To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 with respect to third-party contracts for wildfire hazard fuel removal, to amend the National Forest Management Act with respect to the threshold for advertised timber sales, and for other purposes.
The Locally Led Restoration Act of 2023 streamlines wildfire prevention efforts by allowing private entities and local organizations to propose and contract directly with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to remove hazardous fuels and dead vegetation from federal lands. The bill requires federal agencies to respond to project proposals within 120 days and complete environmental reviews within the same timeframe, while mandating that at least 10 percent of vegetation removed must consist of salvage material like wildfire-killed or beetle-killed trees. The legislation also raises the timber sales threshold that triggers mandatory public advertising from $10,000 to $55,000 and requires annual adjustments for inflation going forward. The bill affects federal land managers, private contractors, local governments, and conservation organizations involved in forest management and wildfire mitigation. Congress has directed the Government Accountability Office to report on the program's results within five years, including the number of proposals received, contracts executed, and acres treated.
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