SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 
‘‘AND
OTHER
EMERGENCY
CONSERVATION 
MEASURES’’ after ‘‘FENCING’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘or other emergency 
measures to replace or restore farmland or 
conservation structures requiring an imme-
diate response (as determined by the Sec-
retary),’’ after ‘‘replacement of fencing,’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘option of receiving’’ 
and all that follows through the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘op-
tion of receiving, before the agricultural 
producer carries out the repair, replace-
ment, or restoration— 
‘‘(A) with respect to a payment to the agri-
cultural producer for a replacement, 75 percent 
of the cost of the replacement, as determined by 
the Secretary based on the fair market value of 
the cost of the replacement using the estimated 
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cost of the applicable practice published in the 
Field Office Technical Guide of each State by 
the Natural Resources Conservation Service; 
and 
‘‘(B) with respect to a payment to the ag-
ricultural producer for a repair or restoration, 
50 percent of the cost of the repair or restora-
tion, as determined by the Secretary based on 
the fair market value of the cost of the repair 
or restoration using the estimated cost of the 
applicable practice published in the Field Office 
Technical Guide of each State by the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) WILDFIRE DETERMINATION.—A wildfire that 
causes damage eligible for a payment under subsection (a) 
includes— 
‘‘(1) a wildfire that is not caused naturally if 
the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire 
due to natural causes; and 
‘‘(2) a wildfire that is caused by the Federal 
Government.’’. 
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SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORA-
TION PROGRAM. 
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘wildfires,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘wildfires (including a wildfire that is 
not caused naturally if the damage is caused by the 
spread of the wildfire due to natural causes and a 
wildfire that is caused by the Federal Govern-
ment),’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall give an 
owner of nonindustrial private forest land the option 
of receiving, before the owner carries out emergency 
measures under this section, not more than 75 per-
cent of the cost of the emergency measures, as de-
termined by the Secretary based on the fair market 
value of the cost of the emergency measures using 
the estimated cost of the applicable practice pub-
lished in the Field Office Technical Guide of each 
State by the Natural Resources Conservation Serv-
ice. 
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‘‘(2) RETURN OF FUNDS.—If the funds pro-
vided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the 
end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on 
which the owner of nonindustrial private forest land 
receives those funds, the funds shall be returned 
within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the 
Secretary.’’. 
Æ 
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