Bill text replaced
This bill's text was replaced via an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Some metadata (subjects, policy area, committees) may reflect the original bill and not the current text.
Summary
The National Prescribed Fire Act of 2025 would direct the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior to significantly increase prescribed fire activities on federal lands. Over the next 10 years, these agencies would be required to conduct prescribed fires annually on federal land such that the total acreage burned increases by 10% each year compared to the previous year. The bill would also establish a collaborative program to provide financial assistance to states, tribes, counties, and other entities to conduct prescribed fires in priority landscapes.
The bill addresses workforce and safety concerns by requiring the agencies to expand employment opportunities for prescribed fire practitioners, including hazard pay increases and support for underrepresented groups in this field. It would also establish additional training centers to develop the workforce needed for expanded fire operations. To manage potential public health impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency would coordinate with state, tribal, and local air quality agencies to monitor and support environmental review of these expanded wildland fire activities.
This bill has been approved by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is now eligible for a floor vote. If enacted, it would substantially increase the use of controlled burns on public lands as a forest management strategy, create new employment opportunities in fire management, and establish oversight mechanisms for air quality impacts.
AI-generated summary
Lifecycle of the Bill
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCongress
119th Congress
Introduced
Jun 10, 2025
