1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Accelerating Forest Restoration Act of 2019 . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) there is an urgent need in the State of Arizona— (A) to restore the ponderosa pine forest ecosystems; (B) to reestablish beneficial natural fire regimes; (C) to sustain native biological diversity; and (D) to protect communities from unnaturally severe fires; (2) the low and zero values of forest restoration byproducts undermine the success of establishing and maintaining a private sector wood industry; (3) Forest Service appraisal, sale, and accountability procedures for conventional timber production overemphasize capturing marginal wood value at the expense of accelerating treatments and private sector success; (4) the economic and natural resource benefits of a restored acre, such as wildfire avoidance, watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities, exceed the value of the wood removed and provide greater benefit to taxpayers; (5) Forest Service analyses do not capture the low value of timber under 4FRI as a byproduct of restoration or reflect the cost of removal and transportation of that timber to available markets; (6) landscape-scale forest restoration under 4FRI can and should be accelerated in an economically and socially viable manner that promotes ecological sustainability, forest resilience, and shared forest stewardship across multiple users of national forests; and (7) progress under 4FRI has not kept pace with stated goals to partner with industry to mechanically treat approximately 1,000,000 acres of ponderosa pine forests within 20 years. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) 4FRI The term 4FRI means the Four Forests Restoration Initiative under the Restoration Program, which— (A) aims to restore 2,400,000 acres of ponderosa pine forests and associated ecosystems in the State of Arizona through a combination of mechanical thinning, prescribed fires, and comprehensive restoration activities