The "Protect the West Act of 2025" establishes the Outdoor and Watershed Restoration Fund in the Treasury, appropriating a substantial $60 billion to support restoration and resilience efforts. This fund is designed to finance two primary initiatives: a grant program and a partnership program, both aimed at enhancing ecological integrity and community resilience.

A Restoration Fund Advisory Council will provide recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on fund disbursement, priority-setting for landscapes, and project evaluation. This council comprises diverse stakeholders, including representatives from resource-dependent industries, environmental experts, conservation organizations, and various levels of government.

The Restoration and Resilience Grant Program, administered with the Council's guidance, focuses on increasing capacity for planning, coordinating, and monitoring projects on non-Federal land, as well as supporting collaboration on Federal land. It also funds projects on non-Federal land for restoration, wildfire-resistive construction, and expanding equitable outdoor access. The program offers both capacity and implementation grants, prioritizing projects that create jobs, are developed collaboratively, address shared priorities, and benefit lower-capacity or underserved communities.

The Restoration and Resilience Partnership Program aims to restore forest, grassland, and rangeland ecosystems, create outdoor jobs, improve rangeland resilience against invasive species, and reduce uncharacteristic wildfires. The Secretary will designate specific partnership areas on Federal and non-Federal land based on criteria such as high wildfire potential, critical wildlife habitat, or location within the wildland-urban interface.

Projects under the partnership program will prioritize actions like reintroducing low-intensity fire, reducing hazardous fuels, and improving wildlife habitat and water quality. Importantly, the bill specifies exclusions, prohibiting projects in wilderness areas, inventoried roadless areas, or for the removal of old growth stands. The legislation also includes provisions for interagency flexibility, allowing matching funds from other authorities and authorizing pay-for-performance contracts to purchase successful project outcomes, ensuring efficient use of funds and annual oversight by the Inspector General.