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HR 4208 115th Congress House Public Lands and Natural Resources Appropriations Congressional oversight Department of Agriculture Department of the Interior Emergency planning and evacuation Executive agency funding and structure Fires Forests, forestry, trees Government ethics and transparency, public corruption Government studies and investigations Insects Pest management State and local government operations

Wildland Fires Act of 2017

Introduced: November 1, 2017 Introduced by: Thompson, Mike Democratic · California See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Nov 16, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
Nov 9, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
Nov 1, 2017
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.
Nov 1, 2017
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Wildland Fires Act of 2017

This bill requires the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a cost review each fiscal year of each wildfire covering an area greater than 100,000 acres.

Appropriations for wildfire management operations in USDA's or Interior's Wildland Fire Management accounts that are not expended for a fiscal year may be available for wildfire risk reduction projects on federal land.

Interior and USDA shall: (1) publish a map depicting at-risk communities (as re-defined by this bill), including tribal communities; and (2) furnish financial assistance to such communities adjacent to federal land for wildfire planning and preparations.

Interior and USDA shall: (1) establish a pilot program to reduce the risk of wildfires to communities in the wildland-urban interface and reestablish natural fire regimes outside such interface, and (2) implement the program to treat specified federal land composed primarily of ponderosa or Jeffrey pines by September 30, 2027. The bill establishes the Pilot Monitoring Committee to monitor the impacts on wildfire risk and the ecological effects of the projects being implemented under such program.

Interior and USDA: (1) may issue stewardship contracts or enter into stewardship agreements for up to 10 years to conduct prescribed fires on federal lands, and (2) shall establish a pilot program for awarding contracts or agreements of up to 20 years to carry out restoration projects or hazardous fuels reduction projects on federal lands.

The National Forest Foundation shall establish a program to certify as a collaborative a group of interested persons that is interested in assisting USDA and Interior in increasing the quantity of projects or activities such departments carry out on an individual unit of National Forest System land or public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in accordance with the applicable management plan.

What's happening now November 16, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1