119-hr471

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 471 Engrossed in House

    (EH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 471

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

 To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 
 improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, 
 on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
 Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 
 fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fix Our Forests 
Act''.

    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.
 TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION

 Subtitle A--Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High Priority 
 Firesheds

Sec. 101. Designation of fireshed management areas.

Sec. 102. Fireshed center.

Sec. 103. Fireshed registry.

Sec. 104. Shared stewardship.

Sec. 105. Fireshed assessments.

Sec. 106. Emergency fireshed management.

Sec. 107. Sunset.
 Subtitle B--Expanding Collaborative Tools to Reduce Wildfire Risk and 
 Improve Forest Health

Sec. 111. Modification of the treatment of certain revenue and payments 
 under good neighbor agreements.

Sec. 112. Fixing stewardship end result contracting.

Sec. 113. Intra-agency strike teams.

Sec. 114. Locally-led restoration.

Sec. 115. Joint Chiefs landscape restoration partnership program.

Sec. 116. Collaborative forest landscape restoration program.

Sec. 117. Utilizing grazing for wildfire risk reduction.

Sec. 118. Water source protection program.

Sec. 119. Watershed condition framework technical corrections.
 Subtitle C--Litigation Reform

Sec. 121. Commonsense litigation reform.

Sec. 122. Consultation on forest plans.
 TITLE II--PROTECTING COMMUNITIES IN THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE

Sec. 201. Community wildfire risk reduction program.

Sec. 202. Community wildfire defense research program.

Sec. 203. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and 
 maintenance relating to electric 
 transmission and distribution facility 
 rights-of-way.

Sec. 204. Categorical exclusion for electric utility lines rights-of-
 way.

Sec. 205. Seeds of success.

Sec. 206. Program to support priority reforestation and restoration 
 projects of Department of the Interior.

Sec. 207. Fire department repayment.
 TITLE III--TRANSPARENCY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIPS

 Subtitle A--Transparency and Technology

Sec. 301. Biochar innovations and opportunities for conservation, 
 health, and advancements in research.

Sec. 302. Accurate hazardous fuels reduction reports.

Sec. 303. Public-private wildfire technology deployment and 
 demonstration partnership.

Sec. 304. GAO study on Forest Service policies.

Sec. 305. Forest Service Western headquarters study.

Sec. 306. Keeping forest plans current and monitored.

Sec. 307. Container Aerial Firefighting System

    (CAFFS) .

Sec. 308. Study on pine beetle infestation.

Sec. 309. Fire safe electrical corridors.
 Subtitle B--White Oak Resilience

Sec. 311. White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition.

Sec. 312. Forest Service pilot program.

Sec. 313. Department of the Interior white oak review and restoration.

Sec. 314. White oak regeneration and upland oak habitat.

Sec. 315. Tree nursery shortages.

Sec. 316. White oak research.

Sec. 317. USDA formal initiative.

Sec. 318. Authorities.
 TITLE IV--ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS

Sec. 401. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
 the Fireshed Center appointed under 

section 102.

    (2) Fireshed.--The term ``fireshed'' means a landscape-
 scale area that faces similar wildfire threat where a response 
 strategy could influence the wildfire outcome.

    (3) Fireshed management project.--The term ``fireshed 
 management project'' means a project under 

section 106.

    (4) Fireshed registry.--The term ``Fireshed Registry'' 
 means the fireshed registry established under 

section 103.

    (5) Forest plan.--The term ``forest plan'' means--
        (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bureau of Land 
 Management for public lands pursuant to 

section 202 of 
 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
 U.S.C. 1712);
        (B) a land and resource management plan prepared by 
 the Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest 
 System pursuant to 

section 6 of the Forest and 
 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
 U.S.C. 1604); or
            (C) a forest management plan (as defined in 

section 304 of the National Indian Forests Resources Management 
 Act (25 U.S.C. 3104)) with respect to Indian forest 
 land or rangeland.

    (6) Governor.--The term ``Governor'' means the Governor or 
 any other appropriate executive official of an affected State 
 or Indian Tribe or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

    (7) Hazardous fuels management activities.--The term 
 ``hazardous fuels management activities'' means any vegetation 
 management activities (or combination thereof) that reduce the 
 risk of wildfire, including mechanical thinning, mastication, 
 prescribed burning, cultural burning (as determined by the 
 applicable Indian Tribe), timber harvest, and grazing.

    (8) HFRA terms.--The terms ``at-risk community'', 
 ``community wildfire protection plan'', and ``wildland-urban 
 interface'' have the meanings given such terms, respectively, 
 in 

section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
 (16 U.S.C. 6511).

    (9) Indian forest land or rangeland.--The term ``Indian 
 forest land or rangeland'' means land that--
        (A) is held in trust by, or with a restriction 
 against alienation by, the United States for an Indian 
 Tribe or a member of an Indian Tribe; and
        (B)
            (i) 
            (I) is Indian forest land (as defined in 
 

section 304 of the National Indian Forest Resources 
 Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103)); or
            (II) has a cover of grasses, brush, 
 or any similar vegetation; or
            (ii) formerly had a forest cover or 
 vegetative cover that is capable of 
 restoration.

    (10) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
 meaning given that term in 

section 4 of the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

    (11) National forest system lands.--The term ``National 
 Forest System lands'' has the meaning given the term in 

section 11

    (a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning 
 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609).

    (12) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
 meaning given that term in 

section 103 of the Federal Land 
 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that 
 the term includes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Oregon 
 and California Railroad Grant lands.

    (13) Relevant congressional committees.--The term 
 ``relevant Congressional Committees'' means--
        (A) the Committees on Natural Resources and 
 Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and
        (B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources 
 and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.

    (14) Responsible official.--The term ``responsible 
 official'' means an employee of the Department of the Interior 
 or Forest Service who has the authority to make and implement a 
 decision on a proposed action.

    (15) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means each of--
        (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and
        (B) the Secretary of Agriculture.

    (16) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Agriculture.

    (17) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
 means--
        (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
 National Forest System lands; and
        (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
 public lands.

    (18) Special district.--The term ``special district'' means 
 a political subdivision of a State that--
        (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or control;
        (B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the 
 State for the purpose of performing a limited and 
 specific governmental or proprietary function; and
            (C) is distinct from any other local government 
 unit within the State.

    (19) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the 
 United States.

 TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION

 Subtitle A--Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High Priority 
 Firesheds

SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREAS.

    (a) Designation of Fireshed Management Areas.--

    (1) Initial designations.--For the period beginning on the 
 date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date that is 5 
 years after the date of enactment of this Act, there are 
 designated fireshed management areas, which--
        (A) shall be comprised of individual landscape-
 scale firesheds identified as being a high risk 
 fireshed in the ``Wildfire Crisis Strategy'' published 
 by the Forest Service in January 2022;
        (B) shall be comprised of individual landscape-
 scale firesheds identified by the Secretary, in 
 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, as 
 being in the top 20 percent of the 7,688 firesheds 
 published by the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the 
 Forest Service in 2019 for wildfire exposure based on 
 the following criteria--
            (i) wildfire exposure and corresponding 
 risk to communities, including risk to life and 
 structures;
            (ii) wildfire exposure and corresponding 
 risk to municipal watersheds, including tribal 
 water supplies and systems; and
            (iii) risk of forest conversion due to 
 wildfire;
            (C) shall not overlap with any other fireshed 
 management areas;
            (D) may contain Federal and non-Federal land, 
 including Indian forest lands or rangelands; and
        (E) where the Secretary concerned shall carry out 
 fireshed management projects.

    (2) Further fireshed management area designations.--
        (A) In general.--On the date that is 5 years after 
 the date of the enactment of this Act and every 5 years 
 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
 Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to the relevant 
 Congressional Committees an updated map of firesheds 
 based on the Fireshed Registry maintained under 

section 103.
        (B) Designation.--Not later than 60 days after 
 submitting an updated fireshed map under subparagraph
        (A) , the Secretary shall, based on such map, designate 
 additional fireshed management areas that are 
 identified as being in the top 20 percent of firesheds 
 at risk of wildfire exposure based on the criteria 
 specified in subparagraphs
        (B) ,
            (C) ,
            (D) , and
        (E) of 
 paragraph

    (1) .

    (b) Applicability of NEPA.--The designation of fireshed management 
areas under this section shall not be subject to the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

SEC. 102. FIRESHED CENTER.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
 the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
 through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, shall 
 jointly establish an interagency center, to be known as the 
 Fireshed Center (hereinafter referred to as the ``Center'') to 
 carry out the purposes in subsection

    (b) .

    (2) Composition.--
        (A) Divisions.--The Center shall be comprised of 
 the following divisions:
            (i) Technology and Engineering.
            (ii) Data Services.
            (iii) Analysis and Prediction.
            (iv) Education and Consultation.
        (B) Representatives.--The Center shall be comprised 
 of at least one career representative from each of the 
 following:
            (i) The Forest Service.
            (ii) The Bureau of Land Management.
            (iii) The National Park Service.
            (iv) The Bureau of Indian Affairs.
            (v) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (vi) The U.S. Geological Survey.
            (vii) The Department of Defense.
            (viii) The Department of Homeland Security.
            (ix) The Department of Energy.
            (x) The Federal Emergency Management 
 Agency.
            (xi) The National Science Foundation.
            (xii) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration.
            (xiii) The National Aeronautics and Space 
 Administration.
            (xiv) The National Institute of Standards 
 and Technology.
            (xv) The United States Fire Administration.
            (C) Appointments.--Each representative of a 
 Department, Agency, or other entity specified in 
 subparagraph
        (B) shall be appointed by the head of that 
 Department, Agency, or other entity, as applicable.

    (3) Director.--The representatives appointed under 
 paragraph

    (2) shall, by majority vote, appoint a Director of 
 the Center, who--
        (A) shall be an employee of the U.S. Geological 
 Survey or the Forest Service;
        (B) shall serve an initial term of not more than 7 
 years;
            (C) may serve one additional term of not more than 
 7 years after the initial term described in 
 subparagraph
        (B) ; and
            (D) shall be responsible for the management and 
 operation of the Center.

    (4) Associate directors.--In consultation with the 
 representatives appointed under paragraph

    (2) , the Director may 
 appoint such Associate Directors as the Director determines 
 necessary.

    (5) Additional representation.--The Secretary, acting 
 through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary of 
 the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. 
 Geological Survey, may jointly appoint additional 
 representatives of Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, or 
 local governments to the Center, as the Secretaries determine 
 necessary.

    (b) 

=== Purposes ===
-The purposes of the Center are to--

    (1) comprehensively assess and predict, using data tools 
 (including artificial intelligence) and other decision support 
 products, fire and smoke in the wildland and built environment 
 interface across jurisdictions to inform--
        (A) land and fuels management;
        (B) community (including at-risk communities 
 identified in fireshed assessments conducted under 
 

section 105) and built environment risk reduction, 
 including the support and development of community 
 wildfire protection plans and evacuation decisions; and
            (C) public health risk reduction related to 
 wildland fire and smoke, including air quality 
 monitoring and forecasting and smoke prediction models;
            (D) fire response and management, including the 
 pre-positioning of wildfire suppression personnel and 
 assets based on real-time risk; and
        (E) post-fire recovery activities, including 
 activities related to vegetation recovery, debris flows 
 and flooding, watershed recovery and protection, and 
 ecosystem health;

    (2) provide data aggregation, real-time land and fuels 
 management services, and science-based decision support 
 services to inform the purposes specified in subparagraph
        (A) through
        (E) of paragraph

    (1) ;

    (3) reduce fragmentation and duplication across Federal 
 land management agencies with respect to predictive service and 
 decision support functions related to wildland fire and smoke, 
 including through the provision of data aggregation described 
 in paragraph

    (2) ;

    (4) promote coordination and sharing of data regarding 
 wildland fire and smoke decision making (including through the 
 provision of data aggregation described in paragraph

    (2) ) to 
 each of the entities specified in subparagraphs
        (A) through
        (F) of paragraph

    (8) ;

    (5) streamline procurement processes for technologies 
 (including technologies identified under the pilot program 
 established under 

section 303) and cybersecurity systems 
 related to addressing wildland fire and smoke for the purposes 
 of scaling such technologies and systems across Federal 
 agencies;

    (6) amplify and distribute existing, and develop as 
 necessary, publicly accessible data, models, technologies 
 (including mapping technologies), assessments, and National 
 Weather Service fire weather forecasts to support short- and 
 long-term planning regarding wildland fire and smoke risk 
 reduction and post-fire recovery while avoiding duplicative 
 efforts, as determined by the Director;

    (7) maintain the Fireshed Registry established under 
 

section 103; and

    (8) disseminate data tools (including artificial 
 intelligence) and other decision support products, for use in 
 manners consistent with the purposes described paragraphs

    (1) through

    (7) , to the following:
        (A) Federal agencies.
        (B) Indian Tribes.
            (C) State and local governments.
            (D) Academic or research institutions.
        (E) Wildland firefighting entities, including 
 applicable incident management teams and geographic 
 coordination centers.
        (F) Other entities, including public, private, and 
 nonprofit entities, with expertise in land management, 
 air quality, water management, or public health, as 
 determined appropriate by the Director.
            (c) Memoranda of Understanding.--The Center may enter into 
memoranda of understanding, contracts, or other agreements with State 
governments, Indian Tribes, local governments, academic or research 
institutions, and private entities to improve the information and 
operations of the Center.
            (d) Administrative Support, Technical Services, and Staff 
Support.--

    (1) USGS support.--The Secretary of the Interior shall make 
 personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey available to the Center 
 for such administrative support, technical services, and 
 development and dissemination of data as the Secretary 
 determines necessary to carry out this section.

    (2) USFS support.--The Secretary shall make personnel of 
 the Forest Service available to the Center for such 
 administrative support, technical services, and the development 
 and dissemination of information related to fireshed management 
 and the Fireshed Registry as the Secretary determines necessary 
 to carry out this section.

    (3) Funding.--Notwithstanding 

section 708 of title VII of 
 division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public 
 Law 117-328), the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary may 
 enter into agreements to share the management and operational 
 costs of the Center.

    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to affect the ownership of any data sources.

SEC. 103. FIRESHED REGISTRY.

    (a) Fireshed Registry.--The Secretary, acting through the Director 
of the Fireshed Center appointed under 

section 102, shall maintain a 
Fireshed Registry on a publicly accessible website that provides 
interactive geospatial data on individual firesheds, including 
information on--

    (1) wildfire exposure delineated by ownership, including 
 rights-of-way for utilities and other public or private 
 purposes;

    (2) any hazardous fuels management activities that have 
 occurred within an individual fireshed in the past 10 years;

    (3) wildfire exposure with respect to such fireshed 
 delineated by--
        (A) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to 
 communities, including risk to life and structures;
        (B) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to 
 municipal watersheds, including tribal water supplies 
 and systems; and
            (C) risk of forest conversion due to wildfire;

    (4) the percentage of the fireshed that has burned in 
 wildfires in the past 10 years, including, to the extent 
 practicable, delineations of acres that have burned at a high 
 severity;

    (5) spatial patterns of wildfire exposure, including 
 plausible extreme fire events; and

    (6) any hazardous fuels management activities planned for 
 the fireshed, including fireshed management projects.

    (b) Community Wildfire Protection Plans.--The Director shall make 
data from the Fireshed Registry available to local communities 
developing or updating community wildfire protection plans.
            (c) Requirement to Maintain.--As part of the website containing the 
Fireshed Registry, the Director shall--

    (1) publish fireshed assessments created under 

section 105; 
 and

    (2) maintain a searchable database to track--
        (A) the status of Federal environmental reviews, 
 permits, and authorizations for fireshed management 
 projects, including--
            (i) a comprehensive permitting timetable;
            (ii) the status of the compliance of each 
 lead agency, cooperating agency, and 
 participating agency with the permitting 
 timetable with respect to such fireshed 
 management projects;
            (iii) any modifications of the permitting 
 timetable required under clause
            (i) , including 
 an explanation as to why the permitting 
 timetable was modified; and
            (iv) information about project-related 
 public meetings, public hearings, and public 
 comment periods, which shall be presented in 
 English and the predominant language of the 
 community or communities most affected by the 
 project, as that information becomes available;
        (B) the projected cost of such fireshed management 
 projects; and
            (C) in the case of completed fireshed management 
 projects, the effectiveness of such projects in 
 reducing the wildfire exposure within an applicable 
 fireshed, including wildfire exposure described in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (C) of subsection

    (a)

    (3) .
            (d) Reliance on Existing Assessments.--In carrying out this 
section, the Director may rely on assessments completed or data gather 
through existing partnerships, to the extent practicable.

SEC. 104. SHARED STEWARDSHIP.

    (a) Joint Agreements.--Not later than 90 days after receiving a 
written request from a Governor of a State or an Indian Tribe, the 
Secretary concerned shall enter into a shared stewardship agreement (or 
similar agreement) with such Governor or Indian Tribe to jointly--

    (1) promote the reduction of wildfire exposure, based on 
 the criteria in 

section 101

    (a)

    (1)
        (B) , in fireshed management 
 areas across jurisdictional boundaries; and

    (2) conduct fireshed assessments under 

section 105.

    (b) Additional Fireshed Management Areas.--With respect to a shared 
stewardship agreement (or similar agreement) with a Governor of a State 
or an Indian Tribe entered into under subsection

    (a) , the Secretary 
concerned, if requested by such Governor or Indian Tribe, may--

    (1) designate additional fireshed management areas under 
 such agreement; and

    (2) update such agreement to address new wildfire threats.

SEC. 105. FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Fireshed Assessments.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
 which the Secretary concerned enters into an agreement with a 
 Governor of a State or an Indian Tribe under 

section 104, the 
 Secretary concerned and such Governor or Indian Tribe shall, 
 with respect to the fireshed management areas designated in 
 such State, jointly conduct a fireshed assessment that--
        (A) identifies--
            (i) using the best available science, 
 wildfire exposure risks within each such 
 fireshed management area, including scenario 
 planning and wildfire hazard mapping and 
 models; and
            (ii) each at-risk community within each 
 fireshed management area;
        (B) identifies potential fireshed management 
 projects to be carried out in such fireshed management 
 areas, giving priority--
            (i) primarily, to projects with the purpose 
 of reducing--
            (I) wildfire exposure and 
 corresponding risk to communities, 
 including risk to life and structures;
            (II) wildfire exposure and 
 corresponding risk to municipal 
 watersheds, including tribal water 
 supplies and systems;
            (III) risk of forest conversion due 
 to wildfire; or
            (IV) any combination of purposes 
 described in subclauses
            (I) through
            (III) ; and
            (ii) secondarily, to projects with the 
 purpose of protecting--
            (I) critical infrastructure, 
 including utility infrastructure;
            (II) wildlife habitats, including 
 habitat for species listed under the 
 Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
 et seq.);
            (III) the built environment, 
 including residential and commercial 
 buildings;
            (IV) resources of an Indian Tribe, 
 as defined by the Indian Tribe; or
            (V) any combination of purposes 
 described in subclauses
            (I) through
            (IV) ;
            (C) includes--
            (i) a strategy for reducing the threat of 
 wildfire to at-risk communities in the 
 wildland-urban interface on both Federal and 
 non-Federal land;
            (ii) a timeline for the implementation of 
 fireshed management projects;
            (iii) long-term benchmark goals for the 
 completion of fireshed management projects in 
 the highest wildfire exposure areas so that 
 such projects contribute to the development and 
 maintenance of healthy and resilient 
 landscapes;
            (iv) policies to ensure fireshed management 
 projects comply with applicable forest plans 
 and incorporate the best available science; and
            (v) a strategy for reducing the threat of 
 wildfire to improve the effectiveness of 
 wildland firefighting, particularly the 
 effectiveness of fuels treatments that would 
 improve wildland firefighter safety during 
 wildfires;
            (D) shall be regularly updated based on the best 
 available science, as determined by the Secretary 
 concerned; and
        (E) shall be publicly available on a website 
 maintained by the Secretary concerned.

    (2) Local government participation.--Upon the written 
 request of a local government, the Secretary concerned and the 
 Governor of the State in which the local government is located 
 may allow such local government to participate in producing the 
 fireshed assessment under paragraph

    (1) for such State.

    (3) Information improvement.--
        (A) Memoranda of understanding.--In carrying out a 
 fireshed assessment under this subsection, the 
 Secretary concerned may enter into memoranda of 
 understanding with other Federal agencies or 
 departments (including the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration), States, Indian Tribes, 
 private entities, or research or educational 
 institutions to improve, with respect to such 
 assessment, the use and integration of--
            (i) advanced remote sensing and geospatial 
 technologies;
            (ii) statistical modeling and analysis; or
            (iii) any other technology or combination 
 of technologies and analyses that the Secretary 
 concerned determines will benefit the quality 
 of information of such an assessment.
        (B) Best available science.--In using the best 
 available science for the fireshed assessments 
 completed under subsection

    (a)

    (1) , the Secretary 
 concerned and Governor shall, to the maximum extent 
 practicable, incorporate--
            (i) traditional ecological knowledge from 
 Indian Tribes;
            (ii) data from State forest action plans 
 and State wildfire risk assessments;
            (iii) data from the Fireshed Registry 
 maintained under 

section 103; and
            (iv) data from other Federal, State, 
 Tribal, and local governments or agencies.

    (b) Applicability of NEPA.--Fireshed assessments conducted under 
this section shall not be subject to the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

SEC. 106. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Fireshed Management Projects.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned, acting through a 
 responsible official, shall carry out fireshed management 
 projects in fireshed management areas designated under 

section 101 in accordance with this section.

    (2) Fireshed management projects.--The responsible official 
 shall carry out the following forest and vegetation management 
 activities as fireshed management projects under this section:
        (A) Conducting hazardous fuels management 
 activities.
        (B) Creating fuel breaks and fire breaks.
            (C) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, dying trees, 
 or trees at risk of dying, as determined by the 
 responsible official.
            (D) Developing, approving, or conducting routine 
 maintenance under a vegetation management, facility 
 inspection, and operation and maintenance plan 
 submitted under 

section 512
            (c) (1) of the Federal Land 
 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
 1772
            (c) (1) ).
        (E) Removing trees to address overstocking or 
 crowding in a forest stand, consistent with the 
 appropriate basal area of the forest stand as 
 determined by the responsible official.
        (F) Using chemical or re-seeding and planting 
 treatments to address insects and disease and control 
 vegetation competition or invasive species.
        (G) Any activities recommended by an applicable 
 fireshed assessment carried out under 

section 105.
        (H) Any activities recommended by an applicable 
 community wildfire protection plan.
            (I) Any combination of activities described in this 
 paragraph.

    (3) Emergency fireshed management.--
        (A) In general.--For any fireshed management area 
 designated under 

section 101, the following shall have 
 the force and effect of law:
            (i) Section 220.4

    (b) of title 36, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
 of enactment of this Act), with respect to 
 lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.
            (ii) Section 46.150 of title 43, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
 of enactment of this Act), with respect to 
 lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
 of the Interior.
            (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
 of enactment of this Act).
            (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
 of enactment of this Act).
        (B) Utilization of existing streamlined authorities 
 in fireshed management areas.--
            (i) In general.--Fireshed management 
 projects carried out under this section shall 
 be considered authorized projects under the 
 following categorical exclusions:
            (I) Section 603

    (a) of the Healthy 
 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
 U.S.C. 6591b

    (a) ).
            (II) Section 605

    (a) of the Healthy 
 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
 U.S.C. 6591d

    (a) ).
            (III) Section 606

    (b) of the Healthy 
 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
 U.S.C. 6591e

    (b) ).
            (IV) Section 40806

    (b) of the 
 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
 (16 U.S.C. 6592b

    (b) ).
            (V) Section 4
            (c) (4) of the Lake 
 Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 106-
 506; 114 Stat. 2353).
            (ii) Additional emergency actions.--
 Subsection
            (d) of 

section 40807 of the 
 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 
 U.S.C. 6592c) shall apply to fireshed 
 management projects under this section in the 
 same manner as such subsection applies to 
 authorized emergency actions (as defined in 
 subsection

    (a) of such 

section 40807) under 
 such 

section 40807.
            (iii) Use of expedited authorities.--In 
 carrying out a fireshed management project, the 
 Secretary shall apply a categorical exclusion 
 under clause
            (i) --
            (I) in a manner consistent with the 
 statute establishing such categorical 
 exclusion; and
            (II) in any area--

    (aa) designated as suitable 
 for timber production within 
 the applicable forest plan; or

    (bb) where timber harvest 
 activities are not prohibited.
            (iv) Fiscal responsibility act 
 requirements.--In carrying out this section, 
 the Secretary concerned shall ensure compliance 
 with the amendments made to the National 
 Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
 seq.) by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 
 (Public Law 118-5).
            (v) Use of other authorities.--To the 
 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 
 concerned shall use the authorities provided 
 under this section in combination with other 
 authorities to carry out fireshed management 
 projects, including--
            (I) good neighbor agreements 
 entered into under 

section 8206 of the 
 Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 
 2113a) (as amended by this Act);
            (II) stewardship contracting 
 projects entered into under 

section 604 
 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) (as amended 
 by this Act);
            (III) self-determination contracts 
 and self-governance compact agreements 
 entered into under the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance 
 Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and
            (IV) agreements entered into under 
 the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 
 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.).

    (b) Expansion.--

    (1) HFRA amendments.--The Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
 of 2003 is amended--
        (A) in 

section 3 (16 U.S.C. 6502), by inserting at 
 the end the following:
 ``

    (3) Local government.--The term `local government' means 
 a county, municipality, or special district.
 ``

    (4) Special district.--The term `special district' means 
 a political subdivision of a State that--
 ``
        (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or 
 control;
 ``
        (B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the 
 State for the purpose of performing a limited and 
 specific governmental or proprietary function; and
 ``
            (C) is distinct from any other local government 
 unit within the State.''.
        (B) in 

section 603
            (c) (1) (16 U.S.C. 6591b
            (c) (1) ), 
 by striking ``3000 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 
 acres'';
            (C) in 

section 603
            (c) (2)
        (B) (16 U.S.C. 
 6591b
            (c) (2)
        (B) ), by striking ``Fire Regime Groups I, 
 II, or III'' and inserting ``Fire Regime I, Fire Regime 
 II, Fire Regime III, Fire Regime IV, or Fire Regime 
 V'';
            (D) in 

section 605
            (c) (1) (16 U.S.C. 6591d
            (c) (1) ), 
 by striking ``3000 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 
 acres''; and
        (E) in 

section 606

    (g) (16 U.S.C. 6591e

    (g) ), by 
 striking ``4,500 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 
 acres''.

    (2) Infrastructure investment and jobs act amendment.--
 

Section 40806
            (d) (1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
 Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b
            (d) (1) ), by striking ``3,000 acres'' and 
 inserting ``10,000 acres''.

    (3) Lake tahoe restoration act amendments.--

Section 4
            (c) (4)
            (C) of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 106-
 506; 114 Stat. 2353) is amended--
        (A) by striking ``Lake Tahoe Basin Management 
 Unit''; and
        (B) by inserting ``applicable to the area'' before 
 the period at the end.

SEC. 107. SUNSET.

 The authority under this subtitle shall terminate on the date that 
is 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

 Subtitle B--Expanding Collaborative Tools to Reduce Wildfire Risk and 
 Improve Forest Health

SEC. 111. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REVENUE AND PAYMENTS 
 UNDER GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Good Neighbor Authority.--

Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 
of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a)

    (6) , by striking ``or Indian tribe'';

    (2) in subsection

    (a) , by inserting the following:
 ``

    (11) Special district.--The term `special district' means 
 a political subdivision of a State that--
 ``
        (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or 
 control;
 ``
        (B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the 
 State for the purpose of performing a limited and 
 specific governmental or proprietary function; and
 ``
            (C) is distinct from any other local government 
 unit within the State.''.

    (3) in subsection

    (b) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1)
        (A) , by inserting ``, Indian 
 Tribe, special district,'' after ``Governor'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (2)
            (C) --
            (i) in clause
            (i) --
            (I) by inserting ``special 
 district,'' after ``Indian Tribe,'' 
 each place it appears;
            (II) in subclause
            (I) --

    (aa) by striking ``on''; 
 and

    (bb) by striking ``; and'' 
 and inserting a semicolon;
            (III) in subclause
            (II) (bb) , by 
 striking the period at the end and 
 inserting a semicolon; and
            (IV) by adding at the end the 
 following:
 ``
            (III) to construct new permanent 
 roads on Federal lands that are--
 ``

    (aa) necessary to 
 implement authorized 
 restoration activities; and
 ``

    (bb) approved by the 
 Federal agency through an 
 environmental analysis or 
 categorical exclusion decision;
 ``
            (IV) to complete new permanent 
 road construction to replace and 
 decommission an existing permanent road 
 that is adversely impacting forest, 
 rangeland, or watershed health; and
 ``
            (V) if there are funds remaining 
 after carrying out subclauses
            (I) through
            (IV) , to carry out authorized 
 restoration services under other good 
 neighbor agreements and for the 
 administration of a good neighbor 
 authority program by a Governor, Indian 
 tribe, special district, or county.''; 
 and
            (ii) in clause
            (ii) , by striking ``2028'' 
 and inserting ``2030''; and
            (C) in paragraph

    (3) , by inserting ``, Indian 
 Tribe, special district,'' after ``Governor''; and
            (D) by striking paragraph

    (4) .

    (b) Conforming Amendments.--

Section 8206

    (a) of the Agricultural Act 
of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a

    (a) ) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (1)
        (B) , by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
 special district,'' after ``Governor''; and

    (2) in paragraph

    (5) , by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
 special district,'' after ``Governor''.
            (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section apply to 
any project initiated pursuant to a good neighbor agreement (as defined 
in 

section 8206

    (a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 
2113a

    (a) ))--

    (1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if the 
 project was initiated after the date of enactment of the 
 Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334; 132 
 Stat. 4490); or

    (2) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 112. FIXING STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING.

 

Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6591c) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (b) , by inserting ``, including retaining 
 and expanding existing forest products infrastructure'' before 
 the period at the end;

    (2) in subsection
            (d) (3)
        (B) , by striking ``10 years'' and 
 inserting ``20 years''; and

    (3) in subsection

    (h) , by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (4) Special rule for long-term stewardship contracts.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--A long-term agreement or 
 contract entered into with an entity under subsection

    (b) by the Chief or the Director shall provide that in 
 the case of the cancellation or termination by the 
 Chief or the Director of such long-term agreement or 
 contract, the Chief or the Director, as applicable, 
 shall provide 10 percent of the agreement or contract 
 amount to such entity as cancellation or termination 
 costs.
 ``
        (B) Definition of long-term agreement or 
 contract.--In this paragraph, the term `long-term 
 agreement or contract' means an agreement or contract 
 under subsection

    (b) --
 ``
            (i) with a term of more than 5 years; and
 ``
            (ii) entered into on or after the date of 
 the enactment of this paragraph.''.

SEC. 113. INTRA-AGENCY STRIKE TEAMS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary concerned shall establish intra-
agency strike teams to assist the Secretary concerned with--

    (1) any reviews, including analysis under the National 
 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
 consultations under the National Historic Preservation Act of 
 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and consultations under the 
 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), with 
 the intent to accelerate and streamline interagency 
 consultation processes;

    (2) the implementation of any necessary site preparation 
 work in advance of or as part of a fireshed management project;

    (3) the implementation of fireshed management projects 
 under such section; and

    (4) any combination of purposes under paragraphs

    (1) through

    (3) .

    (b) Members.--The Secretary concerned may appoint not more than 10 
individuals to serve on an intra-agency strike team comprised of--

    (1) employees of the Department under the jurisdiction of 
 the Secretary concerned;

    (2) employees of a different Federal agency, with the 
 consent of that agency's Secretary;

    (3) private contractors from any nonprofit organization, 
 State government, Indian Tribe, local government, quasi-
 governmental agency, academic institution, or private 
 organization; and

    (4) volunteers from any nonprofit organization, State 
 government, Indian Tribe, local government, quasi-governmental 
 agency, academic institution, or private organization.
            (c) Sunset.--The authority provided under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 114. LOCALLY-LED RESTORATION.

    (a) Threshold Adjustment.--

Section 14
            (d) of the National Forest 
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a
            (d) ) is amended by--

    (1) striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$55,000''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following: ``Beginning on 
 January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the amount in the 
 first sentence of this subsection shall be adjusted by the 
 Secretary for changes in the Consumer Price Index of All Urban 
 Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
 Department of Labor.''.

    (b) Fireshed Management Projects.--Beginning on the date that is 30 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
solicit bids under 

section 14 of the National Forest Management Act of 
1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a
            (d) ) for fireshed management projects under 

section 106.

SEC. 115. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

 

Section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 
U.S.C. 6592d) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a)

    (2) --
        (A) in subparagraph
        (B) , by striking ``or'' at the 
 end;
        (B) in subparagraph
            (C) , by striking the period at 
 the end and inserting a semicolon; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (D) to recover from wildfires; or
 ``
        (E) to enhance soil, water, and related natural 
 resources.'';

    (2) in subsection
            (d) (1) --
        (A) in subparagraph
        (A) , by inserting ``and post-
 wildfire impacts'' after ``wildfire risk''; and
        (B) in subparagraph
        (F) , by inserting ``, as 
 identified in the corresponding State forest action 
 plan or similar priority plan (such as a State wildlife 
 or water plan)'' before the semicolon;

    (3) in subsection

    (g)

    (2) , by inserting ``and at least once 
 every 2 fiscal years thereafter'' after ``and 2023''; and

    (4) in subsection

    (h)

    (1) , by striking ``and 2023'' and 
 inserting ``through 2030''.

SEC. 116. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.

 

Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 
U.S.C. 7303) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (b)

    (3) --
        (A) in subparagraph
            (D) , by striking ``species;'' 
 and inserting ``species or pathogens;'';
        (B) in subparagraph
        (G) , by striking ``and'' at the 
 end;
            (C) in subparagraph
        (H) , by adding ``and'' after 
 the semicolon at the end; and
            (D) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (I) address standardized monitoring questions and 
 indicators;'';

    (2) in subsection
            (c) (3)
        (A) --
        (A) in clause
            (i) , by striking ``and'' at the end;
        (B) in clause
            (ii) , by adding ``and'' at the end; 
 and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (iii) include a plan to provide support 
 to collaborative processes established pursuant 
 to subsection

    (b)

    (2) ;'';

    (3) in subsection
            (d) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (2) --
            (i) in subparagraph
        (E) , by striking 
 ``and'' at the end;
            (ii) in subparagraph
        (F) , by striking the 
 period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
        (G) proposals that seek to use innovative 
 implementation mechanisms, including good neighbor 
 agreements entered into under 

section 8206 of the 
 Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a);
 ``
        (H) proposals that seek to remove or treat 
 insects or diseases, including the removal of trees 
 killed by, or infested with, bark beetles in Arizona, 
 California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, 
 New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and 
 Wyoming;
 ``
            (I) proposals that seek to facilitate the sale of 
 firewood and Christmas trees on lands under the 
 jurisdiction of the Secretary or the Secretary of the 
 Interior;
 ``
        (J) proposals that seek to reduce the risk of 
 uncharacteristic wildfire or increase ecological 
 restoration activities--
 ``
            (i) within areas across land ownerships, 
 including State, Tribal, and private land; and
 ``
            (ii) within the wildland-urban interface 
 (as defined in 

section 101 of the Healthy 
 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 
 6511)); and
 ``
        (K) proposals that seek to enhance watershed 
 health and drinking water sources.''; and
        (B) in paragraph

    (3) --
            (i) by amending subparagraph
        (A) to read as 
 follows:
 ``
        (A) 4 proposals in any 1 region of the National 
 Forest System to be funded during any fiscal year; 
 and'';
            (ii) by striking subparagraph
        (B) ; and
            (iii) by redesignating subparagraph
            (C) as 
 subparagraph
        (B) ; and

    (4) in subsection

    (f)

    (6) , by striking ``2019 through 2023'' 
 and inserting ``2025 through 2030''.

SEC. 117. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION.

 The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, in 
coordination with holders of permits to graze livestock on Federal 
land, shall develop a strategy to increase opportunities to utilize 
livestock grazing as a wildfire risk reduction strategy, including--

    (1) completion of reviews (as required under the National 
 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to 
 allow permitted grazing on vacant grazing allotments during 
 instances of drought, wildfire, or other natural disasters that 
 disrupt grazing on allotments already permitted;

    (2) use of targeted grazing;

    (3) increased use of temporary permits to promote targeted 
 fuels reduction and reduction of invasive annual grasses;

    (4) increased use of grazing as a postfire recovery and 
 restoration strategy, where appropriate; and

    (5) use of all applicable authorities under the law.

SEC. 118. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM.

 

Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6542

    (g)

    (4)
        (B) ) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a) --
        (A) by redesignating paragraphs

    (1) through

    (7) as 
 paragraphs

    (2) through

    (8) , respectively;
        (B) by inserting before paragraph

    (2) , as so 
 redesignated, the following:
 ``

    (1) Adjacent land.--The term `adjacent land' means non-
 Federal land, including State, local, and private land, that is 
 adjacent to, and within the same watershed as, National Forest 
 System land on which a watershed protection and restoration 
 project is carried out under this section.''; and
            (C) in paragraph

    (2) , as so redesignated--
            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs
        (G) and
        (H) as subparagraphs
        (K) and
            (L) , respectively; 
 and
            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph
        (F) the following:
 ``
        (G) an acequia association;
 ``
        (H) a local, regional, or other public entity 
 that manages stormwater or wastewater resources or 
 other related water infrastructure;
 ``
            (I) a land-grant mercedes;
 ``
        (J) a local, regional, or other private entity 
 that has water delivery authority;'';

    (2) in subsection

    (b) --
        (A) by striking ``The Secretary shall'' and 
 inserting the following:
 ``

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall''; and
        (B) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (2) Requirements.--A watershed protection and restoration 
 project under the Program shall be designed to--
 ``
        (A) protect and restore watershed health, water 
 supply and quality, a municipal or agricultural water 
 supply system, and water-related infrastructure;
 ``
        (B) protect and restore forest health from insect 
 infestation and disease or wildfire; or
 ``
            (C) advance any combination of the purposes 
 described in subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) .
 ``

    (3) Priorities.--In selecting watershed protection and 
 restoration projects under the Program, the Secretary shall 
 give priority to projects that would--
 ``
        (A) provide risk management benefits associated 
 with: drought; wildfire; post-wildfire conditions; 
 extreme weather; flooding; resilience to climate 
 change; and watershed and fire resilience, including 
 minimizing risks to watershed health, water supply and 
 quality, and water-related infrastructure, including 
 municipal and agricultural water supply systems;
 ``
        (B) support aquatic restoration and conservation 
 efforts that complement existing or planned forest 
 restoration or wildfire risk reduction efforts; or
 ``
            (C) provide quantifiable benefits to water supply 
 or quality and include the use of nature-based 
 solutions, such as restoring wetland and riparian 
 ecosystems.
 ``

    (4) Conditions for projects on adjacent land.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--No project or activity may be 
 carried out under this section on adjacent land unless 
 the owner of the adjacent land agrees in writing that 
 the owner is a willing and engaged partner in carrying 
 out that project or activity.
 ``
        (B) Effect.--Nothing in this section shall be 
 construed to authorize any change in--
 ``
            (i) the ownership of adjacent land on 
 which a project or activity is carried out 
 under this section; or
 ``
            (ii) the management of adjacent land on 
 which a project or activity is carried out 
 under this section, except during the carrying 
 out of that project or activity.'';

    (3) in subsection
            (c) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) , by striking ``with end water 
 users'' and inserting ``with end water users to protect 
 and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds 
 and adjacent land that provide water--
 ``
        (A) to the end water users subject to the 
 agreement; or
 ``
        (B) for the benefit of another end water user.'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (2) --
            (i) in subparagraph
            (C) , by striking ``or'' 
 at the end;
            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph
            (D) as 
 subparagraph
        (E) ; and
            (iii) by inserting after subparagraph
            (C) the following:
 ``
            (D) a good neighbor agreement entered into under 
 

section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 
 2113a); or''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (3) Cooperation with non-federal partners.--The Secretary 
 shall cooperate with non-Federal partners in carrying out 
 assessments, planning, project design, and project 
 implementation under this section.'';

    (4) in subsection
            (d) --
        (A) by amending paragraph

    (2) to read as follows:
 ``

    (2) Requirement.--A water source management plan shall 
 be--
 ``
        (A) designed to protect and restore ecological 
 integrity (as defined in 

section 219.19 of title 36, 
 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 
 of enactment of this subparagraph));
 ``
        (B) based on the best available scientific 
 information; and
 ``
            (C) conducted in a manner consistent with the 
 forest plan applicable to the National Forest System 
 land on which the watershed protection and restoration 
 project is carried out.''; and
        (B) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (4) Reducing redundancy.--An existing watershed plan, 
 such as a watershed protection and restoration action plan 
 developed under 

section 304

    (a)

    (3) , or other applicable 
 watershed planning documents as approved by the Secretary may 
 be used as the basis for a water source management plan under 
 this subsection.''; and

    (5) in subsection

    (e)

    (1) , by striking ``primary purpose 
 of'' and all that follows through the period at the end and 
 inserting ``primary purpose of advancing any of the purposes 
 described in subsection

    (b)

    (2) .''.

SEC. 119. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

 

Section 304

    (a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6543

    (a) ) is amended in paragraphs

    (3) and

    (5) by striking 
``protection and''.

 Subtitle C--Litigation Reform

SEC. 121. COMMONSENSE LITIGATION REFORM.

    (a) In General.--A court shall not enjoin a covered agency action 
if the court determines that the plaintiff is unable to demonstrate 
that the claim of the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits.

    (b) Balancing Short- and Long-term Effects of Covered Agency Action 
in Considering Injunctive Relief.--As part of its weighing the equities 
while considering any request for an injunction that applies to a 
covered agency action, the court reviewing such action shall balance 
the impact to the ecosystem likely affected by such action of--

    (1) the short- and long-term effects of undertaking such 
 action; against

    (2) the short- and long-term effects of not undertaking 
 such action.
            (c) Limitations on Judicial Review.--

    (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
 (except this section), in the case of a claim arising under 
 Federal law seeking judicial review of a covered agency 
 action--
        (A) a court shall not hold unlawful, set aside, or 
 otherwise limit, delay, stay, vacate, or enjoin such 
 agency action unless the court determines that--
            (i) such action poses or will pose a risk 
 of a proximate and substantial environmental 
 harm; and
            (ii) there is no other equitable remedy 
 available as a matter of law; and
        (B) if a court determines that subparagraph
        (A) does not apply to the covered agency action the only 
 remedy the court may order with regard to such agency 
 action is to remand the matter to the agency with 
 instructions to, during the 180-day period beginning on 
 the date of the order, take such additional actions as 
 may be necessary to redress any legal wrong suffered 
 by, or adverse effect on, the plaintiff, except such 
 additional actions may not include the preparation of a 
 new agency document unless the court finds the agency 
 was required and failed to prepare such agency 
 document.

    (2) Effect of remand.--In the case of a covered agency 
 action to which paragraph

    (1)
        (B) applies, the agency may--
        (A) continue to carry out such agency action to the 
 extent the action does not impact the additional 
 actions required pursuant to such paragraph; and
        (B) if the agency action relates to an agency 
 document, use any format to correct such document 
 (including a supplemental environmental document, 
 memorandum, or errata sheet).
            (d) Limitations on Claims.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law (except this section), a claim arising under Federal law seeking 
judicial review of a covered agency action shall be barred unless--

    (1) with respect to an agency document or the application 
 of a categorical exclusion noticed in the Federal Register, 
 such claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date of 
 publication of a notice in the Federal Register of agency 
 intent to carry out the fireshed management project relating to 
 such agency document or application, unless a shorter period is 
 specified in such Federal law;

    (2) in the case of an agency document or the application of 
 a categorical exclusion not described in paragraph

    (1) , such 
 claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date that is 
 the earlier of--
        (A) the date on which such agency document or 
 application is published; and
        (B) the date on which such agency document or 
 application is noticed; and

    (3) in the case of a covered agency action for which there 
 was a public comment period, such claim--
        (A) is filed by a party that--
            (i) participated in the administrative 
 proceedings regarding the fireshed management 
 project relating to such action; and
            (ii) submitted a comment during such public 
 comment period and such comment was 
 sufficiently detailed to put the applicable 
 agency on notice of the issue upon which the 
 party seeks judicial review; and
        (B) is related to such comment.

    (e) 

=== Definitions. ===
-ln this section:

    (1) Agency document.--The term ``agency document'' means, 
 with respect to a fireshed management project, a record of 
 decision, environmental document, or programmatic environmental 
 document.

    (2) Covered agency action.--The term ``covered agency 
 action'' means--
        (A) the establishment of a fireshed management 
 project by an agency;
        (B) the application of a categorical exclusion to a 
 fireshed management project;
            (C) the preparation of any agency document for a 
 fireshed management project; or
            (D) any other agency action as part of a fireshed 
 management project.

    (3) NEPA terms.--The terms ``categorical exclusion'', 
 ``environmental document'', and ``programmatic environmental 
 document'' have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in 
 

section 111 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
 (42 U.S.C. 4336e).

SEC. 122. CONSULTATION ON FOREST PLANS.

    (a) Forest Service Plans.--

Section 6
            (d) (2) of the Forest and 
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 
1604
            (d) (2) ) is amended to read as follows:
 ``

    (2) No additional consultation required under certain 
 circumstances.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
 Secretary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 
 under 

section 7

    (a)

    (2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
 U.S.C. 1536

    (a)

    (2) ) or 

section 402.16 of title 50, Code of 
 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), on a land 
 management plan approved, amended, or revised under this 
 section when--
 ``
        (A) a new species is listed or critical habitat 
 is designated under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
 ``
        (B) new information reveals effects of the land 
 management plan that may affect a species listed or 
 critical habitat designated under that Act in a manner 
 or to an extent not previously considered.''.

    (b) Bureau of Land Management Plans.--

Section 202 of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (g) No Additional Consultation Required Under Certain 
Circumstances.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation under 

section 7

    (a)

    (2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1536

    (a)

    (2) ) or 

section 402.16 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations 
(or a successor regulation), on a land use plan approved, amended, or 
revised under this section when--
 ``

    (1) a new species is listed or critical habitat is 
 designated under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
 1531 et seq.); or
 ``

    (2) new information reveals effects of the land use plan 
 that may affect a species listed or critical habitat designated 
 under that Act in a manner or to an extent not previously 
 considered.''.

 TITLE II--PROTECTING COMMUNITIES IN THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE

SEC. 201. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly establish an 
interagency program to be known as the ``Community Wildfire Risk 
Reduction Program'' that shall consist of at least one representative 
from each of the following:

    (1) The Office of Wildland Fire of the Department of the 
 Interior.

    (2) The National Park Service.

    (3) The Bureau of Land Management.

    (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

    (5) The Bureau of Indian Affairs.

    (6) The Forest Service.

    (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    (8) The United States Fire Administration.

    (9) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.

    (10) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purpose of the program established under 
subsection

    (a) is to support interagency coordination in reducing the 
risk of, and the damages resulting from, wildfires in communities 
(including tribal communities) in the wildland-urban interface 
through--

    (1) advancing research and science in wildfire resilience 
 and land management, including support for non-Federal research 
 partnerships;

    (2) supporting adoption by Indian Tribes and local 
 governmental entities of fire-resistant building methods, 
 codes, and standards;

    (3) supporting efforts by Indian Tribes or local 
 governmental entities to address the effects of wildland fire 
 on such communities, including property damages, air quality, 
 and water quality;

    (4) encouraging public-private partnerships to conduct 
 hazardous fuels management activities in the wildland-urban 
 interface;

    (5) providing technical and financial assistance targeted 
 towards communities, including tribal communities, through 
 streamlined and unified technical assistance and grant 
 management mechanisms, including the portal and grant 
 application established under subsection
            (c) , to--
        (A) encourage critical risk reduction measures on 
 private property with high wildfire risk exposure in 
 such communities; and
        (B) mitigate costs for and improve capacity among 
 such communities.
            (c) Portal and Uniform Grant Application.--

    (1) In general.--As part of the program established under 
 subsection

    (a) , the Secretaries and the Administrator of the 
 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a portal 
 through which a person may submit a single, uniform application 
 for any of the following:
        (A) A community wildfire defense grant under 
 

section 40803

    (f) of the Infrastructure Investment and 
 Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592

    (f) ).
        (B) An emergency management performance grant under 
 

section 662 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 
 Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 761).
            (C) A grant under 

section 33 of the Federal Fire 
 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229).
            (D) A grant under 

section 34 of the Federal Fire 
 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a).
        (E) Financial or technical assistance or a grant 
 under sections 203, 205, 404, 406, or 420 of the Robert 
 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
 Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 5135, 5170c, 5172, 5187).

    (2) Simplification of application.--In establishing the 
 portal and application under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretaries and 
 the Administrator shall seek to reduce the complexity and 
 length of the application process for the grants described in 
 paragraph

    (1) .

    (3) Technical assistance.--The Secretaries shall provide 
 technical assistance to communities or persons seeking to apply 
 for financial assistance through the portal using the 
 application established under paragraph

    (1) .
            (d) Sunset.--The program established under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 202. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretaries shall, acting jointly, expand the 
Joint Fire Science Program to include a performance-driven research and 
development program known as the ``Community Wildfire Defense Research 
Program'' for the purpose of testing and advancing innovative designs 
to create or improve the wildfire-resistance of structures and 
communities.

    (b) Program Priorities.--In carrying out the program established 
under subsection

    (a) , the Secretaries shall evaluate opportunities to 
create wildfire-resistant structures and communities through--

    (1) different affordable building materials, including mass 
 timber;

    (2) home hardening, including policies to incentivize and 
 incorporate defensible space;

    (3) subdivision design and other land use planning and 
 design;

    (4) landscape architecture; and

    (5) other wildfire-resistant designs, as determined by the 
 Secretary.
            (c) Community Wildfire Defense Innovation Prize.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out the program established 
 under subsection

    (a) , the Secretaries shall carry out a 
 competition through which a person may submit to the 
 Secretaries innovative designs for the creation or improvement 
 of an ignition-resistant structure or fire-adapted communities.

    (2) Prize.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
 made in advance for such purpose, the Secretaries may award a 
 prize under the competition described in paragraph

    (1) , based 
 on criteria established by the Secretaries and in accordance 
 with paragraph

    (3) .

    (3) Scale.--In awarding a prize under paragraph

    (2) , the 
 Secretaries shall prioritize for an award designs with the most 
 potential to scale to existing infrastructure.
            (d) Collaboration and Nonduplication.--In carrying out the program 
established under subsection

    (a) , the Secretaries shall ensure 
collaboration and nonduplication of activities with the Building 
Technologies Office of the Department of Energy.

    (e) Sunset.--The program established under subsection

    (a) shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 203. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPECTION, AND OPERATION AND 
 MAINTENANCE RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 
 DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

    (a) Hazard Trees Within 150 Feet of Electric Power Line.--

Section 512

    (a)

    (1)
        (B)
            (ii) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1772

    (a)

    (1)
        (B)
            (ii) ) is amended by striking ``10'' and 
inserting ``150''.

    (b) Consultation With Private Landowners.--

Section 512
            (c) (3)
        (E) of 
such Act (43 U.S.C. 1772
            (c) (3)
        (E) ) is amended--

    (1) in clause
            (i) , by striking ``and'' at the end;

    (2) in clause
            (ii) , by striking the period and inserting 
 ``; and''; and

    (3) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (iii) consulting with a private landowner 
 with respect to any hazard trees identified for 
 removal from land owned by the private 
 landowner.''.
            (c) Review and Approval Process.--

Section 512
            (c) (4)
        (A)
            (iv) of such 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1772
            (c) (4)
        (A)
            (iv) ) is amended to read as follows:
 ``
            (iv) ensures that--
 ``
            (I) a plan submitted without a 
 modification under clause
            (iii) shall 
 be automatically approved 120 days 
 after being submitted; and
 ``
            (II) with respect to a plan 
 submitted with a modification under 
 clause
            (iii) , if not approved within 
 120 days after being submitted, the 
 Secretary concerned shall develop and 
 submit a letter to the owner and 
 operator describing--
 ``

    (aa) a detailed timeline 
 (to conclude within 165 days 
 after the submission of the 
 plan) for completing review of 
 the plan;
 ``

    (bb) any identified 
 deficiencies with the plan and 
 specific opportunities for the 
 owner and operator to address 
 such deficiencies; and
 ``
            (cc) any other relevant 
 information, as determined by 
 the Secretary concerned.''.

SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ELECTRIC UTILITY LINES RIGHTS-OF-
 WAY.

    (a) Categorical Exclusion Established.--Forest management 
activities described in subsection

    (b) are a category of activities 
hereby designated as being categorically excluded from the preparation 
of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement 
under 

section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332).

    (b) Forest Management Activities Designated for Categorical 
Exclusion.--The forest management activities designated under 
subsection

    (a) for a categorical exclusion are--

    (1) the development and approval of a vegetation 
 management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance 
 plan submitted under 

section 512
            (c) (1) of the Federal Land 
 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772
            (c) (1) ) by the 
 Secretary concerned; and

    (2) the implementation of routine activities conducted 
 under the plan referred to in paragraph

    (1) .
            (c) Availability of Categorical Exclusion.--On and after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned may use the 
categorical exclusion established under subsection

    (a) in accordance 
with this section.
            (d) Exclusion of Certain Areas From Categorical Exclusion.--The 
categorical exclusion established under subsection

    (a) shall not apply 
to any forest management activity conducted--

    (1) in a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
 System; or

    (2) on National Forest System lands on which the removal of 
 vegetation is restricted or prohibited by an Act of Congress.

    (e) Permanent Roads.--

    (1) Prohibition on establishment.--A forest management 
 activity designated under subsection

    (b) shall not include the 
 establishment of a permanent road.

    (2) Existing roads.--The Secretary concerned may carry out 
 necessary maintenance and repair on an existing permanent road 
 for the purposes of conducting a forest management activity 
 designated under subsection

    (b) .

    (3) Temporary roads.--The Secretary concerned shall 
 decommission any temporary road constructed for carrying out a 
 forest management activity designated under subsection

    (b) not 
 later than the date that is 3 years after the date on which the 
 forest management activity is completed.

    (f) Applicable Laws.--Clauses
            (iii) and
            (iv) of 

section 106

    (a)

    (3) shall apply to forest management activities designated under subsection

    (b) .

SEC. 205. SEEDS OF SUCCESS.

    (a) Strategy Established.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries and the Secretary of Defense 
shall jointly develop and implement a strategy, to be known as the 
``Seeds of Success strategy'', to enhance the domestic supply chain of 
seeds.

    (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection

    (a) shall 
include a plan for each of the following:

    (1) Facilitating sustained interagency coordination in, and 
 a comprehensive approach to, native plant materials development 
 and restoration.

    (2) Promoting the re-seeding of native or fire-resistant 
 vegetation post-wildfire, particularly in the wildland-urban 
 interface.

    (3) Creating and consolidating information on native or 
 fire-resistant vegetation and sharing such information with 
 State governments, Indian Tribes, and local governments.

    (4) Building regional programs and partnerships to promote 
 the development of materials made from plants native to the 
 United States and restore such plants to their respective, 
 native habitats within the United States, giving priority to 
 the building of such programs and partnerships in regions of 
 the Bureau of Land Management where such partnerships and 
 programs do not already exist as of the date of enactment of 
 this Act.

    (5) Expanding seed storage and seed-cleaning 
 infrastructure.

    (6) Expanding the Warehouse System of the Bureau of Land 
 Management, particularly the cold storage capacity of the 
 Warehouse System.

    (7) Shortening the timeline for the approval of permits to 
 collect seeds on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
 Management.
            (c) Report.--The Secretaries and the Secretary of Defense shall 
submit to the relevant Congressional Committees the strategy developed 
under paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 206. PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIORITY REFORESTATION AND RESTORATION 
 PROJECTS OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the 
heads of covered Federal agencies, shall establish a program to provide 
support for priority projects identified under subsection
            (c) (2) , in 
accordance with this section.

    (b) Support.--In carrying out the program under subsection

    (a) , the 
Secretary may provide support through--

    (1) cooperative agreements entered into in accordance with 
 processes established by the Secretary; and

    (2) contracts, including contracts established pursuant to 
 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
            (c) Annual Identification of Priority Projects.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of 
covered Federal agencies, shall--

    (1) identify lands of the United States administered by, or 
 under the jurisdiction of, the Secretary of the Interior that 
 require reforestation and restoration due to unplanned 
 disturbances and that are unlikely to experience natural 
 regeneration without assistance; and

    (2) establish a list of priority projects for reforestation 
 and restoration for the upcoming year, which may include 
 activities to ensure adequate and appropriate seed and seedling 
 availability to further the objectives of other priority 
 projects.
            (d) Consultation.--In carrying out the program under subsection

    (a) and the requirements under subsection
            (c) , the Secretary shall consult 
or collaborate with, as appropriate, and inform the following:

    (1) State and local governments.

    (2) Indian Tribes.

    (3) Covered institutions of higher education.

    (4) Federal agencies that administer lands of the United 
 States that adjoin or are proximal to lands that are the 
 subject of priority projects and potential priority projects.

    (5) Other stakeholders, as determined by the Secretary.

    (e) Annual Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a report 
that includes the following:

    (1) An accounting of all lands identified under subsection
            (c) (1) for the period covered by the report.

    (2) A list of priority projects identified under subsection
            (c) (2) for the period covered by the report and, with respect 
 to each such priority project, any support issued under the 
 program under subsection

    (a) and any progress made towards 
 reforestation and restoration.

    (3) An accounting of each contract and cooperative 
 agreement established under the program under subsection

    (a) .

    (4) A description of the actions taken in accordance with 
 subsection
            (d) .

    (5) Assessments with respect to--
        (A) gaps in--
            (i) the implementation of the program under 
 subsection

    (a) ; and
            (ii) the progress made under the program 
 with respect to priority projects; and
        (B) opportunities to procure funding necessary to 
 address any such gaps.

    (f) Nonduplication.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall collaborate with the Secretary and the Secretary of 
Defense to ensure the nonduplication of activities carried out under 

section 205.

    (g) Sunset.--The authority provided under this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

    (h) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Covered federal agency.--The term ``covered Federal 
 agency'' means the National Park Service, the United States 
 Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the 
 Bureau of Reclamation, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

    (2) Covered institution of higher education.--The term 
 ``covered institution of higher education'' has the meaning 
 given the term ``eligible institution'' in 

section 301

    (e)

    (3) .

    (3) Natural regeneration; reforestation.--The terms 
 ``natural regeneration'' and ``reforestation'' have the 
 meanings given such terms in 

section 3

    (e)

    (4)
        (A) of the Forest 
 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
 U.S.C. 1601

    (3) 

    (4)
        (A) ).

    (4) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means activities 
 that facilitate the recovery of an ecosystem that has been 
 degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including the reestablishment 
 of appropriate plant species composition and community 
 structure.

    (5) Unplanned ecosystem disturbance.--The term ``unplanned 
 ecosystem disturbance'' means any unplanned disturbance that 
 disrupts the structure or composition of an ecosystem, 
 including a wildfire, an infestation of insects or disease, and 
 a weather event.

SEC. 207. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPAYMENT.

    (a) Establishment of Standard Operating Procedures.--Not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretaries 
shall--

    (1) establish standard operating procedures relating to 
 payment timelines for fire suppression cost share agreements 
 established under the Act of May 27, 1955 (42 U.S.C. 1856a) 
 (commonly known as the ``Reciprocal Fire Protection Act''); and

    (2) with respect to each fire suppression cost share 
 agreement in operation on such date--
        (A) review each such agreement; and
        (B) modify each agreement as necessary to comply 
 with the standard operating procedures required under 
 paragraph

    (1) .

    (b) Alignment of Fire Suppression Cost Share Agreements With 
Cooperative Fire Protection Agreements.--The standard operating 
procedures required under subsection

    (a)

    (1) shall include a requirement 
that each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned with each of 
the cooperative fire protection agreements applicable to the entity 
subject to such fire suppression cost share agreement.
            (c) Payments Pursuant to Cost Share Agreements.--With respect to 
payments made pursuant to fire suppression cost share agreements, the 
standard operating procedures required under subsection

    (a)

    (1) shall 
require that the Federal paying entity reimburse a local fire 
department if such fire department submits an invoice in accordance 
with cost settlement procedures.
            (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretaries should carry out reciprocal fire suppression cost share 
agreement repayments to local fire suppression organizations as soon as 
practicable after fire suppression occurs but not later than 1 year 
after fire suppression occurs.

 TITLE III--TRANSPARENCY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIPS

 Subtitle A--Transparency and Technology

SEC. 301. BIOCHAR INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION, 
 HEALTH, AND ADVANCEMENTS IN RESEARCH.

    (a) Demonstration Projects.--

    (1) Establishment.--
        (A) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
 appropriations made in advance for such purpose, not 
 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
 Act, the covered Secretaries shall establish a program 
 to enter into partnerships with eligible entities to 
 carry out demonstration projects to support the 
 development and commercialization of biochar in 
 accordance with this subsection.
        (B) Location of demonstration projects.--In 
 carrying out the program established under subparagraph
        (A) , the covered Secretaries shall, to the maximum 
 extent practicable, enter into partnerships with 
 eligible entities such that not fewer than one 
 demonstration project is carried out in each region of 
 the Forest Service and each region of the Bureau of 
 Land Management.

    (2) Proposals.--To be eligible to enter into a partnership 
 to carry out a biochar demonstration project under paragraph

    (1)
        (A) , an eligible entity shall submit to the covered 
 Secretaries a proposal at such time, in such manner, and 
 containing such information as the covered Secretaries may 
 require.

    (3) Priority.--In selecting proposals under paragraph

    (2) , 
 the covered Secretaries shall give priority to entering into 
 partnerships with eligible entities that submit proposals to 
 carry out biochar demonstration projects that--
        (A) have the most potential to create new jobs and 
 contribute to local economies, particularly in rural 
 areas;
        (B) have the most potential to demonstrate--
            (i) new and innovative uses of biochar;
            (ii) market viability for cost effective 
 biochar-based products;
            (iii) the restorative benefits of biochar 
 with respect to forest heath and resiliency, 
 including forest soils and watersheds; or
            (iv) any combination of purposes specified 
 in clauses
            (i) through
            (iii) ;
            (C) are located in areas that have a high need for 
 biochar production, as determined by the covered 
 Secretaries, due to--
            (i) nearby lands identified as having high 
 or very high or extreme risk of wildfire;
            (ii) availability of sufficient quantities 
 of feedstocks; or
            (iii) a high level of demand for biochar or 
 other commercial byproducts of biochar; or
            (D) satisfy any combination of purposes specified 
 in subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (C) .

    (4) Use of funds.--In carrying out the program established 
 under paragraph

    (1)
        (A) , the covered Secretaries may enter into 
 partnerships and provide funding to such partnerships to carry 
 out demonstration projects to--
        (A) acquire and test various feedstocks and their 
 efficacy;
        (B) develop and optimize commercially and 
 technologically viable biochar production units, 
 including mobile and permanent units;
            (C) demonstrate--
            (i) the production of biochar from forest 
 residue; and
            (ii) the use of biochar to restore forest 
 health and resiliency;
            (D) build, expand, or establish biochar facilities;
        (E) conduct research on new and innovative uses of 
 biochar;
        (F) demonstrate cost-effective market opportunities 
 for biochar and biochar-based products;
        (G) carry out any other activities the covered 
 Secretaries determine appropriate; or
        (H) any combination of the purposes specified in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) through
        (F) .

    (5) Feedstock requirements.--To the maximum extent 
 practicable, an eligible entity that carries out a biochar 
 demonstration project under this subsection shall, with respect 
 to the feedstock used under such project, derive at least 50 
 percent of such feedstock from forest thinning and management 
 activities, including mill residues, conducted on National 
 Forest System lands or public lands.

    (6) Review of biochar demonstration.--
        (A) In general.--The covered Secretaries shall 
 conduct regionally-specific research, including 
 economic analyses and life-cycle assessments, on any 
 biochar produced from a demonstration project carried 
 out under the program established in paragraph

    (1)
        (A) , 
 including--
            (i) the effects of such biochar on--
            (I) forest health and resiliency;
            (II) carbon capture and 
 sequestration, including increasing 
 soil carbon in the short-term and long-
 term;
            (III) productivity, reduced input 
 costs, and water retention in 
 agricultural practices;
            (IV) the health of soil and 
 grasslands used for grazing activities, 
 including grazing activities on 
 National Forest System land and public 
 land; and
            (V) environmental remediation 
 activities, including abandoned mine 
 land remediation;
            (ii) the effectiveness of biochar as a co-
 product of biofuels or in biochemicals; and
            (iii) the effectiveness of other potential 
 uses of biochar to determine if any such use is 
 technologically and commercially viable.
        (B) Coordination.--The covered Secretaries shall, 
 to the maximum extent practicable, provide data, 
 analyses, and other relevant information collected 
 under subparagraph
        (A) with recipients of a grant under 
 subsection

    (b) .

    (7) Limitation on funding for establishing biochar 
 facilities.--If the covered Secretaries provide to an eligible 
 entity that enters into a partnership with the covered 
 Secretaries under paragraph

    (1)
        (A) funding for establishing a 
 biochar facility, such funding may not exceed 35 percent of the 
 total capital cost of establishing such biochar facility.

    (b) Biochar Research and Development Grant Program.--

    (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish or 
 expand an existing applied biochar research and development 
 grant program to make competitive grants to eligible 
 institutions to carry out the activities described in paragraph

    (3) .

    (2) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
 this subsection, an eligible institution shall submit to the 
 Secretary a proposal at such time, in such manner, and 
 containing such information as the Secretary may require.

    (3) Use of funds.--An eligible institution that receives a 
 grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds to 
 conduct applied research on--
        (A) the effect of biochar on forest health and 
 resiliency, accounting for variations in biochar, soil, 
 climate, and other factors;
        (B) the effect of biochar on soil health and water 
 retention, accounting for variations in biochar, soil, 
 climate, and other factors;
            (C) the long-term carbon sequestration potential of 
 biochar;
            (D) the best management practices with respect to 
 biochar and biochar-based products that maximize--
            (i) carbon sequestration benefits; and
            (ii) the commercial viability and 
 application of such products in forestry, 
 agriculture, environmental remediation, water 
 quality improvement, and any other similar 
 uses, as determined by the Secretary;
        (E) the regional uses of biochar to increase 
 productivity and profitability, including--
            (i) uses in agriculture and environmental 
 remediation; and
            (ii) use as a co-product in fuel 
 production;
        (F) new and innovative uses for biochar byproducts; 
 and
        (G) opportunities to expand markets for biochar and 
 create related jobs, particularly in rural areas.
            (c) Reports.--

    (1) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
 date of enactment of this Act, the covered Secretaries shall 
 submit to Congress a report that--
        (A) includes policy and program recommendations to 
 improve the widespread use of biochar;
        (B) identifies any area of research needed to 
 advance biochar commercialization; and
            (C) identifies barriers to further biochar 
 commercialization, including permitting and siting 
 considerations.

    (2) Materials submitted in support of the president's 
 budget.--Beginning with the second fiscal year that begins 
 after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 
 until the date described in subsection
            (d) , the covered 
 Secretaries shall include in the materials submitted to 
 Congress in support of the President's budget pursuant to 
 

section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a report 
 describing, for the fiscal year covered by the report, the 
 status of each demonstration project carried out under 
 subsection

    (a) and each research and development grant carried 
 out under subsection

    (b) .
            (d) Sunset.--The authority to carry out this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

    (e) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Biochar.--The term ``biochar'' means carbonized biomass 
 produced by converting feedstock through reductive thermal 
 processing for non-fuel uses.

    (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
        (A) a State, local, special district, or Tribal 
 government;
        (B) an eligible institution;
            (C) a private, non-private, or cooperative entity 
 or organization;
            (D) a National Laboratory (as such term is defined 
 in 

section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
 U.S.C. 15801)); or
        (E) a partnership or consortium of two or more 
 entities described in subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (D) .

    (3) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible 
 institution'' means land-grant colleges and universities, 
 including institutions eligible for funding under the--
        (A) Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 
 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
        (B) Act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 417, chapter 
 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including Tuskegee 
 University;
            (C) Public Law 87-788 (commonly known as the 
 ``McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962''); or
            (D) Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 
 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103-382).

    (4) Feedstock.--The term ``feedstock'' means excess biomass 
 in the form of plant matter or materials that serves as the raw 
 material for the production of biochar.

    (5) Covered secretaries.--The term ``covered Secretaries'' 
 means--
        (A) the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 
 Forest Service;
        (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management; and
            (C) the Secretary of Energy, acting through the 
 Director of the Office of Science.

SEC. 302. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION REPORTS.

    (a) Inclusion of Hazardous Fuels Reduction Report in Materials 
Submitted in Support of the President's Budget.--

    (1) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal year that 
 begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and each fiscal 
 year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include in the 
 materials submitted to Congress in support of the President's 
 budget pursuant to 

section 1105 of title 31, United States 
 Code, a report on the number of acres of Federal land on which 
 the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels reduction 
 activities during the preceding fiscal year.

    (2) Requirements.--For purposes of the report required 
 under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary concerned shall--
        (A) in determining the number of acres of Federal 
 land on which the Secretary concerned carried out 
 hazardous fuels reduction activities during the period 
 covered by the report--
            (i) record acres of Federal land on which 
 hazardous fuels reduction activities were 
 completed during such period; and
            (ii) record each acre described in clause
            (i) once in the report, regardless of whether 
 multiple hazardous fuels reduction activities 
 were carried out on such acre during such 
 period; and
        (B) with respect to the acres of Federal land 
 recorded in the report, include information on--
            (i) which such acres are located in the 
 wildland-urban interface;
            (ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 
 moderate, or low) on the first and last day of 
 the period covered by the report;
            (iii) the types of hazardous fuels 
 activities completed for such acres, 
 delineating between whether such activities 
 were conducted--
            (I) in a wildfire managed for 
 resource benefits; or
            (II) through a planned project;
            (iv) the cost per acre of hazardous fuels 
 activities carried out during the period 
 covered by the report;
            (v) the region or system unit in which the 
 acres are located; and
            (vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 
 fuels reduction activities on reducing the risk 
 of wildfire.

    (3) Transparency.--The Secretary concerned shall make each 
 report submitted under paragraph

    (1) publicly available on the 
 websites of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of 
 the Interior, as applicable.

    (b) Accurate Data Collection.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall implement 
 standardized procedures for tracking data related to hazardous 
 fuels reduction activities carried out by the Secretary 
 concerned.

    (2) Elements.--The standardized procedures required under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall include--
        (A) regular, standardized data reviews of the 
 accuracy and timely input of data used to track 
 hazardous fuels reduction activities;
        (B) verification methods that validate whether such 
 data accurately correlates to the hazardous fuels 
 reduction activities carried out by the Secretary 
 concerned;
            (C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 
 effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 
 activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and
            (D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities that 
 occur partially within the wildland-urban interface, 
 methods to distinguish which acres are located within 
 the wildland-urban interface and which acres are 
 located outside the wildland-urban interface.

    (3) Report.--Not later than 2 weeks after implementing the 
 standardized procedures required under paragraph

    (1) , the 
 Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report that 
 describes--
        (A) such standardized procedures; and
        (B) program and policy recommendations to Congress 
 to address any limitations in tracking data related to 
 hazardous fuels reduction activities under this 
 subsection.
            (c) GAO Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--

    (1) conduct a study on the implementation of this section, 
 including any limitations with respect to--
        (A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction activities 
 under subsection

    (a) ; or
        (B) tracking data related to hazardous fuels 
 reduction activities under subsection

    (b) ; and

    (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
 of the study under paragraph

    (1) .
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Hazardous fuels reduction activity.--The term 
 ``hazardous fuels reduction activity''--
        (A) means any vegetation management activity to 
 reduce the risk of wildfire, including mechanical 
 treatments, grazing, and prescribed burning; and
        (B) does not include the awarding of contracts to 
 conduct hazardous fuels reduction activities.

    (2) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means lands 
 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the 
 Secretary.

    (e) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds are 
authorized to carry out the requirements of this section, and the 
activities authorized by this section are subject to the availability 
of appropriations made in advance for such purposes.

SEC. 303. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT AND 
 DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP.

    (a) 

=== 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));
        (B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration;
            (C) the United States Fire Administration;
            (D) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
        (E) the National Aeronautics and Space 
 Administration;
        (F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
        (G) the Department of Defense;
        (H) a State, Tribal, county, or municipal fire 
 department or district operating through the United 
 States Fire Administration or pursuant to an agreement 
 with a Federal agency; and
            (I) any other Federal agency involved in wildfire 
 response.

    (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
        (A) a private entity;
        (B) a nonprofit organization; or
            (C) an institution of higher education (as defined 
 in 

section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1001)).

    (b) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the heads of the 
covered agencies, shall establish a deployment and demonstration pilot 
program (in this section referred to as ``Pilot Program'') for new and 
innovative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and 
mitigation technologies.
            (c) Functions.--In carrying out the Pilot Program, the Secretaries 
shall--

    (1) incorporate the Pilot Program into the National 
 Wildfire Coordinating Group;

    (2) in consultation with the heads of covered agencies, 
 identify and advance the demonstration and deployment of key 
 technology priority areas with respect to wildfire prevention, 
 detection, communication, and mitigation technologies, 
 including--
        (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments or 
 activities;
        (B) dispatch communications;
            (C) remote sensing, detection, and tracking;
            (D) safety equipment;
        (E) common operating pictures or operational 
 dashboards; and
        (F) interoperable commercial data; and

    (3) connect each covered entity selected to participate in 
 the Pilot Program with the appropriate covered agency to 
 coordinate real-time and on-the-ground testing of technology 
 during wildland fire mitigation activities and training.
            (d) Applications.--To be eligible to be selected to participate in 
the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall submit to the Secretaries an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretaries may require, including a proposal to 
demonstrate technologies specific to the key technology priority areas 
identified pursuant to subsection
            (c) (2) .

    (e) Prioritization of Emerging Technologies.--In selecting covered 
entities to participate in the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall 
give priority to covered entities--

    (1) that have participated in the Fire Weather Testbed of 
 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; or

    (2) developing and applying emerging technologies for 
 wildfire mitigation, including artificial intelligence, quantum 
 sensing, computing and quantum-hybrid applications, thermal 
 mid-wave infrared equipped low earth orbit satellites, 
 augmented reality, 5G private networks, and device-to-device 
 communications supporting nomadic mesh networks and detection.

    (f) Outreach.--The Secretaries, in coordination with the heads of 
covered agencies, shall make public the key technology priority areas 
identified pursuant to subsection
            (c) (2) and invite covered entities to 
apply under subsection
            (d) to deploy and demonstrate their technologies 
to address such priority areas.

    (g) Reports and Recommendations.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the duration 
of the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall submit to the relevant 
Congressional Committees, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 
includes, with respect to the Pilot Program, the following:

    (1) A list of participating covered entities.

    (2) A brief description of the technologies deployed and 
 demonstrated by each such covered entity.

    (3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring each such 
 technology and applying the technology at scale.

    (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to covered 
 entities developing wildfire technologies.

    (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relating to, new 
 technologies with potential adoption and application at-scale 
 in Federal land management agencies' wildfire prevention, 
 detection, communication, and mitigation efforts.

    (6) A description of the relationship and coordination 
 between the Pilot Program and the activities of the National 
 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the Fire 
 Weather Testbed.

    (h) Sunset.--The authority to carry out this section shall 
terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 304. GAO STUDY ON FOREST SERVICE POLICIES.

 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall--

    (1) conduct a study evaluating--
        (A) the effectiveness of Forest Service wildland 
 firefighting operations;
        (B) transparency and accountability measures in the 
 Forest Service's budget and accounting process; and
            (C) the suitability and feasibility of establishing 
 a new Federal agency with the responsibility of 
 responding and suppressing wildland fires on Federal 
 lands; and

    (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
 of the study required under paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 305. FOREST SERVICE WESTERN HEADQUARTERS STUDY.

 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Chief of the Forest Service shall--

    (1) conduct a study evaluating--
        (A) potential locations for a Western headquarters 
 for the Forest Service, including potential locations 
 in at least 3 different States located west of the 
 Mississippi river; and
        (B) the potential benefits of creating a Western 
 headquarters for the Forest Service, including 
 expected--
            (i) improvements to customer service;
            (ii) improvements to employee recruitment 
 and retention; and
            (iii) operational efficiencies and cost 
 savings; and

    (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
 of the study required under paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 306. KEEPING FOREST PLANS CURRENT AND MONITORED.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary--

    (1) to the greatest extent practicable and subject to the 
 availability of appropriations made in advance for such 
 

=== purpose ===
-
        (A) ensure forest plans comply with the 
 requirements of 

section 6

    (f)

    (5)
        (A) of the Forest and 
 Rangeland Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 
 1604

    (f)

    (5)
        (A) ); and
        (B) prioritize revising any forest plan not in 
 compliance with such 

section 6

    (f)

    (5)
        (A) ;

    (2) not be considered to be in violation of 

section 6

    (f)

    (5)
        (A) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604

    (f)

    (5)
        (A) ) solely because 
 more than 15 years have passed without revision of the plan for 
 a unit of the National Forest System;

    (3) not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 
 of this Act, submit to the relevant Congressional Committees 
 the date on which each forest plan required by such 

section 6 
 was most recently revised, amended, or modified;

    (4) seek to publish a new, complete version of a forest 
 plan that the Secretary has been directed to amend, revise, or 
 modify by a court order within 60 days of such amendment, 
 revision, or modification, subject to the availability of 
 appropriations made in advance for such purpose; and

    (5) maintain a central, publicly accessible website with 
 links to--
        (A) the most recently available forest plan 
 adopted, amended, or modified by a court order as a 
 single document; and
        (B) the most recently published forest plan 
 monitoring report for each unit of the National Forest 
 System.

    (b) Good Faith Updates.--If the Secretary is not acting 
expeditiously and in good faith, within the funding available to 
revise, amend, or modify a plan for a unit of the National Forest 
System as required by law or a court order, subsection

    (a) shall be 
void with respect to such plan and a court of proper jurisdiction may 
order completion of the plan on an accelerated basis.
            (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the relevant 
Congressional Committees summarizing the implementation of this 
section.

SEC. 307. CONTAINER AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM

    (CAFFS) .

    (a) Evaluation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, 
in consultation with the National Interagency Aviation Committee and 
the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall jointly conduct an evaluation of 
the container aerial firefighting system to assess the use of such 
system to mitigate and suppress wildfires.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, 
in consultation with the National Interagency Aviation Committee and 
the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall jointly submit to the relevant 
Congressional Committees a report that includes the results of the 
evaluation required under subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 308. STUDY ON PINE BEETLE INFESTATION.

 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall--

    (1) carry out a study on the causes and effects of, and 
 solutions for, the infestation of pine beetles in the 
 Northeastern region of the United States; and

    (2) submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a 
 report that includes the results of the study required under 
 paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 309. FIRE SAFE ELECTRICAL CORRIDORS.

    (a) In General.--In any special use permit or easement on National 
Forest System land provided to an electrical utility, the Secretary may 
provide permission to cut and remove trees or other vegetation from 
within the vicinity of distribution lines or transmission lines without 
requiring a separate timber sale, if that cutting and removal is 
consistent with--

    (1) the applicable land and resource management plan; and

    (2) other applicable environmental laws (including 
 regulations).

    (b) Use of Proceeds.--A special use permit or easement that 
includes permission for cutting and removal described in subsection

    (a) shall include a requirement that, if the applicable electrical utility 
sells any portion of the material removed under the permit or easement, 
the electrical utility shall provide to the Secretary, acting through 
the Chief of the Forest Service, any proceeds received from the sale, 
less any transportation costs incurred in the sale.
            (c) Effect.--Nothing in subsection

    (b) shall require the sale of 
any material removed under a permit or easement that includes 
permission for cutting and removal described in subsection

    (a) .

 Subtitle B--White Oak Resilience

SEC. 311. WHITE OAK RESTORATION INITIATIVE COALITION.

    (a) In General.--The White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition 
shall be established--

    (1) as a voluntary collaborative group of Federal, State, 
 Tribal, and local governments and private and non-governmental 
 organizations to carry out the duties described in subsection

    (b) ; and

    (2) in accordance with the charter titled ``White Oak 
 Initiative Coalition Charter'' adopted by the White Oak 
 Initiative Board of Directors on March 21, 2023 (or a successor 
 charter).

    (b) Duties.--In addition to the duties specified in the charter 
described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) , the duties of the White Oak Restoration 
Initiative Coalition are--

    (1) to coordinate Federal, State, Tribal, local, private, 
 and non-governmental restoration of white oak in the United 
 States; and

    (2) to make program and policy recommendations, consistent 
 with applicable forest management plans, with respect to--
        (A) changes necessary to address Federal and State 
 policies that impede activities to improve the health, 
 resiliency, and natural regeneration of white oak;
        (B) adopting or modifying Federal and State 
 policies to increase the pace and scale of white oak 
 regeneration and resiliency of white oak;
            (C) options to enhance communication, coordination, 
 and collaboration between forest land owners, 
 particularly for cross-boundary projects, to improve 
 the health, resiliency, and natural regeneration of 
 white oak;
            (D) research gaps that should be addressed to 
 improve the best available science on white oak;
        (E) outreach to forest landowners with white oak or 
 white oak regeneration potential; and
        (F) options and policies necessary to improve the 
 quality and quantity of white oak in tree nurseries.
            (c) Administrative Support, Technical Services, and Staff 
Support.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary shall make 
such personnel available to the White Oak Restoration Initiative 
Coalition for administrative support, technical services, and 
development and dissemination of educational materials as the 
Secretaries determine necessary to carry out this section.
            (d) Private Funding of White Oak Restoration Projects.--Subject to 
the availability of appropriations made in advance for such purpose, 
the Secretary may make funds available to the White Oak Restoration 
Initiative Coalition to carry out this section from the account 
established pursuant to 

section 1241

    (f) of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841

    (f) ).

SEC. 312. FOREST SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service, shall establish and carry out 5 pilot projects in 
national forests to restore white oak in such forests through white oak 
restoration and natural regeneration practices that are consistent with 
applicable forest management plans.

    (b) National Forests Reserved or Withdrawn From the Public 
Domain.--At least 3 pilot projects required under subsection

    (a) shall 
be carried out on national forests reserved or withdrawn from the 
public domain.
            (c) Authority To Enter Into Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary 
may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out the pilot projects 
required under subsection

    (a) .
            (d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 313. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WHITE OAK REVIEW AND RESTORATION.

    (a) Assessment.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall carry 
 out an assessment of land under the administrative jurisdiction 
 of the Department of the Interior, including fish and wildlife 
 refuges and abandoned mine land, to evaluate--
        (A) whether white oak is present on such land; and
        (B) the potential to restore white oak forests on 
 such land.

    (2) Use of information.--In carrying out the assessment 
 under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary may use information from 
 sources other than the Department of the Interior, including 
 from the White Oak Initiative and the Forest Service.

    (3) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
 Congress, and make publicly available on the website of the 
 Department of the Interior, a report regarding the results of 
 the assessment carried out under this subsection.

    (b) Pilot Projects.--After the date on which the report required 
under subsection

    (a)

    (3) is submitted, the Secretary shall establish and 
carry out 5 pilot projects in different areas of land described in 
subsection

    (a)

    (1) to restore and naturally regenerate white oak.
            (c) Authority to Enter Into Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary 
of the Interior may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out the 
pilot projects required under subsection

    (b) .
            (d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 314. WHITE OAK REGENERATION AND UPLAND OAK HABITAT.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a non-regulatory 
program to be known as the ``White Oak and Upland Oak Habitat 
Regeneration Program'' (in this section referred to as the 
``Program'').

    (b) Duties.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary shall--

    (1) draw upon the best available science and management 
 plans for species of white oak to identify, prioritize, and 
 implement restoration and conservation activities that will 
 improve the growth of white oak within the United States;

    (2) collaborate and coordinate with the White Oak 
 Restoration Initiative Coalition to prioritize white oak 
 restoration initiatives;

    (3) adopt a white oak restoration strategy that--
        (A) supports the implementation of a shared set of 
 science-based restoration and conservation activities 
 developed in accordance with paragraph

    (1) ;
        (B) targets cost effective projects with measurable 
 results; and
            (C) maximizes restoration outcomes with no net gain 
 of Federal full-time equivalent employees; and

    (4) establish the voluntary grant and technical assistance 
 programs in accordance with subsection

    (e) .
            (c) Coordination.--In establishing the Program the Secretary, 
acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall consult with--

    (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including--
        (A) the Director of the United States Fish and 
 Wildlife Service; and
        (B) the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 
 Service; and

    (2) the Governor of each State in which restoration efforts 
 will be carried out pursuant to the Program.
            (d) === Purposes ===
-The purposes of the Program include--

    (1) coordinating restoration and conservation activities 
 among Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities and 
 conservation partners to address white oak restoration 
 priorities;

    (2) improving and regenerating white oak and upland oak 
 forests and the wildlife habitat such forests provide;

    (3) carrying out coordinated restoration and conservation 
 activities that lead to the increased growth of species of 
 white oak in native white oak regions on Federal, State, 
 Tribal, and private land;

    (4) facilitating strategic planning to maximize the 
 resilience of white oak systems and habitats under changing 
 climate conditions;

    (5) engaging the public through outreach, education, and 
 citizen involvement to increase capacity and support for 
 coordinated restoration and conservation activities for species 
 of white oak; and

    (6) increasing scientific capacity to support the planning, 
 monitoring, and research activities necessary to carry out such 
 coordinated restoration and conservation activities.

    (e) Grants and Assistance.--

    (1) In general.--To the extent that funds are available to 
 carry out this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
 voluntary grant and technical assistance program (in this 
 section referred to as the ``grant program'') to achieve the 
 purposes of the Program described in subsection
            (d) .

    (2) Administration.--
        (A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
 cooperative agreement with the National Fish and 
 Wildlife Foundation (in this subsection referred to as 
 the ``Foundation'') to manage and administer the grant 
 program.
        (B) Funding.--Subject to the availability of 
 appropriations made in advance for such purpose, after 
 the Secretary enters into a cooperative agreement with 
 the Foundation under subparagraph
        (A) , the Foundation 
 shall for each fiscal year, receive amounts to carry 
 out this subsection in an advance payment of the entire 
 amount on October 1, or as soon as practicable 
 thereafter, of that fiscal year.

    (3) Application of national fish and wildlife foundation 
 establishment act.--Amounts received by the Foundation to carry 
 out the grant program shall be subject to the National Fish and 
 Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), 
 excluding 

section 10

    (a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3709

    (a) ).

    (f) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 315. TREE NURSERY SHORTAGES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
the Forest Service, shall--

    (1) develop and implement a national strategy to increase 
 the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, and private tree 
 nurseries to address the nationwide shortage of tree seedlings; 
 and

    (2) coordinate such strategy with--
        (A) the national reforestation strategy of the 
 Forest Service; and
        (B) each regional implementation plan for National 
 Forests.

    (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection

    (a) shall--

    (1) be based on the best available science and data; and

    (2) identify and address--
        (A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot and 
 container tree seedlings;
        (B) regional reforestation opportunities and the 
 seedling supply necessary to fulfill such 
 opportunities;
            (C) opportunities to enhance seedling diversity and 
 close gaps in seed inventories; and
            (D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or creating 
 new infrastructure to increase nursery capacity.

SEC. 316. WHITE OAK RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of 
understanding with an Indian Tribe or institution, including a covered 
land grant college, to collaboratively conduct research on--

    (1) white oak genes with resistance or tolerance to stress;

    (2) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for the purpose of 
 increasing survival and growth;

    (3) establishing a genetically diverse white oak seeds bank 
 capable of responding to stressors;

    (4) providing a sustainable supply of white oak seedlings 
 and genetic resources;

    (5) improved methods for aligning seed sources with the 
 future climate at planting sites;

    (6) reforestation of white oak through natural and 
 artificial regeneration;

    (7) improved methods for retaining and increasing white oak 
 trees in forests;

    (8) improved methods for reforesting abandoned mine land 
 sites; and

    (9) economic and social aspects of white oak forest 
 management across land ownerships.

    (b) Consult.--In carrying out the research under subsection

    (a) , 
the Indian Tribe or institution, including a covered land grant 
college, that enters into the memorandum of understanding under such 
subsection may consult with such States, nonprofit organizations, 
institutions of higher education, and other scientific bodies, as the 
entity subject to such memorandum determines appropriate.
            (c) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (d) Covered Land Grant College Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered land grant college'' means an 1862 Institution, an 1890 
Institution, or a 1994 Institution (as such terms are defined, 
respectively, in 

section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)).

SEC. 317. USDA FORMAL INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service and in coordination with the 
Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish a formal initiative on 
white oak to--

    (1) re-establish white oak forests where appropriate;

    (2) improve management of existing white oak forests to 
 foster natural regeneration of white oak;

    (3) provide technical assistance to private landowners to 
 re-establish, improve management of, and naturally regenerate 
 white oak;

    (4) improve and expand white oak nursery stock; and

    (5) adapt and improve white oak seedlings.

    (b) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 318. AUTHORITIES.

 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Secretary shall use the authorities provided under this title 
in combination with other authorities to carry out projects, 
including--

    (1) good neighbor agreements entered into under 

section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113) (as 
 amended by this Act); and

    (2) stewardship contracting projects entered into under 
 

section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
 U.S.C. 6591) (as amended by this Act).

 TITLE IV--ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS

SEC. 401. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Development of Program.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program 
(referred to in this section as the ``Program'') to provide assistance 
to the next-of-kin of--

    (1) firefighters who, while in the line of duty, suffer 
 illness or are critically injured or killed; and

    (2) wildland fire support personnel critically injured or 
 killed in the line of duty.

    (b) Aspects of Program.--The Program shall address the following:

    (1) The initial and any subsequent notifications to the 
 next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel 
 who--
        (A) are killed in the line of duty; or
        (B) require hospitalization or treatment at a 
 medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury or 
 illness.

    (2) The reimbursement of next-of-kin for expenses 
 associated with travel to visit firefighters or wildland fire 
 support personnel who--
        (A) are killed in the line of duty; or
        (B) require hospitalization or treatment at a 
 medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury or 
 illness.

    (3) The qualifications, assignment, training, duties, 
 supervision, and accountability for the performance of casualty 
 assistance responsibilities.

    (4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance officers, 
 including notification to survivors of critical injury or 
 illness in the line of duty and next-of-kin of the reassignment 
 of such officers to other duties.

    (5) Centralized, short-term and long-term case management 
 procedures for casualty assistance, including rapid access by 
 survivors of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel 
 and casualty assistance officers to expert case managers and 
 counselors.

    (6) The provision, through a computer accessible website 
 and other means and at no cost to survivors and next-of-kin of 
 firefighters or wildland fire support personnel, of 
 personalized, integrated information on the benefits and 
 financial assistance available to such survivors from the 
 Federal Government.

    (7) The provision of information to survivors and next-of-
 kin of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel on 
 mechanisms for registering complaints about, or requests for, 
 additional assistance related to casualty assistance.

    (8) Liaison with the Department of the Interior, the 
 Department of Justice, and the Social Security Administration 
 to ensure prompt and accurate resolution of issues relating to 
 benefits administered by those agencies for survivors of 
 firefighters or wildland fire support personnel.

    (9) Data collection, in consultation with the United States 
 Fire Administration and the National Institute for Occupational 
 Safety and Health, regarding the incidence and quality of 
 casualty assistance provided to survivors of firefighters or 
 wildland fire support personnel.
            (c) Line-of-Duty Death Benefits.--The Program shall not affect 
existing authorities for Line-of-Duty Death benefits for Federal 
firefighters and wildland fire support personnel.
            (d) Next-of-Kin Defined.--In this section, the term ``next-of-kin'' 
means a person or persons in the highest category of priority as 
determined by the following list (categories appear in descending order 
of priority):

    (1) Surviving legal spouse.

    (2) Children (whether by current or prior marriage) age 18 
 years or older in descending order of precedence by age.

    (3) Father or mother, unless custody has been vested, by 
 court order, in another (adoptive parent takes precedence over 
 natural parent).

    (4) Siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or older in 
 descending order of precedence by age.

    (5) Grandfather or grandmother.

    (6) Any other relative (order of precedence to be 
 determined in accordance with the civil law of descent of the 
 deceased former member's State of domicile at time of death).

 Passed the House of Representatives January 23, 2025.

 Attest:

 Clerk.
119th CONGRESS

 1st Session

 H. R. 471

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

 To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 
 improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, 
 on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
 Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 
 fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes.