I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5744 
To address the forest health, public safety, and wildlife habitat threat pre-
sented by the risk of wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire, on National 
Forest System lands and public lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
Management by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 
of the Interior to expedite forest management projects relating to haz-
ardous fuels reduction, forest health, and economic development, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2012 
Mr. GOSAR (for himself, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. ROSS of Arkansas, Mr. WAL-
DEN, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. PEARCE, Mrs. 
MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. BERG, Mr. 
THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. SES-
SIONS, Mr. LONG, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. COLE, Mr. 
NUNES, Mr. CARTER, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. FRANKS 
of Arizona, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. QUAYLE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 
and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To address the forest health, public safety, and wildlife habi-
tat threat presented by the risk of wildfire, including 
catastrophic wildfire, on National Forest System lands 
and public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Man-
agement by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and 
the Secretary of the Interior to expedite forest manage-
ment projects relating to hazardous fuels reduction, for-
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est health, and economic development, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2012’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Purposes. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
Sec. 4. Authorized wildfire prevention projects. 
Sec. 5. Public review and environmental analysis. 
Sec. 6. Administrative and judicial review. 
Sec. 7. Threatened and endangered species designations. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are as follows: 
(1) Expedite wildfire prevention projects to re-
duce the chances of wildfire, including catastrophic 
wildfire, on certain Federal lands. 
(2) Reduce threats to endangered species from 
wildfires. 
(3) Provide efficiency tools to the Secretary of 
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to 
streamline projects to reduce the potential for 
wildfires. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(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). 
(2) AT-RISK FOREST.—The term ‘‘at-risk for-
est’’ means— 
(A) Federal land where there exists a high 
risk of losing an at-risk community, key eco-
system, wildlife, or wildlife habitat to wildfire, 
including catastrophic wildfire and post-fire dis-
turbances, as documented by the Secretary con-
cerned; or 
(B) 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. 
(3) 
AUTHORIZED
WILDFIRE
PREVENTION 
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘authorized wildfire prevention 
project’’ means the measures and methods developed 
for a project to be carried out in an at-risk forest 
or on threatened and endangered species habitat by 
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the Secretary concerned for the purpose of haz-
ardous fuels reduction, forest health, forest restora-
tion, watershed restoration, or threatened and en-
dangered species habitat protection. An authorized 
wildfire prevention project may include livestock 
grazing and timber harvest projects carried out for 
one or more of such purposes. 
(4) 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 
(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 area. 
(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
retary concerned’’ means— 
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(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. 
(6) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 
HABITAT.—The term ‘‘threatened and endangered 
species habitat’’ means Federal land regarding 
which natural fire regimes are identified as being 
important for, or wildfire is identified as a threat to, 
an endangered species, a threatened species, or habi-
tat of an endangered species or threatened species 
in— 
(A) a species recovery plan prepared under 
section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); or 
(B) a notice published in the Federal Reg-
ister determining a species to be an endangered 
species or a threatened species or designating 
critical habitat for an endangered species or a 
threatened species. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZED WILDFIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS. 
(a) PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—As soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
concerned shall implement authorized wildfire prevention 
projects in at-risk forests and on threatened and endan-
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gered species habitat in a manner that focuses on surface, 
ladder, and canopy fuels reduction activities. 
(b) PROJECT ELEMENTS.— 
(1) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 
HABITAT.—In the case of an authorized wildfire pre-
vention project carried out on threatened and endan-
gered species habitat, the project shall be carried 
out— 
(A) to provide enhanced protection from 
wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire, for the 
endangered species, threatened species, or habi-
tat of the endangered species or threatened spe-
cies; and 
(B) in compliance with any applicable 
guidelines specified in the species recovery plan 
prepared under section 4 of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533). 
(2) AT-RISK FORESTS.—In the case of an au-
thorized 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 to-
ward condition class I. 
(c) GRAZING.—Domestic livestock grazing may be 
used in an authorized wildfire prevention project to reduce 
surface fuel loads and to recover burned areas. Utilization 
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standards shall not apply when domestic livestock grazing 
is used in an authorized wildfire prevention project. 
(d) TIMBER HARVESTING AND THINNING.—Timber 
harvesting and thinning may be used in an authorized 
wildfire prevention project to reduce ladder and canopy 
fuel loads to prevent wildfire, including catastrophic wild-
fire. 
(e) 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 authorized wildfire prevention project, to 
revise or amend the land and resource management plan 
applicable to the National Forest System lands or the land 
use plan applicable to the public lands on which the 
project will be conducted. 
(f) CONSIDERATION
OF PUBLIC PETITIONS.—Not 
later than 60 days after receiving a public petition for the 
designation of Federal land as an at-risk forest or as 
threatened and endangered species habitat, the Secretary 
concerned shall— 
(1) review the petition; and 
(2) make a determination regarding such des-
ignation. 
SEC. 5. PUBLIC REVIEW AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS. 
(a) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.— 
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