Protect the West Act of 2023

Protect the West Act of 2023

This bill establishes and provides funding for the Restoration and Resilience Grant Program and the Restoration and Resilience Partnership Program.

Specifically, the bill establishes in the Treasury an Outdoor and Watershed Restoration Fund to provide funding for such programs.

The bill establishes a Restoration Fund Advisory Council to provide recommendations to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) respecting the disbursement of amounts from the fund for the grant program, priority setting for landscapes, and evaluation and monitoring for restoration and resilience project success.

The grant program shall provide grants or pay-for-performance contracts to eligible entities (e.g., a state agency, a unit of local government, or a tribal government) for

• increasing the capacity for planning, coordinating, and monitoring restoration and resilience projects on nonfederal land and providing support for collaboration and monitoring on federal land; and
• supporting, on nonfederal land, restoration and resilience projects, efforts to improve wildfire resistive construction and reduce risks within the home ignition zone, and projects to expand equitable outdoor access.

Under the Restoration and Resilience Partnership Program, USDA shall carry out restoration and resilience projects that reduce wildfire potential, improve community resilience in the wildland-urban interface, or restore wildlife habitat.