Bill > HR7255

This bill, known as the Santini-Burton Modernization Act of 2026, updates the Santini-Burton Act to improve how the Forest Service acquires and manages land, particularly in the Lake Tahoe Basin. It recognizes that the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, the original inhabitants of the Lake Tahoe Basin, own very little land there, which hinders their ability to access and manage culturally significant sites. The bill allows the Forest Service to use funds for land management activities on acquired lands and within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and also enables the transfer of funds to the Washoe Tribe, state or local governments, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for land management. This management can include activities like maintaining forest health, water quality, and cultural sites, and the bill outlines a process for developing a spending plan for these activities in consultation with various stakeholders, ensuring these funds supplement, not replace, existing funding.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7255/all-info