To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedAdditional sponsor: Mr. Fitzpatrick
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the …
Ms. Pettersen (for herself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025 creates a new federal program to restore forests and lands damaged by natural disasters like wildfires, pest infestations, and severe weather. The Secretary of Interior must identify damaged federal and tribal lands that cannot naturally recover, create annual priority lists of restoration projects, and coordinate with federal land agencies and tribes to award grants and contracts for reforestation work.
Who Benefits and How
Environmental restoration contractors and reforestation companies gain new business opportunities through competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements funded by this program. Nursery and tree seed suppliers benefit from provisions specifically supporting seed and seedling availability for restoration projects. Indian Tribes with forest land or rangeland can receive funding and support for restoration on tribal lands through contracts established under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. State and local governments, conservation organizations, and universities gain access to restoration funding and partnership opportunities through stakeholder outreach requirements.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Secretary of Interior and federal land management agencies (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs) must take on new administrative responsibilities including annual land assessments, priority project planning, stakeholder outreach to tribes and other groups, competitive grant administration, and detailed annual reporting to Congress. The bill does not authorize specific funding amounts, meaning Congressional appropriators will face pressure to fund this new program while the program creates an unfunded mandate until appropriations are secured.
Key Provisions
- Requires annual identification of federal and tribal lands needing reforestation after disasters that cannot naturally recover
- Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for restoration projects
- Mandates outreach to Indian Tribes, states, local governments, Alaska Native organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, and universities
- Requires support for seed and seedling availability to address supply gaps for restoration projects
- Mandates annual Congressional reports detailing restoration needs, project progress, funding gaps, and recommendations for addressing reforestation backlogs
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a federal program to identify and restore federal and tribal lands damaged by natural disasters that cannot naturally regenerate.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create coordinated federal response to natural disaster damage on public and tribal lands through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Federal land management agencies (Forest Service, BLM, NPS, etc.)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Indian Tribes and Alaska Native organizations
- State and local governments
- Environmental restoration contractors
- Seed and seedling suppliers
- Conservation organizations
Likely Burden Bearers
- Secretary of Interior (new program administration)
- Federal agencies (coordination and outreach requirements)
- Congressional appropriators (unfunded program requiring future appropriations)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Interior
- "covered_agencies"
- → Federal land management agencies and Bureau of Indian Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Federal land management agencies (as defined in Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Any Federal land or interest in land administered by a covered agency and Indian Forest Land or Rangeland
Any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community individually identified in the list published pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994
As defined in section (e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
As defined in section (e)(4) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
Assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including the reestablishment of appropriate plant species composition and community structure
Secretary of Interior
Any unplanned disturbance that disrupts ecosystem structure or composition and may include a wildfire, an infestation of insects or disease, or a weather event
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology