II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1991 

To reduce the risk posed by wildfires to communities and the most atrisk federally owned forests. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 19, 2017 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. CRAPO, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reduce the risk posed by wildfires to communities and 

the most at-risk federally owned forests. 

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 ‘‘Wildland Fires Act of 2017’’. 

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. Purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Additional accountability. 

Sec. 5. Incentive for cost savings. 

Sec. 6. Definition of at-risk community. 


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Sec. 7. Community planning assistance for at-risk communities. 

Sec. 8. Accelerated restoration program for ponderosa pine forests. 

Sec. 9. Increasing certainty for the local workforce and infrastructure necessary 

for restoration. 

Sec. 10. National Forest foundation. 

Sec. 11. Termination of authority. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to build on the successes 

3 of the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Na4 tional Cohesive Fire Strategy established pursuant to sec5 tion 503 of the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748b) 

6 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

7 this Act), as necessary to protect communities from 

8 wildfires on Federal land by— 

9 (1) increasing transparency and accountability 

10 for the costs of managing wildfires; 

11 (2) requiring the Secretary concerned to treat 

12 the most at-risk forests to protect at-risk commu13 nities and reestablish natural fire regimes; and 

14 (3) providing additional funding to communities 

15 to enable them to reduce the risks to the commu16 nities from wildfires. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) AT-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘at-risk 

20 community’’ has the meaning given the term in sec21 tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

22 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 


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1 (2) CERTIFIED COLLABORATIVE.—The term 

2 ‘‘certified collaborative’’ means a group of interested 

3 persons certified as a collaborative by the National 

4 Forest Foundation under subsection (a) of section 

5 409 of the National Forest Foundation Act (16 

6 U.S.C. 583j–7) (as amended by section 11(a)). 

7 (3) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION

8 PLAN.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘community 

10 wildfire protection plan’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests 

12 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 

13 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘community 

14 wildfire protection plan’’ includes a land re15 source management plan. 

16 (4) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

17 means the following: 

18 (A) National Forest System land reserved 

19 from the public domain. 

20 (B) The following land administered by the 

21 Secretary of the Interior: 

22 (i) Public lands (as defined in section 

23 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Man24 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 


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1 (ii) A unit of the National Park Sys2 tem. 

3 (iii) A unit of the National Wildlife 

4 Refuge System. 

5 (iv) Land held in trust for an Indian 

6 tribe. 

7 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

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

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

11 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

12 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec13 retary of Agriculture. 

14 (7) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec15 retary concerned’’ means— 

16 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re17 spect to activities under the Department of the 

18 Interior; and 

19 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re20 spect to activities under the Department of Ag21 riculture. 

22 (8) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘wildland24 urban interface’’ has the meaning given the 


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1 term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res2 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 

3 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘wildland4 urban interface’’ does not include— 

5 (i) any forest reserve not created from 

6 the public domain; or 

7 (ii) any national grassland or land uti8 lization project administered under title III 

9 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act 

10 (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.). 

11 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. 

12 (a) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING REQUIRE13 MENTS.—For each fiscal year, the Secretaries shall con14 duct a cost review of each wildfire that covers an area 

15 greater than 100,000 acres. 

16 (b) COMPONENTS.—The cost review under subsection 

17 (a) shall document costs and risk-based factors that influ18 enced management decisions for each wildfire, including— 

19 (1) a comparison of the total suppression cost 

20 to a stratified cost index; 

21 (2) the percentage of acres burned with re22 source benefits; 

23 (3) the percentage of Federal land burned and 

24 the percentage of the total suppression costs ulti25 mately paid by the Secretaries; 


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1 (4) the number of hours of exposure experi2 enced by firefighters; 

3 (5) the effectiveness of wildfire management de4 cisions, including— 

5 (A) an analysis of the estimated monetary 

6 value of the resources protected; 

7 (B) the risk to the resources from the wild8 fire; 

9 (C) the costs incurred or that would have 

10 been incurred to protect the resources; 

11 (D) the impact of any actions taken to 

12 protect the resources; and 

13 (E) whether the resources were damaged 

14 by the wildfire; 

15 (6) the total cost of aircraft for the wildfire, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) the cost of delivering water or fire re18 tardant to the wildfire incurred after the initial 

19 attack; and 

20 (B) the cost of aircraft use incurred after 

21 the wildfire is contained; 

22 (7) whether the fire operations strategy tracked 

23 the relevant spatial wildfire risk assessment and spa24 tial fire management plan; and 


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1 (8) any other costs or factors that the Secre2 taries determine to be appropriate. 

3 (c) SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION.—The Secre4 taries shall— 

5 (1) submit annually to the Committee on Ap6 propriations, the Committee on the Budget, and the 

7 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committee on Appropria9 tions, the Committee on the Budget, and the Com10 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen11 ate a report describing the information required 

12 under subsection (a); and 

13 (2) make the report submitted under paragraph 

14 (1) available to the public. 

15 SEC. 5. INCENTIVE FOR COST SAVINGS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made available in an an17 nual appropriations Act for wildfire management oper18 ations in the Wildland Fire Management account of the 

19 Department of the Interior or the Department of Agri20 culture for a fiscal year that are not expended for that 

21 fiscal year may be available to the Secretary concerned 

22 for wildfire risk reduction projects on Federal land (in23 cluding land held in trust for an Indian tribe with the ap24 proval of the Indian tribe) in accordance with subsection 

25 (b). 


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1 (b) PROJECT PRIORITIES.—In providing amounts 

2 made available to the Secretary concerned under sub3 section (a), the Secretary concerned shall give priority to 

4 projects that are— 

5 (1) conducted in areas that— 

6 (A) are within or adjacent to— 

7 (i) at-risk communities; or 

8 (ii) high-value watersheds; 

9 (B) have very high wildfire hazard poten10 tial; and 

11 (C) are in Fire Regime Group I, II, or III; 

12 and 

13 (2) designed to achieve one or more of the goals 

14 established in the report of the Secretaries entitled 

15 ‘‘The National Strategy: the Final Phase of the De16 velopment of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire 

17 Management Strategy’’ and dated April 2014— 

18 (A) to create fire-adapted communities; 

19 (B) to restore and maintain resilient land20 scapes; and 

21 (C) to achieve safe, effective fire response. 

22 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary concerned 

23 shall submit with the annual budget of the United States 

24 submitted by the President under section 1105 of title 31, 

25 United States Code, a list of projects to be implemented 


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1 using amounts made available to the Secretary concerned 

2 under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF AT-RISK COMMUNITY. 

4 Section 101(1)(A) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

5 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(1)(A)) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘comprised of’’ in the matter preceding clause (i) and 

7 all that follows through ‘‘a group’’ in clause (ii) and insert8 ing ‘‘comprised of a group’’. 

9 SEC. 7. COMMUNITY PLANNING ASSISTANCE FOR AT-RISK 

10 COMMUNITIES. 

11 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF MAP.—Not later than 180 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and periodi13 cally thereafter, the Secretaries shall develop and publish 

14 a map depicting at-risk communities, including tribal com15 munities. 

16 (b) PLANNING AND PREPARING AT-RISK COMMU17 NITIES FOR WILDFIRE.—Subject to the availability of ap18 propriations, the Secretaries shall provide financial assist19 ance to at-risk communities adjacent to Federal land (in20 cluding land held in trust for Indian tribes), including 

21 through States, to assist the at-risk communities in plan22 ning and preparing for wildfire, including— 

23 (1) cosponsoring and supporting the expansion 

24 of— 

25 (A) the Firewise Program; 


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1 (B) the Ready, Set, Go program; 

2 (C) the Living with Wildfire program; or 

3 (D) programs similar to the programs re4 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) through (C); 

5 (2) supporting the development, updating, and 

6 implementation of community wildfire protection 

7 plans; 

8 (3) carrying out risk assessments and creating 

9 maps that depict wildfire risk to assist in planning 

10 for response and suppression resource needs and im11 plementing hazardous fuel treatment programs; 

12 (4) sharing costs to create defensible space for 

13 a distance of not less than 100 feet around a resi14 dence that was built before the date of enactment of 

15 this Act; and 

16 (5) planning and implementing cross-boundary 

17 hazardous fuels reduction projects as identified in a 

18 community wildfire protection plan. 

19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 to carry out 

21 this section for each fiscal year. 

22 SEC. 8. ACCELERATED RESTORATION PROGRAM FOR PON23 DEROSA PINE FORESTS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) AVERAGE SEVERE FIRE WEATHER.—With 

2 respect to a unit of Federal land, the term ‘‘average 

3 severe fire weather’’ means the 90th percentile of at4 mospheric and fuel conditions under which wildfires 

5 would burn in that unit in a given year. 

6 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

7 means— 

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

9 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

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

11 (B) land held in trust for Indian tribes; or 

12 (C) National Forest System land. 

13 (3) HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION.—The term 

14 ‘‘hazardous fuel reduction’’ means the removal or 

15 modification of flammable vegetation or woody de16 bris through prescribed fire, thinning, brush re17 moval, mastication, pruning, slash treatment, or a 

18 combination of those methods, on the condition that 

19 the method is ecologically appropriate, cost-effective, 

20 and selected on a site-specific basis. 

21 (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro22 gram’’ means the pilot program established under 

23 subsection (b)(1). 

24 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—Subject to the availability of 

25 appropriations, the Secretaries shall— 


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1 (1) establish a pilot program to reduce the risk 

2 of wildfires to communities in the wildland-urban 

3 interface and reestablish natural fire regimes outside 

4 the wildland-urban interface; and 

5 (2) implement the pilot program to treat the 

6 approximately 2,000,000 acres of Federal land de7 scribed in subsection (d), by not later than Sep8 tember 30, 2027. 

9 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) PROTECTING COMMUNITIES.—For land lo11 cated in the wildland-urban interface, the Secretaries 

12 shall reduce the risk of wildfire to communities by 

13 removing or modifying vegetation and slash until the 

14 area would only sustain a wildfire that is low-inten15 sity and easy to suppress in average severe fire 

16 weather conditions. 

17 (2) RESTORING THE ROLE OF FIRE IN FOR18 ESTS.—For land located outside the wildland-urban 

19 interface, the Secretaries shall reestablish natural 

20 fire regimes by conducting prescribed fires and asso21 ciated activities. 

22 (3) ACCOMPLISHMENTS.—The requirement to 

23 treat Federal land under subsection (b)(2) shall be 

24 considered to be met when— 


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1 (A) for Federal land located in the 

2 wildland-urban interface, the Federal land 

3 would only sustain a wildfire that is low-inten4 sity and easy to suppress in average severe fire 

5 weather conditions; and 

6 (B) for Federal land located outside the 

7 wildland-urban interface, the Federal land has 

8 been burned by a prescribed fire conducted by 

9 the Secretaries. 

10 (4) BURNED AREAS.—Any Federal land that is 

11 burned by a wildfire after the date on which the doc12 ument described in subsection (d)(2) is published 

13 shall be excluded from the pilot program. 

14 (5) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretaries shall im15 plement the pilot program cooperatively with part16 ners, including States, local governments, prescribed 

17 fire councils, and other entities. 

18 (6) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub19 section modifies any requirements in applicable law 

20 and policy to which the Secretaries must adhere 

21 while conducting prescribed fires. 

22 (d) TREATMENT LOCATIONS.—The Secretaries shall 

23 only carry out the pilot program only on Federal land 

24 that— 


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1 (1) is, or historically was, composed primarily 

2 of ponderosa pines or Jeffrey pines; and 

3 (2) is identified in the document of the Sec4 retary of Agriculture entitled ‘‘Wildland Fire Poten5 tial: A Tool for Assessing Wildfire Risk and Fuels 

6 Management Needs’’, dated July 2015, and pub7 lished as part of the Proceedings of the Large 

8 Wildland Fires Conference— 

9 (A) as being the ‘‘highest priority areas’’ 

10 on National Forest System land; or 

11 (B) as having a ‘‘very high’’ wildland fire 

12 potential on— 

13 (i) public lands (as defined in section 

14 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Man15 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

16 and 

17 (ii) land held in trust for an Indian 

18 tribe. 

19 (e) EXCLUDED AREAS.—This section does not apply 

20 to— 

21 (1) any component of the National Wilderness 

22 Preservation System; 

23 (2) any wilderness study area, if a treatment 

24 required by this section would impair the suitability 


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1 of the area to be designated a component of the Na2 tional Wilderness Preservation System; 

3 (3) any research natural area; 

4 (4) any Federal land on which the removal of 

5 vegetation described in this section is prohibited by 

6 law; or 

7 (5) any Federal land that is burned by a 

8 wildland fire after the date on which the document 

9 described in subsection (d)(2) is published. 

10 (f) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION TO REDUCE THE RISK

11 OF WILDFIRES TO COMMUNITIES AND TO REESTABLISH

12 NATURAL FIRE REGIMES.— 

13 (1) AVAILABILITY OF A CATEGORICAL EXCLU14 SION AND EXEMPTION.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

15 the Secretary concerned may use a categorical exclu16 sion for conducting hazardous fuel reduction activi17 ties for a project under the pilot program if the 

18 main purpose of which is to reduce the risk of 

19 wildfires to communities or to reestablish natural 

20 fire regimes on Federal land described in subsection 

21 (d). 

22 (2) LIMITATIONS FOR THE USE OF THE CAT23 EGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 


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1 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR COLLABORA2 TION.—A project covered by a categorical exclu3 sion described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be— 

4 (i) developed by a certified collabo5 rative; 

6 (ii) included in a selected proposal 

7 under the Collaborative Forest Landscape 

8 Restoration Program established under 

9 section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land 

10 Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

11 7303); 

12 (iii) conducted pursuant to the Tribal 

13 Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 

14 3115a); or 

15 (iv) covered in a community wildfire 

16 protection plan that was developed within 

17 the 5-year period preceding the date on 

18 which the hazardous fuels reduction 

19 project is authorized under this section. 

20 (B) SIZE CONSTRAINT IN THE WILDLAND21 URBAN INTERFACE.—A project that is covered 

22 by the categorical exclusion described in para23 graph (1)(A) and conducted in the wildland24 urban interface shall not cover more than 3,000 

25 acres of Federal land. 


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1 (C) APPLICATION TO PRESCRIBED

2 FIRES.—The Secretary concerned may use the 

3 categorical exclusion described in paragraph 

4 (1)(A) to conduct a prescribed fire outside the 

5 wildland-urban interface, regardless of the acre6 age covered by the prescribed fire— 

7 (i) to treat a site initially; or 

8 (ii) to maintain the site. 

9 (D) PRESCRIBED FIRE ASSOCIATED AC10 TIVITIES.—A project covered by the categorical 

11 exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) may in12 clude activities associated with a prescribed fire, 

13 including hazardous fuel reduction activities 

14 and the construction of fire control lines, if— 

15 (i) the Secretary concerned conducts 

16 the prescribed fire on the Federal land on 

17 which the Secretary concerned conducted 

18 the associated activities by the date that is 

19 not later than 4 years after the date on 

20 which the Secretary concerned commenced 

21 the associated activities; and 

22 (ii) the project is located outside the 

23 wildland-urban interface. 

24 (E) PESTICIDES.—A project covered by 

25 the categorical exclusion described in paragraph 


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1 (1)(A) shall not include the use of herbicide or 

2 insecticide. 

3 (F) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con5 cerned shall apply the extraordinary cir6 cumstances procedures under section 220.6 

7 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

8 successor regulations) in determining 

9 whether to use the categorical exclusion de10 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 

11 (ii) FURTHER GUIDANCE.—The Sec12 retary concerned may not use the categor13 ical exclusion described in paragraph 

14 (1)(A) for a project located in any des15 ignated critical habitat for a species listed 

16 as a threatened species or an endangered 

17 species under the Endangered Species Act 

18 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) unless— 

19 (I) the natural fire regimes on 

20 that land are identified as being im21 portant for, or wildfire is identified as 

22 a threat to, an endangered species, a 

23 threatened species, or habitat of an 

24 endangered species or threatened spe25 cies in a species recovery plan preVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Oct 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1991.IS S1991

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1 pared under section 4 of the Endan2 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

3 1533), or a notice published in the 

4 Federal Register determining a spe5 cies to be an endangered species or a 

6 threatened species or designating crit7 ical habitat; 

8 (II) the authorized hazardous 

9 fuel reduction project will provide en10 hanced protection from uncharacteris11 tic wildfire for the endangered species, 

12 threatened species, or habitat of the 

13 endangered species or threatened spe14 cies; and 

15 (III) the Secretary complies with 

16 any applicable guidelines specified in 

17 any management or recovery plan de18 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

19 (3) DECISION MEMORANDUM.—The Secretary 

20 concerned shall document in a decision memo21 randum any decision of the Secretary concerned to 

22 use the categorical exclusion described in paragraph 

23 (1)(A) to carry out hazardous fuel reduction activi24 ties under this section. 


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1 (4) PUBLIC NOTICE.—With respect to a pro2 posed project to carry out hazardous fuel reduction 

3 activities under this section, the Secretary concerned 

4 shall— 

5 (A) conduct a public scoping process for 

6 the proposed project; and 

7 (B) if the Secretary concerned uses a cat8 egorical exclusion described in paragraph 

9 (1)(A), distribute to any parties interested in 

10 the proposed project the applicable decision 

11 memorandum prepared under paragraph (3). 

12 (g) LIMITATIONS ON PILOT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

13 In conducting a project under the pilot program, the Sec14 retary concerned— 

15 (1) shall seek to maximize the retention of old 

16 trees and medium- and large-sized trees, as appro17 priate for the forest type, to the extent that the 

18 trees promote fire-resilient stands and the objectives 

19 identified in this section can be achieved; 

20 (2) shall seek to remove the appropriate quan21 tity of small diameter trees and to treat accumula22 tions of slash found in the Federal land described in 

23 subsection (d); 

24 (3) shall ensure activities are consistent with 

25 the applicable forest plan; and 


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1 (4) shall not construct a permanent road. 

2 (h) ROADS EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub3 section (g)(4), the Secretary concerned— 

4 (1) may include necessary maintenance of, re5 pairs to, or rehabilitation of an existing permanent 

6 road to accomplish the objectives of this section; and 

7 (2) shall decommission any temporary road con8 structed in carrying out a project under the pilot 

9 program by not later than 3 years after the earlier 

10 of the date on which— 

11 (A) the temporary road is no longer need12 ed; or 

13 (B) the project is completed. 

14 (i) PROVINCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a com16 mittee, to be known as the ‘‘Pilot Monitoring Com17 mittee’’ (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Com18 mittee’’), which shall— 

19 (A) monitor the impacts on wildfire risk 

20 and the ecological effects of the projects being 

21 implemented under the pilot program; and 

22 (B) provide regular feedback to the Secre23 taries on the implementation of the pilot pro24 gram and suggested timing of the treatments 

25 under the pilot program. 


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1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

3 consist of not more than 12 members, to be ap4 pointed by the Secretaries for a term of not 

5 fewer than two and not more than 4 years. 

6 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of 

7 the Committee shall consist of representatives 

8 of— 

9 (i) a wildlife conservation organiza10 tion; 

11 (ii) an environmental organization; 

12 (iii) the timber industry; 

13 (iv) a professional society for natural 

14 resource managers; 

15 (v) a fire department in an at-risk 

16 community; 

17 (vi) a State forestry agency; 

18 (vii) a Firewise community with a 

19 community wildfire protection plan in ef20 fect on the date of the appointment; 

21 (viii) a federally recognized Indian 

22 tribe; 

23 (ix) a prescribed fire council; 

24 (x) scientists researching wildfires; 

25 and 


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1 (xi) a certified collaborative. 

2 (C) PAY AND EXPENSES.— 

3 (i) COMPENSATION.—A member of 

4 the Committee shall serve without com5 pensation. 

6 (ii) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member 

7 of the Committee shall be allowed travel 

8 expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub9 sistence, in accordance with section 5703 

10 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (j) REPORTS.— 

12 (1) ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORTING.—Once each 

13 fiscal year through fiscal year 2027, the Secretaries 

14 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con15 gress a concise report describing the accomplish16 ments of the Secretaries in implementing the pilot 

17 program. 

18 (2) FINAL REPORT ON PROGRAM.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

20 before the date on which the pilot program ter21 minates under subsection (k), the Secretaries 

22 shall prepare a final report describing the im23 plementation and results of the pilot program. 


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1 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The final report 

2 shall include recommendations of the Secre3 taries relating to— 

4 (i) whether the authorization for the 

5 categorical exclusion described in sub6 section (f)(1)(A) should be extended, let 

7 expire, or made permanent; 

8 (ii) the manner in which the pilot pro9 gram should be modified; and 

10 (iii) if and how the scope of the pilot 

11 program should be expanded, including 

12 whether the pilot program should be ex13 panded to dry mixed-conifer forests. 

14 (C) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretaries shall 

15 submit to the appropriate committees of Con16 gress, and make available to the public, the 

17 final report. 

18 (k) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authorities 

19 provided by and requirements described in this section 

20 shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act. 

22 (l) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Any contract entered into by 

23 the Secretaries under this section before the date de24 scribed in subsection (k) shall not be affected by the termi25 nation of the pilot program. 


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1 (m) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Section 106 of the Healthy 

2 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6516) shall 

3 apply to a forest management activity carried out under 

4 this section in the same manner as that section applies 

5 to an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project under 

6 that Act. 

7 (n) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section— 

8 (1) affects, or otherwise biases, the use by the 

9 Secretary concerned of any other statutory or ad10 ministrative authority (including any categorical ex11 clusion available under the National Environmental 

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

13 carry out one or more forest management activities 

14 under this section; or 

15 (2) prohibits the Secretary concerned from car16 rying out a treatment in an ecologically sensitive 

17 area, if the area is in need of restoration. 

18 SEC. 9. INCREASING CERTAINTY FOR THE LOCAL WORK19 FORCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY 

20 FOR RESTORATION. 

21 (a) CLARIFICATION ON USE OF STEWARDSHIP AU22 THORITIES.—The Secretary concerned may issue a stew23 ardship contract or enter into a stewardship agreement 

24 under the authority provided in section 604 of the Healthy 

25 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) for 


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1 periods of not longer than 10 years to conduct prescribed 

2 fires on Federal land. 

3 (b) PILOT PROGRAM FOR LONG-TERM CONTRACTS

4 FOR RESTORATION OF FIRE-DEPENDENT FORESTS.— 

5 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the avail6 ability of appropriations, the Secretaries shall estab7 lish a pilot program to award contracts or agree8 ments for terms of not longer than 20 years to carry 

9 out restoration projects or hazardous fuels reduction 

10 projects on Federal land (referred to in this sub11 section as the ‘‘pilot program’’). 

12 (2) LIMITATIONS.— 

13 (A) QUANTITY.—The Secretaries may 

14 enter into not more than 10 contracts or agree15 ments under the pilot program during the pe16 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this 

17 Act and ending on September 30, 2027. 

18 (B) TYPES OF CONTRACTS.—Under the 

19 pilot program, the Secretary concerned may 

20 award only— 

21 (i) timber contracts under section 14 

22 of the National Forest Management Act of 

23 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a); or 

24 (ii) stewardship contracts and agree25 ments under section 604 of the Healthy 


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1 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

2 U.S.C. 6591c). 

3 (C) LOCATIONS.— 

4 (i) TYPE OF FORESTS.—The Secre5 taries may enter into a contract or agree6 ment under the pilot program to carry out 

7 projects only on Federal land located with8 in Fire Regime Group I. 

9 (ii) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Sec10 retaries may enter into a contract or 

11 agreement under the pilot program only in 

12 a location for which there are fewer than 

13 2 local entities that are able to process for14 est products from the contract or agree15 ment. 

16 (D) PREFERENCES.—In awarding a con17 tract or agreement under the pilot program, the 

18 Secretary concerned shall give preference to an 

19 entity that will use forest products to manufac20 ture— 

21 (i) wood products that can be used in 

22 green building construction; or 

23 (ii) mass timbers, including cross-lam24 inated timber. 


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1 (3) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall 

2 terminate on September 30, 2027. 

3 (4) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Any contract or agree4 ment entered into by the Secretaries under this sub5 section before the termination of the pilot program 

6 shall not be affected by that termination. 

7 SEC. 10. NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 409 of the National For9 est Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j–7) is amended to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 409. ACTIVITIES OF THE FOUNDATION AND THE FOR12 EST SERVICE. 

13 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION OF COLLABORATIVES.—Not 

14 later than September 30, 2019, the Foundation shall es15 tablish and administer a program to certify as a collabo16 rative a group of interested persons that— 

17 ‘‘(1) is interested in assisting the Secretary of 

18 the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to in19 crease the quantity of projects or activities carried 

20 out by the applicable Secretary on an individual unit 

21 of National Forest System land or public land ad22 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management, as 

23 applicable, in accordance with the management plan 

24 that covers the land; and 

25 ‘‘(2) at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(A) includes a diverse and balanced rep2 resentation of stakeholders; 

3 ‘‘(B) establishes clear expectations and 

4 goals; 

5 ‘‘(C) has a goal of maximum transparency 

6 in the decisionmaking process; 

7 ‘‘(D) encourages stakeholders to function 

8 as representatives; 

9 ‘‘(E) recognizes timeframes and resources; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(F) enhances agency decisionmaking. 

12 ‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The activities of the Foun13 dation shall supplement, and shall not preempt, any au14 thority or responsibility of the Forest Service under any 

15 other law.’’. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

17 410 of the National Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 

18 583j–8) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

21 appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry 

22 out section 409(a) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 

23 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of Agri25 culture shall make available to the Foundation the 


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1 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) to 

2 match, on a 1-for-1 basis, private contributions 

3 made to the Foundation to establish or administer 

4 the certification program required under section 

5 409(a).’’. 

6 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

7 The authority provided by this Act and the amend8 ments made by this Act terminates on the date that is 

9 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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