119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471

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. Water source protection program. 

Sec. 119. Watershed condition framework technical corrections. 

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. 

Sec. 206. Program to support priority reforestation and restoration projects of 

Department of the Interior. 

Sec. 207. Fire department repayment. 
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TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIPS 

Subtitle A—Transparency and Technology 

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. 

Sec. 309. Fire safe electrical corridors. 

Subtitle B—White Oak Resilience 

Sec. 311. White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition. 

Sec. 312. Forest Service pilot program. 

Sec. 313. Department of the Interior white oak review and restoration. 

Sec. 314. White oak regeneration and upland oak habitat. 

Sec. 315. Tree nursery shortages. 

Sec. 316. White oak research. 

Sec. 317. USDA formal initiative. 

Sec. 318. Authorities. 

TITLE IV—ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR 

FIREFIGHTERS 

Sec. 401. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program.

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 life and structures; 

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 an interagency center, to be known as the 

14 Fireshed Center (hereinafter referred to as the 

15 ‘‘Center’’) to carry out the purposes in subsection 

16 (b). 

17 (2) COMPOSITION.—

18 (A) DIVISIONS.—The Center shall be com19 prised of the following divisions: 

20 (i) Technology and Engineering. 

21 (ii) Data Services. 

22 (iii) Analysis and Prediction. 

23 (iv) Education and Consultation. 
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1 (B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The Center shall 

2 be comprised of at least one career representa3 tive from each of the following: 

4 (i) The Forest Service. 

5 (ii) The Bureau of Land Manage6 ment. 

7 (iii) The National Park Service. 

8 (iv) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

9 (v) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv10 ice. 

11 (vi) The U.S. Geological Survey. 

12 (vii) The Department of Defense. 

13 (viii) The Department of Homeland 

14 Security. 

15 (ix) The Department of Energy. 

16 (x) The Federal Emergency Manage17 ment Agency. 

18 (xi) The National Science Foundation. 

19 (xii) The National Oceanic and At20 mospheric Administration. 

21 (xiii) The National Aeronautics and 

22 Space Administration. 

23 (xiv) The National Institute of Stand24 ards and Technology. 
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1 (xv) The United States Fire Adminis2 tration. 

3 (C) APPOINTMENTS.—Each representative 

4 of a Department, Agency, or other entity speci5 fied in subparagraph (B) shall be appointed by 

6 the head of that Department, Agency, or other 

7 entity, as applicable. 

8 (3) DIRECTOR.—The representatives appointed 

9 under paragraph (2) shall, by majority vote, appoint 

10 a Director of the Center, who—

11 (A) shall be an employee of the U.S. Geo12 logical Survey or the Forest Service; 

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

14 than 7 years; 

15 (C) may serve one additional term of not 

16 more than 7 years after the initial term de17 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

18 (D) shall be responsible for the manage19 ment and operation of the Center. 

20 (4) ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS.—In consultation 

21 with the representatives appointed under paragraph 

22 (2), the Director may appoint such Associate Direc23 tors as the Director determines necessary. 

24 (5) ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATION.—The Sec25 retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv-
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1 ice, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

2 the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, may 

3 jointly appoint additional representatives of Federal 

4 agencies, States, Indian Tribes, or local governments 

5 to the Center, as the Secretaries determine nec6 essary. 

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

8 (1) comprehensively assess and predict, using 

9 data tools (including artificial intelligence) and other 

10 decision support products, fire and smoke in the 

11 wildland and built environment interface across ju12 risdictions to inform—

13 (A) land and fuels management; 

14 (B) community (including at-risk commu15 nities identified in fireshed assessments con16 ducted under section 105) and built environ17 ment risk reduction, including the support and 

18 development of community wildfire protection 

19 plans and evacuation decisions; and 

20 (C) public health risk reduction related to 

21 wildland fire and smoke, including air quality 

22 monitoring and forecasting and smoke pre23 diction models; 

24 (D) fire response and management, includ25 ing the pre-positioning of wildfire suppression 
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1 personnel and assets based on real-time risk; 

2 and 

3 (E) post-fire recovery activities, including 

4 activities related to vegetation recovery, debris 

5 flows and flooding, watershed recovery and pro6 tection, and ecosystem health; 

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

8 and fuels management services, and science-based 

9 decision support services to inform the purposes 

10 specified in subparagraph (A) through (E) of para11 graph (1); 

12 (3) reduce fragmentation and duplication across 

13 Federal land management agencies with respect to 

14 predictive service and decision support functions re15 lated to wildland fire and smoke, including through 

16 the provision of data aggregation described in para17 graph (2); 

18 (4) promote coordination and sharing of data 

19 regarding wildland fire and smoke decision making 

20 (including through the provision of data aggregation 

21 described in paragraph (2)) to each of the entities 

22 specified in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of para23 graph (8); 

24 (5) streamline procurement processes for tech25 nologies (including technologies identified under the 
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1 pilot program established under section 303) and 

2 cybersecurity systems related to addressing wildland 

3 fire and smoke for the purposes of scaling such tech4 nologies and systems across Federal agencies; 

5 (6) amplify and distribute existing, and develop 

6 as necessary, publicly accessible data, models, tech7 nologies (including mapping technologies), assess8 ments, and National Weather Service fire weather 

9 forecasts to support short- and long-term planning 

10 regarding wildland fire and smoke risk reduction 

11 and post-fire recovery while avoiding duplicative ef12 forts, as determined by the Director; 

13 (7) maintain the Fireshed Registry established 

14 under section 103; and 

15 (8) disseminate data tools (including artificial 

16 intelligence) and other decision support products, for 

17 use in manners consistent with the purposes de18 scribed paragraphs (1) through (7), to the following: 

19 (A) Federal agencies. 

20 (B) Indian Tribes. 

21 (C) State and local governments. 

22 (D) Academic or research institutions. 

23 (E) Wildland firefighting entities, includ24 ing applicable incident management teams and 

25 geographic coordination centers. 
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1 (F) Other entities, including public, pri2 vate, and nonprofit entities, with expertise in 

3 land management, air quality, water manage4 ment, or public health, as determined appro5 priate by the Director. 

6 (c) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Center 

7 may enter into memoranda of understanding, contracts, 

8 or other agreements with State governments, Indian 

9 Tribes, local governments, academic or research institu10 tions, and private entities to improve the information and 

11 operations of the Center. 

12 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV13 ICES, AND STAFF SUPPORT.—

14 (1) USGS SUPPORT.—The Secretary of the In15 terior shall make personnel of the U.S. Geological 

16 Survey available to the Center for such administra17 tive support, technical services, and development and 

18 dissemination of data as the Secretary determines 

19 necessary to carry out this section. 

20 (2) USFS SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall 

21 make personnel of the Forest Service available to 

22 the Center for such administrative support, technical 

23 services, and the development and dissemination of 

24 information related to fireshed management and the 
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1 Fireshed Registry as the Secretary determines nec2 essary to carry out this section. 

3 (3) FUNDING.—Notwithstanding section 708 of 

4 title VII of division E of the Consolidated Appro5 priations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328), the Sec6 retary of the Interior and Secretary may enter into 

7 agreements to share the management and oper8 ational costs of the Center. 

9 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion shall be construed to affect the ownership of any data 

11 sources. 

12 SEC. 103. FIRESHED REGISTRY. 

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

14 through the Director of the Fireshed Center appointed 

15 under section 102, shall maintain a Fireshed Registry on 

16 a publicly accessible website that provides interactive 

17 geospatial data on individual firesheds, including informa18 tion on—

19 (1) wildfire exposure delineated by ownership, 

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

21 or private purposes; 

22 (2) any hazardous fuels management activities 

23 that have occurred within an individual fireshed in 

24 the past 10 years; 
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1 (3) wildfire exposure with respect to such 

2 fireshed delineated by—

3 (A) wildfire exposure and corresponding 

4 risk to communities, including risk to life and 

5 structures; 

6 (B) wildfire exposure and corresponding 

7 risk to municipal watersheds, including tribal 

8 water supplies and systems; and 

9 (C) risk of forest conversion due to wild10 fire; 

11 (4) the percentage of the fireshed that has 

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

13 to the extent practicable, delineations of acres that 

14 have burned at a high severity; 

15 (5) spatial patterns of wildfire exposure, includ16 ing plausible extreme fire events; and 

17 (6) any hazardous fuels management activities 

18 planned for the fireshed, including fireshed manage19 ment projects. 

20 (b) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS.—

21 The Director shall make data from the Fireshed Registry 

22 available to local communities developing or updating com23 munity wildfire protection plans. 
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1 (c) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN.—As part of the 

2 website containing the Fireshed Registry, the Director 

3 shall—

4 (1) publish fireshed assessments created under 

5 section 105; and 

6 (2) maintain a searchable database to track—

7 (A) the status of Federal environmental re8 views, permits, and authorizations for fireshed 

9 management projects, including—

10 (i) a comprehensive permitting time11 table; 

12 (ii) the status of the compliance of 

13 each lead agency, cooperating agency, and 

14 participating agency with the permitting 

15 timetable with respect to such fireshed 

16 management projects; 

17 (iii) any modifications of the permit18 ting timetable required under clause (i), in19 cluding an explanation as to why the per20 mitting timetable was modified; and 

21 (iv) information about project-related 

22 public meetings, public hearings, and pub23 lic comment periods, which shall be pre24 sented in English and the predominant 

25 language of the community or communities 
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1 most affected by the project, as that infor2 mation becomes available; 

3 (B) the projected cost of such fireshed 

4 management projects; and 

5 (C) in the case of completed fireshed man6 agement projects, the effectiveness of such 

7 projects in reducing the wildfire exposure within 

8 an applicable fireshed, including wildfire expo9 sure described in subparagraphs (A) through 

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

11 (d) RELIANCE ON EXISTING ASSESSMENTS.—In car12 rying out this section, the Director may rely on assess13 ments completed or data gather through existing partner14 ships, to the extent practicable. 

15 SEC. 104. SHARED STEWARDSHIP. 

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

17 after receiving a written request from a Governor of a 

18 State or an Indian Tribe, the Secretary concerned shall 

19 enter into a shared stewardship agreement (or similar 

20 agreement) with such Governor or Indian Tribe to joint21 ly—

22 (1) promote the reduction of wildfire exposure, 

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

24 fireshed management areas across jurisdictional 

25 boundaries; and 
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1 (2) conduct fireshed assessments under section 

2 105. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREAS.—

4 With respect to a shared stewardship agreement (or simi5 lar agreement) with a Governor of a State or an Indian 

6 Tribe entered into under subsection (a), the Secretary con7 cerned, if requested by such Governor or Indian Tribe, 

8 may—

9 (1) designate additional fireshed management 

10 areas under such agreement; and 

11 (2) update such agreement to address new wild12 fire threats. 

13 SEC. 105. FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS. 

14 (a) FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS.—

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

16 the date on which the Secretary concerned enters 

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

18 Indian Tribe under section 104, the Secretary con19 cerned and such Governor or Indian Tribe shall, 

20 with respect to the fireshed management areas des21 ignated in such State, jointly conduct a fireshed as22 sessment that—

23 (A) identifies—

24 (i) using the best available science, 

25 wildfire exposure risks within each such 
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1 fireshed management area, including sce2 nario planning and wildfire hazard map3 ping and models; and 

4 (ii) each at-risk community within 

5 each fireshed management area; 

6 (B) identifies potential fireshed manage7 ment projects to be carried out in such fireshed 

8 management areas, giving priority—

9 (i) primarily, to projects with the pur10 pose of reducing—

11 (I) wildfire exposure and cor12 responding risk to communities, in13 cluding risk to life and structures; 

14 (II) wildfire exposure and cor15 responding risk to municipal water16 sheds, including tribal water supplies 

17 and systems; 

18 (III) risk of forest conversion due 

19 to wildfire; or 

20 (IV) any combination of purposes 

21 described in subclauses (I) through 

22 (III); and 

23 (ii) secondarily, to projects with the 

24 purpose of protecting—
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1 (I) critical infrastructure, includ2 ing utility infrastructure; 

3 (II) wildlife habitats, including 

4 habitat for species listed under the 

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

6 1531 et seq.); 

7 (III) the built environment, in8 cluding residential and commercial 

9 buildings; 

10 (IV) resources of an Indian 

11 Tribe, as defined by the Indian Tribe; 

12 or 

13 (V) any combination of purposes 

14 described in subclauses (I) through 

15 (IV); 

16 (C) includes—

17 (i) a strategy for reducing the threat 

18 of wildfire to at-risk communities in the 

19 wildland-urban interface on both Federal 

20 and non-Federal land; 

21 (ii) a timeline for the implementation 

22 of fireshed management projects; 

23 (iii) long-term benchmark goals for 

24 the completion of fireshed management 

25 projects in the highest wildfire exposure 
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1 areas so that such projects contribute to 

2 the development and maintenance of 

3 healthy and resilient landscapes; 

4 (iv) policies to ensure fireshed man5 agement projects comply with applicable 

6 forest plans and incorporate the best avail7 able science; and 

8 (v) a strategy for reducing the threat 

9 of wildfire to improve the effectiveness of 

10 wildland firefighting, particularly the effec11 tiveness of fuels treatments that would im12 prove wildland firefighter safety during 

13 wildfires; 

14 (D) shall be regularly updated based on 

15 the best available science, as determined by the 

16 Secretary concerned; and 

17 (E) shall be publicly available on a website 

18 maintained by the Secretary concerned. 

19 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION.—

20 Upon the written request of a local government, the 

21 Secretary concerned and the Governor of the State 

22 in which the local government is located may allow 

23 such local government to participate in producing 

24 the fireshed assessment under paragraph (1) for 

25 such State. 
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1 (3) INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT.—

2 (A) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—

3 In carrying out a fireshed assessment under 

4 this subsection, the Secretary concerned may 

5 enter into memoranda of understanding with 

6 other Federal agencies or departments (includ7 ing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad8 ministration), States, Indian Tribes, private en9 tities, or research or educational institutions to 

10 improve, with respect to such assessment, the 

11 use and integration of—

12 (i) advanced remote sensing and 

13 geospatial technologies; 

14 (ii) statistical modeling and analysis; 

15 or 

16 (iii) any other technology or combina17 tion of technologies and analyses that the 

18 Secretary concerned determines will benefit 

19 the quality of information of such an as20 sessment. 

21 (B) BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE.—In using 

22 the best available science for the fireshed as23 sessments completed under subsection (a)(1), 

24 the Secretary concerned and Governor shall, to 

25 the maximum extent practicable, incorporate—
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1 (i) traditional ecological knowledge 

2 from Indian Tribes; 

3 (ii) data from State forest action 

4 plans and State wildfire risk assessments; 

5 (iii) data from the Fireshed Registry 

6 maintained under section 103; and 

7 (iv) data from other Federal, State, 

8 Tribal, and local governments or agencies. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY OF NEPA.—Fireshed assess10 ments conducted under this section shall not be subject 

11 to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 

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

13 SEC. 106. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT. 

14 (a) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—

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

16 acting through a responsible official, shall carry out 

17 fireshed management projects in fireshed manage18 ment areas designated under section 101 in accord19 ance with this section. 

20 (2) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—The 

21 responsible official shall carry out the following for22 est and vegetation management activities as fireshed 

23 management projects under this section: 

24 (A) Conducting hazardous fuels manage25 ment activities. 
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1 (B) Creating fuel breaks and fire breaks. 

2 (C) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, 

3 dying trees, or trees at risk of dying, as deter4 mined by the responsible official. 

5 (D) Developing, approving, or conducting 

6 routine maintenance under a vegetation man7 agement, facility inspection, and operation and 

8 maintenance plan submitted under section 

9 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Man10 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)). 

11 (E) Removing trees to address over12 stocking or crowding in a forest stand, con13 sistent with the appropriate basal area of the 

14 forest stand as determined by the responsible 

15 official. 

16 (F) Using chemical or re-seeding and 

17 planting treatments to address insects and dis18 ease and control vegetation competition or 

19 invasive species. 

20 (G) Any activities recommended by an ap21 plicable fireshed assessment carried out under 

22 section 105. 

23 (H) Any activities recommended by an ap24 plicable community wildfire protection plan. 
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1 (I) Any combination of activities described 

2 in this paragraph. 

3 (3) EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—For any fireshed man5 agement area designated under section 101, the 

6 following shall have the force and effect of law: 

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

8 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

9 date of enactment of this Act), with re10 spect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 

11 Secretary. 

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

13 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

14 date of enactment of this Act), with re15 spect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 

16 Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code 

18 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

19 date of enactment of this Act). 

20 (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code 

21 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

22 date of enactment of this Act). 

23 (B) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING STREAM24 LINED AUTHORITIES IN FIRESHED MANAGE25 MENT AREAS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Fireshed manage2 ment projects carried out under this sec3 tion shall be considered authorized projects 

4 under the following categorical exclusions: 

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

6 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

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

8 (II) Section 605(a) of the 

9 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

10 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591d(a)). 

11 (III) Section 606(b) of the 

12 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

13 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591e(b)). 

14 (IV) Section 40806(b) of the In15 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

16 (16 U.S.C. 6592b(b)). 

17 (V) Section 4(c)(4) of the Lake 

18 Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 

19 106–506; 114 Stat. 2353). 

20 (ii) ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY AC21 TIONS.—Subsection (d) of section 40807 of 

22 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

23 Act (16 U.S.C. 6592c) shall apply to 

24 fireshed management projects under this 

25 section in the same manner as such sub-
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1 section applies to authorized emergency ac2 tions (as defined in subsection (a) of such 

3 section 40807) under such section 40807. 

4 (iii) USE OF EXPEDITED AUTHORI5 TIES.—In carrying out a fireshed manage6 ment project, the Secretary shall apply a 

7 categorical exclusion under clause (i)—

8 (I) in a manner consistent with 

9 the statute establishing such categor10 ical exclusion; and 

11 (II) in any area—

12 (aa) designated as suitable 

13 for timber production within the 

14 applicable forest plan; or 

15 (bb) where timber harvest 

16 activities are not prohibited. 

17 (iv) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT RE18 QUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this sec19 tion, the Secretary concerned shall ensure 

20 compliance with the amendments made to 

21 the National Environmental Policy Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Fiscal Respon23 sibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118–5). 

24 (v) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES.—

25 To the maximum extent practicable, the 
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1 Secretary concerned shall use the authori2 ties provided under this section in com3 bination with other authorities to carry out 

4 fireshed management projects, including—

5 (I) good neighbor agreements en6 tered into under section 8206 of the 

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

8 2113a) (as amended by this Act); 

9 (II) stewardship contracting 

10 projects entered into under section 

11 604 of the Healthy Forests Restora12 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) 

13 (as amended by this Act); 

14 (III) self-determination contracts 

15 and self-governance compact agree16 ments entered into under the Indian 

17 Self-Determination and Education As18 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

19 and 

20 (IV) agreements entered into 

21 under the Tribal Forest Protection 

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

23 seq.). 

24 (b) EXPANSION.—
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1 (1) HFRA AMENDMENTS.—The Healthy For2 ests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended—

3 (A) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 6502), by in4 serting at the end the following: 

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

6 government’ means a county, municipality, or special 

7 district. 

8 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL DISTRICT.—The term ‘special dis9 trict’ means a political subdivision of a State that—

10 ‘‘(A) has significant budgetary autonomy 

11 or control; 

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

13 laws of the State for the purpose of performing 

14 a limited and specific governmental or propri15 etary function; and 

16 ‘‘(C) is distinct from any other local gov17 ernment unit within the State.’’. 

18 (B) in section 603(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

19 6591b(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘3000 acres’’ and in20 serting ‘‘10,000 acres’’; 

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

22 6591b(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘Fire Regime 

23 Groups I, II, or III’’ and inserting ‘‘Fire Re24 gime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime III, Fire 

25 Regime IV, or Fire Regime V’’; 
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1 (D) in section 605(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

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

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

5 6591e(g)), by striking ‘‘4,500 acres’’ and in6 serting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

7 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS

8 ACT AMENDMENT.—Section 40806(d)(1) of the In9 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 6592b(d)(1)), by striking ‘‘3,000 acres’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

12 (3) LAKE TAHOE RESTORATION ACT AMEND13 MENTS.—Section 4(c)(4)(C) of the Lake Tahoe Res14 toration Act (Public Law 106–506; 114 Stat. 2353) 

15 is amended—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘Lake Tahoe Basin Man17 agement Unit’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘applicable to the area’’ 

19 before the period at the end. 

20 SEC. 107. SUNSET. 

21 The authority under this subtitle shall terminate on 

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

23 this Act. 
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1 Subtitle B—Expanding Collabo2 rative Tools to Reduce Wildfire 

3 Risk and Improve Forest Health 

4 SEC. 111. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN 

5 REVENUE AND PAYMENTS UNDER GOOD 

6 NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS. 

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

8 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amend9 ed—

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

11 tribe’’; 

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

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

14 district’ means a political subdivision of a State 

15 that—

16 ‘‘(A) has significant budgetary autonomy 

17 or control; 

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

19 laws of the State for the purpose of performing 

20 a limited and specific governmental or propri21 etary function; and 

22 ‘‘(C) is distinct from any other local gov23 ernment unit within the State.’’. 

24 (3) in subsection (b)—
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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 Indian Tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Gov3 ernor’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(C)—

5 (i) in clause (i)—

6 (I) by inserting ‘‘special district,’’ 

7 after ‘‘Indian Tribe,’’ each place it ap8 pears; 

9 (II) in subclause (I)—

10 (aa) by striking ‘‘on’’; and 

11 (bb) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

12 inserting a semicolon; 

13 (III) in subclause (II)(bb), by 

14 striking the period at the end and in15 serting a semicolon; and 

16 (IV) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(III) to construct new perma19 nent roads on Federal lands that 

20 are—

21 ‘‘(aa) necessary to imple22 ment authorized restoration ac23 tivities; and 

24 ‘‘(bb) approved by the Fed25 eral agency through an environ-
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•HR 471 EH

1 mental analysis or categorical ex2 clusion decision; 

3 ‘‘(IV) to complete new permanent 

4 road construction to replace and de5 commission an existing permanent 

6 road that is adversely impacting for7 est, rangeland, or watershed health; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(V) if there are funds remaining 

10 after carrying out subclauses (I) 

11 through (IV), to carry out authorized 

12 restoration services under other good 

13 neighbor agreements and for the ad14 ministration of a good neighbor au15 thority program by a Governor, In16 dian tribe, special district, or coun17 ty.’’; and 

18 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘2028’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, In21 dian Tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 

22 and 

23 (D) by striking paragraph (4). 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 8206(a) 

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

3 amended—

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

5 Tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 

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

7 Tribe, special district,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. 

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

9 this section apply to any project initiated pursuant to a 

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

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

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

13 the project was initiated after the date of enactment 

14 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public 

15 Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4490); or 

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

17 Act. 

18 SEC. 112. FIXING STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CON19 TRACTING. 

20 Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

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

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

23 retaining and expanding existing forest products in24 frastructure’’ before the period at the end; 
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•HR 471 EH

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

2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; and 

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR LONG-TERM STEWARD6 SHIP CONTRACTS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A long-term agree8 ment or contract entered into with an entity 

9 under subsection (b) by the Chief or the Direc10 tor shall provide that in the case of the can11 cellation or termination by the Chief or the Di12 rector of such long-term agreement or contract, 

13 the Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall 

14 provide 10 percent of the agreement or contract 

15 amount to such entity as cancellation or termi16 nation costs. 

17 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF LONG-TERM AGREE18 MENT OR CONTRACT.—In this paragraph, the 

19 term ‘long-term agreement or contract’ means 

20 an agreement or contract under subsection 

21 (b)—

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

23 and 

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

25 of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 
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1 SEC. 113. INTRA-AGENCY STRIKE TEAMS. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

3 shall establish intra-agency strike teams to assist the Sec4 retary concerned with—

5 (1) any reviews, including analysis under the 

6 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

7 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), consultations under the Na8 tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 

9 470 et seq.), and consultations under the Endan10 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

11 with the intent to accelerate and streamline inter12 agency consultation processes; 

13 (2) the implementation of any necessary site 

14 preparation work in advance of or as part of a 

15 fireshed management project; 

16 (3) the implementation of fireshed management 

17 projects under such section; and 

18 (4) any combination of purposes under para19 graphs (1) through (3). 

20 (b) MEMBERS.—The Secretary concerned may ap21 point not more than 10 individuals to serve on an intra22 agency strike team comprised of—

23 (1) employees of the Department under the ju24 risdiction of the Secretary concerned; 

25 (2) employees of a different Federal agency, 

26 with the consent of that agency’s Secretary; 
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1 (3) private contractors from any nonprofit orga2 nization, State government, Indian Tribe, local gov3 ernment, quasi-governmental agency, academic insti4 tution, or private organization; and 

5 (4) volunteers from any nonprofit organization, 

6 State government, Indian Tribe, local government, 

7 quasi-governmental agency, academic institution, or 

8 private organization. 

9 (c) SUNSET.—The authority provided under this sec10 tion shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 114. LOCALLY-LED RESTORATION. 

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

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

15 472a(d)) is amended by—

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

17 ‘‘$55,000’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Begin19 ning on January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, 

20 the amount in the first sentence of this subsection 

21 shall be adjusted by the Secretary for changes in the 

22 Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers pub23 lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De24 partment of Labor.’’. 
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1 (b) FIRESHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—Begin2 ning on the date that is 30 days after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit bids under sec4 tion 14 of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 

5 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) for fireshed management projects 

6 under section 106. 

7 SEC. 115. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PART8 NERSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 Section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

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

11 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

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

13 at the end; 

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

15 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

16 and 

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

18 ‘‘(D) to recover from wildfires; or 

19 ‘‘(E) to enhance soil, water, and related 

20 natural resources.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (d)(1)—

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

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

24 risk’’; and 
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1 (B) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 as identified in the corresponding State forest 

3 action plan or similar priority plan (such as a 

4 State wildlife or water plan)’’ before the semi5 colon; 

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

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

8 2023’’; and 

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

10 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2030’’. 

11 SEC. 116. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA12 TION PROGRAM. 

13 Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage14 ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (b)(3)—

16 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘spe17 cies;’’ and inserting ‘‘species or pathogens;’’; 

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

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

21 after the semicolon at the end; and 

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

23 ‘‘(I) address standardized monitoring ques24 tions and indicators;’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (c)(3)(A)—
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1 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

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

4 end; and 

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

6 ‘‘(iii) include a plan to provide sup7 port to collaborative processes established 

8 pursuant to subsection (b)(2);’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (d)—

10 (A) in paragraph (2)—

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

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

15 and’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

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

19 implementation mechanisms, including good 

20 neighbor agreements entered into under section 

21 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 

22 U.S.C. 2113a); 

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

24 treat insects or diseases, including the removal 

25 of trees killed by, or infested with, bark beetles 
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1 in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Mon2 tana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, 

3 South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyo4 ming; 

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

6 sale of firewood and Christmas trees on lands 

7 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or the 

8 Secretary of the Interior; 

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

10 of uncharacteristic wildfire or increase ecologi11 cal restoration activities—

12 ‘‘(i) within areas across land owner13 ships, including State, Tribal, and private 

14 land; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) within the wildland-urban inter16 face (as defined in section 101 of the 

17 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

18 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and 

19 ‘‘(K) proposals that seek to enhance water20 shed health and drinking water sources.’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (3)—

22 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

23 read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) 4 proposals in any 1 region of the 

2 National Forest System to be funded during 

3 any fiscal year; and’’; 

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

5 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

6 (C) as subparagraph (B); and 

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

8 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2030’’. 

9 SEC. 117. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUC10 TION. 

11 The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

12 Service, in coordination with holders of permits to graze 

13 livestock on Federal land, shall develop a strategy to in14 crease opportunities to utilize livestock grazing as a wild15 fire risk reduction strategy, including—

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

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

18 4321 et seq.)) to allow permitted grazing on vacant 

19 grazing allotments during instances of drought, wild20 fire, or other natural disasters that disrupt grazing 

21 on allotments already permitted; 

22 (2) use of targeted grazing; 

23 (3) increased use of temporary permits to pro24 mote targeted fuels reduction and reduction of 

25 invasive annual grasses; 
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1 (4) increased use of grazing as a postfire recov2 ery and restoration strategy, where appropriate; and 

3 (5) use of all applicable authorities under the 

4 law. 

5 SEC. 118. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

6 Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

7 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(g)(4)(B)) is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (a)—

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

10 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re11 spectively; 

12 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

13 so redesignated, the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) ADJACENT LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 

15 land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 

16 and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 

17 same watershed as, National Forest System land on 

18 which a watershed protection and restoration project 

19 is carried out under this section.’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated—

21 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

22 (G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 

23 (L), respectively; and 

24 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

25 (F) the following: 
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1 ‘‘(G) an acequia association; 

2 ‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti3 ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re4 sources or other related water infrastructure; 

5 ‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 

6 ‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti7 ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 

14 and restoration project under the Program shall be 

15 designed to—

16 ‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 

17 water supply and quality, a municipal or agri18 cultural water supply system, and water-related 

19 infrastructure; 

20 ‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 

21 insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 

22 ‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur23 poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

24 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro25 tection and restoration projects under the Program, 
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1 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 

2 would—

3 ‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as4 sociated with: drought; wildfire; post-wildfire 

5 conditions; extreme weather; flooding; resilience 

6 to climate change; and watershed and fire resil7 ience, including minimizing risks to watershed 

8 health, water supply and quality, and water-re9 lated infrastructure, including municipal and 

10 agricultural water supply systems; 

11 ‘‘(B) support aquatic restoration and con12 servation efforts that complement existing or 

13 planned forest restoration or wildfire risk re14 duction efforts; or 

15 ‘‘(C) provide quantifiable benefits to water 

16 supply or quality and include the use of nature17 based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 

18 riparian ecosystems. 

19 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT

20 LAND.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 

22 may be carried out under this section on adja23 cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 

24 agrees in writing that the owner is a willing and 
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1 engaged partner in carrying out that project or 

2 activity. 

3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 

4 shall be construed to authorize any change in—

5 ‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 

6 which a project or activity is carried out 

7 under this section; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 

9 on which a project or activity is carried out 

10 under this section, except during the car11 rying out of that project or activity.’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c)—

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘with 

14 end water users’’ and inserting ‘‘with end water 

15 users to protect and restore the condition of 

16 National Forest watersheds and adjacent land 

17 that provide water—

18 ‘‘(A) to the end water users subject to the 

19 agreement; or 

20 ‘‘(B) for the benefit of another end water 

21 user.’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)—

23 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

24 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 
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1 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

2 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 

3 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

4 (C) the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 

6 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 

7 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(3) COOPERATION WITH NON-FEDERAL PART10 NERS.—The Secretary shall cooperate with non-Fed11 eral partners in carrying out assessments, planning, 

12 project design, and project implementation under 

13 this section.’’; 

14 (4) in subsection (d)—

15 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A water source manage18 ment plan shall be—

19 ‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco20 logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 

21 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef22 fect on the date of enactment of this subpara23 graph)); 

24 ‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 

25 information; and 
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1 ‘‘(C) conducted in a manner consistent 

2 with the forest plan applicable to the National 

3 Forest System land on which the watershed 

4 protection and restoration project is carried 

5 out.’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) REDUCING REDUNDANCY.—An existing 

8 watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 

9 restoration action plan developed under section 

10 304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 

11 documents as approved by the Secretary may be 

12 used as the basis for a water source management 

13 plan under this subsection.’’; and 

14 (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘primary 

15 purpose of’’ and all that follows through the period 

16 at the end and inserting ‘‘primary purpose of ad17 vancing any of the purposes described in subsection 

18 (b)(2).’’. 

19 SEC. 119. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK TECH20 NICAL CORRECTIONS. 

21 Section 304(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

22 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543(a)) is amended in para23 graphs (3) and (5) by striking ‘‘protection and’’. 
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1 Subtitle C—Litigation Reform 

2 SEC. 121. COMMONSENSE LITIGATION REFORM. 

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

4 agency action if the court determines that the plaintiff is 

5 unable to demonstrate that the claim of the plaintiff is 

6 likely to succeed on the merits. 

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

8 OF COVERED AGENCY ACTION IN CONSIDERING INJUNC9 TIVE RELIEF.—As part of its weighing the equities while 

10 considering any request for an injunction that applies to 

11 a covered agency action, the court reviewing such action 

12 shall balance the impact to the ecosystem likely affected 

13 by such action of—

14 (1) the short- and long-term effects of under15 taking such action; against 

16 (2) the short- and long-term effects of not un17 dertaking such action. 

18 (c) LIMITATIONS ON JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

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

21 a claim arising under Federal law seeking judicial 

22 review of a covered agency action—

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

24 aside, or otherwise limit, delay, stay, vacate, or 
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1 enjoin such agency action unless the court de2 termines that—

3 (i) such action poses or will pose a 

4 risk of a proximate and substantial envi5 ronmental harm; and 

6 (ii) there is no other equitable remedy 

7 available as a matter of law; and 

8 (B) if a court determines that subpara9 graph (A) does not apply to the covered agency 

10 action the only remedy the court may order 

11 with regard to such agency action is to remand 

12 the matter to the agency with instructions to, 

13 during the 180-day period beginning on the 

14 date of the order, take such additional actions 

15 as may be necessary to redress any legal wrong 

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

17 except such additional actions may not include 

18 the preparation of a new agency document un19 less the court finds the agency was required 

20 and failed to prepare such agency document. 

21 (2) EFFECT OF REMAND.—In the case of a cov22 ered agency action to which paragraph (1)(B) ap23 plies, the agency may—

24 (A) continue to carry out such agency ac25 tion to the extent the action does not impact 
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1 the additional actions required pursuant to such 

2 paragraph; and 

3 (B) if the agency action relates to an agen4 cy document, use any format to correct such 

5 document (including a supplemental environ6 mental document, memorandum, or errata 

7 sheet). 

8 (d) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 

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

10 under Federal law seeking judicial review of a covered 

11 agency action shall be barred unless—

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

13 application of a categorical exclusion noticed in the 

14 Federal Register, such claim is filed not later than 

15 120 days after the date of publication of a notice in 

16 the Federal Register of agency intent to carry out 

17 the fireshed management project relating to such 

18 agency document or application, unless a shorter pe19 riod is specified in such Federal law; 

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

21 application of a categorical exclusion not described 

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

23 120 days after the date that is the earlier of—

24 (A) the date on which such agency docu25 ment or application is published; and 
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•HR 471 EH

1 (B) the date on which such agency docu2 ment or application is noticed; and 

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

4 which there was a public comment period, such 

5 claim—

6 (A) is filed by a party that—

7 (i) participated in the administrative 

8 proceedings regarding the fireshed man9 agement project relating to such action; 

10 and 

11 (ii) submitted a comment during such 

12 public comment period and such comment 

13 was sufficiently detailed to put the applica14 ble agency on notice of the issue upon 

15 which the party seeks judicial review; and 

16 (B) is related to such comment. 

17 (e) DEFINITIONS.—ln this section: 

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

19 document’’ means, with respect to a fireshed man20 agement project, a record of decision, environmental 

21 document, or programmatic environmental docu22 ment. 

23 (2) COVERED AGENCY ACTION.—The term 

24 ‘‘covered agency action’’ means—
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•HR 471 EH

1 (A) the establishment of a fireshed man2 agement project by an agency; 

3 (B) the application of a categorical exclu4 sion to a fireshed management project; 

5 (C) the preparation of any agency docu6 ment for a fireshed management project; or 

7 (D) any other agency action as part of a 

8 fireshed management project. 

9 (3) NEPA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘categorical ex10 clusion’’, ‘‘environmental document’’, and ‘‘pro11 grammatic environmental document’’ have the mean12 ings given such terms, respectively, in section 111 of 

13 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

14 U.S.C. 4336e). 

15 SEC. 122. CONSULTATION ON FOREST PLANS. 

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

17 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

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

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION RE21 QUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec23 retary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 

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

25 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of 
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1 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

2 regulation), on a land management plan approved, 

3 amended, or revised under this section when—

4 ‘‘(A) a new species is listed or critical habi5 tat is designated under the Endangered Species 

6 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(B) new information reveals effects of the 

8 land management plan that may affect a spe9 cies listed or critical habitat designated under 

10 that Act in a manner or to an extent not pre11 viously considered.’’. 

12 (b) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Sec13 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

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

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(g) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED

17 UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding 

18 any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not be re19 quired to reinitiate consultation under section 7(a)(2) of 

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

21 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 50, Code of Federal 

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

23 approved, amended, or revised under this section when—
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1 ‘‘(1) a new species is listed or critical habitat 

2 is designated under the Endangered Species Act of 

3 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 

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

5 use plan that may affect a species listed or critical 

6 habitat designated under that Act in a manner or to 

7 an extent not previously considered.’’. 

8 TITLE II—PROTECTING COMMU9 NITIES IN THE WILDLAND10 URBAN INTERFACE 

11 SEC. 201. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PRO12 GRAM. 

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

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

15 jointly establish an interagency program to be known as 

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

17 shall consist of at least one representative from each of 

18 the following: 

19 (1) The Office of Wildland Fire of the Depart20 ment of the Interior. 

21 (2) The National Park Service. 

22 (3) The Bureau of Land Management. 

23 (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv24 ice. 

25 (5) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
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1 (6) The Forest Service. 

2 (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agen3 cy. 

4 (8) The United States Fire Administration. 

5 (9) The National Institute of Standards and 

6 Technology. 

7 (10) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program estab10 lished under subsection (a) is to support interagency co11 ordination in reducing the risk of, and the damages result12 ing from, wildfires in communities (including tribal com13 munities) in the wildland-urban interface through—

14 (1) advancing research and science in wildfire 

15 resilience and land management, including support 

16 for non-Federal research partnerships; 

17 (2) supporting adoption by Indian Tribes and 

18 local governmental entities of fire-resistant building 

19 methods, codes, and standards; 

20 (3) supporting efforts by Indian Tribes or local 

21 governmental entities to address the effects of 

22 wildland fire on such communities, including prop23 erty damages, air quality, and water quality; 
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1 (4) encouraging public-private partnerships to 

2 conduct hazardous fuels management activities in 

3 the wildland-urban interface; 

4 (5) providing technical and financial assistance 

5 targeted towards communities, including tribal com6 munities, through streamlined and unified technical 

7 assistance and grant management mechanisms, in8 cluding the portal and grant application established 

9 under subsection (c), to—

10 (A) encourage critical risk reduction meas11 ures on private property with high wildfire risk 

12 exposure in such communities; and 

13 (B) mitigate costs for and improve capac14 ity among such communities. 

15 (c) PORTAL AND UNIFORM GRANT APPLICATION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program es17 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretaries and 

18 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man19 agement Agency shall establish a portal through 

20 which a person may submit a single, uniform appli21 cation for any of the following: 

22 (A) A community wildfire defense grant 

23 under section 40803(f) of the Infrastructure In24 vestment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(f)). 
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1 (B) An emergency management perform2 ance grant under section 662 of the Post3 Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 

4 2006 (6 U.S.C. 761). 

5 (C) A grant under section 33 of the Fed6 eral Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

7 (15 U.S.C. 2229). 

8 (D) A grant under section 34 of the Fed9 eral Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

10 (15 U.S.C. 2229a). 

11 (E) Financial or technical assistance or a 

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

13 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

15 5133, 5135, 5170c, 5172, 5187). 

16 (2) SIMPLIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—In es17 tablishing the portal and application under para18 graph (1), the Secretaries and the Administrator 

19 shall seek to reduce the complexity and length of the 

20 application process for the grants described in para21 graph (1). 

22 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretaries 

23 shall provide technical assistance to communities or 

24 persons seeking to apply for financial assistance 
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1 through the portal using the application established 

2 under paragraph (1). 

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

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

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 202. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE RESEARCH PRO7 GRAM. 

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

9 jointly, expand the Joint Fire Science Program to include 

10 a performance-driven research and development program 

11 known as the ‘‘Community Wildfire Defense Research 

12 Program’’ for the purpose of testing and advancing inno13 vative designs to create or improve the wildfire-resistance 

14 of structures and communities. 

15 (b) PROGRAM PRIORITIES.—In carrying out the pro16 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretaries 

17 shall evaluate opportunities to create wildfire-resistant 

18 structures and communities through—

19 (1) different affordable building materials, in20 cluding mass timber; 

21 (2) home hardening, including policies to 

22 incentivize and incorporate defensible space; 

23 (3) subdivision design and other land use plan24 ning and design; 

25 (4) landscape architecture; and 
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1 (5) other wildfire-resistant designs, as deter2 mined by the Secretary. 

3 (c) COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE INNOVATION

4 PRIZE.—

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

6 established under subsection (a), the Secretaries 

7 shall carry out a competition through which a person 

8 may submit to the Secretaries innovative designs for 

9 the creation or improvement of an ignition-resistant 

10 structure or fire-adapted communities. 

11 (2) PRIZE.—Subject to the availability of ap12 propriations made in advance for such purpose, the 

13 Secretaries may award a prize under the competition 

14 described in paragraph (1), based on criteria estab15 lished by the Secretaries and in accordance with 

16 paragraph (3). 

17 (3) SCALE.—In awarding a prize under para18 graph (2), the Secretaries shall prioritize for an 

19 award designs with the most potential to scale to ex20 isting infrastructure. 

21 (d) COLLABORATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In 

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

23 the Secretaries shall ensure collaboration and nonduplica24 tion of activities with the Building Technologies Office of 

25 the Department of Energy. 
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1 (e) SUNSET.—The program established under sub2 section (a) shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 203. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC5 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

6 RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 

7 DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

8 (a) HAZARD TREES WITHIN 150 FEET OF ELECTRIC

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

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

11 1772(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘10’’ and in12 serting ‘‘150’’. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION WITH PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.—

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

15 1772(c)(3)(E)) is amended—

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

17 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in18 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(iii) consulting with a private land21 owner with respect to any hazard trees 

22 identified for removal from land owned by 

23 the private landowner.’’. 
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1 (c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—Section 

2 512(c)(4)(A)(iv) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 

3 1772(c)(4)(A)(iv)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(iv) ensures that—

5 ‘‘(I) a plan submitted without a 

6 modification under clause (iii) shall be 

7 automatically approved 120 days after 

8 being submitted; and 

9 ‘‘(II) with respect to a plan sub10 mitted with a modification under 

11 clause (iii), if not approved within 120 

12 days after being submitted, the Sec13 retary concerned shall develop and 

14 submit a letter to the owner and oper15 ator describing—

16 ‘‘(aa) a detailed timeline (to 

17 conclude within 165 days after 

18 the submission of the plan) for 

19 completing review of the plan; 

20 ‘‘(bb) any identified defi21 ciencies with the plan and spe22 cific opportunities for the owner 

23 and operator to address such de24 ficiencies; and 
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•HR 471 EH

1 ‘‘(cc) any other relevant in2 formation, as determined by the 

3 Secretary concerned.’’. 

4 SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ELECTRIC UTIL5 ITY LINES RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

6 (a) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION ESTABLISHED.—For7 est management activities described in subsection (b) are 

8 a category of activities hereby designated as being cat9 egorically excluded from the preparation of an environ10 mental assessment or an environmental impact statement 

11 under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 

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

13 (b) FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES DESIGNATED

14 FOR CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The forest management 

15 activities designated under subsection (a) for a categorical 

16 exclusion are—

17 (1) the development and approval of a vegeta18 tion management, facility inspection, and operation 

19 and maintenance plan submitted under section 

20 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage21 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)) by the 

22 Secretary concerned; and 

23 (2) the implementation of routine activities con24 ducted under the plan referred to in paragraph (1). 
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1 (c) AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—

2 On and after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary concerned may use the categorical exclusion estab4 lished under subsection (a) in accordance with this section. 

5 (d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS FROM CATEGOR6 ICAL EXCLUSION.—The categorical exclusion established 

7 under subsection (a) shall not apply to any forest manage8 ment activity conducted—

9 (1) in a component of the National Wilderness 

10 Preservation System; or 

11 (2) on National Forest System lands on which 

12 the removal of vegetation is restricted or prohibited 

13 by an Act of Congress. 

14 (e) PERMANENT ROADS.—

15 (1) PROHIBITION ON ESTABLISHMENT.—A for16 est management activity designated under subsection 

17 (b) shall not include the establishment of a perma18 nent road. 

19 (2) EXISTING ROADS.—The Secretary con20 cerned may carry out necessary maintenance and re21 pair on an existing permanent road for the purposes 

22 of conducting a forest management activity des23 ignated under subsection (b). 

24 (3) TEMPORARY ROADS.—The Secretary con25 cerned shall decommission any temporary road con-
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•HR 471 EH

1 structed for carrying out a forest management activ2 ity designated under subsection (b) not later than 

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

4 forest management activity is completed. 

5 (f) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Clauses (iii) and (iv) of sec6 tion 106(a)(3) shall apply to forest management activities 

7 designated under subsection (b). 

8 SEC. 205. SEEDS OF SUCCESS. 

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

10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre11 taries and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly develop 

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

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

14 of seeds. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub16 section (a) shall include a plan for each of the following: 

17 (1) Facilitating sustained interagency coordina18 tion in, and a comprehensive approach to, native 

19 plant materials development and restoration. 

20 (2) Promoting the re-seeding of native or fire21 resistant vegetation post-wildfire, particularly in the 

22 wildland-urban interface. 

23 (3) Creating and consolidating information on 

24 native or fire-resistant vegetation and sharing such 
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1 information with State governments, Indian Tribes, 

2 and local governments. 

3 (4) Building regional programs and partner4 ships to promote the development of materials made 

5 from plants native to the United States and restore 

6 such plants to their respective, native habitats within 

7 the United States, giving priority to the building of 

8 such programs and partnerships in regions of the 

9 Bureau of Land Management where such partner10 ships and programs do not already exist as of the 

11 date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (5) Expanding seed storage and seed-cleaning 

13 infrastructure. 

14 (6) Expanding the Warehouse System of the 

15 Bureau of Land Management, particularly the cold 

16 storage capacity of the Warehouse System. 

17 (7) Shortening the timeline for the approval of 

18 permits to collect seeds on public lands managed by 

19 the Bureau of Land Management. 

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

21 Defense shall submit to the relevant Congressional Com22 mittees the strategy developed under paragraph (1). 
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1 SEC. 206. PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIORITY REFOREST2 ATION AND RESTORATION PROJECTS OF DE3 PARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 

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

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte6 rior, in coordination with the heads of covered Federal 

7 agencies, shall establish a program to provide support for 

8 priority projects identified under subsection (c)(2), in ac9 cordance with this section. 

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

11 subsection (a), the Secretary may provide support 

12 through—

13 (1) cooperative agreements entered into in ac14 cordance with processes established by the Sec15 retary; and 

16 (2) contracts, including contracts established 

17 pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Edu18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

19 (c) ANNUAL IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY

20 PROJECTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact21 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

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

23 Federal agencies, shall—

24 (1) identify lands of the United States adminis25 tered by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Secretary 

26 of the Interior that require reforestation and res-
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•HR 471 EH

1 toration due to unplanned disturbances and that are 

2 unlikely to experience natural regeneration without 

3 assistance; and 

4 (2) establish a list of priority projects for refor5 estation and restoration for the upcoming year, 

6 which may include activities to ensure adequate and 

7 appropriate seed and seedling availability to further 

8 the objectives of other priority projects. 

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

10 under subsection (a) and the requirements under sub11 section (c), the Secretary shall consult or collaborate with, 

12 as appropriate, and inform the following: 

13 (1) State and local governments. 

14 (2) Indian Tribes. 

15 (3) Covered institutions of higher education. 

16 (4) Federal agencies that administer lands of 

17 the United States that adjoin or are proximal to 

18 lands that are the subject of priority projects and 

19 potential priority projects. 

20 (5) Other stakeholders, as determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

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

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the relevant 
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1 Congressional Committees a report that includes the fol2 lowing: 

3 (1) An accounting of all lands identified under 

4 subsection (c)(1) for the period covered by the re5 port. 

6 (2) A list of priority projects identified under 

7 subsection (c)(2) for the period covered by the re8 port and, with respect to each such priority project, 

9 any support issued under the program under sub10 section (a) and any progress made towards reforest11 ation and restoration. 

12 (3) An accounting of each contract and cooper13 ative agreement established under the program 

14 under subsection (a). 

15 (4) A description of the actions taken in accord16 ance with subsection (d). 

17 (5) Assessments with respect to—

18 (A) gaps in—

19 (i) the implementation of the program 

20 under subsection (a); and 

21 (ii) the progress made under the pro22 gram with respect to priority projects; and 

23 (B) opportunities to procure funding nec24 essary to address any such gaps. 
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1 (f) NONDUPLICATION.—In carrying out this section, 

2 the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate with the Sec3 retary and the Secretary of Defense to ensure the non4 duplication of activities carried out under section 205. 

5 (g) SUNSET.—The authority provided under this sec6 tion shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) COVERED FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

11 Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

12 the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of 

13 Reclamation, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

14 (2) COVERED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU15 CATION.—The term ‘‘covered institution of higher 

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

17 institution’’ in section 301(e)(3). 

18 (3) NATURAL REGENERATION; REFOREST19 ATION.—The terms ‘‘natural regeneration’’ and ‘‘re20 forestation’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

21 section 3(e)(4)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Re22 newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

23 1601(3)(4)(A)). 

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

25 means activities that facilitate the recovery of an 
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1 ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or de2 stroyed, including the reestablishment of appropriate 

3 plant species composition and community structure. 

4 (5) UNPLANNED ECOSYSTEM DISTURBANCE.—

5 The term ‘‘unplanned ecosystem disturbance’’ means 

6 any unplanned disturbance that disrupts the struc7 ture or composition of an ecosystem, including a 

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

9 weather event. 

10 SEC. 207. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPAYMENT. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARD OPERATING

12 PROCEDURES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

13 the enactment of this section, the Secretaries shall—

14 (1) establish standard operating procedures re15 lating to payment timelines for fire suppression cost 

16 share agreements established under the Act of May 

17 27, 1955 (42 U.S.C. 1856a) (commonly known as 

18 the ‘‘Reciprocal Fire Protection Act’’); and 

19 (2) with respect to each fire suppression cost 

20 share agreement in operation on such date—

21 (A) review each such agreement; and 

22 (B) modify each agreement as necessary to 

23 comply with the standard operating procedures 

24 required under paragraph (1). 
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1 (b) ALIGNMENT OF FIRE SUPPRESSION COST SHARE

2 AGREEMENTS WITH COOPERATIVE FIRE PROTECTION

3 AGREEMENTS.—The standard operating procedures re4 quired under subsection (a)(1) shall include a requirement 

5 that each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned 

6 with each of the cooperative fire protection agreements ap7 plicable to the entity subject to such fire suppression cost 

8 share agreement. 

9 (c) PAYMENTS PURSUANT TO COST SHARE AGREE10 MENTS.—With respect to payments made pursuant to fire 

11 suppression cost share agreements, the standard operating 

12 procedures required under subsection (a)(1) shall require 

13 that the Federal paying entity reimburse a local fire de14 partment if such fire department submits an invoice in 

15 accordance with cost settlement procedures. 

16 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the Secretaries should carry out reciprocal fire 

18 suppression cost share agreement repayments to local fire 

19 suppression organizations as soon as practicable after fire 

20 suppression occurs but not later than 1 year after fire sup21 pression occurs. 
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1 TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY, 

2 TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNER3 SHIPS 

4 Subtitle A—Transparency and 

5 Technology 

6 SEC. 301. BIOCHAR INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES 

7 FOR CONSERVATION, HEALTH, AND AD8 VANCEMENTS IN RESEARCH. 

9 (a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—

10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the avail12 ability of appropriations made in advance for 

13 such purpose, not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the covered Sec15 retaries shall establish a program to enter into 

16 partnerships with eligible entities to carry out 

17 demonstration projects to support the develop18 ment and commercialization of biochar in ac19 cordance with this subsection. 

20 (B) LOCATION OF DEMONSTRATION

21 PROJECTS.—In carrying out the program estab22 lished under subparagraph (A), the covered 

23 Secretaries shall, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, enter into partnerships with eligible en25 tities such that not fewer than one demonstra-
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1 tion project is carried out in each region of the 

2 Forest Service and each region of the Bureau 

3 of Land Management. 

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

5 partnership to carry out a biochar demonstration 

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

7 shall submit to the covered Secretaries a proposal at 

8 such time, in such manner, and containing such in9 formation as the covered Secretaries may require. 

10 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting proposals under 

11 paragraph (2), the covered Secretaries shall give pri12 ority to entering into partnerships with eligible enti13 ties that submit proposals to carry out biochar dem14 onstration projects that—

15 (A) have the most potential to create new 

16 jobs and contribute to local economies, particu17 larly in rural areas; 

18 (B) have the most potential to dem19 onstrate—

20 (i) new and innovative uses of biochar; 

21 (ii) market viability for cost effective 

22 biochar-based products; 

23 (iii) the restorative benefits of biochar 

24 with respect to forest heath and resiliency, 

25 including forest soils and watersheds; or 
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1 (iv) any combination of purposes spec2 ified in clauses (i) through (iii); 

3 (C) are located in areas that have a high 

4 need for biochar production, as determined by 

5 the covered Secretaries, due to—

6 (i) nearby lands identified as having 

7 high or very high or extreme risk of wild8 fire; 

9 (ii) availability of sufficient quantities 

10 of feedstocks; or 

11 (iii) a high level of demand for 

12 biochar or other commercial byproducts of 

13 biochar; or 

14 (D) satisfy any combination of purposes 

15 specified in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

16 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—In carrying out the pro17 gram established under paragraph (1)(A), the cov18 ered Secretaries may enter into partnerships and 

19 provide funding to such partnerships to carry out 

20 demonstration projects to—

21 (A) acquire and test various feedstocks and 

22 their efficacy; 

23 (B) develop and optimize commercially and 

24 technologically viable biochar production units, 

25 including mobile and permanent units; 
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1 (C) demonstrate—

2 (i) the production of biochar from for3 est residue; and 

4 (ii) the use of biochar to restore forest 

5 health and resiliency; 

6 (D) build, expand, or establish biochar fa7 cilities; 

8 (E) conduct research on new and innova9 tive uses of biochar; 

10 (F) demonstrate cost-effective market op11 portunities for biochar and biochar-based prod12 ucts; 

13 (G) carry out any other activities the cov14 ered Secretaries determine appropriate; or 

15 (H) any combination of the purposes speci16 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (F). 

17 (5) FEEDSTOCK REQUIREMENTS.—To the max18 imum extent practicable, an eligible entity that car19 ries out a biochar demonstration project under this 

20 subsection shall, with respect to the feedstock used 

21 under such project, derive at least 50 percent of 

22 such feedstock from forest thinning and manage23 ment activities, including mill residues, conducted on 

24 National Forest System lands or public lands. 

25 (6) REVIEW OF BIOCHAR DEMONSTRATION.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The covered Secretaries 

2 shall conduct regionally-specific research, in3 cluding economic analyses and life-cycle assess4 ments, on any biochar produced from a dem5 onstration project carried out under the pro6 gram established in paragraph (1)(A), includ7 ing—

8 (i) the effects of such biochar on—

9 (I) forest health and resiliency; 

10 (II) carbon capture and seques11 tration, including increasing soil car12 bon in the short-term and long-term; 

13 (III) productivity, reduced input 

14 costs, and water retention in agricul15 tural practices; 

16 (IV) the health of soil and grass17 lands used for grazing activities, in18 cluding grazing activities on National 

19 Forest System land and public land; 

20 and 

21 (V) environmental remediation 

22 activities, including abandoned mine 

23 land remediation; 
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1 (ii) the effectiveness of biochar as a 

2 co-product of biofuels or in biochemicals; 

3 and 

4 (iii) the effectiveness of other poten5 tial uses of biochar to determine if any 

6 such use is technologically and commer7 cially viable. 

8 (B) COORDINATION.—The covered Secre9 taries shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

10 provide data, analyses, and other relevant infor11 mation collected under subparagraph (A) with 

12 recipients of a grant under subsection (b). 

13 (7) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR ESTAB14 LISHING BIOCHAR FACILITIES.—If the covered Sec15 retaries provide to an eligible entity that enters into 

16 a partnership with the covered Secretaries under 

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

18 facility, such funding may not exceed 35 percent of 

19 the total capital cost of establishing such biochar fa20 cility. 

21 (b) BIOCHAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT

22 PROGRAM.—

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In24 terior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

25 shall establish or expand an existing applied biochar 
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1 research and development grant program to make 

2 competitive grants to eligible institutions to carry 

3 out the activities described in paragraph (3). 

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

5 grant under this subsection, an eligible institution 

6 shall submit to the Secretary a proposal at such 

7 time, in such manner, and containing such informa8 tion as the Secretary may require. 

9 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution 

10 that receives a grant under this subsection shall use 

11 the grant funds to conduct applied research on—

12 (A) the effect of biochar on forest health 

13 and resiliency, accounting for variations in 

14 biochar, soil, climate, and other factors; 

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

16 water retention, accounting for variations in 

17 biochar, soil, climate, and other factors; 

18 (C) the long-term carbon sequestration po19 tential of biochar; 

20 (D) the best management practices with 

21 respect to biochar and biochar-based products 

22 that maximize—

23 (i) carbon sequestration benefits; and 

24 (ii) the commercial viability and appli25 cation of such products in forestry, agri-
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1 culture, environmental remediation, water 

2 quality improvement, and any other similar 

3 uses, as determined by the Secretary; 

4 (E) the regional uses of biochar to increase 

5 productivity and profitability, including—

6 (i) uses in agriculture and environ7 mental remediation; and 

8 (ii) use as a co-product in fuel produc9 tion; 

10 (F) new and innovative uses for biochar 

11 byproducts; and 

12 (G) opportunities to expand markets for 

13 biochar and create related jobs, particularly in 

14 rural areas. 

15 (c) REPORTS.—

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

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

18 covered Secretaries shall submit to Congress a re19 port that—

20 (A) includes policy and program rec21 ommendations to improve the widespread use of 

22 biochar; 

23 (B) identifies any area of research needed 

24 to advance biochar commercialization; and 
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1 (C) identifies barriers to further biochar 

2 commercialization, including permitting and 

3 siting considerations. 

4 (2) MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF

5 THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—Beginning with the 

6 second fiscal year that begins after the date of en7 actment of this Act and annually thereafter until the 

8 date described in subsection (d), the covered Secre9 taries shall include in the materials submitted to 

10 Congress in support of the President’s budget pursu11 ant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, 

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

13 report, the status of each demonstration project car14 ried out under subsection (a) and each research and 

15 development grant carried out under subsection (b). 

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

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

18 of enactment of this Act. 

19 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) BIOCHAR.—The term ‘‘biochar’’ means car21 bonized biomass produced by converting feedstock 

22 through reductive thermal processing for non-fuel 

23 uses. 

24 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti25 ty’’ means—
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1 (A) a State, local, special district, or Tribal 

2 government; 

3 (B) an eligible institution; 

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

5 entity or organization; 

6 (D) a National Laboratory (as such term 

7 is defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act 

8 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); or 

9 (E) a partnership or consortium of two or 

10 more entities described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (D). 

12 (3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi13 ble institution’’ means land-grant colleges and uni14 versities, including institutions eligible for funding 

15 under the—

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

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

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

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

20 Tuskegee University; 

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

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

23 (D) Equity in Educational Land-Grant 

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

25 Law 103–382). 
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1 (4) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 

2 excess biomass in the form of plant matter or mate3 rials that serves as the raw material for the produc4 tion of biochar. 

5 (5) COVERED SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘cov6 ered Secretaries’’ means—

7 (A) the Secretary, acting through the Chief 

8 of the Forest Service; 

9 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

10 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

11 Management; and 

12 (C) the Secretary of Energy, acting 

13 through the Director of the Office of Science. 

14 SEC. 302. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE15 PORTS. 

16 (a) INCLUSION OF HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION

17 REPORT IN MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE

18 PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis20 cal year that begins after the date of enactment of 

21 this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec22 retary concerned shall include in the materials sub23 mitted to Congress in support of the President’s 

24 budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United 

25 States Code, a report on the number of acres of 
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1 Federal land on which the Secretary concerned car2 ried out hazardous fuels reduction activities during 

3 the preceding fiscal year. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re5 port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

6 concerned shall—

7 (A) in determining the number of acres of 

8 Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 

9 carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 

10 during the period covered by the report—

11 (i) record acres of Federal land on 

12 which hazardous fuels reduction activities 

13 were completed during such period; and 

14 (ii) record each acre described in 

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

16 whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 

17 activities were carried out on such acre 

18 during such period; and 

19 (B) with respect to the acres of Federal 

20 land recorded in the report, include information 

21 on—

22 (i) which such acres are located in the 

23 wildland-urban interface; 
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1 (ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 

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

3 of the period covered by the report; 

4 (iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac5 tivities completed for such acres, delin6 eating between whether such activities 

7 were conducted—

8 (I) in a wildfire managed for re9 source benefits; or 

10 (II) through a planned project; 

11 (iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 

12 fuels activities carried out during the pe13 riod covered by the report; 

14 (v) the region or system unit in which 

15 the acres are located; and 

16 (vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 

17 fuels reduction activities on reducing the 

18 risk of wildfire. 

19 (3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 

20 shall make each report submitted under paragraph 

21 (1) publicly available on the websites of the Depart22 ment of Agriculture and the Department of the Inte23 rior, as applicable. 

24 (b) ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary con3 cerned shall implement standardized procedures for 

4 tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduction 

5 activities carried out by the Secretary concerned. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 

7 required under paragraph (1) shall include—

8 (A) regular, standardized data reviews of 

9 the accuracy and timely input of data used to 

10 track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 

11 (B) verification methods that validate 

12 whether such data accurately correlates to the 

13 hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 

14 by the Secretary concerned; 

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

16 effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 

17 activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 

18 (D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 

19 that occur partially within the wildland-urban 

20 interface, methods to distinguish which acres 

21 are located within the wildland-urban interface 

22 and which acres are located outside the 

23 wildland-urban interface. 

24 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im25 plementing the standardized procedures required 
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1 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 

2 submit to Congress a report that describes—

3 (A) such standardized procedures; and 

4 (B) program and policy recommendations 

5 to Congress to address any limitations in track6 ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 

7 activities under this subsection. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

10 of the United States shall—

11 (1) conduct a study on the implementation of 

12 this section, including any limitations with respect 

13 to—

14 (A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac15 tivities under subsection (a); or 

16 (B) tracking data related to hazardous 

17 fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 

18 and 

19 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

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

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ACTIV23 ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ24 ity’’—
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1 (A) means any vegetation management ac2 tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 

3 mechanical treatments, grazing, and prescribed 

4 burning; and 

5 (B) does not include the awarding of con6 tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac7 tivities. 

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

9 lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 

10 Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary. 

11 (e) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi12 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 

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

14 are subject to the availability of appropriations made in 

15 advance for such purposes. 

16 SEC. 303. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DE17 PLOYMENT AND DEMONSTRATION PARTNER18 SHIP. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

21 agency’’ means—

22 (A) each Federal land management agency 

23 (as such term is defined in the Federal Lands 

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

25 6801)); 
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1 (B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration; 

3 (C) the United States Fire Administration; 

4 (D) the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency; 

6 (E) the National Aeronautics and Space 

7 Administration; 

8 (F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

9 (G) the Department of Defense; 

10 (H) a State, Tribal, county, or municipal 

11 fire department or district operating through 

12 the United States Fire Administration or pur13 suant to an agreement with a Federal agency; 

14 and 

15 (I) any other Federal agency involved in 

16 wildfire response. 

17 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en18 tity’’ means—

19 (A) a private entity; 

20 (B) a nonprofit organization; or 

21 (C) an institution of higher education (as 

22 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

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

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

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordina-
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1 tion with the heads of the covered agencies, shall establish 

2 a deployment and demonstration pilot program (in this 

3 section referred to as ‘‘Pilot Program’’) for new and inno4 vative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and 

5 mitigation technologies. 

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

7 the Secretaries shall—

8 (1) incorporate the Pilot Program into the Na9 tional Wildfire Coordinating Group; 

10 (2) in consultation with the heads of covered 

11 agencies, identify and advance the demonstration 

12 and deployment of key technology priority areas with 

13 respect to wildfire prevention, detection, communica14 tion, and mitigation technologies, including—

15 (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments 

16 or activities; 

17 (B) dispatch communications; 

18 (C) remote sensing, detection, and track19 ing; 

20 (D) safety equipment; 

21 (E) common operating pictures or oper22 ational dashboards; and 

23 (F) interoperable commercial data; and 

24 (3) connect each covered entity selected to par25 ticipate in the Pilot Program with the appropriate 
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1 covered agency to coordinate real-time and on-the2 ground testing of technology during wildland fire 

3 mitigation activities and training. 

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

5 participate in the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall 

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

7 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec8 retaries may require, including a proposal to demonstrate 

9 technologies specific to the key technology priority areas 

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

11 (e) PRIORITIZATION OF EMERGING TECH12 NOLOGIES.—In selecting covered entities to participate in 

13 the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall give priority to 

14 covered entities—

15 (1) that have participated in the Fire Weather 

16 Testbed of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

17 Administration; or 

18 (2) developing and applying emerging tech19 nologies for wildfire mitigation, including artificial 

20 intelligence, quantum sensing, computing and quan21 tum-hybrid applications, thermal mid-wave infrared 

22 equipped low earth orbit satellites, augmented re23 ality, 5G private networks, and device-to-device com24 munications supporting nomadic mesh networks and 

25 detection. 
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1 (f) OUTREACH.—The Secretaries, in coordination 

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

3 key technology priority areas identified pursuant to sub4 section (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply under 

5 subsection (d) to deploy and demonstrate their tech6 nologies to address such priority areas. 

7 (g) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

9 annually thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Program, 

10 the Secretaries shall submit to the relevant Congressional 

11 Committees, the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech12 nology of the House of Representatives, and the Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

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

15 Program, the following: 

16 (1) A list of participating covered entities. 

17 (2) A brief description of the technologies de18 ployed and demonstrated by each such covered enti19 ty. 

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

21 such technology and applying the technology at 

22 scale. 

23 (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to cov24 ered entities developing wildfire technologies. 
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1 (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat2 ing to, new technologies with potential adoption and 

3 application at-scale in Federal land management 

4 agencies’ wildfire prevention, detection, communica5 tion, and mitigation efforts. 

6 (6) A description of the relationship and coordi7 nation between the Pilot Program and the activities 

8 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis9 tration, including the Fire Weather Testbed. 

10 (h) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this section 

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

12 of enactment of this Act. 

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

14 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

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

16 shall—

17 (1) conduct a study evaluating—

18 (A) the effectiveness of Forest Service 

19 wildland firefighting operations; 

20 (B) transparency and accountability meas21 ures in the Forest Service’s budget and ac22 counting process; and 

23 (C) the suitability and feasibility of estab24 lishing a new Federal agency with the responsi-
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1 bility of responding and suppressing wildland 

2 fires on Federal lands; and 

3 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

4 the results of the study required under paragraph 

5 (1). 

6 SEC. 305. FOREST SERVICE WESTERN HEADQUARTERS 

7 STUDY. 

8 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

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

10 (1) conduct a study evaluating—

11 (A) potential locations for a Western head12 quarters for the Forest Service, including po13 tential locations in at least 3 different States lo14 cated west of the Mississippi river; and 

15 (B) the potential benefits of creating a 

16 Western headquarters for the Forest Service, 

17 including expected—

18 (i) improvements to customer service; 

19 (ii) improvements to employee recruit20 ment and retention; and 

21 (iii) operational efficiencies and cost 

22 savings; and 

23 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

24 the results of the study required under paragraph 

25 (1). 
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1 SEC. 306. KEEPING FOREST PLANS CURRENT AND MON2 ITORED. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary—

4 (1) to the greatest extent practicable and sub5 ject to the availability of appropriations made in ad6 vance for such purpose—

7 (A) ensure forest plans comply with the re8 quirements of section 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest 

9 and Rangeland Resources Planning Act of 1974 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)(A)); and 

11 (B) prioritize revising any forest plan not 

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

13 (2) not be considered to be in violation of sec14 tion 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew15 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1604(f)(5)(A)) solely because more than 15 years 

17 have passed without revision of the plan for a unit 

18 of the National Forest System; 

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

20 the enactment of this Act, submit to the relevant 

21 Congressional Committees the date on which each 

22 forest plan required by such section 6 was most re23 cently revised, amended, or modified; 

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

25 a forest plan that the Secretary has been directed to 

26 amend, revise, or modify by a court order within 60 
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1 days of such amendment, revision, or modification, 

2 subject to the availability of appropriations made in 

3 advance for such purpose; and 

4 (5) maintain a central, publicly accessible 

5 website with links to—

6 (A) the most recently available forest plan 

7 adopted, amended, or modified by a court order 

8 as a single document; and 

9 (B) the most recently published forest plan 

10 monitoring report for each unit of the National 

11 Forest System. 

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

13 acting expeditiously and in good faith, within the funding 

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

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

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

17 such plan and a court of proper jurisdiction may order 

18 completion of the plan on an accelerated basis. 

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

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

21 a report to the relevant Congressional Committees sum22 marizing the implementation of this section. 
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1 SEC. 307. CONTAINER AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM 

2 (CAFFS). 

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

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the 

5 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the National 

6 Interagency Aviation Committee and the Interagency 

7 Airtanker Board, shall jointly conduct an evaluation of the 

8 container aerial firefighting system to assess the use of 

9 such system to mitigate and suppress wildfires. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Sec12 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the National 

13 Interagency Aviation Committee and the Interagency 

14 Airtanker Board, shall jointly submit to the relevant Con15 gressional Committees a report that includes the results 

16 of the evaluation required under subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 308. STUDY ON PINE BEETLE INFESTATION. 

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

19 of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 

20 Forest Service, shall—

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

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

23 in the Northeastern region of the United States; and 

24 (2) submit to the relevant Congressional Com25 mittees a report that includes the results of the 

26 study required under paragraph (1). 
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1 SEC. 309. FIRE SAFE ELECTRICAL CORRIDORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any special use permit or ease3 ment on National Forest System land provided to an elec4 trical utility, the Secretary may provide permission to cut 

5 and remove trees or other vegetation from within the vicin6 ity of distribution lines or transmission lines without re7 quiring a separate timber sale, if that cutting and removal 

8 is consistent with—

9 (1) the applicable land and resource manage10 ment plan; and 

11 (2) other applicable environmental laws (includ12 ing regulations). 

13 (b) USE OF PROCEEDS.—A special use permit or 

14 easement that includes permission for cutting and removal 

15 described in subsection (a) shall include a requirement 

16 that, if the applicable electrical utility sells any portion 

17 of the material removed under the permit or easement, 

18 the electrical utility shall provide to the Secretary, acting 

19 through the Chief of the Forest Service, any proceeds re20 ceived from the sale, less any transportation costs incurred 

21 in the sale. 

22 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in subsection (b) shall require 

23 the sale of any material removed under a permit or ease24 ment that includes permission for cutting and removal de25 scribed in subsection (a). 
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1 Subtitle B—White Oak Resilience 

2 SEC. 311. WHITE OAK RESTORATION INITIATIVE COALI3 TION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The White Oak Restoration Ini5 tiative Coalition shall be established—

6 (1) as a voluntary collaborative group of Fed7 eral, State, Tribal, and local governments and pri8 vate and non-governmental organizations to carry 

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

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

11 Oak Initiative Coalition Charter’’ adopted by the 

12 White Oak Initiative Board of Directors on March 

13 21, 2023 (or a successor charter). 

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

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

16 the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition are—

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

18 private, and non-governmental restoration of white 

19 oak in the United States; and 

20 (2) to make program and policy recommenda21 tions, consistent with applicable forest management 

22 plans, with respect to—

23 (A) changes necessary to address Federal 

24 and State policies that impede activities to im-
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1 prove the health, resiliency, and natural regen2 eration of white oak; 

3 (B) adopting or modifying Federal and 

4 State policies to increase the pace and scale of 

5 white oak regeneration and resiliency of white 

6 oak; 

7 (C) options to enhance communication, co8 ordination, and collaboration between forest 

9 land owners, particularly for cross-boundary 

10 projects, to improve the health, resiliency, and 

11 natural regeneration of white oak; 

12 (D) research gaps that should be ad13 dressed to improve the best available science on 

14 white oak; 

15 (E) outreach to forest landowners with 

16 white oak or white oak regeneration potential; 

17 and 

18 (F) options and policies necessary to im19 prove the quality and quantity of white oak in 

20 tree nurseries. 

21 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV22 ICES, AND STAFF SUPPORT.—The Secretary of the Inte23 rior and the Secretary shall make such personnel available 

24 to the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition for ad25 ministrative support, technical services, and development 
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1 and dissemination of educational materials as the Secre2 taries determine necessary to carry out this section. 

3 (d) PRIVATE FUNDING OF WHITE OAK RESTORA4 TION PROJECTS.—Subject to the availability of appropria5 tions made in advance for such purpose, the Secretary 

6 may make funds available to the White Oak Restoration 

7 Initiative Coalition to carry out this section from the ac8 count established pursuant to section 1241(f) of the Food 

9 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(f)). 

10 SEC. 312. FOREST SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

12 Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish and carry out 

13 5 pilot projects in national forests to restore white oak 

14 in such forests through white oak restoration and natural 

15 regeneration practices that are consistent with applicable 

16 forest management plans. 

17 (b) NATIONAL FORESTS RESERVED OR WITHDRAWN

18 FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.—At least 3 pilot projects re19 quired under subsection (a) shall be carried out on na20 tional forests reserved or withdrawn from the public do21 main. 

22 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO COOPERATIVE

23 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter into cooperative 

24 agreements to carry out the pilot projects required under 

25 subsection (a). 
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1 (d) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

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

3 the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 313. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WHITE OAK RE5 VIEW AND RESTORATION. 

6 (a) ASSESSMENT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte8 rior shall carry out an assessment of land under the 

9 administrative jurisdiction of the Department of the 

10 Interior, including fish and wildlife refuges and 

11 abandoned mine land, to evaluate—

12 (A) whether white oak is present on such 

13 land; and 

14 (B) the potential to restore white oak for15 ests on such land. 

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

17 assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 

18 use information from sources other than the Depart19 ment of the Interior, including from the White Oak 

20 Initiative and the Forest Service. 

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

22 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

23 shall submit to Congress, and make publicly avail24 able on the website of the Department of the Inte-
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1 rior, a report regarding the results of the assessment 

2 carried out under this subsection. 

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

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

5 Secretary shall establish and carry out 5 pilot projects in 

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

7 restore and naturally regenerate white oak. 

8 (c) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO COOPERATIVE

9 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of the Interior may enter 

10 into cooperative agreements to carry out the pilot projects 

11 required under subsection (b). 

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

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

14 the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 314. WHITE OAK REGENERATION AND UPLAND OAK 

16 HABITAT. 

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

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 establish a non-regulatory program to be known as the 

20 ‘‘White Oak and Upland Oak Habitat Regeneration Pro21 gram’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

22 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Sec23 retary shall—

24 (1) draw upon the best available science and 

25 management plans for species of white oak to iden-
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1 tify, prioritize, and implement restoration and con2 servation activities that will improve the growth of 

3 white oak within the United States; 

4 (2) collaborate and coordinate with the White 

5 Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition to prioritize 

6 white oak restoration initiatives; 

7 (3) adopt a white oak restoration strategy 

8 that—

9 (A) supports the implementation of a 

10 shared set of science-based restoration and con11 servation activities developed in accordance with 

12 paragraph (1); 

13 (B) targets cost effective projects with 

14 measurable results; and 

15 (C) maximizes restoration outcomes with 

16 no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em17 ployees; and 

18 (4) establish the voluntary grant and technical 

19 assistance programs in accordance with subsection 

20 (e). 

21 (c) COORDINATION.—In establishing the Program 

22 the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv23 ice, shall consult with—

24 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including—
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1 (A) the Director of the United States Fish 

2 and Wildlife Service; and 

3 (B) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

4 Conservation Service; and 

5 (2) the Governor of each State in which res6 toration efforts will be carried out pursuant to the 

7 Program. 

8 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program in9 clude—

10 (1) coordinating restoration and conservation 

11 activities among Federal, State, local, and Tribal en12 tities and conservation partners to address white oak 

13 restoration priorities; 

14 (2) improving and regenerating white oak and 

15 upland oak forests and the wildlife habitat such for16 ests provide; 

17 (3) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

18 conservation activities that lead to the increased 

19 growth of species of white oak in native white oak 

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

21 (4) facilitating strategic planning to maximize 

22 the resilience of white oak systems and habitats 

23 under changing climate conditions; 

24 (5) engaging the public through outreach, edu25 cation, and citizen involvement to increase capacity 
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1 and support for coordinated restoration and con2 servation activities for species of white oak; and 

3 (6) increasing scientific capacity to support the 

4 planning, monitoring, and research activities nec5 essary to carry out such coordinated restoration and 

6 conservation activities. 

7 (e) GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that funds are 

9 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

10 shall establish a voluntary grant and technical as11 sistance program (in this section referred to as the 

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

13 Program described in subsection (d). 

14 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 enter into a cooperative agreement with the Na17 tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this 

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

19 manage and administer the grant program. 

20 (B) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability 

21 of appropriations made in advance for such 

22 purpose, after the Secretary enters into a coop23 erative agreement with the Foundation under 

24 subparagraph (A), the Foundation shall for 

25 each fiscal year, receive amounts to carry out 
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1 this subsection in an advance payment of the 

2 entire amount on October 1, or as soon as prac3 ticable thereafter, of that fiscal year. 

4 (3) APPLICATION OF NATIONAL FISH AND

5 WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT.—

6 Amounts received by the Foundation to carry out 

7 the grant program shall be subject to the National 

8 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

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

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

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

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

13 the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 315. TREE NURSERY SHORTAGES. 

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

16 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 

17 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall—

18 (1) develop and implement a national strategy 

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

20 and private tree nurseries to address the nationwide 

21 shortage of tree seedlings; and 

22 (2) coordinate such strategy with—

23 (A) the national reforestation strategy of 

24 the Forest Service; and 
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1 (B) each regional implementation plan for 

2 National Forests. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub4 section (a) shall—

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

6 data; and 

7 (2) identify and address—

8 (A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot 

9 and container tree seedlings; 

10 (B) regional reforestation opportunities 

11 and the seedling supply necessary to fulfill such 

12 opportunities; 

13 (C) opportunities to enhance seedling di14 versity and close gaps in seed inventories; and 

15 (D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or 

16 creating new infrastructure to increase nursery 

17 capacity. 

18 SEC. 316. WHITE OAK RESEARCH. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a 

20 memorandum of understanding with an Indian Tribe or 

21 institution, including a covered land grant college, to col22 laboratively conduct research on—

23 (1) white oak genes with resistance or tolerance 

24 to stress; 
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1 (2) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for the 

2 purpose of increasing survival and growth; 

3 (3) establishing a genetically diverse white oak 

4 seeds bank capable of responding to stressors; 

5 (4) providing a sustainable supply of white oak 

6 seedlings and genetic resources; 

7 (5) improved methods for aligning seed sources 

8 with the future climate at planting sites; 

9 (6) reforestation of white oak through natural 

10 and artificial regeneration; 

11 (7) improved methods for retaining and increas12 ing white oak trees in forests; 

13 (8) improved methods for reforesting aban14 doned mine land sites; and 

15 (9) economic and social aspects of white oak 

16 forest management across land ownerships. 

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

18 subsection (a), the Indian Tribe or institution, including 

19 a covered land grant college, that enters into the memo20 randum of understanding under such subsection may con21 sult with such States, nonprofit organizations, institutions 

22 of higher education, and other scientific bodies, as the en23 tity subject to such memorandum determines appropriate. 
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1 (c) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

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

3 the enactment of this Act. 

4 (d) COVERED LAND GRANT COLLEGE DEFINED.—

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

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

7 Institution (as such terms are defined, respectively, in sec8 tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu9 cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)). 

10 SEC. 317. USDA FORMAL INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

12 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 

13 in coordination with the Chief of the Forest Service, shall 

14 establish a formal initiative on white oak to—

15 (1) re-establish white oak forests where appro16 priate; 

17 (2) improve management of existing white oak 

18 forests to foster natural regeneration of white oak; 

19 (3) provide technical assistance to private land20 owners to re-establish, improve management of, and 

21 naturally regenerate white oak; 

22 (4) improve and expand white oak nursery 

23 stock; and 

24 (5) adapt and improve white oak seedlings. 
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1 (b) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 

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

3 the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 318. AUTHORITIES. 

5 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 

6 the Interior and the Secretary shall use the authorities 

7 provided under this title in combination with other au8 thorities to carry out projects, including—

9 (1) good neighbor agreements entered into 

10 under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

11 (16 U.S.C. 2113) (as amended by this Act); and 

12 (2) stewardship contracting projects entered 

13 into under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res14 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591) (as amended 

15 by this Act). 

16 TITLE IV—ENSURING CASUALTY 

17 ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIRE18 FIGHTERS 

19 SEC. 401. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY AS20 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

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

23 Secretary of the Interior shall develop a Wildland Fire 

24 Management Casualty Assistance Program (referred to in 
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1 this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to provide assistance to 

2 the next-of-kin of—

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

4 suffer illness or are critically injured or killed; and 

5 (2) wildland fire support personnel critically in6 jured or killed in the line of duty. 

7 (b) ASPECTS OF PROGRAM.—The Program shall ad8 dress the following: 

9 (1) The initial and any subsequent notifications 

10 to the next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire sup11 port personnel who—

12 (A) are killed in the line of duty; or 

13 (B) require hospitalization or treatment at 

14 a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury or 

15 illness. 

16 (2) The reimbursement of next-of-kin for ex17 penses associated with travel to visit firefighters or 

18 wildland fire support personnel who—

19 (A) are killed in the line of duty; or 

20 (B) require hospitalization or treatment at 

21 a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury or 

22 illness. 

23 (3) The qualifications, assignment, training, du24 ties, supervision, and accountability for the perform25 ance of casualty assistance responsibilities. 
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1 (4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance 

2 officers, including notification to survivors of critical 

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

4 of the reassignment of such officers to other duties. 

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

6 management procedures for casualty assistance, in7 cluding rapid access by survivors of firefighters or 

8 wildland fire support personnel and casualty assist9 ance officers to expert case managers and coun10 selors. 

11 (6) The provision, through a computer acces12 sible website and other means and at no cost to sur13 vivors and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire 

14 support personnel, of personalized, integrated infor15 mation on the benefits and financial assistance avail16 able to such survivors from the Federal Government. 

17 (7) The provision of information to survivors 

18 and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire sup19 port personnel on mechanisms for registering com20 plaints about, or requests for, additional assistance 

21 related to casualty assistance. 

22 (8) Liaison with the Department of the Inte23 rior, the Department of Justice, and the Social Se24 curity Administration to ensure prompt and accurate 

25 resolution of issues relating to benefits administered 
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1 by those agencies for survivors of firefighters or 

2 wildland fire support personnel. 

3 (9) Data collection, in consultation with the 

4 United States Fire Administration and the National 

5 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, re6 garding the incidence and quality of casualty assist7 ance provided to survivors of firefighters or wildland 

8 fire support personnel. 

9 (c) LINE-OF-DUTY DEATH BENEFITS.—The Pro10 gram shall not affect existing authorities for Line-of-Duty 

11 Death benefits for Federal firefighters and wildland fire 

12 support personnel. 

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

14 term ‘‘next-of-kin’’ means a person or persons in the high15 est category of priority as determined by the following list 

16 (categories appear in descending order of priority): 

17 (1) Surviving legal spouse. 

18 (2) Children (whether by current or prior mar19 riage) age 18 years or older in descending order of 

20 precedence by age. 

21 (3) Father or mother, unless custody has been 

22 vested, by court order, in another (adoptive parent 

23 takes precedence over natural parent). 

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

25 older in descending order of precedence by age. 
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1 (5) Grandfather or grandmother. 

2 (6) Any other relative (order of precedence to 

3 be determined in accordance with the civil law of de4 scent of the deceased former member’s State of 

5 domicile at time of death). 

Passed the House of Representatives January 23, 

2025. 

Attest:

Clerk. 
119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471

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