Interior launches 7-year forest restoration fund for wildfire-damaged public and tribal lands
H.R. 528 — Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act · Filed by Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 16, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Program that identifies federal and tribal lands damaged by wildfires, pests, or severe weather and funds their recovery through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. The program runs for 7 years, requires annual reporting to Congress, and prioritizes outreach to tribes, states, and local governments to coordinate restoration efforts.
Why we flagged it
The bill establishes a time-limited federal program to fund reforestation and ecosystem recovery on public and tribal lands following natural disasters. It is a straightforward public-lands management initiative with no private carve-outs or hidden mechanisms.
What the text implies
- Seed and seedling availability may become a bottleneck; the bill authorizes support for supply-chain development but does not mandate dedicated funding, potentially limiting program scale.
- Tribal lands are included as 'covered lands' with explicit funding pathways, but implementation depends on Interior's coordination with tribes—outcomes hinge on agency capacity and tribal consultation quality.
- 7-year sunset means the program terminates unless Congress reauthorizes; restoration of fire-damaged ecosystems often requires 10–20 years, so long-term continuity is uncertain.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The program funds restoration of public and tribal lands damaged by natural disasters, providing ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, water quality, wildlife habitat) and reducing future wildfire risk to communities. Tribal lands receive explicit inclusion and funding pathways, addressing a historically underfunded restoration gap.
Who stands to gain
- forestry contractors and restoration service providers
- seed and nursery suppliers
- tribal governments and tribal enterprises
Named in the bill
Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Tribes, Alaska Native organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Jan 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 16, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period…”
- Apr 29, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
- Jul 23, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jul 23, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent”
- Mar 16, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2524)”
- Mar 16, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Wittman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,590,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 123 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Brittany Pettersen, the sponsor, reported $1,054,365 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership — $50,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,873 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 22, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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