S. 2132 — Reported in Senate

II Calendar No. 583 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2132 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 22, 2023Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources November 21, 2024Reported by Mr. Manchin, with an amendmentStrike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic 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 index, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2023. 2. Pilot program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) 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 100th meridian. (2) Pilot program The term pilot program means the pilot program established under subsection (b). (3) 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 forest, as developed from historical surveys or appropriate scientific inference, before fire suppression regimens became common practice. (4) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service. (5) 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 stands. (6) Treatment The term treatment means— (A) a mechanical treatment of hazardous fuels; (B) a stewardship end-result contracting project; (C) restoration services; or (D) timber harvesting. (b) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary shall— (1) collaborate with State or local forest management agencies— (A) to identify areas of the National Forest System for potential selection under paragraph (3) for inclusion in the pilot program; and (B) to research and establish a pre-fire-suppression stand density index for each area of the National Forest System identified under subparagraph (A); (2) evaluate how closely each pre-fire-suppression stand density index established under paragraph (1)(B) reflects current forest conditions and current published resource management objectives established by the Secretary for the applicable area of the National Forest System; and (3) select, in consultation with State or local forest management agencies, not fewer than 8 areas of the National Forest System identified under paragraph (1)(A) 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— (A) reducing the chances of catastrophic wildfire; (B) increasing forest health; (C) increasing forest resilience; (D) increasing ecological diversity; or (E) improving such other criteria as the Secretary, in consultation with State or local forest management agencies, determine to be appropriate. (c) Implementation Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall begin to conduct treatments on areas of the National Forest System selected under subsection (b)(3), and update applicable land and resource management plans to include objectives and benchmarks, in accordance with the applicable pre-fire-suppression stand density index established under subsection (b)(1)(B). (d) Selection of areas In selecting areas of the National Forest System for inclusion in the pilot program under subsection (b)(3) and conducting treatments under subsection (c), the Secretary shall— (1) give priority to an area— (A) within the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); (B) constituting a community watershed; (C) vulnerable to erosion; (D) hosting multiple-use activities; (E) critical to supporting wildlife or plant species health; or (F) with respect to which a treatment is necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfire; and (2) select a geographically diverse sample of areas of the National Forest System, which shall include not fewer than 3 areas of the National Forest System in the southwest United States. (e) Funding The Secretary shall carry out this section using funds otherwise made available to the Secretary for fuels reduction treatments. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2024. 2. Pilot program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Historical stand density index The term historical stand density index means an estimate of the naturally occurring or ecologically balanced stand density index of a forest, as developed from historical surveys or appropriate scientific inference of data collected not more recently than 1915. (2) National Forest System (A) In general The term National Forest System means land of the National Forest System (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) administered by the Secretary. (B) Exclusion The term National Forest System does not include any forest reserve not created from the public domain. (3) Pilot program The term pilot program means the pilot program established under subsection (b). (4) Resource management plan The term resource management plan means a land and resource management plan prepared for 1 or more units of the National Forest System under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). (5) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service. (6) 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 stands. (7) Treatment The term treatment means— (A) a mechanical treatment of hazardous fuels; (B) a stewardship end-result contracting project; (C) restoration services; (D) timber harvesting; or (E) other forest stand improvement activities, as determined by the Secretary. (b) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary shall— (1) collaborate with State, local, and Tribal forest management agencies— (A) to identify areas of the National Forest System for potential selection under paragraph (2) for inclusion in the pilot program; and (B) to research and determine an historical stand density index for each area of the National Forest System identified under subparagraph (A); (2) select, in consultation with State, local, and Tribal forest management agencies, as necessary, projects in areas of the National Forest System identified under paragraph (1)(A) for implementation of treatments under subsection (c), in accordance with the selection criteria under subsection (d); (3) evaluate the implementation of treatments conducted on areas of the National Forest System selected under paragraph (2), with respect to the efficacy of the treatments in— (A) reducing catastrophic wildfire risk; (B) increasing forest health; (C) increasing forest resilience; (D) increasing ecological diversity; or (E) improving such other criteria as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and (4) as practicable, compare and update the resource management plans for areas of the National Forest System selected under paragraph (2) in accordance with any findings resulting from the evaluations under paragraph (3). (c) Implementation Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall begin implementation of treatments on areas of the National Forest System selected under subsection (b)(2) to achieve the historical stand density index established under subsection (b)(1)(B) for those areas of the National Forest System. (d) Selection of areas In selecting areas of the National Forest System for inclusion in the pilot program under subsection (b)(2) and implementing treatments under subsection (c), the Secretary shall— (1) give priority to an area— (A) within the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); (B) constituting a municipal watershed; (C) critical to maintaining water quality and yield; (D) vulnerable to erosion, flooding, landslides, or other post-fire impacts; (E) hosting multiple-use activities; (F) critical to supporting wildlife or plant species health; (G) with respect to which a treatment is necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfire; or (H) for which the comparison of forest resilience under an historical stand density index with the contemporary stand density index would best inform forest ecology and wildland fire research; and (2) select a geographically diverse sample of areas of the National Forest System with various forest cover types; and (3) select not less than 1 area of the National Forest System in each region of the National Forest System. (e) Funding The Secretary shall carry out this section using funds otherwise made available to the Secretary for— (1) research and development, with respect to the requirements under paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of subsection (b); and (2) fuels reduction treatments, with respect to the implementation of treatments described in subsection (c) and the other requirements under this section. November 21, 2024Reported with an amendment