,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #ehc #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bacb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #bb1 #bjbc,mr4 ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,november #ba1 #bjbd,reported by ,mr4 ,manchin1 with an amendment,strike 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 index1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,catastrophic ,wildfire ,prevention ,act of #bjbc4 #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 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,catastrophic ,wildfire ,prevention ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,pilot program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,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 forest1 as developed from historical surveys or appropriate scientific inference of data collected not more recently than #aiae4 7#b7 ,national ,forest ,system 7,a7 ,in general ,the term ,national ,forest ,system means land of the ,national ,forest ,system 7as defined in section #aa7;a7 of the ,forest and ,rangeland ,renewable ,resources ,planning ,act of #aigd 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #afji7;a777 administered by the ,secretary4 7,b7 ,exclusion ,the term ,national ,forest ,system does not include any forest reserve not created from the public domain4 7#c7 ,pilot program ,the term pilot program means the pilot program established under subsection 7b74 7#d7 ,resource management plan ,the term resource management plan means a land and resource management plan prepared for #a or more units of the ,national ,forest ,system under section #f of the ,forest and ,rangeland ,renewable ,resources ,planning ,act of #aigd 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #afjd74 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting through the ,chief of the ,forest ,service4 7#f7 ,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#g7 ,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 7,d7 timber harvesting2 or 7,e7 other forest stand improvement activities1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7b7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary shall establish a pilot program under which the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 collaborate with ,state1 local1 and ,tribal forest management agencies-- 7,a7 to identify areas of the ,national ,forest ,system for potential selection under paragraph 7#b7 for inclusion in the pilot program2 and 7,b7 to research and determine an historical stand density index for each area of the ,national ,forest ,system identified under subparagraph 7,a72 7#b7 select1 in consultation with ,state1 local1 and ,tribal forest management agencies1 as necessary1 projects in areas of the ,national ,forest ,system identified under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 for implementation of treatments under subsection 7c71 in accordance with the selection criteria under subsection 7d72 7#c7 evaluate the implementation of treatments conducted on areas of the ,national ,forest ,system selected under paragraph 7#b71 with respect to the efficacy of the treatments in-- 7,a7 reducing catastrophic wildfire risk2 7,b7 increasing forest health2 7,c7 increasing forest resilience2 7,d7 increasing ecological diversity2 or 7,e7 improving such other criteria as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate2 and 7#d7 as practicable1 compare and update the resource management plans for areas of the ,national ,forest ,system selected under paragraph 7#b7 in accordance with any findings resulting from the evaluations under paragraph 7#c74 7c7 ,implementation ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall begin implementation of treatments on areas of the ,national ,forest ,system selected under subsection 7b77#b7 to achieve the historical stand density index established under subsection 7b77#a77;,b7 for those areas of the ,national ,forest ,system4 7d7 ,selection of areas ,in selecting areas of the ,national ,forest ,system for inclusion in the pilot program under subsection 7b77#b7 and implementing 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 municipal watershed2 7,c7 critical to maintaining water quality and yield2 7,d7 vulnerable to erosion1 flooding1 landslides1 or other post-fire impacts2 7,e7 hosting multiple-use activities2 7,f7 critical to supporting wildlife or plant species health2 7,g7 with respect to which a treatment is necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfire2 or 7,h7 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 research2 and 7#b7 select a geographically diverse sample of areas of the ,national ,forest ,system with various forest cover types2 and 7#c7 select not less than #a area of the ,national ,forest ,system in each region of the ,national ,forest ,system4 7e7 ,funding ,the ,secretary shall carry out this section using funds otherwise made available to the ,secretary for-- 7#a7 research and development1 with respect to the requirements under paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#d7 of subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 fuels reduction treatments1 with respect to the implementation of treatments described in subsection 7c7 and the other requirements under this section4 ,november #ba1 #bjbd,reported with an amendment