Wildfire Emergency Act of 2025

The Wildfire Emergency Act of 2025 is a comprehensive bill aiming to accelerate forest restoration and strengthen communities against wildfire. It would authorize a pilot program under the Department of Agriculture to use conservation finance agreements—a form of private or non-Federal financing—to fund landscape-scale restoration projects on National Forest System lands and adjoining areas. The bill also directs a parallel set of actions to boost community resilience, including a new federal program to improve critical facilities and microgrids (led by the Department of Energy), and expands weatherization efforts to require fire- and drought-resistant materials. In addition, it creates centers and grant programs for research, training, and capacity building to develop a wildfire-focused workforce and improve local capacity for land stewardship, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The package envisions leveraging private investment, expanding large-scale restoration across multi-hundred-thousand-acre landscapes, and boosting technology, data sharing, and workforce development to reduce wildfire risk and improve ecological health. If enacted, the bill would have fiscal and administrative implications across multiple agencies (Forest Service, DOE, and related agencies) and would open new pathways for non-Federal funding and private-sector participation in landscape restoration and wildfire resilience efforts. It also sets up reporting requirements to Congress on the outcomes and lessons learned from the pilot program.