[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 528 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 528
To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for
Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2025
Ms. Pettersen (for herself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in
addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for
Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, 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 ``Post-Disaster Reforestation and
Restoration Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. POST-DISASTER REFORESTATION AND RESTORATION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in
coordination with the heads of the covered agencies, shall identify
covered lands requiring reforestation and restoration following
unplanned disturbances that are unlikely to experience natural
regeneration without assistance.
(b) Priority Projects.--In consultation with the heads of covered
agencies, the Secretary--
(1) shall propose a list of priority projects for
reforestation and restoration for each fiscal year;
(2) may carry out priority projects through--
(A) competitively awarded grants;
(B) contracts;
(C) contracts established under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
5301 et seq.); and
(D) cooperative agreements, to be awarded in
accordance with applicable requirements established by
the Secretary; and
(3) may support any grant contract or cooperative agreement
that may be necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate seed
and seedling availability to further the objectives of priority
projects.
(c) Outreach.--To fulfill requirements of this section the heads of
covered agencies shall conduct outreach to--
(1) Indian Tribes;
(2) States;
(3) territories;
(4) units of local government;
(5) Alaska Native organizations;
(6) Native Hawaiian organizations;
(7) institutions of higher education;
(8) Federal agencies with jurisdiction over Federal land
adjoining or proximal to priority projects; and
(9) other stakeholders as determined by the Secretary.
(d) Reports and Recommendations.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a
report that includes the following:
(1) An accounting of all covered lands requiring
reforestation and restoration.
(2) A list of priority projects and implementation progress
to address reforestation and restoration objectives identified.
(3) An accounting of grants, contracts, and cooperative
agreements established in furtherance of priority projects.
(4) Outreach efforts by covered agencies to advance
priority projects.
(5) Assessments of, and recommendations relating to seed,
seedling, and implementation gaps to advance priority projects
and opportunities to establish dedicated funding necessary to
address any backlog of reforestation and restoration needs.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
(A) each Federal land management agency (as such
term is defined in the Federal Lands Recreation
Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)); and
(B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(2) Covered lands.--The term ``covered lands'' means any
Federal land or interest in land administered by a covered
agency and Indian Forest Land or Rangeland.
(3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means any
Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village,
or community individually identified (including
parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the
date of enactment of this Act pursuant to section 104 of the
Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C.
5131).
(4) Natural regeneration.--The term ``natural
regeneration'' has the meaning given the term in section (e)(4)
of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974 (U.S.C. 36 1601).
(5) Reforestation.--The term ``reforestation'' has the
meaning given the term in section (e)(4) of the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 36
1601).
(6) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means assisting
the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged,
or destroyed, including the reestablishment of appropriate
plant species composition and community structure.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Interior.
(8) Unplanned disturbance.--The term ``unplanned
disturbance'' means any unplanned disturbance that disrupts
ecosystem structure or composition and may include a wildfire,
an infestation of insects or disease, or a weather event.
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