A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western United States, to acknowledge and support the longstanding use of cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes.
National Prescribed Fire Act of 2024
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to increase the number and size of prescribed fires conducted on federal lands.
For 10 years, Interior and USDA must annually conduct prescribed fires on federal land so that the total acreage where prescribed fires are conducted is 10% greater than the previous fiscal year.
Interior and USDA must establish a collaborative prescribed fire program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to conduct prescribed fires in priority landscapes.
Interior and USDA may enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with states, Indian tribes, counties, municipal governments, fire districts, nongovernmental organizations, or private entities to coordinate prescribed fires on federal land.
Interior and USDA must expand employment opportunities for prescribed fire practitioners, including by expanding hazard pay, supporting underrepresented groups, and establishing additional training centers.
To address the public health and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire, the Environmental Protection Agency must coordinate with state, tribal, and local air quality agencies to support the environmental review of wildland fires.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 118-394.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 624.
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