Bill > HR168

This bill, known as the TORCH Act (Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards Act), aims to improve forest management and wildfire risk reduction through several key provisions. The bill allows the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to more easily conduct forest management activities, including creating a new categorical exclusion for removing high-priority hazard trees within 300 feet of forest roads and recreation sites, increasing the threshold for timber sales from $10,000 to $50,000, and expanding the size of wildfire resilience and collaborative restoration projects from 3,000 to 10,000 acres. The legislation also modifies good neighbor agreements to include Indian tribes, provides more flexibility for electrical utilities to manage vegetation near power lines, and reduces certain administrative requirements like endangered species consultations for land management plans. Additionally, the bill encourages the use of livestock grazing as a wildfire risk reduction strategy and allows for more expedited removal of trees that pose safety risks near infrastructure. These changes are intended to help prevent catastrophic wildfires, improve forest health, and streamline forest management processes on federal lands.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/168/all-info