Bill > S1715

This bill, the Wildfire Emergency Act of 2023, aims to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration and land management projects across the National Forest System. The key provisions include: 1. Authorizing a pilot program that allows the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into "conservation finance agreements" with public or private entities to carry out large-scale, landscape-level forest restoration projects, leveraging non-Federal investment and funding sources. 2. Establishing a critical infrastructure and microgrid program to improve the energy resilience and power needs of critical facilities, such as hospitals and police stations, through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and on-site storage. 3. Expanding the definition of "weatherization materials" under the Weatherization Assistance Program to include fire- and drought-resistant building materials, and increasing the per-unit cost limits for the program. 4. Requiring the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment, expand the use of satellite and remote sensing data, and support the disclosure of wildland fire data to the public. 5. Directing the Secretaries to establish one or more "Western Prescribed Fire Centers" to train individuals in prescribed fire methods and other wildfire risk mitigation techniques, and creating a competitive grant program to support innovative workforce development in forestry and fire management. 6. Establishing a "National Community Capacity and Land Stewardship Grant Program" to support increasing community capacity, partnerships, and collaborations within and involving disadvantaged communities for land stewardship activities on National Forest System land and national grasslands.