This is really above my pay grade, but it seems like the Big Bill changes the way developers are charged for solar and wind installations on federal land, both FS and BLM.  I don’t know what they were before, so I don’t know how significant the changes are.  I posted the section below, but it’s both long and cryptic. I’ve been looking for someone knowledgeable to weigh in, but so far all I got was AI based on earlier versions of the bill. IF someone finds an explanation of the current language, please link in the comments.

Two things that are clear.. BLM discretion to lower fees has been removed, and counties get to keep part of the receipts.

Someone can tell us how different the rent calculations are than previous.

Here’s the section.. be glad that you don’t have to calculate these formulas! It appears that of all the various permits and rents, the Bill says that 25% goes to the State and 25% to the Counties, with other 50% going to the Treasury. Hopefully, our BLM friends can tell us if this is like other kinds of rents and permits. I did find this fairly complex chart of what happens to oil and gas revenues in a recently updated Congressional Research Service report.

Anyway, below is the text.

(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’
4 means—
5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re6
spect to land controlled or administered by the
7 Secretary of the Interior; and
8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re9
spect to National Forest System land.
10 (b) ACREAGE RENT FOR WIND AND SOLAR RIGHTS11
OF-WAY.—
12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to section 504(g) of
13 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of  1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)), the Secretary shall, subject
15 to paragraph (3) and not later than January 1 of
16 each calendar year, collect from the holder of a right17
of-way for a renewable energy project an acreage rent
18 in an amount determined by the equation described
19 in paragraph (2).
20 (2) CALCULATION OF ACREAGE RENT RATE.—

(A) EQUATION.—The amount of an acreage
22 rent collected under paragraph (1) shall be deter23
mined using the following equation: Acreage rent
24 = A × B × ((1 + C)D)).

(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the
2 equation described in subparagraph (A):
3 (i) The letter ‘‘A’’ means the Per-Acre
4 Rate.
5 (ii) The letter ‘‘B’’ means the Encum6
brance Factor.
7 (iii) The letter ‘‘C’’ means the Annual
8 Adjustment Factor.
9 (iv) The letter ‘‘D’’ means the year in
10 the term of the right-of-way.
11 (3) PAYMENT UNTIL PRODUCTION.—The holder of
12 a right-of-way for a renewable energy project shall
13 pay an acreage rent collected under paragraph (1)
14 until the date on which energy generation begins.
15 (c) CAPACITY FEES.—
16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, subject to
17 paragraph (3), annually collect a capacity fee from
18 the holder of a right-of-way for a renewable energy
19 project based on the amount described in paragraph
20 (2).
21 (2) CALCULATION OF CAPACITY FEE.—The
22 amount of a capacity fee collected under paragraph
23 (1) shall be equal to the greater of—
24 (A) an amount equal to the acreage rent de25
scribed in subsection (b); and
195
† HR 1 EAS
1 (B) 3.9 percent of the gross proceeds from
2 the sale of electricity produced by the renewable
3 energy project.
4 (3) MULTIPLE-USE REDUCTION FACTOR.—
5 (A) APPLICATION.—The holder of a right-of6
way for a wind energy generation project may
7 request that the Secretary apply a multiple-use
8 reduction factor of 10-percent to the amount of
9 a capacity fee determined under paragraph (2)
10 by submitting to the Secretary an application at
11 such time, in such manner, and containing such
12 information as the Secretary may require.
13 (B) APPROVAL.—The Secretary may ap14
prove an application submitted under subpara15
graph (A) only if not less than 25 percent of the
16 land within the area of the right-of-way is au17
thorized for use, occupancy, or development with
18 respect to an activity other than the generation
19 of wind energy for the entirety of the year in
20 which the capacity fee is collected.
21 (C) LATE DETERMINATION.—
22 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary ap23
proves an application under subparagraph
24 (B) for a wind energy generation project
25 after the date on which the holder of the
196
† HR 1 EAS
1 right-of-way for the project begins paying a
2 capacity fee, the Secretary shall apply the
3 multiple-use reduction factor described in
4 subparagraph (A) to the capacity fee for the
5 first year beginning after the date of ap6
proval and each year thereafter for the pe7
riod during which the right-of-way remains
8 in effect.
9 (ii) REFUND.—The Secretary may not
10 refund the holder of a right-of-way for the
11 difference in the amount of a capacity fee
12 paid in a previous year.
13 (d) LATE PAYMENT FEE; TERMINATION.—
14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may charge the
15 holder of a right-of-way for a renewable energy
16 project a late payment fee if the Secretary does not
17 receive payment for the acreage rent under subsection
18 (b) or the capacity fee under subsection (c) by the
19 date that is 15 days after the date on which the pay20
ment was due.
21 (2) TERMINATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The Sec22
retary may terminate a right-of-way for a renewable
23 energy project if the Secretary does not receive pay24
ment for the acreage rent under subsection (b) or the
1 capacity fee under subsection (c) by the date that is
2 90 days after the date on which the payment was due.
3 SEC. 50303. RENEWABLE ENERGY REVENUE SHARING.
4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
5 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘county’’ includes a
6 parish, township, borough, and any other similar,
7 independent unit of local government.
8 (2) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’
9 means land that is—
10 (A) public land administered by the Sec11
retary; and
12 (B) not excluded from the development

solar or wind energy under—
14 (i) a land use plan; or
15 (ii) other Federal law.
16 (3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—
17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National For18
est System’’ means land of the National Forest
19 System (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest
20 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning
21 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) administered
22 by the Secretary of Agriculture.
23 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National For24
est System’’ does not include any forest reserve
25 not created from the public domain.
198
† HR 1 EAS
1 (4) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’
2 means—
3 (A) public lands (as defined in section 103
4 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
5 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); and
6 (B) National Forest System land.
7 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT.—The term
8 ‘‘renewable energy project’’ means a system described
9 in section 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal
10 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of
11 this Act), located on covered land that uses wind or
12 solar energy to generate energy.
13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’
14 means—
15 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re16
spect to land controlled or administered by the
17 Secretary of the Interior; and
18 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re19
spect to National Forest System land.
20 (b) DISPOSITION OF REVENUE.—
21 (1) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Beginning on
22 January 1, 2026, the amounts collected from a renew23
able energy project as bonus bids, rentals, fees, or
24 other payments under a right-of-way, permit, lease,
25 or other authorization shall—
1 (A) be deposited in the general fund of the
2 Treasury; and
3 (B) without further appropriation or fiscal
4 year limitation, be allocated as follows:
5 (i) 25 percent shall be paid from
6 amounts in the general fund of the Treasury
7 to the State within the boundaries of which
8 the revenue is derived.
9 (ii) 25 percent shall be paid from
10 amounts in the general fund of the Treasury
11 to each county in a State within the bound12
aries of which the revenue is derived, to be
13 allocated among each applicable county
14 based on the percentage of county land from
15 which the revenue is derived.
16 (2) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.—
17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to States
18 and counties under paragraph (1) shall be used
19 in accordance with the requirements of section
20 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191).
21 (B) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—A pay22
ment to a county under paragraph (1) shall be
23 in addition to a payment in lieu of taxes re24
ceived by the county under chapter 69 of title 31,
25 United States Code.
1 (C) TIMING.—The amounts required to be
2 paid under paragraph (1)(B) for an applicable
3 fiscal year shall be made available in the fiscal
4 year that immediately follows the fiscal year for
5 which the amounts were collected.

Here’s what the text says:

SEC. 50301. TIMBER SALES AND LONG-TERM CONTRACTING
23 FOR THE FOREST SERVICE AND THE BUREAU
24 OF LAND MANAGEMENT.
*****
23 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years
24 2026 through 2034, the Secretary shall sell tim25
ber annually on National Forest System land in
1 a total quantity that is not less than 250,000,000 board-feet greater than the quantity of board-feet
3 sold in the previous fiscal year.
4 (B) LIMITATION.—The timber sales under
5 subparagraph (A) shall be subject to the max6
imum allowable sale quantity of timber or the
7 projected timber sale quantity under the applica8
ble forest plan in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

(3) LONG-TERM CONTRACTING FOR THE FOREST
11 SERVICE.—
12 (A) LONG-TERM CONTRACTING.—For the pe13
riod of fiscal years 2025 through 2034, the Sec14
retary shall enter into not fewer than 40 long15
term timber sale contracts with private persons
16 or other public or private entities under sub17
section (a) of section 14 of the National Forest
18 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) for
19 the sale of national forest materials (as defined
20 in subsection (e)(1) of that section) in the Na21
tional Forest System.
22 (B) CONTRACT LENGTH.—The period of a
23 timber sale contract entered into to meet the re24
quirement under subparagraph (A) shall be not
189 less than 20 years, with options for extensions or
2 renewals, as determined by the Secretary.
3 (C) RECEIPTS.—Any monies derived from a
4 timber sale contract entered into to meet the re5
quirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B)
6 shall be deposited in the general fund of the
7 Treasury.

Then there are similar clauses for BLM.  Perhaps the FS will try to put up sales and long-term contracts, but companies would want to a) buy sales and b) enter into long-term contracts. It seems to me that all Congress can do is make the FS put up sales, and advertise contracts. As my Mom used to say “you can’t get blood out of a turnip.”  But it will be interesting to do the experiment and see what happens.

I have heard different things about 4FRI, and Jim Z. definitely knows more than I do, but perhaps long-term contracts are necessary but not sufficient to start/keep industry? Maybe others have ideas about successes and failures of long-term contracts?

The Bill says if unobligated, these $ are rescinded. Basically it pulls the reins in on certain funding that was in the IRA.    It’s one of those “both things are true” kinds of bills; while touted as a climate bill, there’s a great deal of random throwing around large sums of money.. in many cases, with a fairly tenuous relationship to climate change.  Of course, everything can be related to climate change, with enough imagination. I’ve used this version of the bill, which I hope is the current one.

SEC. 10201. RESCISSION OF AMOUNTS FOR FORESTRY.
3 The unobligated balances of amounts appropriated by
4 the following provisions of Public Law 117–169 are re5
scinded:
6 (1) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 23001(a)
7 (136 Stat. 2023).
8 (2) Paragraphs (1) through (4) of section
9 23002(a) (136 Stat. 2025).
10 (3) Section 23003(a)(2) (136 Stat. 2026).
11 (4) Section 23005 (136 Stat. 2027).

What are those?

23001

(3) $100,000,000 to provide for environmental reviews by
the Chief of the Forest Service in satisfying the obligations
of the Chief of the Forest Service under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 through 4370m–
12); and
(4) $50,000,000 for the protection of old-growth forests on
National Forest System land and to complete an inventory
of old-growth forests and mature forests within the National
Forest System.

I never really understood (3) as generally environmental review funding comes out of the program.  And $100 mill, was that from the IRA FS funding dartboard?

23002

1) $150,000,000 for the competitive grant program under
section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2109a) for providing through that program a cost
share to carry out climate mitigation or forest resilience prac-
tices in the case of underserved forest landowners, subject
to the condition that subsection (h) of that section shall not
apply;
(2) $150,000,000 for the competitive grant program under
section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2109a) for providing through that program grants
to support the participation of underserved forest landowners
in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest
resilience, subject to the condition that subsection (h) of that
section shall not apply;
(3) $100,000,000 for the competitive grant program under
section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2109a) for providing through that program grants
to support the participation of forest landowners who own less
than 2,500 acres of forest land in emerging private markets
for climate mitigation or forest resilience, subject to the condi-
tion that subsection (h) of that section shall not apply;
(4) $50,000,000 for the competitive grant program under
section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2109a) to provide grants to states and other eligible
entities to provide payments to owners of private forest land
for implementation of forestry practices on private forest land,
that are determined by the Secretary, based on the best avail-
able science, to provide measurable increases in carbon seques-
tration and storage beyond customary practices on comparable
land, subject to the conditions that—
(A) those payments shall not preclude landowners from
participation in other public and private sector financial
incentive programs; and
(B) subsection (h) of that section shall not apply; a

23003 (a) (2)

(2) $1,500,000,000 to provide multiyear, programmatic,
competitive grants to a State agency, a local governmental
entity, an agency or governmental entity of the District of
Columbia, an agency or governmental entity of an insular area
(as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
3103)), an Indian Tribe, or a nonprofit organization through
the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance program estab-
lished under section 9(c) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(c)) for tree planting and related
activities.

And 23005

SEC. 23005. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.
In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appro-
priated to the Secretary for fiscal year 2022, out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $100,000,000 to remain
available until September 30, 2031, for administrative costs of
the agencies and offices of the Department of Agriculture for costs
related to implementing this subtitle.

************

It would be interesting to see exactly where all those funds went, if they were spent.  I’ve had trouble tracking it.. maybe others are more budget-astute. The below is from USA spending.gov and you can search on 10.727 | Inflation Reduction Act Urban & Community Forestry Program. What’s interesting is that so much was obligated and so little spent … I pulled this yesterday and I assume it’s current but it might not be.  For those who follow this kind of thing, in 2023 Greenlatinos  had 2.22 million in revenue. So there’s quite a bit of ramping up required, I guess since the FS gave them $25 mill (but they had only spent $2 mill as of the unknown date in USAspending.gov).
There was some talk about the point being stashing IRA money so it couldn’t be clawed back, so perhaps that was the idea all along, but as we have seen, it’s not working out that way.
But both Greenlatinos and HAF are getting bucks from big philanthropies, ..so not sure about their need for USG bucks. For some reason, the bar on the screenshot is blotting out The Arbor Day Foundation, which got $75 mill and spent $3.5 mill  (if this info is correct)..

We really need one or more volunteers to take a look at current bills, this time in the Senate.
So thank you to a TSW reader for the E&E News story on this.

“The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved 74 bills during a markup Tuesday, including legislation that could generate billions of dollars to address worsening coastal erosion.
The committee also cleared a slew of wildfire, mineral, public land and livestock grazing bills without much debate or discussion.”

Here’s a link to these, there’s also a video of the business meeting. I think you would have to know what the original bill said to understand what the amendments are doing. I know that there are many people in DC and elsewhere paid to keep track of these things, and have probably written this up. Sharing your perceptions with the public via TSW I think would be a good thing. In fact, I bet government agencies do this analysis, and I could FOIA it, but a leak would be quicker.

Here’s the E&E News summary of forest and wildfire bills.

Among the bills approved en bloc were a handful of wildfire and forest management measures. Those included an amended version of S. 2867, by Barrasso, which would set targets for forest thinning and prescribed fire. Late changes to Barrasso’s bill removed a section on workforce training for loggers and on putting limitations on the Biden administration’s definitions of mature and old growth trees in national forests. The administration has finalized those definitions since the bill was introduced.

Other wildfire bills included S. 1764, from Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), to improve wildfire planning and suppression grant programs and create post-wildfire recovery programs. An amended version of the bill dropped a provision calling for dedicated accounts for wildfire, a spokesperson for the committee said.
Lawmakers approved S. 2132, from Lee, for a pilot program that would establish standards for forest density. The Utah Republican said forests in fire-prone areas are too dense.
The committee advanced legislation by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the “National Prescribed Fire Act,” S. 4424, to encourage more use of controlled burns on federal lands.
Manchin’s legislation, S. 2991, to encourage greater revegetation on federal lands, including abandoned mine sites, also passed easily.

Some of these below sound interesting from our perspective. Many seem to be about boundary adjustments, putting land into the National Park System, and naming visitor centers after themselves, but others may be more interesting and/or controversial. These were agreed to en bloc by voice vote.

Agenda Item 1: S. 254, a bill to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, and for other purposes. (Mr. Bennet).

Agenda Item 7: S. 1553, a bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve the management of grazing permits and leases, and for other purposes (Mr. Barrasso), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Joint Staff-4, as modified (FLO24827)).

Agenda Item 8: S. 1764, a bill to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes (Ms. Cortez Masto), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-5 (RYA24540)).

Agenda Item 9: S. 2132, a bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program for the establishment and use of a pre-fire-suppression stand density index, and for other purposes (Mr. Lee), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Lee-6 (RYA24537)).

Agenda Item 10: S. 2151, a bill to amend the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004 to require the establishment of an additional Institute under that Act. (Mr. Lee).

Agenda Item 11: S. 2156, a bill to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to authorize additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado. (Mr. Bennet).

Agenda Item 13: S. 2169, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out watershed pilots, and for other purposes (Mr. Wyden), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Wyden-12 (FLO24732)) and an amendment to the title (Wyden-11 (FLO24597)).
( I wonder what’s keeping the Sec of Int from carrying out watershed pilots?)

Agenda Item 19: S. 2867, a bill to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, and for other purposes (Mr. Barrasso), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Barrasso-17, as modified (FLO24825)).

Agenda Item 21: S. 2991, a bill to improve revegetation and carbon sequestration activities in the United States, and for other purposes (Mr. Manchin), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-18, as modified (RYA24592)).

Agenda Item 22: S. 3123, a bill to provide for the standardization, consolidation, and publication of data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways among Federal land and water management agencies, and for other purposes (Mr. Barrasso), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Barrasso-19 (FLO24677)).

(Is other recreation data standardized, consolidated and published?)

Agenda Item 34: S. 3631, a bill to require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies (Mr. Cornyn), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (King-29 (ROS24F44)).

Agenda Items 35: S. 3790, a bill to make additional Federal public land available for selection under the Alaska Native Vietnam era veterans land allotment program, and for other purposes (Mr. Sullivan), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Murkowski- 66 (FLO24876)).

Agenda Item 36: S. 3985, a bill to a bill to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and for other purposes. (Mr. Hickenlooper).

Agenda Item 51: S. 4424, a bill 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 United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes (Mr. Wyden), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-44, as modified (RYA24596)).

Agenda Item 54: S. 4451, a bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study on reservation systems for Federal land (Mr. Padilla), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Joint Staff-46, as modified (FLO24776).

Agenda Item 55: S. 4454, a bill to provide for the establishment of an Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Program on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes (Mr. Barrasso), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Joint Staff-47, as modified (FLO24850)).

Agenda Item 73: S. 5125, a bill to provide for certain improvements to the housing and workforce programs of Federal land management agencies, and for other purposes (Mr. Barrasso), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Barrasso-62, as modified (FLO24845)).

Agenda Item 78: H.R. 5443, an Act to establish a policy regarding appraisal and valuation services for real property for a transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, and for other purposes. (Rep. Lee).

Agenda items agreed to by roll call vote

Agenda Item 25: S. 3346, a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain streams in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and Smith River system in the State of Montana as components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes (Mr. Tester), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-22 (FLO24729)).
Agreed to by roll call vote (10-9)

Agenda Item 31: S. 3593, a bill to provide for economic development and conservation in Washoe County, Nevada, and for other purposes (Ms. Rosen), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-27, as modified (FLO24864)). Agreed to by roll call vote (10-9)

Agenda Item 53: S. 4432, a bill to allow certain Federal minerals to be mined consistent with the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification (Mr. Daines), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Daines-45 (NEW24792)). Agreed to by roll call vote (12-7)

Agenda Item 56: S. 4457, a bill to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, and for other purposes (Ms. Cortez Masto), with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Manchin-48, as modified (FLO24863)). Agreed to by roll call vote (13-6)

Agenda Item 77: H.R. 4984, an Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus to the District of Columbia so that the District may use the Campus for purposes including residential and commercial development, and for other purposes. (Rep. Comer). Agreed to by roll call vote (17-2)

This has been a sort of Holy Grail since way before I retired.

Now, we know that there are many ways of calculating, and in fact, thinking about wildfire risk, including many ways already researched by folks at the Rocky Mountain Research Station and elsewhere. Maybe the bill should pick one or make sure that both Secs pick the same one?

Also fuel treatment effectiveness, in fact many bucks were sent to CSU and NAU for fuel treatment effectiveness monitoring, which perhaps has devolved into this ReShape effort.. Plus there was the FS’s own Region 6 FTEM that we covered here and seems to have stopped.   I’d sure like to hear the history of all this.

Again, WUI, many different definitions.  Perhaps the bill should pick one?

What do you think of this approach?

***********************************

SEC. 302. Accurate hazardous fuels reduction reports.

(a) Inclusion of hazardous fuels reduction report in materials submitted in support of the President’s budget.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include in the materials submitted to Congress in support of the President’s budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a report on the number of acres of Federal land on which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities during the preceding fiscal year.

(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall—

(A) in determining the number of acres of Federal land on which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities during the period covered by the report—

(i) record acres of Federal land on which hazardous fuels reduction activities were completed during such period; and

(ii) record each acre described in clause (i) once in the report, regardless of whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction activities were carried out on such acre during such period; and

(B) with respect to the acres of Federal land recorded in the report, include information on—

(i) which such acres are located in the wildland-urban interface;

(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, moderate, or low) on the first and last day of the period covered by the report;

(iii) the types of hazardous fuels activities completed for such acres, delineating between whether such activities were conducted—

(I) in a wildfire managed for resource benefits; or

(II) through a planned project;

(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous fuels activities carried out during the period covered by the report;

(v) the region or system unit in which the acres are located; and

(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction activities on reducing the risk of wildfire.

(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned shall make each report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available on the websites of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, as applicable.

(b) Accurate data collection.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall implement standardized procedures for tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out by the Secretary concerned.

(2) ELEMENTS.—The standardized procedures required under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A) regular, standardized data reviews of the accuracy and timely input of data used to track hazardous fuels reduction activities;

(B) verification methods that validate whether such data accurately correlates to the hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out by the Secretary concerned;

(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and

(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities that occur partially within the wildland-urban interface, methods to distinguish which acres are located within the wildland-urban interface and which acres are located outside the wildland-urban interface.

(3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after implementing the standardized procedures required under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report that describes—

(A) such standardized procedures; and

(B) program and policy recommendations to Congress to address any limitations in tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduction activities under this subsection.