mechanical treatments and prescribed burning; 
and 
(B) does not include the awarding of con-
tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac-
tivities. 
(2) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal lands’’ 
means lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(e) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi-
tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 
of this section, and the activities authorized by this section 
are subject to the availability of appropriations made in 
advance for such purposes. 
SEC. 303. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DE-
PLOYMENT AND TESTBED PARTNERSHIP. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered agen-
cy’’ means— 
(A) each Federal land management agency 
(as such term is defined in the Federal Lands 
Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)); 
(B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration; 
(C) the United States Fire Administration; 
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(D) the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency; 
(E) the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration; 
(F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 
(G) the Department of Defense; and 
(H) any other Federal agency involved in 
wildfire response. 
(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a private entity; 
(B) a nonprofit organization; or 
(C) an institution of higher education (as 
defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordina-
tion with the heads of the covered agencies, shall establish 
a deployment and testbed pilot program (in this section re-
ferred to as ‘‘Pilot Program’’) for new and innovative wild-
fire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation 
technologies. 
(c) FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the Pilot Program, 
the Secretaries shall— 
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(1) incorporate the Pilot Program into existing 
interagency coordinating groups on wildfires; 
(2) in consultation with the heads of covered 
agencies, identify and advance key technology pri-
ority areas with respect to wildfire prevention, detec-
tion, communication, and mitigation technologies, in-
cluding— 
(A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments or 
activities; 
(B) dispatch communications; 
(C) remote sensing, detection, and tracking; 
(D) safety equipment; and 
(E) common operating pictures or oper-
ational dashboards; and 
(3) connect each covered entity selected to par-
ticipate in the Pilot Program with the appropriate 
covered agency to coordinate real-time and on-the- 
ground testing of technology during wildland fire 
mitigation activities and training. 
(d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to be selected to par-
ticipate in the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall submit 
to the Secretaries an application at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Secretaries 
may require, including a proposal to test technologies spe-
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cific to the key technology priority areas identified pursu-
ant to subsection (c)(2). 
(e) PRIORITIZATION OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.— 
In selecting covered entities to participate in the Pilot Pro-
gram, the Secretaries shall give priority to covered entities 
developing and applying emerging technologies, including 
artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, computing and 
quantum-hybrid applications, augmented reality, and 5G 
private networks and device-to-device communications sup-
porting nomadic mesh networks, for wildfire mitigation. 
(f) OUTREACH.—The Secretaries, in coordination with 
the heads of covered agencies, shall make public the key tech-
nology priority areas identified pursuant to subsection 
(c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply under subsection 
(d) to test and demonstrate their technologies to address 
such priority areas. 
(g) REPORTS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Program, 
the Secretaries shall submit to the relevant Congressional 
Committees, the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
a report that includes, with respect to the Pilot Program, 
the following: 
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(1) A list of participating covered entities. 
(2) A brief description of the technologies tested 
by each such covered entity. 
(3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring each such 
technology and applying the technology at scale. 
(4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to cov-
ered entities developing wildfire technologies. 
(5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat-
ing to, new technologies with potential adoption and 
application at-scale in Federal land management 
agencies’ wildfire prevention, detection, communica-
tion, and mitigation efforts. 
(h) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this section 
shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 304. GAO STUDY ON FOREST SERVICE POLICIES. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall— 
(1) conduct a study evaluating— 
(A) the effectiveness of Forest Service 
wildland firefighting operations; 
(B) transparency and accountability meas-
ures in the Forest Service’s budget and account-
ing process; and 
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