Forest Litigation Reform Act of 2023

HR 636, the Forest Litigation Reform Act of 2023, changes how lawsuits challenging federal forest management projects are handled. It bans attorney fee awards for such lawsuits, limits court injunctions to 60 days (with one renewal), and creates a pilot program requiring disputes over "qualified" forest projects to use binding arbitration instead of courts. The arbitration process, limited to 10 cases per forest region yearly, requires an independent arbitrator to choose between the original project or modified proposals based on forest health, wildfire risk, and other factors. This directly affects federal land managers (Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management), environmental groups, and timber interests who challenge forest management activities on National Forest System or public lands.