119-hr528

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 528 Reported in House

    (RH) ]

<DOC>

 Union Calendar No. 232
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 528

 [Report No. 119-276, Part I]

 To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for 
 Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 16, 2025

 Ms. Pettersen (for herself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
 of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
 concerned

 September 15, 2025

 Additional sponsor: Mr. Fitzpatrick

 September 15, 2025

 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources

 September 15, 2025

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
 Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for 
 Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other 
 purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Post-Disaster Reforestation and 
Restoration Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. POST-DISASTER REFORESTATION AND RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in 
coordination with the heads of the covered agencies, shall identify 
covered lands requiring reforestation and restoration following 
unplanned disturbances that are unlikely to experience natural 
regeneration without assistance.

    (b) Priority Projects.--In consultation with the heads of covered 
agencies, the Secretary--

    (1) shall propose a list of priority projects for 
 reforestation and restoration for each fiscal year;

    (2) may carry out priority projects through--
        (A) competitively awarded grants;
        (B) contracts;
            (C) contracts established under the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
 5301 et seq.); and
            (D) cooperative agreements, to be awarded in 
 accordance with applicable requirements established by 
 the Secretary; and

    (3) may support any grant contract or cooperative agreement 
 that may be necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate seed 
 and seedling availability to further the objectives of priority 
 projects.
            (c) Outreach.--To fulfill requirements of this section the heads of 
covered agencies shall conduct outreach to--

    (1) Indian Tribes;

    (2) States;

    (3) territories;

    (4) units of local government;

    (5) Alaska Native organizations;

    (6) Native Hawaiian organizations;

    (7) institutions of higher education;

    (8) Federal agencies with jurisdiction over Federal land 
 adjoining or proximal to priority projects; and

    (9) other stakeholders as determined by the Secretary.
            (d) Reports and Recommendations.--Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a 
report that includes the following:

    (1) An accounting of all covered lands requiring 
 reforestation and restoration.

    (2) A list of priority projects and implementation progress 
 to address reforestation and restoration objectives identified.

    (3) An accounting of grants, contracts, and cooperative 
 agreements established in furtherance of priority projects.

    (4) Outreach efforts by covered agencies to advance 
 priority projects.

    (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relating to seed, 
 seedling, and implementation gaps to advance priority projects 
 and opportunities to establish dedicated funding necessary to 
 address any backlog of reforestation and restoration needs.

    (e) 

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

    (1) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
        (A) each Federal land management agency (as such 
 term is defined in the Federal Lands Recreation 
 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)); and
        (B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

    (2) Covered lands.--The term ``covered lands'' means any 
 Federal land or interest in land administered by a covered 
 agency and Indian Forest Land or Rangeland.

    (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means any 
 Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
 or community individually identified (including 
 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the 
 date of enactment of this Act pursuant to 

section 104 of the 
 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 
 5131).

    (4) Natural regeneration.--The term ``natural 
 regeneration'' has the meaning given the term in section

    (e)

    (4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
 1974 (U.S.C. 36 1601).

    (5) Reforestation.--The term ``reforestation'' has the 
 meaning given the term in section

    (e)

    (4) of the Forest and 
 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36 
 1601).

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

    (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Interior.

    (8) Unplanned disturbance.--The term ``unplanned 
 disturbance'' means any unplanned disturbance that disrupts 
 ecosystem structure or composition and may include a wildfire, 
 an infestation of insects or disease, or a weather event.
 Union Calendar No. 232

119th CONGRESS

 1st Session

 H. R. 528

 [Report No. 119-276, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for 
 Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 September 15, 2025

 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources

 September 15, 2025

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
 Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed