land, to evaluate— 

6 (A) whether white oak is present on such 

7 land; and 

8 (B) the potential to restore white oak for9 ests on such land. 

10 (2) USE OF INFORMATION.—In carrying out the 

11 assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 

12 use information from sources other than the Depart13 ment of the Interior, including from the White Oak 

14 Initiative and the Forest Service. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

17 shall submit to Congress, and make publicly avail18 able on the website of the Department of the Inte19 rior, a report regarding the results of the assessment 

20 carried out under this subsection. 

21 (b) PILOT PROJECTS.—After the date on which the 

22 report required under subsection (a)(3) is submitted, the 

23 Secretary shall establish and carry out 5 pilot projects in 

24 different areas of land described in subsection (a)(1) to 

25 restore and naturally regenerate white oak. 
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1 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO COOPERATIVE

2 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of the Interior may enter 

3 into cooperative agreements to carry out the pilot projects 

4 required under subsection (b). 

5 (d) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

6 terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 504. WHITE OAK REGENERATION AND UPLAND OAK 

9 HABITAT. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

13 shall establish a non-regulatory program to be known as 

14 the ‘‘White Oak and Upland Oak Habitat Regeneration 

15 Program’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

16 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Sec17 retary shall— 

18 (1) draw upon the best available science and 

19 management plans for species of white oak to iden20 tify, prioritize, and implement restoration and con21 servation activities that will improve the growth of 

22 white oak within the United States; 

23 (2) collaborate and coordinate with the White 

24 Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition to prioritize 

25 white oak restoration initiatives; 
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1 (3) adopt a white oak restoration strategy 

2 that— 

3 (A) supports the implementation of a 

4 shared set of science-based restoration and con5 servation activities developed in accordance with 

6 paragraph (1); 

7 (B) targets cost effective projects with 

8 measurable results; and 

9 (C) maximizes restoration outcomes with 

10 no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em11 ployees; and 

12 (4) establish the voluntary grant and technical 

13 assistance programs in accordance with subsection 

14 (e). 

15 (c) COORDINATION.—In establishing the Program 

16 the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv17 ice, shall consult with— 

18 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 

19 (A) the Director of the United States Fish 

20 and Wildlife Service; and 

21 (B) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

22 Conservation Service; and 

23 (2) the Governor of each State in which res24 toration efforts will be carried out pursuant to the 

25 Program. 
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1 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program in2 clude— 

3 (1) coordinating restoration and conservation 

4 activities among Federal, State, local, and Tribal en5 tities and conservation partners to address white oak 

6 restoration priorities; 

7 (2) improving and regenerating white oak and 

8 upland oak forests and the wildlife habitat such for9 ests provide; 

10 (3) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

11 conservation activities that lead to the increased 

12 growth of species of white oak in native white oak 

13 regions on Federal, State, Tribal, and private land; 

14 (4) facilitating strategic planning to maximize 

15 the resilience of white oak systems and habitats 

16 under changing climate conditions; 

17 (5) engaging the public through outreach, edu18 cation, and citizen involvement to increase capacity 

19 and support for coordinated restoration and con20 servation activities for species of white oak; and 

21 (6) increasing scientific capacity to support the 

22 planning, monitoring, and research activities nec23 essary to carry out such coordinated restoration and 

24 conservation activities. 

25 (e) GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that funds are 

2 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

3 shall establish a voluntary grant and technical as4 sistance program (in this section referred to as the 

5 ‘‘grant program’’) to achieve the purposes of the 

6 Program described in subsection (d). 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 enter into a cooperative agreement with the Na10 tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this 

11 subsection referred to as the ‘‘Foundation’’) to 

12 manage and administer the grant program. 

13 (B) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability 

14 of appropriations made in advance for such 

15 purpose, after the Secretary enters into a coop16 erative agreement with the Foundation under 

17 subparagraph (A), the Foundation shall for 

18 each fiscal year, receive amounts to carry out 

19 this subsection in an advance payment of the 

20 entire amount on October 1, or as soon as prac21 ticable thereafter, of that fiscal year. 

22 (3) APPLICATION OF NATIONAL FISH AND

23 WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT.— 

24 Amounts received by the Foundation to carry out 

25 the grant program shall be subject to the National 
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1 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 

3 Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 

4 (f) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

5 terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 505. TREE NURSERY SHORTAGES. 

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

9 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Ag10 riculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 

11 shall— 

12 (1) develop and implement a national strategy 

13 to increase the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, 

14 and private tree nurseries to address the nationwide 

15 shortage of tree seedlings; and 

16 (2) coordinate such strategy with— 

17 (A) the national reforestation strategy of 

18 the Forest Service; and 

19 (B) each regional implementation plan for 

20 National Forests. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub22 section (a) shall— 

23 (1) be based on the best available science and 

24 data; and 

25 (2) identify and address— 
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1 (A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot 

2 and container tree seedlings; 

3 (B) regional reforestation opportunities 

4 and the seedling supply necessary to fulfill such 

5 opportunities; 

6 (C) opportunities to enhance seedling di7 versity and close gaps in seed inventories; and 

8 (D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or 

9 creating new infrastructure to increase nursery 

10 capacity. 

11 SEC. 506. WHITE OAK RESEARCH. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture may 

13 enter into a memorandum of understanding with a Tribe 

14 or institution, including a covered land grant college, to 

15 collaboratively conduct research on— 

16 (1) white oak genes with resistance or tolerance 

17 to stress; 

18 (2) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for the 

19 purpose of increasing survival and growth; 

20 (3) establishing a genetically diverse white oak 

21 seeds bank capable of responding to stressors; 

22 (4) providing a sustainable supply of white oak 

23 seedlings and genetic resources; 

24 (5) improved methods for aligning seed sources 

25 with the future climate at planting sites; 
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1 (6) reforestation of white oak through natural 

2 and artificial regeneration; 

3 (7) improved methods for retaining and increas4 ing white oak trees in forests; 

5 (8) improved methods for reforesting aban6 doned mine land sites; and 

7 (9) economic and social aspects of white oak 

8 forest management across land ownerships. 

9 (b) CONSULT.—In carrying out the research under 

10 subsection (a), the Tribe or institution, including a cov11 ered land grant college, that enters into the memorandum 

12 of understanding under such subsection may consult with 

13 such States, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 

14 education, and other scientific bodies, as the entity subject 

15 to such memorandum determines appropriate. 

16 (c) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

17 terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act. 

19 (d) COVERED LAND GRANT COLLEGE DEFINED.— 

20 In this section, the term ‘‘covered land grant college’’ 

21 means an 1862 Institution, an 1890 Institution, or a 1994 

22 Institution (as such terms are defined, respectively, in sec23 tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu24 cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)). 
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1 SEC. 507. USDA FORMAL INITIATIVE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act3 ing through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva4 tion Service and in coordination with the Chief of the For5 est Service, shall establish a formal initiative on white oak 

6 to— 

7 (1) re-establish white oak forests where appro8 priate; 

9 (2) improve management of existing white oak 

10 forests to foster natural regeneration of white oak; 

11 (3) provide technical assistance to private land12 owners to re-establish, improve management of, and 

13 naturally regenerate white oak; 

14 (4) improve and expand white oak nursery 

15 stock; and 

16 (5) adapt and improve white oak seedlings. 

17 (b) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

18 terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 

19 the enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 508. AUTHORITIES. 

21 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 

22 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall use the 

23 authorities provided under this title in combination with 

24 other authorities to carry out projects, including— 
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1 (1) good neighbor agreements entered into 

2 under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

3 (16 U.S.C. 2113); and 

4 (2) stewardship contracting projects entered 

5 into under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res6 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591). 

7 TITLE VI—EXPANSION OF PUB8 LIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 

9 UNDER WATER SOURCE PRO10 TECTION PROGRAM 

11 SEC. 601. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

12 Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

13 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(g)(4)(B)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

16 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re17 spectively; 

18 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

19 so redesignated, the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) ADJACENT LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 

21 land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 

22 and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 

23 same watershed as, National Forest System land on 

24 which a watershed protection and restoration project 

25 is carried out under this section.’’; and 
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1 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 

2 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

3 (G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 

4 (L), respectively; and 

5 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

6 (F) the following: 

7 ‘‘(G) an acequia association; 

8 ‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti9 ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re10 sources or other related water infrastructure; 

11 ‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 

12 ‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti13 ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 

20 and restoration project under the Program shall be 

21 designed to— 

22 ‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 

23 water supply and quality, a municipal or agri24 cultural water supply system, and water-related 

25 infrastructure; 
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1 ‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 

2 insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 

3 ‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur4 poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

5 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro6 tection and restoration projects under the Program, 

7 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 

8 would— 

9 ‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as10 sociated with: drought; wildfire; post-wildfire 

11 conditions; extreme weather; flooding; resilience 

12 to climate change; and watershed and fire resil13 ience, including minimizing risks to watershed 

14 health, water supply and quality, and water-re15 lated infrastructure, including municipal and 

16 agricultural water supply systems; 

17 ‘‘(B) support aquatic restoration and con18 servation efforts that complement existing or 

19 planned forest restoration or wildfire risk re20 duction efforts; or 

21 ‘‘(C) provide quantifiable benefits to water 

22 supply or quality and include the use of nature23 based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 

24 riparian ecosystems. 
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1 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT

2 LAND.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 

4 may be carried out under this section on adja5 cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 

6 agrees in writing that the owner is a willing and 

7 engaged partner in carrying out that project or 

8 activity. 

9 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 

10 shall be construed to authorize any change in— 

11 ‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 

12 which a project or activity is carried out 

13 under this section; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 

15 on which a project or activity is carried out 

16 under this section, except during the car17 rying out of that project or activity.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (c)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘with 

20 end water users’’ and inserting ‘‘with end water 

21 users to protect and restore the condition of 

22 National Forest watersheds and adjacent land 

23 that provide water— 

24 ‘‘(A) to the end water users subject to the 

25 agreement; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) for the benefit of another end water 

2 user.’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

5 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

6 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

7 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 

8 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

9 (C) the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 

11 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 

12 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) COOPERATION WITH NON-FEDERAL PART15 NERS.—The Secretary shall cooperate with non-Fed16 eral partners in carrying out assessments, planning, 

17 project design, and project implementation under 

18 this section.’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A water source manage23 ment plan shall be— 

24 ‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco25 logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 
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1 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef2 fect on the date of enactment of this subpara3 graph)); 

4 ‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 

5 information; and 

6 ‘‘(C) conducted in a manner consistent 

7 with the forest plan applicable to the National 

8 Forest System land on which the watershed 

9 protection and restoration project is carried 

10 out.’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) REDUCING REDUNDANCY.—An existing 

13 watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 

14 restoration action plan developed under section 

15 304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 

16 documents as approved by the Secretary may be 

17 used as the basis for a water source management 

18 plan under this subsection.’’; and 

19 (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘primary 

20 purpose of’’ and all that follows through the period 

21 at the end and inserting ‘‘primary purpose of ad22 vancing any of the purposes described in subsection 

23 (b)(2).’’. 
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1 SEC. 602. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK TECH2 NICAL CORRECTIONS. 

3 Section 304(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

4 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543(a)) is amended in para5 graphs (3) and (5) by striking ‘‘protection and’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 

2024. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8790 

AN ACT 

To expedite under the National Environmental Pollands, and for other purposes. turn resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested of Land Management, and on Tribal lands to re- public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau activities on National Forest System lands, on icy Act of 1969 and improve forest management