S. 449 — Expediting Forest Restoration and Recovery Act of 2025

This section directs the Forest Service, for authorized hazardous fuel or insect and disease risk reduction projects in an insect and disease treatment area (i.e., areas designated under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 or identified as at-risk on the National Insect and Disease Risk Map), to (1) apply the categorical exclusion under section 603—including in Fire Regime Group IV areas notwithstanding section 603(c)(2)(B)—if the area is designated suitable for timber production in the forest plan or timber harvest is not prohibited; (2) prepare environmental assessments or impact statements under this section if the project is outside such areas, involves significant resource concerns (as determined solely by the Secretary), or covers an area equivalent to a Hydrologic Unit Code 5 watershed; and (3) notwithstanding subsection (d) on wildland-urban interface streamlining, study only the proposed agency action and no-action alternative for any other such projects. (As background, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act authorizes hazardous fuels reduction projects with National Environmental Policy Act streamlining, including limited alternatives near at-risk communities.) The section further requires prioritizing insect, disease, and wildfire risk reduction over other forest plan objectives (except mandatory standards in effect on enactment); excludes application to National Wilderness Preservation System components or inventoried roadless areas (except activities permitted under specified roadless rules); and mandates annual public reports on acres treated.

This section revises the treatment of revenue from timber sales by a state governor under a good neighbor agreement (i.e., a cooperative agreement authorizing state or county performance of forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services on federal lands, including National Forest System land and certain public lands managed by the Department of the Interior) to require that such funds be retained and used first to carry out authorized restoration services under that agreement and, if surplus funds remain, to carry out authorized restoration services under other good neighbor agreements in the state. (Previously, revenue was used only for authorized restoration services under the specific agreement.)