Sec. 8. Accelerated restoration program for ponderosa pine forests

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In this section: With respect to a unit of Federal land, the term average severe fire weather means the 90th percentile of atmospheric and fuel conditions under which wildfires would burn in that unit in a given year. The term Federal land means— public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1702 )); land held in trust for Indian tribes; or National Forest System land. The term hazardous fuel reduction means the removal or modification of flammable vegetation or woody debris through prescribed fire, thinning, brush removal, mastication, pruning, slash treatment, or a combination of those methods, on the condition that the method is ecologically appropriate, cost-effective, and selected on a site-specific basis.

The term pilot program means the pilot program established under subsection (b)(1). Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretaries shall— establish a pilot program to reduce the risk of wildfires to communities in the wildland-urban interface and reestablish natural fire regimes outside the wildland-urban interface; and implement the pilot program to treat the approximately 2,000,000 acres of Federal land described in subsection (d), by not later than September 30, 2027.

For land located in the wildland-urban interface, the Secretaries shall reduce the risk of wildfire to communities by removing or modifying vegetation and slash until the area would only sustain a wildfire that is low-intensity and easy to suppress in average severe fire weather conditions. For land located outside the wildland-urban interface, the Secretaries shall reestablish natural fire regimes by conducting prescribed fires and associated activities. The requirement to treat Federal land under subsection (b)(2) shall be considered to be met when— for Federal land located in the wildland-urban interface, the Federal land would only sustain a wildfire that is low-intensity and easy to suppress in average severe fire weather conditions; and for Federal land located outside the wildland-urban interface, the Federal land has been burned by a prescribed fire conducted by the Secretaries.

Any Federal land that is burned by a wildfire after the date on which the document described in subsection (d)(2) is published shall be excluded from the pilot program. The Secretaries shall implement the pilot program cooperatively with partners, including States, local governments, prescribed fire councils, and other entities. Nothing in this subsection modifies any requirements in applicable law and policy to which the Secretaries must adhere while conducting prescribed fires.

The Secretaries shall only carry out the pilot program only on Federal land that— is, or historically was, composed primarily of ponderosa pines or Jeffrey pines; and is identified in the document of the Secretary of Agriculture entitled Wildland Fire Potential: A Tool for Assessing Wildfire Risk and Fuels Management Needs , dated July 2015, and published as part of the Proceedings of the Large Wildland Fires Conference— as being the highest priority areas on National Forest System land; or as having a very high wildland fire potential on— public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1702 )); and land held in trust for an Indian tribe.

This section does not apply to— any component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; any wilderness study area, if a treatment required by this section would impair the suitability of the area to be designated a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; any research natural area; any Federal land on which the removal of vegetation described in this section is prohibited by law; or any Federal land that is burned by a wildland fire after the date on which the document described in subsection (d)(2) is published.

Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned may use a categorical exclusion for conducting hazardous fuel reduction activities for a project under the pilot program if the main purpose of which is to reduce the risk of wildfires to communities or to reestablish natural fire regimes on Federal land described in subsection (d). A project covered by a categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be— developed by a certified collaborative; included in a selected proposal under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program established under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 ( 16 U.S.C. 7303 ); conducted pursuant to the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 ( 25 U.S.C. 3115a ); or covered in a community wildfire protection plan that was developed within the 5-year period preceding the date on which the hazardous fuels reduction project is authorized under this section.

A project that is covered by the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) and conducted in the wildland-urban interface shall not cover more than 3,000 acres of Federal land. The Secretary concerned may use the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) to conduct a prescribed fire outside the wildland-urban interface, regardless of the acreage covered by the prescribed fire— to treat a site initially; or to maintain the site. A project covered by the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) may include activities associated with a prescribed fire, including hazardous fuel reduction activities and the construction of fire control lines, if— the Secretary concerned conducts the prescribed fire on the Federal land on which the Secretary concerned conducted the associated activities by the date that is not later than 4 years after the date on which the Secretary concerned commenced the associated activities; and the project is located outside the wildland-urban interface.

A project covered by the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) shall not include the use of herbicide or insecticide. The Secretary concerned shall apply the extraordinary circumstances procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), in determining whether to use the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A). The Secretary concerned may not use the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) for a project located in any designated critical habitat for a species listed as a threatened species or an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) unless— the natural fire regimes on that land are identified as being important for, or wildfire is identified as a threat to, an endangered species, a threatened species, or habitat of an endangered species or threatened species in a species recovery plan prepared under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533 ), or a notice published in the Federal Register determining a species to be an endangered species or a threatened species or designating critical habitat; the authorized hazardous fuel reduction project will provide enhanced protection from uncharacteristic wildfire for the endangered species, threatened species, or habitat of the endangered species or threatened species; and the Secretary complies with any applicable guidelines specified in any management or recovery plan described in subparagraph (A).

The Secretary concerned shall document in a decision memorandum any decision of the Secretary concerned to use the categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A) to carry out hazardous fuel reduction activities under this section. With respect to a proposed project to carry out hazardous fuel reduction activities under this section, the Secretary concerned shall— conduct a public scoping process for the proposed project; and if the Secretary concerned uses a categorical exclusion described in paragraph (1)(A), distribute to any parties interested in the proposed project the applicable decision memorandum prepared under paragraph (3).

In conducting a project under the pilot program, the Secretary concerned— shall seek to maximize the retention of old trees and medium- and large-sized trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to the extent that the trees promote fire-resilient stands and the objectives identified in this section can be achieved; shall seek to remove the appropriate quantity of small diameter trees and to treat accumulations of slash found in the Federal land described in subsection (d); shall ensure activities are consistent with the applicable forest plan; and shall not construct a permanent road.

Notwithstanding subsection (g)(4), the Secretary concerned— may include necessary maintenance of, repairs to, or rehabilitation of an existing permanent road to accomplish the objectives of this section; and shall decommission any temporary road constructed in carrying out a project under the pilot program by not later than 3 years after the earlier of the date on which— the temporary road is no longer needed; or the project is completed. There is established a committee, to be known as the Pilot Monitoring Committee (referred to in this subsection as the Committee ), which shall— monitor the impacts on wildfire risk and the ecological effects of the projects being implemented under the pilot program; and provide regular feedback to the Secretaries on the implementation of the pilot program and suggested timing of the treatments under the pilot program.

The Committee shall consist of not more than 12 members, to be appointed by the Secretaries for a term of not fewer than 2 and not more than 4 years. The membership of the Committee shall consist of representatives of— a wildlife conservation organization; an environmental organization; the timber industry; a professional society for natural resource managers; a fire department in an at-risk community; a State forestry agency; a Firewise community with a community wildfire protection plan in effect on the date of the appointment; a federally recognized Indian tribe; a prescribed fire council; scientists researching wildfires; and a certified collaborative.

A member of the Committee shall serve without compensation. A member of the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. Once each fiscal year through fiscal year 2027, the Secretaries shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a concise report describing the accomplishments of the Secretaries in implementing the pilot program. Not later than 1 year before the date on which the pilot program terminates under subsection (k), the Secretaries shall prepare a final report describing the implementation and results of the pilot program.

The final report shall include recommendations of the Secretaries relating to— whether the authorization for the categorical exclusion described in subsection (f)(1)(A) should be extended, let expire, or made permanent; the manner in which the pilot program should be modified; and if and how the scope of the pilot program should be expanded, including whether the pilot program should be expanded to dry mixed-conifer forests. The Secretaries shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, and make available to the public, the final report.

The authorities provided by and requirements described in this section shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. Any contract entered into by the Secretaries under this section before the date described in subsection

(k)shall not be affected by the termination of the pilot program. Section 106 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6516 ) shall apply to a forest management activity carried out under this section in the same manner as that section applies to an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project under that Act. Nothing in this section— affects, or otherwise biases, the use by the Secretary concerned of any other statutory or administrative authority (including any categorical exclusion available under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to carry out one or more forest management activities under this section; or prohibits the Secretary concerned from carrying out a treatment in an ecologically sensitive area, if the area is in need of restoration.

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Sec. 8

Accelerated restoration program for ponderosa pine forests

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