[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4664 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4664
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to establish
emergency fireshed management areas, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2021
Mr. Moore of Utah (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Westerman, Mr. Bentz,
Mr. Newhouse, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Obernolte, Mr. Rosendale, Mr. Tiffany,
Mrs. Boebert, Mr. Stauber, and Mr. Schrader) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in
addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to establish
emergency fireshed management areas, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Forest Improvements through Research
and Emergency Stewardship for Healthy Ecosystem Development and
Sustainability Act'' or the ``FIRESHEDS Act''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.
Title VI of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6591 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 607. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.
``(a) Establishment of Fireshed Management Areas.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Joint agreements.--Not later than 90 days
after receiving a request from a Governor of a State,
the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with such
Governor to jointly--
``(i) designate 1 or more fireshed
management areas within such State; and
``(ii) conduct fireshed management projects
in accordance with subsection (c) on such
fireshed management areas.
``(B) Additional fireshed management areas.--With
respect to an agreement with a Governor of a State
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, if requested by
such Governor, may--
``(i) designate additional fireshed
management areas under such agreement; and
``(ii) update such agreement to address new
wildfire threats.
``(C) Shared stewardship.--A previously signed
shared stewardship agreement between a Governor of a
State and the Secretary (or an update or successor
agreement to such shared stewardship agreement) may be
treated as an agreement under subparagraph (A) if such
Governor approves such treatment.
``(2) Designation of fireshed management areas.--
``(A) In general.--A fireshed management area
designated under an agreement under paragraph (1)--
``(i) shall be--
``(I) a landscape-scale area; and
``(II) identified on the date of
such designation as a fireshed ranked
in the top 10 percent of wildfire
exposure, as determined by the most
recently published models of fireshed
risk exposure published by the Forest
Service;
``(ii) may not overlap with any other
fireshed management area; and
``(iii) may contain Federal and non-Federal
land.
``(B) Applicability of nepa.--The designation of a
fireshed management area under an agreement under
paragraph (1) shall not be subject to the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
``(b) Stewardship and Fireshed Assessments.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after entering
into an agreement with a Governor of a State under subsection
(a)(1), the Secretary and such Governor shall, with respect to
the fireshed management areas designated under such agreement,
jointly conduct a stewardship and fireshed assessment that--
``(A) identifies--
``(i) using the best available data,
wildfire exposure risks within each such
fireshed management area, including scenario
planning and wildfire hazard mapping and
models; and
``(ii) each at-risk community within each
fireshed management area;
``(B) identifies potential fireshed management
projects to be carried out in such fireshed management
areas, giving priority--
``(i) primarily, to projects with the
purpose of reducing threats to public health
and safety from catastrophic wildfire; and
``(ii) secondarily, to projects with the
purpose of protecting--
``(I) critical infrastructure;
``(II) wildlife habitats;
``(III) watersheds or improving
water yield; or
``(IV) any combination of purposes
described in subclauses (I) through
(III);
``(C) includes--
``(i) a strategy for reducing the threat of
wildfire to at-risk communities in the
wildland-urban interface;
``(ii) recommended fireshed management
project size limitations based on the best
available data;
``(iii) a timeline for the implementation
of fireshed management projects; and
``(iv) long-term benchmark goals for the
completion of fireshed management projects in
the highest wildfire exposure areas; and
``(D) shall be regularly updated based on the best
available data, as determined by the Secretary.
``(2) Information improvement.--
``(A) Memorandums of understanding.--In carrying
out a stewardship and fireshed assessment under this
subsection, the Secretary may enter into memorandums of
understanding with other Federal agencies or
departments, States, private entities, or research or
educational institutions to improve, with respect to
such assessment, the use and integration of--
``(i) advanced remote sensing and
geospatial technologies;
``(ii) statistical modeling and analysis;
or
``(iii) any other technology the Secretary
determines will benefit the quality of
information of such an assessment.
``(B) State information.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary shall incorporate data from
State forest action plans, State wildfire risk
assessments, and other State sources in conducting an
assessment under paragraph (1).
``(c) Fireshed Management Projects.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out fireshed
management projects in fireshed management areas designated
under an agreement under subsection (a)(1) in accordance with
the timeline and project size limitations included in the
stewardship and fireshed assessment relating to such areas
under subsection (b)(1)(C).
``(2) Requirements.--A fireshed management project shall--
``(A) be carried out--
``(i) in accordance with paragraph (3);
``(ii) in accordance with the applicable
forest management plan; and
``(iii) in a manner that maximizes the
retention of old-growth and large trees, to the
extent that the trees promote stands that are
resilient to wildfire; and
``(B) be--
``(i) developed through a collaborative
process;
``(ii) proposed by a resource advisory
committee (as defined in section 201 of the
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121)); or
``(iii) covered by a community wildfire
protection plan.
``(3) Authorized activities.--A fireshed management project
shall have the primary purpose of--
``(A) creating fuel breaks and fire breaks;
``(B) conducting hazardous fuels management;
``(C) conducting prescribed burns;
``(D) removing dead trees, dying trees, or trees at
high-risk of dying; or
``(E) carrying out any combination of the
activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
``(4) Categorical exclusion for fireshed management
projects.--Fireshed management projects under this subsection
shall be--
``(A) considered an action categorically excluded
from the from the preparation of an environmental
assessment or an environmental impact statement under
section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); and
``(B) exempt from the special administrative review
process under section 105.
``(5) Exclusions.--A fireshed management project may not be
carried out on lands--
``(A) that are included in the National Wilderness
Preservation System;
``(B) that are located within a national or State-
specific inventoried roadless area established by the
Secretary of Agriculture through regulation, unless--
``(i) the forest management activity to be
carried out under such authority is consistent
with the forest plan applicable to the area; or
``(ii) the activity is allowed under the
applicable roadless rule governing such lands,
including--
``(I) the Idaho roadless rule under
subpart C of part 294 or title 36, Code
of Federal Regulations;
``(II) the Colorado roadless rule
under subpart D of part 294 of title
36, Code of Federal Regulations; or
``(III) any other roadless rule
developed after the date of the
enactment of this section by the
Secretary with respect to a specific
State; or
``(C) on which timber harvesting for any purpose is
prohibited by Federal statute.
``(6) Rule of construction for certain roadless rules.--
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
roadless rules described in subclauses (I) and (II) of
paragraph (5)(B)(ii).
``(7) Use of other authorities.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary shall use existing statutory and
administrative authorities, including a good neighbor agreement
entered into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014
(16 U.S.C. 2113a), to carry out each fireshed management
project.
``(d) Judicial Review.--Section 106 shall apply to fireshed
management projects conducted under this section in the same manner as
such section applies to an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project
conducted under title I, except that no restraining order, preliminary
injunction, or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any court
of the United States with respect to any decision to prepare or conduct
a fireshed management project in the wildland-urban interface.
``(e) Report Required.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the progress and
implementation of fireshed management projects under this section.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Collaborative process.--The term `collaborative
process' means a process relating to the management of National
Forest System lands or public lands by which a project or
forest management activity is developed and implemented by the
Secretary through collaboration with interested persons, as
described in section 603(b)(1)(C).
``(2) Fireshed.--The term `fireshed' means a landscape-
scale area that faces similar wildfire threat where a response
strategy could influence the wildfire outcome.
``(3) Forest plan.--The term `forest plan' means--
``(A) a land use plan prepared by the Bureau of
Land Management for public lands pursuant to section
202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); or
``(B) a land and resource management plan prepared
by the Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest
System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
U.S.C. 1604).
``(4) Hazardous fuels management.--The term `hazardous
fuels management' means any vegetation management activities
that reduce the risk of wildfire, including mechanical
treatments and livestock grazing.
``(5) Public lands.--The term `public lands' has the
meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that
the term includes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Oregon
and California Railroad Grant lands.
``(6) Resource advisory committee.--The term `resource
advisory committee' has the meaning given that term in section
201 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121).
``(7) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means--
``(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System lands; and
``(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect
to public lands.
``(8) Section 101 terms.--The terms `at-risk community',
`community wildfire protection plan', and `wildland-urban
interface' have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in
section 101.''.
SEC. 3. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY.
Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4)(A)--
(A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv);
(C) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
``(iii) activities conducted under section
607 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of
2003;'';
(D) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, by striking
the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) any combination of activities
specified in clauses (i) through (iv).''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by amending subparagraph (C) to
read as follows:
``(C) Treatment of revenue.--Funds received from
the sale of timber by a Governor of a State under a
good neighbor agreement shall be retained and used by
the Governor--
``(i) to carry out authorized restoration
services under such good neighbor agreement;
and
``(ii) if funds are remaining after
carrying out the services under clause (i), to
carry out authorized restoration services
within the State under other good neighbor
agreements.''.
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