I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5341 
To fill vacancies for Forest Service recreation management and planning 
staff in National Forests and Grasslands, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself and Mr. MOORE of Utah) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To fill vacancies for Forest Service recreation management 
and planning staff in National Forests and Grasslands, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Forests Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Between 2016 and 2020, on average, 89 
percent of wildfires in the United States have been 
human-caused. 
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(2) Human-caused fires tend to occur in or 
near the wildland-urban interface (as defined in sec-
tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)), where there is a greater 
risk to people and communities and a higher cost to 
suppress fires. 
(3) The wildland-urban interface is the fastest- 
growing land use type in the United States, posing 
challenges for fire management and suppression. 
(4) Over the last 10 years, an annual average 
of 62,805 wildfires have impacted 7,516,855 acres. 
In 2020, 58,950 wildfires impacted 10,122,336 
acres nationwide. Approximately 70 percent of this 
acreage impacted Federal land, of which 48 percent 
(or 4,800,000 acres) was on National Forest System 
land. 
(5) Additionally, visitation at National Forests 
has increased, while staffing has declined. Notably, 
in fiscal year 2020, the Forest Service estimated 
168.2 million National Forest recreation visits, an 
increase of over 18.2 million recreation visits from 
2019, which amounts to a 12.1 percent increase. 
(6) The Forest Service continues to suffer from 
chronic staffing shortages, with several National 
Forests and Grasslands struggling to maintain their 
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acreage with insufficient recreation management and 
planning staff. 
SEC. 3. FILLING FOREST SERVICE RECREATION MANAGE-
MENT STAFF VACANCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act-
ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall fill va-
cancies in National Forests and Grasslands for Forest 
Service recreation management and planning staff, includ-
ing recreation technicians, recreation officers, and natural 
resource managers. 
(b) PRIORITY.—In seeking to fill vacancies under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall prioritize filling vacan-
cies in National Forests and Grasslands that— 
(1) are at high or very high risk of wildfires; 
and 
(2) are located in or near the wildland-urban 
interface. 
(c) TRAINING
AND CERTIFICATION
AS
A FOREST 
PROTECTION OFFICER.—The Secretary may provide the 
opportunity for any individual who fills a vacancy pursu-
ant to subsection (a) to receive training and certification 
as a Forest Protection Officer. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to other funds 
that may be available to the Forest Service for the 
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purposes specified in this section, there is authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$46,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023. 
(2) 
ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—Of 
the 
amounts available under paragraph (1) for each fis-
cal year, not more than 3 percent may be used for 
administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this 
section. 
Æ 
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