H.R. 3889 — National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025

This section defines the term “prescribed fire” for this title to have the meaning given that term in section 2, excluding a fire ignited for the primary purpose of pile burning.

This section establishes funding flexibility for prescribed fire activities (i.e., controlled burns to reduce wildfire fuels and risk) by authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to use up to 15% of annual appropriations for hazardous fuels management in the National Forest System, and the Secretary of the Interior to use up to 15% of annual appropriations for hazardous fuels management and post-fire activities in the Department of the Interior wildland fire management account. Eligible activities include (1) procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants to states, Tribes, local governments, prescribed fire councils, burn associations, or nonprofits for prescribed fires on federal land (or non-federal land benefiting federal resources), including environmental reviews, site preparation, and surveys; (2) prescribed fires on non-federal land benefiting federal resources; (3) training for federal employees and cooperators on prescribed fire and smoke management; (4) post-fire monitoring for hazards, reignitions, and invasives; (5) technical or financial assistance for training; and (6) funding collaborative prescribed fire programs. It further requires the Secretaries, in coordination with states, localities, Tribes, and nongovernmental organizations, to prioritize projects for non-federal prescribed fires, training assistance, and collaborative programs that are large-scale or cross-boundary; located in or near wildland-urban interfaces per state forest action plans or Community Wildfire Protection Plans; protect Tribal trust resources or rights; at high or very high wildfire suppression risk; designated critical habitat needing restoration via prescribed fire; or aligned with operational delineations or strategic response zones.

This section requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to increase the total acreage of prescribed fires on federal lands by 10% each fiscal year, beginning with the first full fiscal year after enactment and for the nine fiscal years thereafter. It also directs each Secretary, in coordination with state, local, and Tribal governments, to develop a prescribed fire operational strategy for each region of the National Forest System or Department of the Interior lands that identifies (1) the regional fire deficit (i.e., accumulated acreage needing treatment) and (2) staffing and funding needs to address it.

This section establishes a Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program to select and fund prescribed fire projects (i.e., controlled burns for ecological restoration and wildfire risk reduction) in accordance with section 102(c) prioritization criteria, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, applicable land management plans, and other laws. To be eligible for nomination, project proposals must (1) align with a substantially complete landscape restoration strategy covering at least 50,000 acres (primarily federal forested land) over a 10-year period that uses best available science, maintains or restores old-growth stands and large fire-resilient trees, employs fire for hazardous fuels reduction and natural fire regime reestablishment (potentially including site preparation), avoids permanent roads, and commits to decommissioning temporary roads; (2) be developed transparently through a collaborative process involving diverse interests, including state, local, and Tribal governments; (3) detail plans to reduce uncharacteristic wildfire risk, improve habitat and water quality, control invasives, manage roads/trails, report performance, incorporate community wildfire protection plans, and mitigate smoke; (4) analyze anticipated cost savings from lower wildfire damages and treatment unit costs; (5) estimate required annual federal funding and leveraged non-federal investment; (6) describe the collaborative process and prior successes; (7) provide local employment/training via contracts with local entities, youth corps, small businesses, or similar; and (8) meet other administrative requirements. Proposals are submitted to a Regional Forester, State Director, or equivalent, who may nominate eligible projects to the Secretary concerned (with concurrence for cross-jurisdictional projects and evidence of non-federal landowner participation/funding).

This section authorizes the Secretary concerned (i.e., Secretary of the Interior or Agriculture) to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with eligible entities—defined as a state, Indian Tribe, county or municipal government, fire district, nongovernmental organization, or private entity—to coordinate, plan, or conduct prescribed fires (i.e., controlled burns) on federal land in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and land management plans. It further (1) authorizes a state, Indian Tribe, or county entering such an agreement or contract to subcontract prescribed fire activities on federal land, subject to terms set by the Secretary concerned; and (2) permits agreements or contracts to cover a series of prescribed fires for up to 10 years.

This section entitles federal employees identified by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to the hazard pay differential under 5 U.S.C. §5545(d) (i.e., 10% or 25% of basic pay for regular exposure to hazardous duty or physical hardships) when performing work directly related to the ignition, management, and control of prescribed fires, with the Office of Personnel Management to issue implementing regulations. The section also directs the Secretaries to (1) report to congressional committees on mechanisms, including pay incentives, to attract and retain a skilled fuels workforce; (2) establish at least one multiparty prescribed fire task force in each Geographic Area Coordination Center, supported by a dedicated federal employee and cooperative agreements; (3) noncompetitively convert qualifying seasonal wildland firefighters (i.e., fully successful performance ratings for three recent seasons) to permanent status if the new position emphasizes prescribed fires; (4) provide career pathways and training for formerly incarcerated individuals with wildland firefighting experience (excluding arson or violent crime convictions) and for veterans; and (5) support recruitment and development of underutilized employees. This section further directs the Secretaries to establish prescribed fire training programs or centers in each Geographic Area Coordination Center region lacking one (within two years, subject to appropriations) and to support an Indigenous-led training center; task the National Wildfire Coordinating Group with streamlining supervisory certification requirements to emphasize prescribed fire experience; and develop processes for including non-federal practitioners in resource ordering and reimbursement, along with related partnership agreements.

This section establishes liability protections under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA; 28 U.S.C. ch. 171) for non-Federal entities (covered entities) engaged in wildland fire, prescribed fire, or prescribed fire with cultural objectives on Federal land (covered activities), if acting under the direct supervision of a Federal employee and within the scope of a contract or agreement. The section (1) directs the Secretaries (presumably of the Interior and Agriculture), in coordination with the Attorney General, to develop a voluntary training course for Federal and Tribal employees involved in covered activities describing FTCA protections (when acting within the scope of employment), limits on those protections, and reimbursements for professional liability insurance; (2) requires the Secretaries, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue guidance within one year of enactment on contract or agreement provisions necessary to extend FTCA protections to covered entities; and (3) directs the Secretaries to request, beginning in the first fiscal year after enactment, annual appropriations sufficient to reimburse the Treasury for any FTCA claims paid for covered entities. The section does not limit or affect statutory or judicial immunity for Federal employees, FTCA applicability to Federal employees, or section 314 of Public Law 101-512 (25 U.S.C. 5321 note).

This section establishes policies and coordination requirements to facilitate prescribed fire use on federal, state, tribal, and private lands while addressing public health and safety risks from wildfire and prescribed fire smoke. Specifically, it directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to align their policies, training, and programs accordingly; requires the EPA Administrator, in coordination with federal and state land management agencies, to provide state, tribal, and local air quality agencies with guidance, data, modeling, decision support tools, technical assistance, best practices, and public education on smoke management under the Clean Air Act; and mandates research, in coordination with EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on smoke prediction models, impact tools, mitigation strategies, protective messaging, and emission tracking systems. This section further specifies that the EPA Administrator must concur with state or tribal exceptional event demonstrations (under 40 C.F.R. §§ 50.14 and 51.930) for prescribed fire smoke if the fire was conducted under a smoke management program or basic practices and consistent with a land management plan for ecosystem sustainability. (Thus, such concurrences exclude the exceedance from regulatory attainment calculations if the fire was not reasonably controllable or preventable.) For federal land prescribed fires, the relevant Secretary must assist state or tribal agencies with demonstrations and may submit them with agency concurrence. This section requires the Secretary concerned to assess existing prescribed fire programs in National Forest System units and Bureau of Land Management districts within one year of enactment, and within two years to revise existing landscape-scale prescribed fire plans as needed, schedule such revisions, and develop plans for units or districts lacking them.

This section directs the Secretaries to carry out a national prescribed fire education program focused on fire ecology and prescribed fire planning and implementation. The program may include (1) public service advertisements, (2) social media use, (3) campaign and educational activities and materials, (4) commercial licensing, (5) character images and appearances, and (6) awards and recognition.

This section requires states to submit by December 31 of each calendar year a report to the National Fire Planning and Operations Database (or successor database) describing, at minimum, the acres on which uncharacteristic wildfire risk is mitigated using prescribed fire. Subject to appropriations, the Secretary may provide financial assistance to states to cover a portion of reporting costs. A state that fails to submit the required report is ineligible for any funds made available under this Act for the previous fiscal year.

This section requires the Secretaries to submit to the congressional committees, not later than one year after enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, a report describing the activities carried out under this Act.