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Amends Section 502 of the FLAME Act of 2009 by striking subsection (h) and redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (h).
Multiple amendments to 43 U.S.C. 1772: (1) amends subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) by striking and inserting (text of insertion not provided in section); (2) amends the section heading; (3) redesignates existing subsections (j) and (k) as (k) and (l); and (4) inserts a new subsection (j) authorizing, in special use permits or easements for electric transmission or distribution facilities on National Forest System or Bureau of Land Management land, permission to cut and remove trees/vegetation without a separate timber sale (consistent with applicable plans and environmental laws), requires that proceeds from any sale of removed material be provided to the Secretary less transportation costs, and clarifies that nothing requires sale of removed material.
Amends section 14(d) of the National Forest Management Act (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) by replacing the specified appraised-value threshold text with '$55,000'.
Requires federal land managers to measure and publish recent fuels‑reduction work, set annual thinning and prescribed‑fire targets, and report performance and carbon accounting. It changes forest management rules to speed some hazard‑tree removals, raise a statutory timber‑sale threshold, allow limited tree removal near electric lines under permit, guarantee certain intervention rights for Tribes and local governments, and direct a grazing‑for‑risk‑reduction strategy. It also directs agencies to use existing streamlined environmental review authorities and establishes a public–private pilot to test wildfire technologies, with required reporting to Congress.
Federal land means (A) land of the National Forest System; and (B) public lands as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), the surface of which is administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
Hazardous fuels reduction activity means any vegetation management activity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including mechanical treatments and prescribed burning. The term does not include the awarding of a contract to conduct any such activity.
National Forest System has the meaning given in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). The term does not include any forest reserve not created from the public domain.
Secretary concerned means (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, for Federal land described in paragraph (1)(A) (National Forest System land); and (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, for Federal land described in paragraph (1)(B) (BLM-administered public lands).
Wildland-urban interface has the meaning given in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
Federal land management agencies (Forest Service, BLM and others) will take on new measurement, planning, reporting, and data‑quality responsibilities and must meet stepwise treatment targets. Tribal governments and local governments gain formal rights to intervene in certain projects and legal proceedings and will be partners/stakeholders in fuels work and pilot activities. Electric utilities and other rights‑of‑way holders benefit from clarified permit authority to remove risky trees near lines. The timber industry and timber‑sale contractors may see larger, more frequent sales because of the raised statutory threshold and streamlined authorities. Ranchers and grazing permittees could be affected if grazing is expanded as a fuels‑reduction tool. Wildfire technology companies could gain opportunities through the public–private pilot. Environmental and conservation groups may oppose expedited review for hazard‑tree work; scientists and carbon managers will engage with the new carbon accounting and reporting requirements. Overall, the bill shifts emphasis toward accelerating hazardous fuels treatments, improving transparency of outcomes, and testing private technologies, while adding administrative and technical burdens on agencies and raising tradeoffs between speed of action and environmental review processes.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S228-231)
Introduced January 16, 2025 by John A. Barrasso · Last progress January 16, 2025
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S228-231)
Introduced in Senate