H.R. 5963 — Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act

This section states the purpose of the Act as ensuring that parties affected by wildland fires resulting from Department of Agriculture management activities on National Forest System lands are eligible for 100 percent federal funding to remediate direct and indirect damages under authorized federal recovery programs.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to waive any covered matching requirement—i.e., a cash matching funds requirement under a wildland fire recovery program for a State, Indian Tribe, locality, or individual—for projects responding to a covered wildland fire in an affected area. A covered wildland fire is one the Secretary determines resulted from management activities on National Forest System land; wildland fire includes any non-structure fire in vegetation or natural fuels (e.g., wildfire, prescribed fire, or resulting watershed impairment).