Bipartisan Infrastructure Law & Forest Research in the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest Research Station is leading 20 projects funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Each project was selected for its unique ability to contribute to an area of scientific need while generating tangible outcomes to improve forest health, ecosystems, and community resilience.  

Photo Credit

Morris Johnson

Burned trees in a study plot in the Eldorado National Forest, northern California, burned during the 2014 King Fire.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) invested approximately $5.5 billion in lands and programs managed by the USDA Forest Service. The funds will be used over the next 5 years to reduce the risk of wildland fire and restore ecosystems in support of the Agency’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. 

Under two provisions of the law (section 40803 focuses on wildland fire risk reduction and section 40804 focuses on ecosystem restoration), Forest Service Research & Development received $100 million in funding. Forest Service R&D is using these funds to develop and advance science and data needed to support the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and ecosystem restoration.

In collaboration with vital partners including tribes, states, nongovernmental organizations and academia, Forest Service R&D is developing new technologies and tools to improve the pace and scale of fuels treatments and restoration of forests, grasslands, and watersheds.

The Pacific Northwest Research Station currently has 20 research projects supported by BIL funding. Some of the topics addressed by these projects include prescribed fire operations, wildland fire smoke and emissions decision support, forest reforestation and fuel treatments, and restoration efforts that involve some of the most diverse and integrated partner collaborations of the BIL-funded research in the nation.

Keywords: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, BIL, Wildfire Crisis Strategy, WCS, ecosystems restoration, BIL funding.