II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2867 

To address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public 

lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To address the forest health crisis on the National Forest 

System and public 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Promoting Effective Forest Management Act of 2023’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER RHETORIC 

Sec. 101. Thinning targets. 


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Sec. 102. Annual reports. 

Sec. 103. Transparency in fire mitigation reporting. 

Sec. 104. Regional forest carbon accounting. 

Sec. 105. Targets for wildlife habitat improvement. 

TITLE II—FOREST MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 201. Land and resource management plans. 

Sec. 202. Management of old growth and mature forests. 

Sec. 203. Assessment of processed-based restoration techniques. 

Sec. 204. Intervenor status. 

Sec. 205. Utilizing grazing for wildfire prevention. 

TITLE III—WORKFORCE 

Sec. 301. Logging workforce. 

Sec. 302. Break-in-service consideration for firefighter retirements. 

Sec. 303. Firefighter rental housing. 

TITLE IV—CULTURAL CHANGE IN AGENCIES 

Sec. 401. Mandatory use of existing authorities. 

Sec. 402. Curtailing employee relocations. 

Sec. 403. Repeal of FLAME reports. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

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

5 Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

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

7 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

9 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘National 

10 Forest System’’ does not include— 

11 (i) any forest reserve not created from 

12 the public domain; or 

13 (ii) any national grassland or land uti14 lization project administered under title III 


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1 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act 

2 (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 

3 (2) PUBLIC LANDS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘public lands’’ has 

6 the meaning given the term in section 103 of 

7 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

8 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

10 does not include land governed by the Act of 

11 August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874, chapter 876; 

12 43 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

13 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec14 retary concerned’’ means— 

15 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

16 through the Chief of the Forest Service, with 

17 respect to National Forest System land; and 

18 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

19 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

20 Management, with respect to public lands. 


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1 TITLE I—ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

2 OVER RHETORIC 

3 SEC. 101. THINNING TARGETS. 

4 (a) BASELINE.—For the National Forest System and 

5 for public lands, the Secretary concerned shall deter6 mine— 

7 (1) for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, 

8 the number of acres mechanically thinned, for acres 

9 commercially thinned and for acres pre-commercially 

10 thinned; and 

11 (2) the average of the numbers described in 

12 paragraph (1) over the period of fiscal years 2017 

13 through 2021. 

14 (b) ANNUAL TARGETS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

16 shall establish annual mechanical thinning targets 

17 for acres commercially thinned and for acres pre18 commercially thinned for fiscal year 2024, and annu19 ally thereafter, for the National Forest System and 

20 for public lands. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (A) FISCAL YEARS 2024 AND 2025.—For 

23 each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the annual 

24 mechanical thinning targets established under 


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1 paragraph (1) shall be not less than the number 

2 of acres described in subsection (a)(2). 

3 (B) FISCAL YEARS 2026 AND 2027.—For 

4 each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the annual 

5 mechanical thinning targets established under 

6 paragraph (1) shall be not less than twice the 

7 number of acres described in subsection (a)(2). 

8 (C) FISCAL YEAR 2028.—For fiscal year 

9 2028 and each fiscal year thereafter, the annual 

10 mechanical thinning targets established under 

11 paragraph (1) shall be not less than 4 times the 

12 number of acres described in subsection (a)(2). 

13 (c) REGIONAL ASSIGNMENTS.—Not later than 90 

14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

15 thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall assign annual 

16 acreage targets for mechanical thinning on National For17 est System land and public lands, categorized by National 

18 Forest System region or by State, as appropriate. 

19 (d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary concerned shall 

20 make publicly available the data described in subsections 

21 (a), (b), and (c), including by publishing that data on the 

22 website of the Forest Service and the website of the Bu23 reau of Land Management. 


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1 SEC. 102. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

2 Not later than January 1, 2024, and annually there3 after, the Secretary concerned shall publish on the website 

4 of the Forest Service and the website of the Bureau of 

5 Land Management the following information with respect 

6 to the National Forest System or public lands during the 

7 preceding fiscal year: 

8 (1) The number of acres treated to meet the re9 quirement described in section 40803(b) of the In10 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

11 6592(b)). 

12 (2)(A) The number of acres mechanically 

13 thinned; and 

14 (B) whether the number of acres described in 

15 subparagraph (A) met or exceeded the requirements 

16 described in section 101(b)(2). 

17 (3) Any limitations or challenges, including liti18 gation or permitting delays, that hindered the Sec19 retary concerned from meeting or exceeding the an20 nual target established under section 101(b)(1), if 

21 applicable. 

22 (4) The number of acres that have undergone 

23 a regeneration harvest. 

24 (5) The number of acres described in para25 graphs (2)(A) and (4) that are in an area identified 

26 as having— 


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1 (A) the expectation that, without remedi2 ation, at least 25 percent of standing live basal 

3 area greater than 1 inch in diameter may die 

4 over a 15-year time frame due to insects and 

5 diseases, as depicted on the National Insect and 

6 Disease Composite Risk Map; or 

7 (B) a very high or high wildfire hazard po8 tential. 

9 (6) The number of acres described in para10 graphs (2)(A) and (4) that use either of the fol11 lowing streamlined authorities for environmental re12 view: 

13 (A) A categorical exclusion. 

14 (B) An emergency determination of the 

15 Secretary concerned. 

16 (7) The number of acres described in para17 graphs (2)(A) and (4) that use partners to carry out 

18 the work through— 

19 (A) a good neighbor agreement; 

20 (B) a master stewardship agreement; 

21 (C) a contract or agreement entered into 

22 under the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 

23 (25 U.S.C. 3115a); or 

24 (D) a stewardship end-result contract. 


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1 SEC. 103. TRANSPARENCY IN FIRE MITIGATION REPORT2 ING. 

3 (a) EXCLUSION FROM ANNUAL BUDGET AND PER4 FORMANCE REPORTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

6 shall not include in any appropriations request sub7 mitted to the President for purposes of preparing 

8 the budget of the United States Government under 

9 section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, or any 

10 annual performance report submitted to Congress 

11 any output measures for acres of land on which haz12 ardous fuels treatments were conducted if the land 

13 needs to be treated more than once— 

14 (A) to meet the requirement described in 

15 section 40803(b) of the Infrastructure Invest16 ment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(b)); or 

17 (B) to effectively mitigate wildfire risk. 

18 (2) ANNUAL BUDGET.—The President shall not 

19 include in the budget of the United States Govern20 ment submitted to Congress under section 1105 of 

21 title 31, United States Code, any output measures 

22 described in paragraph (1). 

23 (3) INCLUSIONS.—Output measures described 

24 in paragraph (1) include— 


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1 (A) acres of hazardous fuels reduction on 

2 National Forest System land and adjacent 

3 areas to mitigate wildfire risk; and 

4 (B) annual acreage treated to reduce or 

5 maintain fuel conditions on National Forest 

6 System land and non-Federal land. 

7 (b) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL BUDGET AND PERFORM8 ANCE REPORTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

10 shall include in an appropriations request submitted 

11 to the President for purposes of preparing the budg12 et of the United States Government under section 

13 1105 of title 31, United States Code, and an annual 

14 performance report submitted to Congress— 

15 (A) the number of acres of land meeting 

16 the requirement described in section 40803(b) 

17 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 6592(b)); and 

19 (B) the annual acreage of National Forest 

20 System land where final treatment effectively 

21 mitigates wildfire risk. 

22 (2) ANNUAL BUDGET.—The President shall in23 clude in the budget of the United States Govern24 ment submitted to Congress under section 1105 of 


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1 title 31, United States Code, the information de2 scribed in paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 104. REGIONAL FOREST CARBON ACCOUNTING. 

4 Not later than January 1, 2025, and every 3 years 

5 thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

6 the Chief of the Forest Service, shall— 

7 (1) using data from the forest inventory and 

8 analysis program, determine the net forest carbon 

9 balance on the land in the National Forest System 

10 of each Forest Service region, including whether the 

11 National Forest System land is— 

12 (A) a carbon source; or 

13 (B) a carbon sink; and 

14 (2) publish the information described in para15 graph (1) on the website of the Forest Service. 

16 SEC. 105. TARGETS FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT IMPROVE17 MENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—To improve wildlife habitat func19 tion on National Forest System land and public lands, not 

20 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act, the Secretary concerned shall— 

22 (1) evaluate the extent to which the specific 

23 management goals and objectives relating to wildlife 

24 habitat in existing land management plans or re25 source management plans, as applicable, have been 


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1 met through implementation of the applicable land 

2 management plan or resource management plan; and 

3 (2) establish and implement a strategy, includ4 ing establishing annual targets, to meet the specific 

5 management goals and objectives described in para6 graph (1). 

7 (b) REPORTING.—Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the 

8 Secretary concerned shall annually— 

9 (1) establish targets associated with the strat10 egy developed under subsection (a)(2); and 

11 (2) submit to the Committee on Energy and 

12 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

13 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa14 tives a report on the implementation of the strategy 

15 developed under subsection (a)(2). 

16 TITLE II—FOREST MANAGEMENT 

17 SEC. 201. LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

18 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

20 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re22 sources of the House of Representatives an assessment of 

23 the time period that would be required for the Secretary 

24 of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

25 Service, to address the backlog of land and resource manVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2867.IS S2867

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1 agement plans that are noncompliant with section 

2 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re3 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)(A)), 

4 and to come into compliance with that section, if the land 

5 and resource management plans for the units of the Na6 tional Forest System were developed and revised in a man7 ner consistent with the shorter length and development 

8 timelines of the land management plans for the units of 

9 the National Park System. 

10 SEC. 202. MANAGEMENT OF OLD GROWTH AND MATURE 

11 FORESTS. 

12 (a) DEFINITION OF OLD GROWTH.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the Secretary concerned shall adhere to 

15 the definitions of ‘‘old growth forest’’ contained in 

16 the regulations of the Secretary concerned (as in ef17 fect on January 1, 2022). 

18 (2) UPDATES.—If the Secretary concerned de19 termines that a definition of ‘‘old growth forest’’ 

20 contained in a regulation of the Secretary concerned 

21 needs to be revised, the Secretary concerned— 

22 (A) shall appoint a committee of scientists 

23 who are not officers or employees of the Forest 

24 Service or the Bureau of Land Management 

25 and have a background in forestry and stand 


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1 dynamics (referred to in this paragraph as the 

2 ‘‘committee of scientists’’); 

3 (B) shall direct the committee of scientists 

4 to provide scientific and technical advice and 

5 counsel on definitions of ‘‘old growth forest’’; 

6 (C) shall review the recommendations of 

7 the committee of scientists; 

8 (D) shall publish the recommendations of 

9 the committee of scientists for public comment; 

10 and 

11 (E) may adopt the recommendations of the 

12 committee of scientists and revise the definition 

13 in a manner consistent with subchapter II of 

14 chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United 

15 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Admin16 istrative Procedure Act’’). 

17 (b) MANAGEMENT OF MATURE TREES.— 

18 (1) DEFINITION OF MATURE FOREST.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with section 

20 6(m)(1) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew21 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

22 U.S.C. 1604(m)(1)), with respect to National 

23 Forest System land and public lands, the Sec24 retary concerned shall define the term ‘‘mature 

25 forest’’ as a forest that has reached the 


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1 merchantability standard described in subpara2 graph (B). 

3 (B) MERCHANTABILITY STANDARD.—The 

4 merchantability standard referred to in sub5 paragraph (A) is when a forest has generally 

6 reached the culmination of mean annual incre7 ment of growth. 

8 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Except as provided in sec9 tion 6(m) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

10 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

11 1604(m)), on National Forest System land and pub12 lic lands, the Secretary concerned shall only carry 

13 out regeneration harvests in mature forests (as de14 fined by the Secretary concerned under paragraph 

15 (1)). 

16 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Any inventory of forests 

17 adopted through executive branch action shall not modify, 

18 amend, or otherwise change the duties of the Secretary 

19 concerned to manage unreserved forests in accordance 

20 with, as applicable— 

21 (1) the Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly known 

22 as the ‘‘Organic Administration Act’’) (30 Stat. 34, 

23 chapter 2); 

24 (2) the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 

25 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et seq.); 


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1 (3) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re2 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et 

3 seq.); 

4 (4) section 14 of the National Forest Manage5 ment Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a); and 

6 (5) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

7 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 203. ASSESSMENT OF PROCESSED-BASED RESTORA9 TION TECHNIQUES. 

10 (a) WETLAND AND RIPARIAN RESTORATION PILOT

11 PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte13 rior, acting through the Director of the United 

14 States Geological Survey, and the Secretary of Agri15 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv16 ice (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Secre17 taries’’), shall jointly establish a pilot program to 

18 conduct research on and evaluate wetland and ripar19 ian restoration techniques. 

20 (2) ASSESSMENTS.—In carrying out this sub21 section, the Secretaries shall— 

22 (A) assess the benefits, including to down23 stream infrastructure, water storage, and resil24 ience to natural hazards, of process-based river 


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1 and wetland restoration techniques when car2 ried out at larger scales; and 

3 (B) make available to the public the results 

4 of the assessment described in subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 (b) EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS PILOT PROJECT.—The 

7 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 

8 Forest Service, shall carry out a pilot project on the exper9 imental forests and ranges managed by the Forest Service 

10 to evaluate biologically driven restoration. 

11 SEC. 204. INTERVENOR STATUS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of a civil action re13 lating to a qualified project described in subsection (b), 

14 a unit of local government shall be— 

15 (1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any sub16 sequent civil action; and 

17 (2) considered to be a full participant in any 

18 settlement negotiation relating to the qualified 

19 project if the unit of local government intervenes. 

20 (b) DESCRIPTION OF QUALIFIED PROJECT.—A quali21 fied project referred to in subsection (a) is a project that— 

22 (1) is located on National Forest System land 

23 or public lands; 

24 (2) has been approved by the Secretary con25 cerned; and 


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1 (3)(A) reduces the risk posed by wildfire, insect, 

2 or disease; or 

3 (B) generates revenue from the harvesting of 

4 timber. 

5 SEC. 205. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION. 

6 The Secretary concerned, in coordination with hold7 ers of permits to graze livestock on Federal land, shall 

8 develop a strategy to increase opportunities to utilize live9 stock grazing as a wildfire mitigation strategy, includ10 ing— 

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

12 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

13 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to allow permitted grazing on 

14 vacant grazing allotments during instances of 

15 drought, wildfire, or other natural disasters that dis16 rupt grazing on allotments already permitted; 

17 (2) use of targeted grazing; 

18 (3) increased use of temporary permits to pro19 mote targeted fuels reduction and reduction of 

20 invasive annual grasses; 

21 (4) increased use of grazing as a fire recovery 

22 strategy, where appropriate; and 

23 (5) use of all applicable authorities under law. 


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1 TITLE III—WORKFORCE 

2 SEC. 301. LOGGING WORKFORCE. 

3 (a) TRAINING.— 

4 (1) INTERSTATE TRAINING PROGRAMS.—The 

5 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 

6 the Forest Service, shall work with States to develop 

7 a universal, tiered program to train persons to enter 

8 the logging workforce. 

9 (2) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—The Secretary 

10 concerned shall examine potential ways to facilitate 

11 apprenticeship training to increase knowledge and 

12 skills in an emerging logging workforce. 

13 (b) MODERNIZING MACHINERY.—Using funds made 

14 available under section 40804(b)(3) of the Infrastructure 

15 Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(3)), the 

16 Secretary of Agriculture shall provide low-interest loans 

17 or loan guarantees to persons, subject to such conditions 

18 as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be nec19 essary, for the acquisition of mechanized machinery for 

20 the purposes of decreasing injuries in the logging work21 force. 

22 SEC. 302. BREAK-IN-SERVICE CONSIDERATION FOR FIRE23 FIGHTER RETIREMENTS. 

24 Notwithstanding sections 8336(c) and 8412(d) of 

25 title 5, United States Code, not later than May 1, 2024, 


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1 the Secretary concerned, in coordination with the Sec2 retary of Labor, shall promulgate regulations, as nec3 essary, to ensure that a Federal wildland firefighter would 

4 not forfeit previously made contributions or eligibility for 

5 firefighter retirement when the wildland firefighter has a 

6 voluntary break in service of not more than 9 months. 

7 SEC. 303. FIREFIGHTER RENTAL HOUSING. 

8 Notwithstanding OMB Circular No. A-45R, when the 

9 Secretary concerned requires a Federal wildland fire10 fighter to occupy government housing, the Secretary con11 cerned shall not deduct for government housing rent from 

12 the payroll of the wildland firefighter an amount that is 

13 greater than 40 percent of the pre-tax salary of the 

14 wildland firefighter. 

15 TITLE IV—CULTURAL CHANGE 

16 IN AGENCIES 

17 SEC. 401. MANDATORY USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES. 

18 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, with respect to each unit of public lands and 

20 each unit of the National Forest System that contains 

21 land described in section 102(5), the Secretary concerned 

22 shall use not fewer than 1 of the following streamlined 

23 authorities for environmental review: 

24 (1) Section 603(a) of the Healthy Forests Res25 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(a)). 


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1 (2) Section 605(a) of the Healthy Forests Res2 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591d(a)). 

3 (3) Section 606(b) of the Healthy Forests Res4 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591e(b)). 

5 (4) Section 40806(b) of the Infrastructure In6 vestment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b(b)). 

7 (5) Section 40807 of the Infrastructure Invest8 ment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592c). 

9 (6) Section 207 of the Wildfire Suppression 

10 Funding and Forest Management Activities Act (16 

11 U.S.C. 6591c note; Public Law 115–141). 

12 SEC. 402. CURTAILING EMPLOYEE RELOCATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act14 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to 

15 in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall curtail employee 

16 relocations to significantly increase the period of time that 

17 each line officer works at a duty station. 

18 (b) LINE OFFICER HIRING ELIGIBILITY.—To the 

19 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall solicit ap20 plications for line officer positions in a manner that does 

21 not limit eligibility for the solicited position to only an ap22 plicant who is a current employee of the Forest Service. 

23 (c) LIMITS ON RELOCATION PAYMENTS.—The Sec24 retary shall not reimburse an employee or otherwise pay 


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1 for expenses relating to a change in duty station in an 

2 amount that exceeds $100,000. 

3 (d) EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

4 shall develop a program to provide incentives for employ5 ees to gain experience and skills without relocating (com6 monly referred to as ‘‘growing in place’’). 

7 SEC. 403. REPEAL OF FLAME REPORTS. 

8 Section 502 of the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 

9 1748a) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (h); and 

11 (2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

12 (h). 

Æ 


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