H.R. 3889

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · June 10, 2025 · Sponsor: Ms. Schrier

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

• (a) Short title
  • This Act may be cited as the National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025.
  • Short title
• (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—Use of funds
  • Sec. 101. Definition of prescribed fire.
  • Sec. 102. Prescribed fire funding.
  • Sec. 103. Policies and practices.
  • Sec. 104. Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program.
  • TITLE II—Facilitating implementation and outreach
  • Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts.
  • Sec. 202. Human resources.
  • Sec. 203. Liability of prescribed fire managers.
  • Sec. 204. Environmental review.
  • Sec. 205. Prescribed fire education program.
  • TITLE III—Reporting
  • Sec. 301. Annual reports to National Fire Planning and Operations Database.
  • Sec. 302. Annual implementation report.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

In this Act:

• The term congressional committees means—
• The term Federal land means—
• The term landscape-scale prescribed fire plan means a decision document prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 () that— 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
• The term prescribed fire means a fire deliberately ignited to burn wildland fuels in a natural or modified state—
• The term Secretaries means—
• The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
• The term Secretary concerned means—

TITLE I—Use of funds

Sec. 101. Definition of prescribed fire.

• (a) In general
  • In this title, the term prescribed fire has the meaning given the term in section 2.
• (b) Exclusion
  • In this title, the term does not include a fire that is ignited for the primary purpose of pile burning. prescribed fire

Sec. 102. Prescribed fire funding.

• (a) Funding flexibility
  • (1) Department of Agriculture
    • The Secretary of Agriculture may use not more than 15 percent of funds appropriated for each fiscal year for hazardous fuels management in the National Forest System for activities described in subsection (b).
  • (2) Department of the Interior
    • The Secretary may use not more than 15 percent of funds appropriated for each fiscal year for hazardous fuels management and post-fire activities in the account for wildland fire management of the Department of the Interior for activities described in subsection (b).
• (b) Description of activities
  • The activities referred to in subsection (a) are—
    • with respect to prescribed fires on Federal land, or on non-Federal land if the Secretary concerned determines that such activities would benefit resources on Federal land—
      • entering into procurement contracts or cooperative agreements for prescribed fire activities;
      • issuing grants to a State, Tribal government, local government, prescribed fire council, prescribed burn association, or nonprofit organization for the implementation of prescribed fires, including—
        • (i) carrying out necessary environmental reviews;
        • (ii) carrying out any site preparation necessary for implementing prescribed fires; and
        • (iii) conducting any required pre-ignition cultural or environmental surveys; and
      • conducting outreach to the public, Indian Tribes and beneficiaries, and adjacent landowners;
    • implementing prescribed fires on non-Federal land, if the Secretary concerned determines that the prescribed fire would benefit Federal land, including—
      • carrying out necessary environmental reviews;
      • carrying out any site preparation necessary for implementing prescribed fires; and
      • conducting any required pre-ignition cultural and environmental surveys;
    • providing to Federal employees and cooperators training for prescribed fire and basic smoke management practices;
    • conducting post-prescribed fire activities, such as monitoring for hazard trees or reignitions and invasive species management;
    • providing technical or financial assistance to a State, Tribal government, local government, prescribed fire council, prescribed burn association, or nonprofit organization for the purpose of providing training for prescribed fire or basic smoke management practices, consistent with any standards developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group or State prescribed fire standards; and
    • providing funding for the applicable Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program established under section 104.
• (c) Prioritization
  • (1) In general
    • Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall coordinate with the other Secretary concerned, State and local government agencies, Indian Tribes, and applicable nongovernmental organizations to establish prioritization criteria for expending amounts pursuant to subsection (a) for activities described in paragraphs (2), (5), and (6) of subsection (b).

Sec. 103. Policies and practices.

• (a) Increasing prescribed fire
  • Beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and for each of the 9 fiscal years thereafter, the Secretaries shall conduct prescribed fires on Federal land such that the total acreage of Federal land on which prescribed fires are conducted is 10 percent greater than the total acreage of all Federal land on which prescribed fires were conducted during the preceding fiscal year.
• (b) Operational strategy
  • The Secretary concerned shall develop, in coordination with State, local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed fire operational strategy for each region of the National Forest System or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, that describes—
    • the fire deficit by region; and
    • staffing and funding needs to address the fire deficit under paragraph (1).

Sec. 104. Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program.

• (a) In general
  • The Secretary concerned, in coordination with the other Secretary concerned, shall establish a Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program (referred to in this section as the ) to select and fund prescribed fire projects (each of which is referred to in this section as a ) in accordance with— program,project
    • the prioritization criteria established under section 102(c);
    • the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (); 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
    • the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (); 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
    • the applicable land use or land management plan; and
    • any other applicable law.
• (b) Eligibility criteria
  • To be eligible for nomination under subsection (c), a proposal for a project shall—
    • be consistent with a landscape restoration strategy—
      • that is complete or substantially complete;
      • that identifies and prioritizes prescribed fire treatments for a 10-year period within a landscape that is—
        • (i) not less than 50,000 acres;
        • (ii) composed primarily of forested Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned, but may also include other Federal, State, Tribal, or private land, if a treatment on that land would benefit the applicable Federal land; and
        • (iii) in need of—
        • active ecosystem restoration; or
        • maintenance activities to retain previously treated land in a wildfire-resilient state;
      • that incorporates the best available science and scientific application tools to identify project areas;
      • that fully maintains, or contributes toward the restoration of, the structure and composition of old growth stands according to the pre-fire suppression old growth conditions characteristic of the forest type—
        • (i) taking into account the contribution of the stand to landscape fire adaptation and watershed health; and
        • (ii) retaining the large trees contributing to old growth structure;
      • under which would be carried out any forest restoration treatments that reduce hazardous fuels through the use of fire for ecological restoration and maintenance and reestablishing natural fire regimes, where appropriate, which—
        • (i) may include site preparation, if necessary to prepare the landscape for reestablishment of a natural fire regime; and
        • (ii) shall maximize the retention of large trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to the extent that the trees promote fire-resilient stands; and
      • under which—
        • (i) no permanent roads would be established; and
        • (ii) funding would be committed to decommission all temporary roads constructed to carry out the strategy;
    • be developed and implemented through a collaborative process that—

TITLE II—Facilitating implementation and outreach

Sec. 201. Cooperative agreements and contracts.

• (a) Definition of eligible entity
  • In this section, the term eligible entity means—
    • a State;
    • an Indian Tribe;
    • a county or municipal government;
    • a fire district;
    • a nongovernmental organization; and
    • a private entity.
• (b) Authorization
  • The Secretary concerned may enter into a cooperative agreement or contract with an eligible entity to authorize the eligible entity to coordinate, plan, or conduct a prescribed fire on Federal land in accordance with other applicable laws, regulations, and land management plans.
• (c) Subcontracts
  • The Secretary concerned may authorize a State, an Indian Tribe, or a county that enters into a cooperative agreement or contract under subsection (b) to enter into a subcontract to conduct a prescribed fire on Federal land pursuant to that cooperative agreement or contract, subject to any other terms and conditions that the Secretary concerned determines to be appropriate.
• (d) Long-Term contracts
  • A cooperative agreement or contract with an eligible entity under subsection (b) may authorize the eligible entity to conduct a series of prescribed fires on Federal land for a period of not longer than 10 years.

Sec. 202. Human resources.

• (a) Prescribed fire workforce
  • (1) Increasing workforce retention
    • (A) Hazard pay
      • (i) Each Federal employee in any classification series, as identified by the Secretaries, shall be entitled to be paid the appropriate differential under subsection (d) of section 5545 of title 5, United States Code, as if such employee was covered by such subsection, when such employee carries out work directly related to the ignition, management, and control of a prescribed fire.
      • (ii) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out this subparagraph.
    • (B) Incentive payments for fuels assignments
      • The Secretaries shall submit to the congressional committees a joint report describing mechanisms to attract and retain a skilled fuels workforce, including pay incentives that would account for and offset the more competitive pay options offered through wildfire suppression assignments.
  • (2) Dedicated prescribed fire task forces
    • (A) In general
      • The Secretaries shall—
        • (i) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, establish at least 1 multiparty task force of Federal employees and non-Federal entities within each Geographic Area Coordination Center to plan, lead, and support prescribed fire across ownership boundaries that are priorities at the landscape, region, State, or Federal level; and
        • (ii) support each task force established under clause (i) by assigning a dedicated Federal employee—
        • to aid necessary administrative functions relating to partnership agreements; and
        • to coordinate prescribed fire across ownership boundaries.
    • (B) Cooperative agreements
      • The Secretaries may enter into 1 or more cooperative agreements to carry out this paragraph.
  • (3) Conversion of seasonal firefighters to permanent employees
    • The Secretaries may noncompetitively convert a Federal seasonal employee to a Federal permanent employee if—
      • the listed job duties of the employee include wildland firefighting;
      • the employee received a rating of at least in each of the performance appraisals of the employee for the 3 most recent seasons of Federal employment of the employee; and Fully Successful
      • the job duties and performance standards of the position into which the permanent employee converts emphasize implementing prescribed fires.
  • (4) Employment of formerly incarcerated individuals
    • (A) In general
      • The Secretaries, in consultation with the Attorney General and State departments of corrections, shall seek to provide career pathways, training, and wraparound support services, including through partnerships with the Corps Network, to individuals described in subparagraph (B) to work as prescribed fire practitioners.

Sec. 203. Liability of prescribed fire managers.

• (a) Definitions
  • In this section:
    • The term covered activity means an activity carried out on Federal land directly related to a wildland fire, prescribed fire, or prescribed fire with cultural objectives in the course of executing a Federal action.
    • The term covered entity means a non-Federal entity engaged in a covered activity, if that non-Federal entity is acting—
• (b) Indemnity of Federal and Tribal employees
  • The Secretaries, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall develop, for employees involved in covered activities, a voluntary training course describing—
    • liability protections afforded to those employees when acting within the scope of their employment;
    • the limits on any liability protections under paragraph (1); and
    • reimbursements available for qualified employees for professional liability insurance under section 636 of division A of (5 U.S.C. prec. 5941 note). Public Law 104–208
• (c) Indemnity of other cooperators
  • (1) In general
    • Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a covered entity shall be considered to be an employee of the Federal Government for purposes of of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the ), while that covered entity is engaged in covered activities. Federal Tort Claims Act chapter 171
  • (2) Guidance
    • Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall issue guidance on the necessary provisions and implementation requirements for contracts or agreements that would extend liability protections to covered entities under paragraph (1).
  • (3) Reimbursement
    • Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall request, through annual appropriations, funds sufficient to reimburse the Treasury for any claims paid during the prior fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1).
• (d) Effect
  • Nothing in this section limits or otherwise affects—
    • the application of any statutory or judicial immunity to Federal employees;
    • the application of of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the ), to Federal employees; or Federal Tort Claims Act chapter 171
    • the application of section 314 of ( note). Public Law 101–512; 25 U.S.C. 5321

Sec. 204. Environmental review.

• (a) Smoke management agencies
  • (1) Policy
    • The Secretaries shall ensure that policies, training, and programs of the Secretaries are consistent with this subsection—
      • to facilitate greater use of prescribed fire; and
      • to address public health and safety, including impacts from smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires.
  • (2) Coordination among Federal, Tribal, and State air quality agencies and Federal, Tribal, and State land management agencies
    • To facilitate the use of prescribed fire on Federal, State, Tribal, and private land, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal and State land management agencies, shall coordinate with State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies that regulate smoke under the Clean Air Act ()— 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
      • to the maximum extent practicable, to provide State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies with guidance, data, imagery, or modeling to support the development of exceptional event demonstrations in accordance with sections 50.14 and 51.930 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations);
      • to develop archives and automated tools to provide State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies with the data, imagery, and modeling under subparagraph (A);
      • to develop decision support tools for State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies to assist in determining whether an exceptional event demonstration, if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency concurs with such demonstration, would have regulatory significance;
      • to provide technical assistance, best practices, or templates to States, Indian Tribes, and local governments for use in approving the use of prescribed fire under a State, Tribal, or local government smoke management program;
    • (E)
      • (i) to promote basic smoke management practices and other best practices to protect the public from wildland fire smoke;
      • (ii) to disseminate information about basic smoke management practices;
      • (iii) to educate landowners that use prescribed fire about the importance of—
      • using basic smoke management practices; and
      • including basic smoke management practices as a component of a prescribed fire plan; and
      • (iv) to share with the public, in coordination with other public health agencies, information about measures that individuals can take to protect themselves from wildland fire smoke; and
      • to develop guidance and tools to streamline the demonstration of a clear causal relationship between prescribed fire smoke and a related exceedance of a national ambient air quality standard.
  • (3) Exceptional event demonstrations
    • (A) In general
      • The appropriate State or Tribal air quality agency (including any local air quality agency delegated authority by a State) may develop and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency an exceptional event demonstration in accordance with sections 50.14 and 51.930 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), for a prescribed fire.

Sec. 205. Prescribed fire education program.

• (a) In general
  • The Secretaries shall carry out a national prescribed fire education program focused on fire ecology and prescribed fire planning and implementation.
• (b) Program elements
  • A prescribed fire education program under subsection (a) may include—
    • public service advertisements;
    • the use of social media;
    • campaign and educational activities and materials;
    • commercial licensing;
    • character images and appearances; and
    • awards and recognition.

TITLE III—Reporting

Sec. 301. Annual reports to National Fire Planning and Operations Database.

• (a) Purpose
  • The purpose of this section is to ensure an accurate reporting of annual prescribed fire accomplishments in the United States.
• (b) Cost-Share
  • Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary may provide financial assistance to States to pay a portion of the costs associated with annually reporting to the National Fire Planning and Operations Database (or a successor database) the prescribed fire accomplishments of the State.
• (c) Eligibility for funds
  • If, by December 31 of a calendar year, a State has not submitted to the National Fire Planning and Operations Database (or a successor database) a report describing, at a minimum, the number of acres on which uncharacteristic wildfire risk is effectively mitigated using prescribed fire in the State, the State shall not be eligible to receive any amounts made available under this Act for the previous fiscal year.

Sec. 302. Annual implementation report.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretaries shall each submit to the congressional committees a report describing the activities carried out under this Act.

• includes multiple interested persons representing diverse interests; and
• is transparent and nonexclusive;