The Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to run a program to find and help reforest and restore federal and Indian forest lands after unplanned disturbances. The Secretary must, within 1 year of enactment and every year after, identify covered lands that are unlikely to regrow on their own.
The Secretary, working with other covered agencies, must propose a yearly list of priority projects. Those projects can be done with competitive grants, contracts, contracts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, or cooperative agreements. The Secretary may also support grants or contracts to make sure there are enough seeds and seedlings to meet project needs.
The bill requires outreach to Indian Tribes, States, territories, local governments, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian organizations, colleges, adjacent federal land managers, and other stakeholders. The Secretary must send Congress a report no later than 2 years after enactment and yearly after that. Reports must list lands needing work, priority projects and progress, grants and contracts made, outreach efforts, and assessments and recommendations about seed, seedling, and implementation gaps and possible funding needs.
The bill defines covered agencies (federal land management agencies and the Bureau of Indian Affairs), covered lands (federal lands and Indian forest land or rangeland), and unplanned disturbances (such as wildfire, insect or disease infestations, or weather events). The Secretary in the bill means the Secretary of the Interior.
No publicly available information on specific funding amounts or appropriations is included in the bill text. The bill allows grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and asks the Secretary to include recommendations about seed, seedling, and implementation gaps and opportunities to establish dedicated funding.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.