,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hgca  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #e1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,panetta 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,carbajal1 and ,mr4 ,thompson of        
,california7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,agriculture  ,a ,,bill   
,to fill vacancies for ,forest ,service 
recreation management and planning staff
 in ,national ,forests1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,save ,our ,forests 
,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
finds the following3 7#a7 ,between #bjae
 and #bjai1 on average1 #hh percent of  
wildfires in the ,united ,states have   
been human-caused4  7#b7 ,human-caused  
fires tend to occur in or near the      
wildland-urban interface 7as defined in 
section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests   
,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af         
,u4,s4,c4 #feaa771 where there is a     
greater risk to people and communities  
and a higher cost to suppress fires4    

7#c7 ,the wildland-urban interface is   
the fastest-growing land use type in the
 ,united ,states1 posing challenges for 
fire management and suppression4  7#d7  
,over the last #aj years1 an average of 
#fd1ajj wildfires and an average of #f4h
 million acres burned annually4 ,in     
#bjai1 #ej1dgg wildfires burned and     
#d1gjj1jjj acres burned nationwide4     
,approximately #fe percent of these     
acres burned on ,federal land1 of which 
close to #bj percent or #fjj1jjj acres  
were ,national ,forest ,system lands4   
7#e7 ,the ,forest ,service suffers from 
chronic staffing shortages1 with several
 ,national ,forests struggling to       
maintain their acreage with insufficient
 recreation management and planning     
staff4  #c4 ,filling ,forest ,service   
recreation management staff vacancies   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,agriculture1 acting through the ,chief 
of the ,forest ,service1 shall fill     
vacancies in ,national ,forests for     
,forest ,service recreation management  

and planning staff1 including recreation
 technicians1 recreation officers1 and  
natural resource managers4  7b7         
,priority ,in seeking to fill vacancies 
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    
shall prioritize filling vacancies in   
,national ,forests that-- 7#a7 are at   
high or very high risk of catastrophic  
wildfires2  7#b7 are located in or near 
the wildland-urban interface2 and  7#c7 
have experienced an increase in         
visitation over the past decade4  7c7   
,training and certification as a ,forest
 ,protection ,officer ,the ,secretary   
may provide the opportunity for any     
individual who fills a vacancy pursuant 
to subsection 7a7 to receive training   
and certification as a ,forest          
,protection ,officer4  7d7              
,authorization of appropriations  7#a7  
,in general ,in addition to other funds 
that may be available to the ,forest    
,service for the purposes specified in  
this section1 there is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section  

such sums as may be necessary for fiscal
 year #bjba and each fiscal year        
thereafter4  7#b7 ,administrative       
expenses ,of the amounts available under
 paragraph 7#a7 for each fiscal year1   
not more than #c percent may be used for
 administrative expenses incurred in    
carrying out this section4