White Oak Resiliency Act of 2025

This bill directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to carry out activities for white oak restoration. It establishes a coalition, pilot projects, assessments, a grant program, a nursery strategy, research partnerships, and a Natural Resources Conservation Service initiative, all focused on restoring and improving the health and regeneration of white oak in the United States.

Sec. 2, Definition of land-grant college or university: Defines the term as 1862, 1890, and 1994 Institutions as specified in other laws.

Sec. 3, White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition: Establishes a voluntary coalition of public, state, private, and nongovernmental organizations to coordinate white oak restoration, make policy recommendations, and submit a report to Congress within two years. The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must provide administrative and technical support. The Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply, and the Secretary of Agriculture may fund the coalition from certain accounts.

Sec. 4, Forest Service pilot program: Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish five pilot projects in national forests to restore white oak, with at least three in forests reserved or withdrawn from the public domain. The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements.

Sec. 5, Department of the Interior white oak assessment and pilot projects: Requires the Secretary of the Interior to assess covered land (including National Wildlife Refuge System units and abandoned mine land) for white oak presence and restoration potential, report to Congress within 180 days, and then establish five pilot projects to restore white oak. The Secretary may use information from other sources and enter into cooperative agreements.

Sec. 6, White Oak Regeneration and Upland Oak Habitat: Establishes a nonregulatory program within 180 days to coordinate restoration and conservation activities, adopt a science-based strategy, and create a voluntary grant and technical assistance program managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The program aims to improve white oak growth, engage the public, and increase scientific capacity.

Sec. 7, White oak tree nursery shortages: Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and implement a national strategy within one year to increase nursery capacity for white oak seedlings, addressing regional shortages and barriers, based on best available science from land-grant colleges or universities.

Sec. 8, White oak research: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a land-grant college or university to conduct research on white oak genetics, stress tolerance, seed banks, reforestation methods, and restoration on abandoned mine land.

Sec. 9, National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to partner with an eligible land-grant college or university to research white oak species resiliency, health, and preservation, prioritizing research on resistance to disease, pests, heat, and drought.

Sec. 10, Natural Resources Conservation Service initiative: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an initiative to re-establish white oak forests, improve management for natural regeneration, and provide technical assistance to private landowners.

Sec. 11, Authorities: Allows the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to use authorities under this Act in combination with other laws, including good neighbor agreements and stewardship contracting projects.