A bill to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, and for other purposes.

The Wildfire Prevention Act (S.140) was ordered to be reported favorably from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 10, 2026, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The bill is now awaiting floor action in the Senate. It establishes annual goals to increase mechanical thinning and prescribed fire on Forest Service and BLM lands by at least 40% by FY2029, relative to the 2019-2023 baseline. It also mandates standardized hazardous fuels tracking and annual reports. Title II specifically addresses vegetation management on electric transmission and distribution rights-of-way on federal lands, requiring utilities to perform inspections and maintenance. Title III includes a public-private wildfire technology deployment partnership. The bill does not appropriate funds; it authorizes policy and reporting requirements. Actual spending would require a separate appropriations bill. The primary market implication is for utilities with significant transmission footprints on federal lands, such as American Electric Power ($AEP), which operates in PJM, SPP, and ERCOT and has lines crossing BLM and Forest Service lands in the West. The new vegetation management obligations increase O&M costs, but utilities typically recover such costs through FERC-approved rates, resulting in neutral net impact. Timber companies like Weyerhaeuser ($WY) could face increased competition from federal timber sales, but the bill's focus on hazardous fuels reduction may also create salvage logging opportunities. The bill's legislative momentum is moderate given its senior Republican sponsor and committee approval, but floor passage is uncertain in a divided Congress.