Fix Our Forests Act

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 119-27.

Mar 6, 2025

The Fix Our Forests Act establishes federal forest management requirements focused on wildfire risk reduction. It designates high-risk firesheds as management areas and creates an interagency Fireshed Center to assess fire risk and maintain public geospatial data. The bill expedites environmental review of forest management projects by streamlining National Environmental Policy Act review, exempting certain activities from review, and establishing inter-agency strike teams to accelerate consultation processes. It also limits consultation requirements under species protection and historic preservation laws for forest management projects, restricts litigation against fireshed management projects and limits available court remedies. Additionally, the bill authorizes funding and activities for community wildfire risk reduction, forest restoration, watershed protection, biochar projects, wildfire technology advancement, and support for wildland firefighters.

AI summaries currently cover bills with verified final-passage votes.

Fix Our Forests Act This bill establishes requirements for managing forests on federal land, including requirements concerning reducing wildfire threats, expediting the review of certain forest management projects, and implementing forest management projects and other activities. Specifically, the bill (1) designates certain firesheds at high risk for wildfires as fireshed management areas; (2) directs the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey to jointly establish an interagency Fireshed Center that is responsible for duties related to assessing and predicting fire, including maintaining a fireshed registry on a publicly accessible website that provides interactive geospatial data on individual firesheds; and (3) makes other requirements related to reducing wildfire. Next, the bill expedites the review of certain forest management projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and exempts certain activities from NEPA review. It also establishes intra-agency strike teams to accelerate the review and any interagency consultation processes under NEPA, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the National Historic Preservation Act. It also limits consultation requirements concerning threatened and endangered species under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and the Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976. Finally, it limits litigation involving fireshed management projects and limits remedies that courts may provide. Additionally, the bill supports reducing community wildfire risks, carrying out forest restoration and stewardship activities (including watershed protection and restoration), conducting biochar demonstration projects, advancing technologies to address forest wildfires, and assisting wildland firefighters and their families.