The Wildfire Prevention Act of 2025 seeks to address the forest health crisis on National Forest System and public lands by significantly accelerating hazardous fuels reduction activities. It mandates that federal agencies establish and progressively increase annual goals for mechanical thinning and prescribed fire, aiming for a 40% increase in treated acres by fiscal year 2029 compared to a 2019-2023 baseline. These goals, along with regional allotments, must be publicly reported, though their establishment is exempt from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements.

The bill enhances transparency and accountability by requiring detailed annual reports on treated acres, including those in high-risk areas and those utilizing streamlined environmental review authorities. It also mandates standardized procedures for tracking hazardous fuels reduction activities, assessing their effectiveness, and reporting costs. Furthermore, the legislation requires the Forest Service to conduct and publish regional forest carbon accounting every three years.

Key forest management provisions include expanding the distance for hazard tree removal near electric power lines from 10 to 50 feet and increasing the maximum value for timber sales without advertisement to $55,000. A new categorical exclusion is established for high-priority hazard tree activities within 300 feet of certain roads or trails, or in developed recreation sites, with a project size limit of 3,000 acres. The bill also grants local governments and Indian Tribes intervenor status in civil actions related to qualified projects on adjacent federal land.

To foster cultural change within agencies, the Act requires the development of a strategy to utilize livestock grazing as a wildfire risk reduction tool. It also mandates the use of existing streamlined environmental review authorities for high-risk federal lands within three years. Finally, the bill establishes a public-private pilot program to deploy and test innovative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation technologies, prioritizing emerging solutions like artificial intelligence and quantum sensing, and repeals certain FLAME Act reporting requirements.