Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025

Last action on Dec 2, 2025Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on...

Summary

S. 902, the Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025, is a Senate bill introduced by Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) that would address wildfire management and emergency response systems. Based on the policy areas and subjects listed, the bill appears to focus on enhancing coordination between federal agencies and first responders during wildfire emergencies, improving emergency communications systems for firefighting operations, and potentially strengthening forest management practices to reduce wildfire risk.

If enacted, this legislation could affect citizens by potentially improving the speed and effectiveness of wildfire response in affected communities, enhancing the tools and communication systems available to firefighters and emergency personnel, and possibly influencing how federal forests are managed to mitigate future fire risks. The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining, which held hearings in December 2025. As it has not yet been voted on by the full Senate, its final form and impact remain subject to change through the legislative process.

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.

Dec 2, 2025

HearingSenateMeeting

Dec 2, 2025 · 20:00

Hearings to examine S.90, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of Utah, S.91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, S.140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, S.451, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to eliminate an administrative fee, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.790, to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the "Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center", S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.902, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a standard for the response time to wildfire incidents, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, S.1175, to amend section 6903 of title 31, United States Code, to provide for additional population tiers, S.1195, to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, S.1228, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to modify the cost-sharing requirement for conservation projects carried out by a qualified youth or conservation corps, S.1319, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah, 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.1468, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Incorporated, is recognized as a Village Corporation under that Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, 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.2042, to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System, 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, and 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.

Committee

Public Lands, Forests, and Mining

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Summary

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a legislative hearing on December 2, 2025, to examine 19 bills addressing public lands management, conservation, and resource development. The bills covered diverse topics including wildfire mitigation and response standards, forest health initiatives, wilderness and wild scenic river designations in multiple western states, mineral leasing reforms, and land transfers and exchanges. Specific bills examined included measures to address forest health crises, establish wildfire response time standards, designate wilderness areas in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, protect roadless areas in national forests, and facilitate land exchanges in Alaska and Utah. The Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies provided testimony on the legislation. The bills reflected a range of policy priorities, from conservation and wilderness protection to resource development and land management efficiency. Some bills focused on specific state needs, such as travel management plans in Utah, economic development in Nevada, and land conveyances in Colorado and Utah, while others addressed broader national forest and public lands issues. The hearing represented a legislative review process where committee members and federal agencies examined pending bills before the subcommittee decided whether to advance them. A hearing does not guarantee that bills will move forward; further committee action and votes are required for legislation to advance to the full Senate.

Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025

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Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025

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Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

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