Bill · S. 4103· Senate(119-S-4103)
Save Our Sequoias Act
- Introduced
- 3/16/2026
- Last activity
- 9/16/2026 — Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
- Sponsored by
- Alex Padilla
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Save Our Sequoias Act" aims to improve the health and resiliency of giant sequoia trees. The bill establishes a shared stewardship agreement between federal agencies, the State of California, and the Tule River Indian Tribe. It codifies the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition to conduct health assessments and maintain a public dashboard for tracking progress. The legislation creates an emergency response framework to allow for quick protection projects like fuel management and tree removal. Additionally, it establishes a reforestation and rehabilitation strategy to restore impacted groves. Finally, the act provides for collaborative restoration grants and an emergency protection fund to support these conservation efforts.
Yes· 3 of 13
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?+7
The bill streamlines emergency actions and multi-agency cooperation to protect giant sequoias on federal lands.
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?+6
The legislation establishes proactive measures, funding, and strategies to protect and restore giant sequoia groves.
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+6
The legislation formally includes the Tule River Indian Tribe in shared stewardship and dedicates funding for Tribal management.
The opposite
Does this protect the right to fair treatment by the courts?-2
Exempting certain protection projects from NEPA reduces formal public environmental review and due process procedures.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Enhanced Resource Management: The bill establishes a Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition to facilitate information sharing, research, and the development of educational materials regarding the threats to giant sequoia groves (Section 4).
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Improved Ecological Health: Through "Protection Projects," the bill allows for hazardous fuels management, mechanical thinning, and the removal of dead or dying trees to mitigate risks from wildfires, insects, and drought (Section 6).
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Support for Tribal Communities: The legislation involves the Tule River Indian Tribe in shared stewardship agreements (Section 3) and mandates that at least 15 percent of funds from the Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Fund be used to support Tribal management and conservation (Section 12).
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Economic and Job Opportunities: Collaborative restoration grants are designed to prioritize entities that create or support jobs, particularly in rural areas (Section 9).
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Increased Transparency: The creation of a website and searchable database will allow the public to track the status of protection projects, reforestation activities, and federal environmental reviews (Section 5).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Reduced Environmental Review Requirements: The bill allows certain protection and reforestation projects to be categorically excluded from the preparation of environmental assessments or environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (Section 6).
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Restricted Public Access to Meetings: While the Coalition must provide for public observation at one meeting annually, it is permitted to close portions of meetings if the discussions involve sensitive law enforcement, security, emergency response, or confidential information (Section 4).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Public Land Management+7Improves Environmental Protections+6Improves Rural Development+4Reduces Carbon Emissions+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Native Americans+6Good For Rural Residents+5Good For Business Owners+4
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+5Increases Job Creation+4Improves Economic Growth+1
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+4Increases Federal Power+2Improves Due Process-2
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+3
- 9/16/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
- 3/16/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1056)
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
2 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
John CurtisRepublican · Utah