FIRESHEDS Act

HR 3522, the FIRESHEDS Act, creates a new process for managing wildfire risks on federal lands by designating "fireshed management areas" in collaboration between the federal government and state governors. These areas - identified as landscape-scale regions facing the highest wildfire exposure - will be managed through joint assessments to prioritize projects like prescribed burns, fuel breaks, and hazardous fuels reduction, directly affecting communities in the wildland-urban interface. The bill streamlines environmental reviews for these projects (exempting them from NEPA requirements) and requires collaborative planning with local stakeholders, while prohibiting work in designated wilderness areas or on lands where timber harvesting is banned. It applies specifically to National Forest System lands and aims to accelerate wildfire risk reduction through existing federal authorities.