S. 2015 — National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025

This section defines the term "prescribed fire" for this title as having the meaning given in section 2, excluding a fire ignited for the primary purpose of pile burning.

This section authorizes the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to use up to 15% of annual appropriations for each fiscal year for (1) hazardous fuels management in the National Forest System and (2) hazardous fuels management and post-fire activities in the Department of the Interior wildland fire management account, respectively, for prescribed fire activities on federal land or non-federal land if such activities benefit federal resources. Eligible activities include procurement contracts or cooperative agreements or grants to states, tribes, local governments, prescribed fire councils, burn associations, or nonprofits for prescribed burns (including environmental reviews, site preparation, and surveys); public outreach; implementation of prescribed burns on non-federal land; employee and cooperator training on prescribed fire and smoke management; post-fire monitoring; technical or financial assistance for training; and funding for collaborative prescribed fire programs under section 104. The Secretaries must coordinate with each other, states, localities, tribes, and nongovernmental organizations to establish prioritization criteria that give priority to large-scale, cross-boundary projects in wildland-urban interfaces, tribal priority areas, high wildfire risk zones, critical habitat needing restoration, or strategic response zones.

This section requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to conduct prescribed fires on federal lands such that total treated acreage increases by 10 percent annually for 10 fiscal years, beginning with the first fiscal year after enactment. The section also directs the Secretary concerned, 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 describes (1) the regional fire deficit and (2) staffing and funding needs to address it.

This section establishes a Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program to select and fund prescribed fire projects in accordance with prioritization criteria under section 102(c) and applicable laws, including the Endangered Species Act of 1973, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and land use plans. (Prescribed fire projects are controlled burns that reduce hazardous fuels, restore natural fire regimes, and maintain ecosystem health on fire-prone federal forested landscapes.) To be eligible for nomination, project proposals must (1) align with a substantially complete 10-year landscape restoration strategy covering at least 50,000 acres primarily of federal forested land needing active restoration or maintenance to retain wildfire resilience, incorporating best available science, maintaining or restoring old growth stands and large fire-resilient trees, using fire for ecological restoration and fuel reduction (potentially including site preparation), and prohibiting permanent roads while funding temporary road decommissioning; (2) be developed transparently through collaboration with diverse interests, including state, local, and Tribal governments; (3) include plans to reduce wildfire risk, improve habitat and water quality, control invasives, manage roads and trails, report performance, consider community wildfire protection plans, and mitigate smoke; (4) analyze anticipated cost savings from lower wildfire damages and treatment unit costs; (5) estimate required federal funding and leveraged non-federal investments; (6) detail the collaborative process and prior successes; (7) provide local employment or training via contracts with local entities, youth corps, or small businesses; and (8) meet other Secretary-determined requirements. Proposals are submitted to regional foresters, state directors, or equivalent officials, who may nominate qualifying projects to the Secretary concerned; cross-jurisdictional nominations require concurrence, and those involving non-federal lands require evidence of landowner participation and funding.

This section authorizes the Secretary concerned to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with eligible entities (i.e., a state, Indian tribe, county or municipal government, fire district, nongovernmental organization, or private entity) to coordinate, plan, or conduct prescribed fires on federal land in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and land management plans. It further (1) allows 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 enhances the prescribed fire workforce as follows: **(a) Workforce retention.**—(1) Entitles each federal employee identified by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (Secretaries) to hazard pay differentials under 5 U.S.C. 5545(d) for work directly related to prescribed fire ignition, management, and control, with the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations; and (2) requires the Secretaries to report to congressional committees on mechanisms, including pay incentives, to attract and retain fuels workers. **(2)** Directs the Secretaries to establish, within 180 days of enactment, at least one multiparty prescribed fire task force per Geographic Area Coordination Center, assign dedicated federal staff for coordination and administration, and enter cooperative agreements. **(3)** Authorizes the Secretaries to noncompetitively convert seasonal wildland firefighters to permanent status if they meet specified performance and prescribed fire duty criteria. **(4)** Directs the Secretaries, in consultation with the Attorney General and state corrections departments, to provide career pathways and support for formerly incarcerated individuals with wildland firefighting experience (excluding those convicted of arson or violent crimes) to become prescribed fire practitioners. **(5)** Requires the Secretaries to support recruitment, development, leadership, mentorship, and training for underutilized wildland fire employees. **(6)** Directs the Secretaries, with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide career pathways for honorably discharged veterans and establish predominantly veteran crews for prescribed fires. **(b)** Requires the Secretary of the Interior, with the Secretary of Agriculture (and Defense for military sites), to establish prescribed fire training programs or centers in each Geographic Area Coordination Center region lacking one and to support an Indigenous-led center, within two years subject to appropriations. **(c)** Directs the Secretaries, via the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, to reduce time and emphasize prescribed fire experience in certification requirements for prescribed fire supervisors and other positions. **(d)** Requires the Secretaries to (1) include non-federal practitioners in prescribed fire resource ordering and reimbursement via qualification databases and dispatch systems; and (2) develop partnership agreements with state, federal, Tribal, university, and nongovernmental entities for such processes.

This section establishes liability protections under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA, 28 U.S.C. ch. 171) for "covered entities" (i.e., non-Federal entities acting under direct Federal employee supervision and within the scope of a contract or agreement) engaged in "covered activities" (i.e., wildland fire, prescribed fire, or prescribed fire with cultural objectives) on Federal land during execution of a Federal action. (Thus, covered entities are treated as Federal employees for FTCA purposes while engaged in such activities.) The section further directs the Secretaries, in coordination with or consultation with the Attorney General, to (1) develop a voluntary training course for Federal and Tribal employees involved in covered activities describing their liability protections, limits on those protections, and available reimbursements for professional liability insurance under section 636 of division A of P.L. 104-208 (5 U.S.C. prec. 5941 note); (2) issue guidance not later than one year after enactment on contract or agreement provisions necessary to extend FTCA protections to covered entities; and (3) request, beginning in the first fiscal year after enactment, annual appropriations sufficient to reimburse the Treasury for any FTCA claims paid in the prior fiscal year. The section states that it does not limit or affect (1) statutory or judicial immunity for Federal employees, (2) FTCA application to Federal employees, or (3) section 314 of P.L. 101-512 (25 U.S.C. 5321 note).

This section directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior (Secretaries) to ensure agency policies, training, and programs facilitate greater use of prescribed fire while addressing public health and safety risks from wildfire and prescribed fire smoke. The section requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, in coordination with federal, state, tribal, and local air quality and land management agencies, to (1) provide guidance, data, imagery, modeling, archives, automated tools, and decision support for exceptional event demonstrations under Clean Air Act regulations (40 C.F.R. §§ 50.14, 51.930); (2) offer technical assistance and best practices for approving prescribed fire under smoke management programs; (3) promote and educate on basic smoke management practices; and (4) develop guidance to demonstrate causal links between prescribed fire smoke and air quality standard exceedances. It further establishes that state or tribal air quality agencies may submit exceptional event demonstrations for prescribed fires, which the EPA Administrator must approve if the fire was conducted under a smoke management program or basic practices and consistent with a land management plan for ecosystem sustainability; for federal lands, the Secretary concerned must assist or may submit such demonstrations with state/tribal concurrence. The section also directs the Secretaries, with the EPA Administrator and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, to conduct research on wildland fire smoke prediction models, public impact tools, smoke mitigation strategies, personal protection messaging, and prescribed fire tracking systems. Finally, it requires the Secretary concerned to (1) identify existing landscape-scale prescribed fire plans in National Forest System units and Bureau of Land Management districts with prescribed fire programs within one year of enactment; and (2) within two years of enactment, assess plans for revision, schedule needed revisions, and develop plans for units or districts lacking them.

This section requires 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) campaigns and educational activities and materials; (4) commercial licensing; (5) character images and appearances; and (6) awards and recognition.

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

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