S. 2208

119 S2208 IS: Wildfire Resilient Communities Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-07-08
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 2208  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   July 8, 2025   Mr. Merkley  (for himself,  Mr. Padilla ,  Mr. Wyden , and  Mr. Schiff ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To provide mandatory funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on certain Federal land, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Wildfire Resilient Communities Act  .
2.
Funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on certain Federal land
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Agency head
The term  agency head  means—
(A)
the Director of the National Park Service;
(B)
the Chief of the Forest Service;
(C)
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
(D)
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and
(E)
the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(2)
At-risk community; fire regime I; fire regime II; fire regime III
The terms  at-risk community ,  fire regime I ,  fire regime II , and  fire regime III  have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 ).
(3)
Covered land
The term  covered land  means Federal land under the jurisdiction of the applicable agency head.
(4)
Hazardous fuels reduction project
The term  hazardous fuels reduction project  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.
(b)
Hazardous fuels reduction projects
(1)
In general
The agency heads shall carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects on covered land.
(2)
Project priorities
In carrying out paragraph (1), the agency heads shall prioritize hazardous fuels reduction projects that are—
(A)
conducted in areas that—
(i)
are within or adjacent to—
(I)
at-risk communities; or
(II)
high-value watersheds;
(ii)
have very high wildfire hazard potential; or
(iii)
are in fire regime I, fire regime II, or fire regime III; or
(B)
designed to integrate and simultaneously advance 2 or more of the goals established in the report of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior entitled  The National Strategy: the Final Phase of the Development of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy  and dated April 2014 and the update entitled  National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Addendum Update  and dated January 2023—
(i)
to create fire-adapted communities;
(ii)
to restore and maintain resilient landscapes; and
(iii)
to achieve safe, effective fire response.
(c)
Funding
(1)
In general
On the first October 1 following the date of enactment of this Act, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the agency heads, in accordance with an allocation formula established by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the agency heads, $30,000,000,000, to remain available until expended.
(2)
Receipt and acceptance
The agency heads shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out this section the funds transferred under paragraph (1), without further appropriation.
(3)
Administrative and planning costs
Not more than 10 percent of funding made available under paragraph (1) may be used for administrative and planning costs.
3.
Additional amounts for community wildfire defense grant program
In addition to amounts made available to the Secretary of Agriculture under section 40803(c)(12) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(12) ), there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out section 40803(f) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 16 U.S.C. 6592(f) ) $3,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
4.
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program reauthorization
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 Federal Government staffing plan for providing 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 a semicolon; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:
(G)
whether the proposal seeks to use innovative implementation mechanisms, including conservation finance agreements, good neighbor agreements entered into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 ( 16 U.S.C. 2113a ), and similar implementation mechanisms;
(H)
whether the proposal seeks 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; and
(I)
whether the proposal seeks to enhance watershed health and drinking water sources.
 ; and
(B)
in paragraph (3)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A), by striking  10  and inserting  20 ; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking  2  and inserting  4 ;
(4)
in subsection (e)(3), by inserting  conflict resolution or collaborative governance,  before  and woody ; and
(5)
in subsection (f)(6), by striking  $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023  and inserting  $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter .
5.
County Stewardship Fund
Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6591c ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
(j)
County Stewardship Fund
(1)
In general
There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the  County Stewardship Fund  (referred to in this section as the  Fund ), to be administered by the Secretary.
(2)
Deposits
Each fiscal year, with respect to each contract under subsection (b), there shall be deposited in the Fund an amount equal to the greater of—
(A)
25 percent of the appraised value of the forest products sold under the applicable contract, to be transferred from the general fund of the Treasury; and
(B)
25 percent of the excess receipts from the applicable contract, as authorized under subsection (g)(2).
(3)
Availability
Amounts in the Fund shall—
(A)
be used only for purposes described in paragraph (4); and
(B)
remain available until expended.
(4)
Purposes
(A)
In general
Each fiscal year, the Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall distribute from amounts in the Fund to each county in which a contract under subsection (b) was carried out on Federal land in the county during the preceding fiscal year a payment of an amount equal to 25 percent of the receipts generated from that contract.
(B)
Use of funds
A county receiving a payment under subparagraph (A) may use the payment for any governmental purposes.
 .