TORCH Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a fast-track environmental review process (categorical exclusion) for removing hazard trees near roads, trails, and recreation sites on National Forest land. Projects can cover up to 3,000 acres and must be completed within 300 feet of maintained roads or trails.
• Utility companies could clear hazardous vegetation up to 50 feet from electric power lines on federal land, up from the current 10-foot limit. Vegetation management plans would be automatically approved if the government does not act within 60 to 67 days.
• The bill encourages using livestock grazing as a wildfire prevention tool, including targeted grazing to reduce fuel loads, temporary permits for invasive grass control, and post-fire recovery grazing on federal land.
• Several wildfire prevention project size limits are tripled from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres, allowing the government to treat much larger areas of forest in a single project without additional environmental review paperwork.
• Forest and land management plans would no longer require new endangered species consultations when a species is newly listed or when new information emerges about effects on listed species. This removes a key environmental safeguard to speed up forest management work.
• Indian tribes are added as eligible partners under the Good Neighbor Authority, allowing them to enter agreements with federal agencies to carry out forest restoration work and retain timber sale revenue for additional restoration projects.