(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 
may enter into a cooperative agreement or contract 
(including a sole source contract) with a State For-
ester to authorize the State Forester to provide the 
forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration and 
protection services described in paragraph (2) on 
Federal lands administered by the Secretary con-
cerned, in the eligible State. 
(2) 
AUTHORIZED
SERVICES.—The 
forest, 
rangeland, and watershed restoration and protection 
services referred to in paragraph (1) include the con-
duct of— 
(A) activities to treat insect infected trees; 
(B) activities to reduce hazardous fuels; or 
(C) any other activities determined by the 
Secretary concerned to appropriate to restore or 
improve forest, rangeland, and watershed 
health, including fish and wildlife habitat. 
(3) STATE AS AGENT.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (6), a cooperative agreement or contract 
entered into under paragraph (1) may authorize the 
State Forester to serve as the agent for the Sec-
retary concerned in providing the restoration and 
protection services authorized under that paragraph. 
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(4) SUBCONTRACTS.—In accordance with appli-
cable contract procedures for the eligible State, a 
State Forester may enter into subcontracts to pro-
vide the restoration and protection services author-
ized under a cooperative agreement or contract en-
tered into under paragraph (1). 
(5) TIMBER SALES.—Subsections (d) and (g) of 
section 14 of the National Forest Management Act 
of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) shall not apply to services 
performed under a cooperative agreement or con-
tract entered into under paragraph (1). 
(6) RETENTION OF NEPA RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
Any decision required to be made under the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) with respect to any restoration and 
protection services to be provided under this section 
by a State Forester on Federal land, shall not be 
delegated to a State Forester or any other officer or 
employee of the eligible State. 
(c) APPLICABLE LAW.—The restoration and protec-
tion services to be provided under this section shall be car-
ried out on a project-to-project basis under existing appli-
cable authorities of the Forest Service and the Bureau of 
Land Management. 
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(d) TERMINATION
OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The au-
thority of the Secretary concerned to enter into coopera-
tive agreements and contracts under this Act terminates 
on September 30, 2023. 
(e) DURATION OF CONTRACTS.—A cooperative agree-
ment or contract entered into under this Act shall not ex-
tend beyond 20 years. 
SEC. 103. CLARIFICATION OF FLAME WILDFIRE SUPPRES-
SION RESERVE FUND AUTHORITY. 
(a) CLARIFICATION.—Section 502(c) of the Federal 
Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Act of 
2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 
burn area responses, including flood prevention,’’ after 
‘‘events’’. 
TITLE II—EXPEDITED PROCESS 
FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION 
OF 
WILDFIRE 
PREVENTION 
PROJECTS 
NEAR 
AT-RISK 
COMMUNITIES. 
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) AT-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘at-risk 
community’’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 
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(2) AT-RISK FOREST.—The term ‘‘at-risk for-
est’’ means— 
(A) Federal land in condition class II or 
III, as those classes were developed by the For-
est Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 
in the general technical report titled ‘‘Develop-
ment of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for Wildland 
Fire and Fuel Management’’ (RMRS–87) and 
dated April 2000 or any subsequent revision of 
the report; or 
(B) Federal land where there exists a high 
risk of losing an at-risk community, key eco-
system, water supply, wildlife, or wildlife habi-
tat to wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire 
and post-fire disturbances, as designated by the 
Secretary concerned. 
(3) FEDERAL LAND.— 
(A) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal 
land’’ means— 
(i) land of the National Forest System 
(as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest 
and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan-
ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); or 
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(ii) public lands (as defined in section 
103 of the Federal Land Policy and Man-
agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 
(B) EXCLUDED LAND.—The term does not 
include land in which the removal of vegetation 
is specifically prohibited by Federal law unless 
the land is in an inventoried roadless area or 
Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). 
(4) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
retary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the 
case of National Forest System land; and 
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, in the 
case of public lands administered by the Sec-
retary of Interior through the Bureau of Land 
Management. 
(5) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 
HABITAT.—The term threatened and endangered 
species habitat means Federal land where natural 
fire regimes are identified as being important for, or 
unnatural wildfire is identified as a threat to, an en-
dangered species, a threatened species, or habitat of 
an endangered species or threatened species. 
(6) 
ELIGIBLE
WILDFIRE
PREVENTION 
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible wildfire prevention 
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project’’ means the measures and methods developed 
for a project to be carried out on Federal land or 
on threatened and endangered species habitat by the 
Secretary concerned for hazardous fuels reduction, 
forest health, forest restoration, watershed restora-
tion, or threatened and endangered species habitat 
protection using ecological restoration principles con-
sistent with the forest type where such project will 
occur. 
SEC. 202. ELIGIBLE WILDFIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS. 
(a) IMPLEMENTATION.—As soon as practicable after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary con-
cerned shall implement eligible wildfire prevention projects 
in at-risk forests and on threatened and endangered spe-
cies habitat in a manner that focuses on surface, ladder, 
and canopy fuels reduction activities using ecological res-
toration principles consistent with the forest type in the 
location where such project will occur. 
(b) PROJECT ELEMENTS.— 
(1) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 
HABITAT.—Wildfire prevention projects carried out 
on threatened and endangered species habitat shall 
be carried out to provide enhanced protection from 
wildfire, including unnatural wildfire, for the endan-
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gered species, threatened species, or habitat of the 
endangered species or threatened species. 
(2) AT-RISK FORESTS.—In the case of an eligi-
ble wildfire prevention project carried out in an at- 
risk forest, the project shall be carried out to move 
Federal land in condition class II or III toward con-
dition class I, using ecological restoration principles 
consistent with the forest type in the location where 
such project will occur. 
(c) AUTHORIZED PRACTICES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible wildfire preven-
tion project may include livestock grazing and tim-
ber harvest projects carried out for the purposes of 
hazardous fuels reduction, forest health, forest res-
toration, watershed restoration, or threatened and 
endangered species habitat protection or improve-
ment, if the management action is consistent with 
achieving long-term ecological restoration of the for-
est type in the location where such project will 
occur. 
(2) GRAZING.—Domestic livestock grazing may 
be used in an eligible wildfire prevention project to 
reduce surface fuel loads and to recover burned 
areas. Utilization standards shall not apply when do-
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mestic livestock grazing is used in an eligible wildfire 
prevention project. 
(3) TIMBER
HARVESTING
AND
THINNING.— 
Timber harvesting and thinning, where the ecologi-
cal restoration principles are consistent with the for-
est type in the location where such project will 
occur, may be used in an eligible wildfire prevention 
project to reduce ladder and canopy fuel loads to 
prevent unnatural fire. 
(d) RELATION TO LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGE-
MENT PLANS AND LAND USE PLAN.—Nothing in this sec-
tion requires the Secretary concerned, as a condition of 
conducting an eligible wildfire prevention project, to revise 
or amend the land and resource management plan applica-
ble to the National Forest System lands or the land use 
plan applicable to the public lands on which the project 
will be conducted. 
SEC. 203. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS. 
(a) ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED ACTION AND NO AC-
TION ALTERNATIVE.— 
(1) ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
OR
ENVI-
RONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRED.—For 
each proposed eligible wildfire prevention project, the 
Secretary concerned shall— 
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(A) study, develop, and describe the pro-
posed action and the no action alternative; and 
(B) prepare an environmental assessment 
or an environmental impact statement pursuant 
to section 102(2) of the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)). 
(2) NO REQUIREMENT FOR ALTERNATIVE AC-
TION STUDY.—Except as provided in subsection (b), 
the Secretary concerned is not required to study, de-
velop, or describe any alternative actions, other than 
the no action alternative, to the proposed agency ac-
tion. 
(3) DEADLINES FOR COMPLETION.— 
(A) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT DEAD-
LINE.—An environmental assessment prepared 
for a proposed eligible wildfire prevention 
project shall be completed within 60 days of the 
commencement of preparation of the assess-
ment. 
(B) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 
DEADLINE.—An environmental impact state-
ment prepared for a proposed eligible wildfire 
prevention project shall be completed within 90 
days of the commencement of preparation of 
the environmental impact statement. 
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(C) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO MEET DEAD-
LINE.—The proposed eligible wildfire prevention 
project shall be deemed compliant with all re-
quirements of the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 if the Secretary concerned fails 
to meet the specified deadline. 
(4) ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSIS
DURATION.— 
The environmental assessment of an authorized 
practice utilized in an eligible wildfire prevention 
project shall be deemed sufficient for a minimum 
of— 
(A) 10 years in the case of a livestock 
grazing project; or 
(B) 20 years in the case of a timber har-
vest project. 
(b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—If an eligible wild-
fire prevention project, located in a at-risk area, involves 
the removal of insect-infected trees or other hazardous 
fuels within 500 feet of utility or communications infra-
structure, campgrounds, roadsides, heritage sites, recre-
ation sites, schools, or other infrastructure, that project 
is categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare 
an environmental assessment or an environmental impact 
statement under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if the project will other-
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wise be conducted consistent with the relevant agency or 
department’s procedures and the applicable land and re-
source management plan or land use plan. 
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS GENERALLY.—Ex-
cept as otherwise provided in this Act, the Secretary con-
cerned shall comply with the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other appli-
cable laws in planning and conducting an eligible wildfire 
prevention project. 
(d) INTERAGENCY
COOPERATION.—The informal 
consultation requirements of the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as codified in section 
402.05 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations shall apply 
to an eligible wildfire prevention project. 
(e) EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE.—Compliance with this 
section shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4331 et seq.), section 14 of the National Forest Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a), the Endangered Spe-
cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Mul-
tiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et 
seq.). 
(f) EFFECT OF A WILDFIRE EMERGENCY.— 
(1) COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.— 
The Secretary concerned, pursuant to section 
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1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 
shall request the Council on Environmental Quality 
to develop and approve alternative arrangements for 
the proposed wildfire prevention project if— 
(A) the county in which the proposed eligi-
ble wildfire prevention project is to be carried 
out declares a state of emergency because of 
wildfire or the threat of wildfire in consultation 
with the State Forester or equivalent State offi-
cial of the State containing the county; and 
(B) a categorical exclusion is unavailable 
for a proposed eligible wildfire prevention 
project. 
(2) MANDATORY
INFORMATION.—When re-
questing alternative arrangements under paragraph 
(1), the Secretary concerned shall transmit to the 
Council on Environmental Quality the following in-
formation: 
(A) A description of the proposed eligible 
project. 
(B) The condition of forest fuels within or 
near the proposed eligible wildfire prevention 
project. 
(C) The threat to public safety, welfare, in-
frastructure, watersheds, wildlife habitat, or 
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other vital assets due to the accumulation of 
forest fuels and the associated risk of extreme 
fire that the proposed eligible project is to re-
lieve. 
(D) The degree to which delaying the im-
plementation of the proposed eligible project 
will increase the risk of serious harm to public 
safety, welfare, infrastructure, watersheds, wild-
life habitat, or other vital assets due to the ac-
cumulation of forest fuels and the associated 
risk of extreme fire. 
(E) Any other information the Secretary 
concerned determines relevant. 
(3) DEADLINE
FOR
ALTERNATIVE
ARRANGE-
MENTS.— 
(A) DEADLINE.—Not later than 15 days 
after receipt of a request under paragraph (1) 
for approval of alternative arrangements for a 
proposed eligible wildfire prevention project, the 
Council on Environmental Quality shall submit 
to the Secretary concerned the alternative ar-
rangements under which the Secretary may 
proceed immediately and to completion of the 
proposed wildfire prevention project. 
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(B) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If the Council 
on Environmental Quality fails to comply with 
the deadline in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
concerned shall proceed immediately and to 
completion of the proposed eligible wildfire pre-
vention project notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, including the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) and the National Forest Management Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 
(4) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
Actions under this subsection shall not be subject 
to— 
(A) the notice, comment, and appeal re-
quirements of section 322 of Public Law 102– 
381 (the Appeals Reform Act; 16 U.S.C. 1612 
note); and 
(B) judicial review by any court of the 
United States. 
SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 
(a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Administrative re-
view of an eligible wildfire prevention project shall occur 
in accordance with the special administrative review proc-
ess established under section 105 of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515). 
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(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Judicial review of an eligible 
wildfire prevention project shall occur in accordance with 
section 106 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6516). 
Æ 
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