I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 528 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for Post- 
Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2025 
Ms. PETTERSEN (for herself and Mr. EDWARDS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a 
program for Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration 
Program, 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 ‘‘Post-Disaster Refor-
estation and Restoration Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. POST-DISASTER REFORESTATION AND RESTORA-
TION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary, in coordination with the heads of the cov-
ered agencies, shall identify covered lands requiring refor-
estation and restoration following unplanned disturbances 
that are unlikely to experience natural regeneration with-
out assistance. 
(b) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—In consultation with the 
heads of covered agencies, the Secretary— 
(1) shall propose a list of priority projects for 
reforestation and restoration for each fiscal year; 
(2) may carry out priority projects through— 
(A) competitively awarded grants; 
(B) contracts; 
(C) contracts established under the Indian 
Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and 
(D) cooperative agreements, to be awarded 
in accordance with applicable requirements es-
tablished by the Secretary; and 
(3) may support any grant contract or coopera-
tive agreement that may be necessary to ensure ade-
quate and appropriate seed and seedling availability 
to further the objectives of priority projects. 
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(c) OUTREACH.—To fulfill requirements of this sec-
tion the heads of covered agencies shall conduct outreach 
to— 
(1) Indian Tribes; 
(2) States; 
(3) territories; 
(4) units of local government; 
(5) Alaska Native organizations; 
(6) Native Hawaiian organizations; 
(7) institutions of higher education; 
(8) Federal agencies with jurisdiction over Fed-
eral land adjoining or proximal to priority projects; 
and 
(9) other stakeholders as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(d) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 
relevant Congressional Committees a report that includes 
the following: 
(1) An accounting of all covered lands requiring 
reforestation and restoration. 
(2) A list of priority projects and implementa-
tion progress to address reforestation and restora-
tion objectives identified. 
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(3) An accounting of grants, contracts, and co-
operative agreements established in furtherance of 
priority projects. 
(4) Outreach efforts by covered agencies to ad-
vance priority projects. 
(5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat-
ing to seed, seedling, and implementation gaps to 
advance priority projects and opportunities to estab-
lish dedicated funding necessary to address any 
backlog of reforestation and restoration needs. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 
agency’’ means— 
(A) each Federal land management agency 
(as such term is defined in the Federal Lands 
Recreation 
Enhancement 
Act 
(16 
U.S.C. 
6801)); and 
(B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 
(2) COVERED
LANDS.—The term ‘‘covered 
lands’’ means any Federal land or interest in land 
administered by a covered agency and Indian Forest 
Land or Rangeland. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, na-
tion, pueblo, village, or community individually iden-
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tified (including parenthetically) in the list published 
most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act 
pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized 
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 
(4) NATURAL REGENERATION.—The term ‘‘nat-
ural regeneration’’ has the meaning given the term 
in section (e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Re-
newable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36 
1601). 
(5) REFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘reforest-
ation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
(e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re-
sources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36 1601). 
(6) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 
means assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that 
has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including 
the reestablishment of appropriate plant species 
composition and community structure. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Interior. 
(8) UNPLANNED
DISTURBANCE.—The term 
‘‘unplanned disturbance’’ means any unplanned dis-
turbance that disrupts ecosystem structure or com-
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position and may include a wildfire, an infestation of 
insects or disease, or a weather event. 
Æ 
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