,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dide  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #bb1
 #bjbb,mr4 ,lee introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,energy and       
,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
require the ,secretary of ,agriculture  
to establish a pilot program for the    
establishment and use of a              
pre-fire-suppression stand density      
index1 and for other purposes4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,catastrophic ,wildfire ,prevention 
,act of #bjbb4  #b4 ,pilot program  7a7 
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,area of the ,national ,forest ,system  
,the term area of the ,national ,forest 
,system means all or a portion of a unit
 of the ,national ,forest ,system that  
is located west of the #ajjth meridian4 
7#b7 ,pilot program ,the term pilot     
program means the pilot program         
established under subsection 7b74  7#c7 
,pre-fire-suppression stand density     

index ,the term pre-fire-suppression    
stand density index means an estimate of
 the naturally occurring or ecologically
 balanced stand density index of a      
forest1 as developed from historical    
surveys or appropriate scientific       
inference1 before fire suppression      
regimens became common practice4  7#d7  
,secretary ,the term ,secretary means   
the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting  
through the ,chief of the ,forest       
,service4  7#e7 ,stand density index    
,the term stand density index means an  
expression of relative stand density    
based on the predictable relationship   
between average tree size and trees per 
unit area in dense stands4  7#f7        
,treatment ,the term treatment means--  
7,a7 a mechanical treatment of hazardous
 fuels2  7,b7 a stewardship end-result  
contracting project2  7,c7 restoration  
services2 or  7,d7 timber harvesting4   
7b7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary shall
 establish a pilot program under which  
the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 collaborate 

with ,state or local forest management  
agencies-- 7,a7 to identify areas of the
 ,national ,forest ,system for potential
 selection under paragraph 7#c7 for     
inclusion in the pilot program2 and     
7,b7 to research and establish a        
pre-fire-suppression stand density index
 for each area of the ,national ,forest 
,system identified under subparagraph   
7,a72  7#b7 evaluate how closely each   
pre-fire-suppression stand density index
 established under paragraph 7#a77;,b7  
reflects current forest conditions and  
current published resource management   
objectives established by the ,secretary
 for the applicable area of the         
,national ,forest ,system2 and  7#c7    
select1 in consultation with ,state or  
local forest management agencies1 not   
fewer than #h areas of the ,national    
,forest ,system identified under        
paragraph 7#a77;,a7 with respect to     
which the area and neighboring          
communities may benefit from using a    
pre-fire-suppression stand density index

 as a benchmark for treatments by-- 7,a7
 reducing the chances of catastrophic   
wildfire2  7,b7 increasing forest       
health2  7,c7 increasing forest         
resilience2  7,d7 increasing ecological 
diversity2 or  7,e7 improving such other
 criteria as the ,secretary1 in         
consultation with ,state or local forest
 management agencies1 determine to be   
appropriate4  7c7 ,implementation ,not  
later than #b years after the date of   
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall begin to conduct treatments on    
areas of the ,national ,forest ,system  
selected under subsection 7b77#c71 and  
update applicable land and resource     
management plans to include objectives  
and benchmarks1 in accordance with the  
applicable pre-fire-suppression stand   
density index established under         
subsection 7b77#a77;,b74  7d7 ,selection
 of areas ,in selecting areas of the    
,national ,forest ,system for inclusion 
in the pilot program under subsection   
7b77#c7 and conducting treatments under 

subsection 7c71 the ,secretary shall--  
7#a7 give priority to an area-- 7,a7    
within the wildland-urban interface 7as 
defined in section #aja of the ,healthy 
,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af
 ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa772  7,b7 constituting a
 community watershed2  7,c7 vulnerable  
to erosion2  7,d7 hosting multiple-use  
activities2  7,e7 critical to supporting
 wildlife or plant species health2 or   
7,f7 with respect to which a treatment  
is necessary to prevent catastrophic    
wildfire2 and  7#b7 select a            
geographically diverse sample of areas  
of the ,national ,forest ,system1 which 
shall include not fewer than #c areas of
 the ,national ,forest ,system in the   
southwest ,united ,states4  7e7 ,funding
 ,the ,secretary shall carry out this   
section using funds otherwise made      
available to the ,secretary for fuels   
reduction treatments4