Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act

The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to identify federal and tribal lands that need reforestation or restoration after unplanned disturbances — including wildfires, insect infestations, disease, and weather events — and are unlikely to regenerate naturally. Within one year of enactment the Secretary would compile that inventory, and each fiscal year thereafter would propose a ranked list of priority reforestation and restoration projects. The Secretary could carry those projects out through competitive grants, contracts, tribal self-determination contracts, or cooperative agreements, and could also support seed and seedling supply efforts.

The bill would not itself appropriate funds; dedicated funding to address any backlog would be identified through required annual reports to Congress. It would also require outreach to Indian Tribes, states, territories, local governments, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian organizations, and institutions of higher education. The entire program would sunset seven years after enactment.

Federal land management agencies (NPS, USFWS, BLM, Bureau of Reclamation, and BIA) that would plan and execute projects; Indian Tribes and Alaska Native organizations whose trust lands qualify as covered lands; states, territories, and local governments that would receive outreach and potentially participate through grants or cooperative agreements; and restoration contractors and nurseries supplying seeds and seedlings.

Lands damaged by wildfires or infestations often stay barren for years without targeted intervention because natural seed sources are gone and no coordinated federal effort exists to replant them. This bill would create a systematic annual inventory and a funded pipeline of recovery projects for those lands, with Congress getting annual reports on gaps and backlog — giving both agencies and tribal landowners a clearer path to recovery.

Within one year of enactment, Interior would inventory covered federal and tribal lands unlikely to regenerate naturally after unplanned disturbances. Each fiscal year it would then publish a prioritized project list and execute projects via competitive grants, contracts, tribal self-determination contracts, or cooperative agreements. Covered agencies would conduct outreach to tribes, states, and local partners to identify and advance those projects. Starting two years after enactment, Interior would submit annual reports to the relevant congressional committees covering land accounting, project progress, grant and contract activity, outreach efforts, and recommendations for closing seed, seedling, and funding gaps. The program terminates seven years after enactment.