Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act
Key claim: The Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act directs the Department of the Interior to establish a program that identifies covered federal and Indian lands needing reforestation after unplanned disturbances, prioritizes projects each fiscal year, and authorizes grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements including for seed and seedling supply.
Abstract
(HR528 · 119th Congress) Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025 This bill directs the Department of the Interior to carry out a program for post-disaster reforestation and restoration. Interior must identify covered lands requiring reforestation and restoration following unplanned disturbances that are unlikely to experience natural regeneration without assistance. Covered land means (1) any federal land or interest in land administered by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Forest Service, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (2) any Indian Forest Land or Rangeland. Interior must propose a list that prioritizes projects for reforestation and restoration for each fiscal year. Interior may (1) carry out priority projects through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements; and (2) support any grant contract or cooperative agreement that may be necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate seed and seedling availability to further the objectives of priority projects. Latest action (2026-03-17): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Why this matters
Large-scale wildfires, insect outbreaks, and storms increasingly leave federal and tribal forests unable to regenerate naturally, creating a growing reforestation backlog that affects timber supply, watershed health, and rural economies. A statutory program at Interior to identify, prioritize, and fund replanting — including securing seed and seedling pipelines — would shape which lands recover and how quickly, with downstream effects on tribal forest managers, nursery capacity, and communities dependent on healthy federal forests.