S 21 — Community Wildfire Protection Act of 2023

In this subchapter: (1) At-risk community The term “at-risk community” means an area— (A) that is comprised of— (i) an interface community as defined in the notice entitled “Wildland Urban Interface Communities Within the Vicinity of Federal Lands That Are at High Risk From Wildfire” issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with title IV of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat. 1009) (66 Fed. Reg. 753, January 4, 2001); or (ii) a group of homes and other structures with basic infrastructure and services (such as utilities and collectively maintained transportation routes) within or adjacent to Federal land; (B) in which conditions are conducive to a large-scale wildland fire disturbance event; and (C) for which a significant threat to human life or property exists as a result of a wildland fire disturbance event. (2) Authorized hazardous fuel reduction project (A) In general The term “authorized hazardous fuel reduction project” means the measures and methods described in the definition of “appropriate tools” contained in the glossary of the Implementation Plan, on Federal land described in section 6512(a) of this title and conducted under sections 6513 and 6514 of this title. (B) Inclusion The term “authorized hazardous fuel reduction project” includes, using the measures and methods described in subparagraph (A), the installation of— (i) a natural or manmade change in fuel characteristics that affects fire behavior such that a fire can be more readily controlled (commonly known as a “fuel break”); and (ii) a natural or constructed barrier used to stop or check a fire or to provide a control line from which to work to stop or check a fire (commonly known as a “firebreak”). (3) Community wildfire protection plan The term “community wildfire protection plan” means a plan for an at-risk community that— (A) is developed within the context of the collaborative agreements and the guidance established by the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and agreed to by the applicable local government, local fire department, and State agency responsible for forest management, in consultation with interested parties and the Federal land management agencies managing land in the vicinity of the at-risk community; (B) identifies and prioritizes areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommends the types and methods of treatment on Federal and non-Federal land that will protect 1 or more at-risk communities and essential infrastructure; and (C) recommends measures to reduce structural ignitability throughout the at-risk community. (4) Condition class 2 The term “condition class 2”, with respect to an area of Federal land, means the condition class description developed by the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in the general technical report entitled “Development of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for Wildland Fire and Fuel Management” (RMRS–87), dated April 2000 (including any subsequent revision to the report), under which— (A) fire regimes on the land have been moderately altered from historical ranges; (B) there exists a moderate risk of losing key ecosystem components from fire; (C) fire frequencies have increased or decreased from historical frequencies by 1 or more return intervals, resulting in moderate changes to— (i) the size, frequency, intensity, or severity of fires; or (ii) landscape patterns; and (D) vegetation attributes have been moderately altered from the historical range of the attributes. (5) Condition class 3 The term “condition class 3”, with respect to an area of Federal land, means the condition class description developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station in the general technical report referred to in paragraph (4) (including any subsequent revision to the report), under which— (A) fire regimes on land have been significantly altered from historical ranges; (B) there exists a high risk of losing key ecosys...