The "Fix Our Forests Act" aims to manage and restore forest landscapes, primarily focusing on wildfire risk reduction and forest health. It includes measures for managing wildfire-prone areas, collaborative tools to address fires, litigation reform, protecting communities near wildland-urban interfaces, and promoting transparency and technological innovation in forest service practices.

The section provides definitions for key terms used in the Act, such as "Director," "fireshed," "forest plan," and "public lands," to clarify roles and areas impacted by wildfire management and land use plans. It also specifies the meaning of "Governor," "hazardous fuels management activities," and other relevant terms to assist in understanding organizational responsibilities and the scope of activities related to managing forests and responding to wildfires.

The section establishes "fireshed management areas" for 5 years following the enactment of the act, focusing on areas identified as high-risk for wildfires. These areas will be updated and re-designated every 5 years based on criteria like wildfire risk to communities, watersheds, and forest conversion, without requiring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

The bill mandates the establishment of a Fireshed Center, led by representatives from various federal agencies, to improve the understanding and management of wildland fires by sharing data, coordinating efforts, and providing access to information for public use. It allows the Center to collaborate with state, local, and tribal governments, as well as private and academic institutions, to enhance its operations and services.

The section outlines the creation and maintenance of a publicly accessible Fireshed Registry by the Secretary, through the Director of the Fireshed Center. This registry will offer detailed information on wildfire exposure, past and planned hazardous fuel management activities, and fireshed management projects to aid communities in developing wildfire protection plans. The section also mandates the maintenance of a searchable database tracking federal environmental reviews and other data related to fireshed management projects.

The section outlines that the Secretary must, within 90 days of receiving a request, make a shared stewardship agreement with a state's Governor or an Indian Tribe to work together on reducing wildfire risks and assessing areas prone to fires. It also mentions that these agreements can be updated to include more areas or to address new wildfire dangers if the Governor or Tribe asks for it.

The section outlines the process for conducting fireshed assessments, which involve evaluating wildfire risks and identifying management projects to reduce these risks. These assessments are done jointly by the Secretary and state governors or tribes, prioritize projects that protect communities and ecosystems, and must be updated regularly and made publicly available; they are not subject to environmental policy requirements.

The text outlines actions the Secretary of the Interior can take to manage forest areas to prevent fires, including removing hazardous trees, creating firebreaks, and using treatments to control disease and invasive species. It also expands certain existing forest management projects to cover larger areas and references laws that allow these projects to be carried out more quickly.

The authority granted by this section of the law will end 7 years after the law is first put into action.

The text modifies the Agricultural Act of 2014 to include Indian tribes in the management and usage of funds from good neighbor agreements, which involve collaboration between states, tribes, or counties for forest restoration projects. It also extends the time period for using these funds and updates the circumstances under which the changes apply.

The text amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act to ensure forest management contracts can last up to 20 years and introduces provisions that require 10% of the contract value to be paid to contractors if long-term contracts are canceled. A long-term contract is defined as one lasting more than 5 years.

The section establishes intra-agency strike teams to help with reviewing various environmental and historic regulations, preparing sites for fireshed management projects, and carrying out these projects. These teams can be made up of federal employees, private contractors, and volunteers, and the authority for these teams will end seven years after the law is enacted.

The amendment to the National Forest Management Act of 1976 increases the threshold amount from $10,000 to $55,000 and further adjusts this amount annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index starting in 2025. Additionally, it mandates the Secretary to seek bids for fireshed management projects 30 days after the law is enacted.

Courts cannot stop fireshed management projects unless the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits or the project poses a substantial environmental risk without any other legal solutions available. If a project doesn't pose this risk, it can be remanded to the agency to fix errors within 180 days. Claims for judicial review must be filed within 120 days of public notice, and the claimant must have participated in the project's public comment process.

The proposed changes to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act state that no additional consultations are needed when new species are listed or critical habitats are designated, or when new information highlights effects on such species or habitats, as long as these occur after a land or forest management plan has been approved, amended, or revised. This means that ongoing plans do not have to be reviewed each time new species or critical habitats are recognized unless they impact the plan in ways not previously considered.

The Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program is a program jointly established by various federal agencies to help reduce wildfire risks in communities, especially those near wildland areas. The initiative focuses on improving wildfire resilience, supporting fire-resistant building practices, fostering public-private partnerships for hazard management, and providing unified financial assistance, with a portal for applying for various related grants. The program will automatically end seven years after it starts.

The Community Wildfire Defense Research Program is a joint initiative by the Secretaries to enhance wildfire protection for buildings and communities through innovative designs and materials. The program will run for seven years, prioritize scalable solutions, and include a competition that awards prizes for designs that improve fire resistance.

The bill amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to extend the range for identifying hazard trees near power lines from 10 to 150 feet and requires consultation with private landowners about such trees on their property. Additionally, it establishes that project plans submitted without changes are approved automatically after 120 days, while plans with modifications need a detailed review timeline if not approved in 120 days.

The section establishes a categorical exclusion for certain forest management activities related to electric utility line rights-of-way, exempting them from environmental assessments unless they occur in protected wilderness areas or places where vegetation removal is prohibited by Congress. It also specifies that permanent roads cannot be built, though existing roads can be maintained, and temporary roads must be removed within three years.

In this section, it is required that within two years of the act's enactment, a strategy called the "Seeds of Success strategy" should be developed and implemented by the Secretaries and the Secretary of Defense. This strategy aims to improve the domestic supply chain of seeds by facilitating interagency coordination, promoting re-seeding after wildfires, sharing information, building regional plant development programs, expanding seed storage, and improving permit approval processes for seed collection on public lands.

This section outlines a program for developing biochar, a carbonized biomass product, through demonstration projects and research grants. It involves partnerships with eligible entities to study biochar's potential in conservation and job creation, with a requirement that half of the feedstock comes from forest management activities.

The bill mandates the creation of annual reports by the Secretary of Agriculture or Interior to detail hazardous fuels reduction activities on Federal lands, specifying the number of acres treated, activities completed, costs, and effectiveness in reducing wildfire risks. It also introduces standardized data tracking methods, with no extra funding provided, while requiring a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to evaluate the system's efficacy within two years.

The section establishes a Pilot Program to promote the deployment and testing of innovative wildfire technologies by coordinating Federal agencies with private and nonprofit entities. The program prioritizes emerging technologies, encourages applications from interested entities, and requires annual reports to Congress, with the program expiring in seven years.

The section mandates that the Comptroller General of the United States has 3 years from the enactment of the Act to conduct a study on the Forest Service. This study will evaluate the Forest Service's wildland firefighting effectiveness, budget transparency, and the idea of creating a new federal agency for handling wildland fires. A report of the study's findings must then be submitted to Congress.

The Chief of the Forest Service is required to conduct a study within 5 years to evaluate locations for a new Western headquarters, considering options in at least three states west of the Mississippi River. The study will examine the benefits of this new headquarters, such as better customer service, improved employee recruitment and retention, and operational efficiency. A report on the findings must then be submitted to Congress.