I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1404 
To authorize a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency 
wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and 
National Forest System lands, to require the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire 
management strategy, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2009 
Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DICKS, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. 
WALDEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agri-
culture and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize a supplemental funding source for catastrophic 
emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Depart-
ment of the Interior and National Forest System lands, 
to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire man-
agement strategy, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhance-
ment Act’’ or ‘‘FLAME Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activi-
ties. 
Sec. 3. Cohesive wildland fire management strategy. 
Sec. 4. Review of certain wildfires to evaluate cost containment in wildland fire 
suppression activities. 
Sec. 5. Reducing risk of wildfires in fire-ready communities. 
SEC. 2. FLAME FUND FOR CATASTROPHIC EMERGENCY 
WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION ACTIVITIES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means the following: 
(A) Public lands, as defined in section 103 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 
(B) Units of the National Park System. 
(C) Refuges of the National Wildlife Ref-
uge System. 
(D) Lands held in trust by the United 
States for the benefit of Indian tribes or indi-
vidual Indians. 
(E) Lands in the National Forest System, 
as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 
(2) FLAME FUND.—The term ‘‘Flame Fund’’ 
means the Federal Land Assistance, Management, 
and Enhancement Fund established by this section. 
(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
retary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to Federal land described in subpara-
graphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1); 
and 
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to National Forest System land. 
(4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 
means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, acting jointly. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF FLAME 
FUND.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 
the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 
known as the Federal Land Assistance, Manage-
ment, and Enhancement Fund. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The Flame Fund shall consist 
of the following amounts: 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(A) Amounts appropriated to the Flame 
Fund pursuant to the authorization of appro-
priations in subsection (c). 
(B) Amounts transferred to the Flame 
Fund pursuant to subsection (d). 
(3) AVAILABILITY.—Subject to subsection (e), 
amounts in the Flame Fund shall be available to the 
Secretaries to pay the costs of catastrophic emer-
gency wildland fire suppression activities that are 
separate from amounts annually appropriated to the 
Secretaries for the predicted annual workload for 
wildland fire suppression activities, based on anal-
yses of historical workloads and anticipated in-
creased workloads due to changing environmental or 
demographic conditions. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Flame 
Fund such amounts as may be necessary to carry 
out this section. It is the intent of Congress that the 
amount appropriated to the Flame Fund for fiscal 
year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter should be 
not less than the average amount expended by the 
Secretaries for emergency wildland fire suppression 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
activities over the five fiscal years preceding that fis-
cal year. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DESIGNATION OF 
FLAME FUND APPROPRIATIONS AS EMERGENCY RE-
QUIREMENT.—It is the sense of Congress that— 
(A) the amounts appropriated to the 
Flame Fund should be designated as amounts 
necessary to meet emergency needs; and 
(B) the new budget authority and outlays 
resulting therefrom should not count for the 
purposes of titles III and IV of the Congres-
sional Budget Act of 1974. 
(3) NOTICE
OF
INSUFFICIENT
FUNDS.—The 
Secretaries shall notify the congressional committees 
specified in subsection (h)(2) whenever only an esti-
mated two months worth of funding remains in the 
Flame Fund. 
(d) TRANSFER OF EXCESS WILDLAND FIRE SUP-
PRESSION AMOUNTS INTO FLAME FUND.—At the end of 
each fiscal year, the Secretary concerned shall transfer to 
the Flame Fund amounts appropriated to the Secretary 
concerned for wildland fire suppression activities for the 
fiscal year, but not obligated for wildland fire suppression 
activities before the end of the fiscal year. 
(e) USE OF FLAME FUND.— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(1) DECLARATION REQUIRED.—Amounts in the 
Flame Fund shall be made available to the Secretary 
concerned only after the Secretaries issue a declara-
tion that a wildland fire suppression activity is eligi-
ble for funding from the Flame Fund. 
(2) DECLARATION CRITERIA.—A declaration by 
the Secretaries under paragraph (1) shall be based 
on the following criteria: 
(A) In the case of an individual wildland 
fire incident— 
(i) the fire covers 300 or more acres; 
(ii) the severity of the fire, which may 
be based on incident complexity or the po-
tential for increased complexity; and 
(iii) the threat posed by the fire, in-
cluding the potential for loss of lives, prop-
erty, or critical resources. 
(B) Consistent with subsection (f), in the 
case of a firefighting season, when the cumu-
lative costs of wildland fire suppression activi-
ties for the Secretary concerned are projected to 
exceed amounts annually appropriated for such 
activities. 
(3) TRANSFER
OF
AMOUNTS
TO
SECRETARY 
CONCERNED.—After issuance of a declaration under 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
paragraph (1) and upon the request of the Secretary 
concerned, the Secretary of the Treasury shall trans-
fer from the Flame Fund to the Secretary concerned 
such amounts as the Secretaries determine are nec-
essary for wildland fire suppression activities associ-
ated with the declared suppression emergency. 
(4) STATE, PRIVATE, AND TRIBAL LAND.—Use 
of the Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency 
wildland fire suppression activities on State and pri-
vate land and, where applicable, tribal land shall be 
consistent with existing agreements where the Secre-
taries have agreed to assume responsibility for 
wildland fire suppression activities on the land. 
(f) TREATMENT OF ANTICIPATED AND PREDICTED 
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary concerned shall continue to 
fund anticipated and predicted wildland fire suppression 
activities within the appropriate agency budget for each 
fiscal year. Use of the additional funding made available 
through the Flame Fund is intended to supplement the 
budgeted and appropriated agency funding and is to be 
used only for purposes and in instances consistent with 
this section. 
(g) PROHIBITION
ON
OTHER
TRANSFERS.—All 
amounts in the Flame Fund, as well as all funds appro-
priated for the purpose of wildland fire suppression on 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
Federal land, must be obligated before the Secretary con-
cerned may transfer funds from non-fire accounts for 
wildland fire suppression. 
(h) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS.— 
(1) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING SYSTEM.— 
The Secretaries shall establish an accounting and re-
porting system for the Flame Fund compatible with 
existing National Fire Plan reporting procedures. 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 
The Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources, the Committee on Indian 
Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate an annual report on the use of the funds 
from the Flame Fund, together with any rec-
ommendations that the Secretaries may have to im-
prove the administrative control and oversight of the 
Flame Fund. The annual report shall be made avail-
able to the public. 
(3) ESTIMATES
OF
WILDFIRE
SUPPRESSION 
COSTS TO IMPROVE BUDGETING AND FUNDING.— 
(A) 
PERIODIC
ESTIMATES.—Consistent 
with the schedule provided in subparagraph 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(B), the Secretaries shall submit to the commit-
tees specified in paragraph (2) an estimate of 
anticipated wildfire suppression costs for the 
current fiscal year and the following fiscal year. 
The methodology for developing the estimates 
shall be subject to periodic peer review to en-
sure compliance with subparagraph (C). 
(B) SUBMISSION SCHEDULE.—The Secre-
taries shall submit an estimate under subpara-
graph (A) during— 
(i) the first week of February of each 
year; 
(ii) the first week of April of each 
year; 
(iii) the first week of July of each 
year; and 
(iv) if the bill making appropriations 
for operations of the Department of the 
Interior and the Forest Service for the fol-
lowing fiscal year has not been enacted by 
September 1, the first week of September 
of each year. 
(C) BASIS.—An estimate of anticipated 
wildfire suppression costs shall be developed 
using the best available— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(i) climate, weather, and other rel-
evant data; and 
(ii) models and other analytic tools. 
SEC. 3. COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRAT-
EGY. 
(a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall sub-
mit to Congress a report that contains a cohesive wildland 
fire management strategy, consistent with the rec-
ommendations contained in recent Comptroller General re-
ports regarding this issue. 
(b) ELEMENTS
OF STRATEGY.—The strategy re-
quired by subsection (a) shall address the findings of the 
Comptroller General in the reports referred to in such sub-
section and include the following elements: 
(1) A system to identify the most cost effective 
means for allocating fire management budget re-
sources. 
(2) An illustration of plans by the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to rein-
vest in non-fire programs. 
(3) A description of how the Secretaries will 
employ appropriate management response. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(4) A system for assessing the level of risk to 
communities. 
(5) A system to ensure that the highest priority 
fuels reduction projects are being funded first. 
SEC. 4. REVIEW OF CERTAIN WILDFIRES TO EVALUATE 
COST CONTAINMENT IN WILDLAND FIRE SUP-
PRESSION ACTIVITIES. 
(a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a re-
view, using independent panels, of each wildfire incident 
for which the Secretary concerned incurs expenses in ex-
cess of $10,000,000. 
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary concerned shall submit 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee 
on Agriculture, and the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Indian Af-
fairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate 
a report containing the results of each review conducted 
under subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. REDUCING RISK OF WILDFIRES IN FIRE-READY 
COMMUNITIES. 
(a) FIRE-READY COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘fire-ready community’’ means a com-
munity that— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
23:29 Mar 10, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1404.IH
H1404
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS