,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ceec  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #ba1 #bjbe,mr4  
,min 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,kim1 ,ms4     
,brownley1 ,mr4 ,levin1 ,mr4 ,huffman1  
,ms4 ,rivas1 ,mr4 ,panetta1 ,mr4        
,whitesides1 ,mr4 ,harder of            
,california1 ,ms4 ,ansari1 and ,ms4     
,jacobs7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,agriculture1 and in addition to the    
,committee on ,natural ,resources1 for a
 period to be subsequently determined by
 the ,speaker1 in each case for         
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
direct the ,secretary of ,agriculture to
 carry out a study with respect to the  
effectiveness of available wildfire     
mitigation methods in reducing the risk 
of wildfire and the severity of damages 
from wildfire in communities within or  
adjacent to shrubland ecosystems1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   

,this ,act may be cited as the ,building
 ,resiliency and ,understanding of      
,shrublands to ,halt ,fires ,act or the 
,,brush ,fires ,act4  #b4 ,shrubland    
wildfire mitigation study  7a7 ,study   
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year
 after the date of enactment of this    
,act1 the ,secretary shall conduct a    
study to evaluate the effectiveness of  
wildfire mitigation methods available to
 the ,forest ,service as a means of     
reducing the risk of wildfire in covered
 ecosystems and the severity of damages 
from such wildfire in communities within
 or adjacent to covered ecosystems4     
7#b7 ,elements ,in carrying out the     
study under paragraph 7#a71 the         
,secretary shall1 with respect to       
covered ecosystems-- 7,a7 evaluate the  
effectiveness and longevity of--  7i7   
hazardous fuels management activities1  
including fuel modification through the 
use of strategic fuel breaks2 and  7ii7 
practices for maintaining the health of 
native ecosystems1 including--  7,i7    

mitigating the development and spread of
 invasive species1 including invasive   
weeds1 grasses1 and other vegetation2 or
  7,,ii7 improving the resprouting of   
native shrub species on lands affected  
by wildfire2  7,b7 evaluate the         
effectiveness of policies and protocols 
of the ,forest ,service with respect to 
limiting unintentional ember ignitions  
attributable to the public or man-made  
structures1 including electrical        
infrastructure2  7,c7 study the         
conditions 7including weather1          
seasonality1 and topography7 under which
 each wildfire mitigation method        
evaluated under the study is most and   
least effective in reducing the risk of 
wildland fire2  7,d7 identify           
administrative1 operational1 and        
budgetary factors that impede the       
ability of wildland fire managers and   
wildland firefighters to implement      
wildfire mitigation methods evaluated   
under the study2 and  7,e7 evaluate the 
effectiveness of partnerships between   

the ,forest ,service and non-,federal   
entities in reducing the vulnerability  
of homes1 roadways1 and other high-risk 
structures to ember ignition4  7#c7     
,coordination2 consultation  7,a7       
,interagency coordination ,in carrying  
out the study under paragraph 7#a71 the 
,secretary shall1 to the extent         
practicable and to avoid the duplication
 of research activities of the ,federal 
,government1 act in coordination with-- 
7i7 entities within the ,forest ,service
 with expertise in wildfire risk        
reduction and ecology in covered        
ecosystems1 including the ,shrub        
,sciences ,laboratory and the           
,maintaining ,resilient ,dryland        
,ecosystems program2 and  7ii7 the heads
 of ,federal agencies conducting        
wildfire mitigation activities or       
hazardous fuels management activities in
 covered ecosystems1 including the      
,secretary of the ,interior4  7,b7      
,consultation ,in carrying out the study
 under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary   

may1 and is encouraged to1 solicit      
consultation from non-,federal public   
and private entities with relevant      
expertise in wildfire mitigation in     
covered ecosystems1 as determined by the
 ,secretary4  7b7 ,report ,not later    
than #ij days after the date on which   
the study under subsection 7a77#a7 is   
complete1 the ,secretary shall submit to
 the relevant ,congressional committees1
 and make publicly available1 a report  
that includes-- 7#a7 a summary of the   
results of the study2  7#b7 based on the
 results of the study1 identification by
 the ,secretary of-- 7,a7 best practices
 for land managers in reducing the risk 
of wildfire in covered ecosystems2 and  
7,b7 any areas implicated by the study  
that merit further research2  7#c7 a    
comparison of the polices and protocols 
of the ,forest ,service with respect to 
reducing the risk of wildfire in covered
 ecosystems and the best practices      
identified under paragraph 7#b77;,a72   
and  7#d7 an evaluation by the          

,secretary of opportunities to improve  
coordination between the ,forest        
,service and non-,federal entities on   
activities to improve wildfire          
resilience in covered ecosystems and    
reduce risks of harm from wildfire to   
the built environment1 particularly in  
the wildland-urban interface4  7c7      
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,covered ecosystems ,the term covered   
ecosystems means shrubland ecosystems1  
including-- 7,a7 chaparral2  7,b7       
coastal sage scrub2  7,c7 sagebrush2    
7,d7 shrub-steppe2  7,e7 xeric          
shrubland2 and  7,f7 any other dryland  
shrub ecosystem in which wildfire       
management presents a significant       
challenge1 as determined by the         
,secretary4  7#b7 ,hazardous fuels      
management activity ,the term hazardous 
fuels management activity means an      
activity to manage vegetation to reduce 
the risk of wildfire4  7#c7 ,relevant   
,congressional ,committees ,the term    
relevant ,congressional committees      

means-- 7,a7 the committees on          
,appropriations1 ,natural ,resources1   
and ,agriculture of the ,house of       
,representatives2 and  7,b7 the         
committees on ,appropriations1 ,energy  
and ,mineral ,resources1 and            
,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry 
of the ,senate4  7#d7 ,secretary ,the   
term ,secretary means the ,secretary of 
,agriculture1 acting through the ,chief 
of the ,forest ,service4  7#e7          
,wildland-urban interface ,the term     
wildland-urban interface has the meaning
 given such term in section #aja of the 
,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of  
#bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa74