August 6, 2026
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue competitive grants and enter into cooperative agreements to respond to and address mountain pine beetles, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle Response and Coordination Act
.
Sec. 2. Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Indian Tribe
The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(2) Mountain pine beetle response project
The term mountain pine beetle response project means a project that—
(A)
is carried out on National Forest System land for purposes of restoring forest health in an area that experienced, or is experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting in significant tree mortality; and
(B)
may include the following activities:
(i)
Removal of beetle-killed or beetle-infested hazard trees consistent with the applicable forest plan.
(ii)
Processing of beetle-killed or beetle-infested hazard trees.
(iii)
Forest thinning and other fuels reduction of plant debris associated with mountain pine beetle mortality to alter or clear fuels created by the outbreak and address a public safety, critical infrastructure, or watershed health need.
(iv)
Reforestation, including tree planting.
(v)
Ecological restoration designed to promote biodiversity.
(vi)
Watershed protection and stabilization measures, including—
(I)
slope stabilization;
(II)
sediment and runoff control;
(III)
flood and erosion mitigation; and
(IV)
planning, monitoring, and technical assistance for purposes of maintaining watershed health.
(3) National Forest System
The term National Forest System has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(4) Program
The term Program means the Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program established under subsection (b).
(5) Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
(6) Sponsor
The term sponsor means—
(A)
a State or local government;
(B)
an Indian Tribe;
(C)
a water management district, a water conservation district, a special district, or a public water, wastewater, and stormwater utility; and
(D)
an electric utility, transmitting utility, or Transmission Organization (as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796)) or an electrical transmission provider.
(7) Wildland-urban interface
The term wildland-urban interface has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(b) Program establishment
The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant program, to be known as the Mountain Pine Beetle Response Program
, under which the Secretary may issue a grant to a sponsor for use in carrying out a mountain pine beetle response project.
(c) Selection
(1) Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant under the Program, a sponsor shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a description of the mountain pine beetle response project proposed to be carried out with the grant funds.
(2) Selection priority
In selecting an applicant to receive a grant under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that propose to carry out a mountain pine beetle response project—
(A)
designed to protect municipal water supplies and critical infrastructure;
(B)
designed to reduce wildfire risk to communities in the wildland-urban interface;
(C)
focused on an area that has experienced, or is experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting in high tree mortality or low natural ecological regeneration; and
(D)
that aligns with a State forest action plan or watershed strategy.
(d) Disbursement
In disbursing grant funds awarded to a grant recipient under the Program, the Secretary—
(1)
may disburse all or part of those grant funds to the recipient at any time during the period beginning on the date on which the grant is awarded and ending 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the written notification described in paragraph (2); and
(2)
shall ensure that all of those grant funds are disbursed not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives written notification from the recipient attesting that the mountain pine beetle response project for which the grant was awarded is complete.
Sec. 3. Cooperative agreements to address mountain pine beetle infestations
(a) Definition of covered entity
In this section, the term covered entity means each of the following:
(1)
The Governor of a State.
(2)
An Indian Tribe.
(3)
A county or municipal government.
(4)
The chief executive officer of a political subdivision of a State.
(b) Cooperative agreement authorization
The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into a cooperative agreement with a covered entity to provide for activities to support the detection, treatment, and mitigation of mountain pine beetle infestations on land subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary or that covered entity, which may include the following:
(1)
Coordinated monitoring and data sharing.
(2)
Joint planning and implementation of projects.
(3)
Processing beetle kill or infested trees.
(4)
Increasing wood processing and workforce development capacity.
(5)
Hazard reduction in areas affected by mountain pine beetle infestations, consistent with the applicable forest plan.
(c) Technical assistance
(1) Monitoring and management
On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to the monitoring and management of mountain pine beetle infestations, including with respect to—
(A)
detection;
(B)
spread dynamics; and
(C)
mitigation strategies.
(2) Workforce and wood processing
On request of a covered entity that is party to an agreement entered into under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall provide to that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect to—
(A)
workforce capacity;
(B)
wood processing infrastructure;
(C)
market creation and development for the byproducts of beetle kill or infested trees, including—
(i)
mass timber;
(ii)
facilitating wood energy innovation; and
(iii)
affordable housing construction; and
(D)
other matters relating to processing beetle kill or infested trees.