1. As used in the Forest and Watershed Restoration Act:
2. A. "board" means the forest and watershed advisory board;
3. B. "buffer" means an area treated to reduce wildfire fuel in order to act as a barrier between properties to limit and halt the spread of wildfire and provide a safe zone for firefighters to engage with wildfires;
4. C. "division" means the forestry division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department;
5. D. "high-risk area" means an area having a high probability of wildfire that is likely to spread to projects, structures or wildland-urban interfaces;

6. E. "project" means:

   1. (1) a large-scale forest and watershed restoration project on any lands in the state that:

      1. (a) increases the adaptability and resilience to recurring drought and extreme weather events of the state's forests and watersheds;
      2. (b) protects water sources;
      3. (c) reduces the risk of wildfire, including planning for watershed conservation; or
      4. (d) restores burned areas or thins forests and includes a related economic or workforce development project or a wildlife conservation or habitat improvement project; or
   2. (2) a project that creates or maintains a buffer in or around a wildland-urban interface;
7. F. "sponsor" means a federal, state or local government agency, tribal entity, corporation or organization that applies for a project or is conducting a project in conjunction with the division;
8. G. "structure" means a constructed object, including residential or commercial buildings and outbuildings such as barns and sheds; and
9. H. "wildland-urban interface" means the area, line or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetation fuels.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 62, § 2; 2025, ch. 5, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, defined "buffer", "high-risk area", "structure", and "wildland-urban interface", and revised the definition of "project" as used in the Forest and Watershed Restoration Act; added a new Subsection B and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C; added new Subsection D and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections E and F, respectively; in Subsection E, added new paragraph designation "(1)" and new subparagraph designations "(a)" through "(d)" and added new Paragraph E(2); and added Subsections G and H.