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S5290119th CongressWALLET

Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle Response and Coordination Act

Sponsored By: Senator Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

Introduced

Summary

Establish a Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program that would use competitive grants and cooperative agreements to detect, treat, and mitigate beetle outbreaks on National Forest System and partner lands. It would also provide technical help and workforce development to process beetle-killed wood and reduce wildfire and watershed risks.

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  • Communities and water systems: Prioritizes projects that protect municipal water supplies and critical infrastructure and reduce wildfire risk near homes.
  • State, Tribal, and local land managers: Creates competitively awarded grants and allows cooperative agreements with governors, Indian Tribes, counties, municipalities, and utilities for monitoring, treatment, and joint planning.
  • Workers and rural economies: Authorizes technical assistance and workforce development for processing beetle-killed trees, developing markets for mass timber and wood-energy, and supporting wood-processing infrastructure and affordable housing-related initiatives.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Cooperative agreements for beetle response

This bill would let the Forest Service enter cooperative agreements with governors, tribes, counties, municipalities, utilities, and other covered entities. Agreements would support detection, treatment, monitoring, joint planning, processing beetle-killed trees, workforce training, and hazard reduction consistent with forest plans. At a covered entity's request, APHIS would provide technical help on detection, spread, and mitigation. The Rural Development office would provide help on wood-processing capacity, workforce development, market creation for beetle byproducts, and related affordable housing work.

Grants to protect forests and water

This bill would create a competitive Forest Service grant program for mountain pine beetle response on National Forest System land. States, tribes, local governments, water districts, and utilities would be eligible to apply as sponsors. Grants would pay to remove and process beetle-killed trees, thin forests, replant, restore ecosystems, and protect watersheds and infrastructure. The agency would prioritize projects that protect municipal water supplies, reduce wildfire risk in wildland-urban interface areas, or target high mortality or low regeneration areas. The Forest Service would be able to disburse award funds during a project and must pay all funds within 30 days after a recipient attests the project is complete.

Clarify tribal and forest terms

This bill would clarify key definitions used in the program. It would define "Indian Tribe" by referring to the statutory meaning in 25 U.S.C. 5304. It would also say that "National Forest System" and "wildland-urban interface" have the meanings already in existing forest law. Those definitions would decide which tribes, lands, and communities qualify for grants and cooperative agreements under the bill.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

CO • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

    CO • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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