All forest officers will cooperate with State officials, insofar as practicable, to enforce State fire, game, and health laws. They are authorized to accept appointments, without compensation, as deputy State fire wardens, game wardens, and/or health officers whenever in the judgment of the Chief of the Forest Service the performance of the duties required by these offices will not interfere with their duties as Federal forest officers.

The Forest Service shall, whenever possible, and is hereby authorized to enter into such agreements with private owners of timber, with railroads, and with other industrial concerns operating in or near the national forests as will result in mutual benefit in the prevention and suppression of forest fires: Provided, That the service required of each party by such agreements shall be in proportion to the benefits conferred.

(a) Definitions. For the purpose of this subpart these definitions apply:

(1) Prescribed fire means a fire burning under a set of specified conditions which will accomplish certain planned resource management objectives.

(2) Escaped prescribed fire means a prescribed fire which has either exceeded the prescription or has rekindled after it has been declared to be out.

(b) In the absence of a written reciprocal agreement with any fire organization or in situations outside the scope of an agreement, the Forest Service is authorized to render emergency assistance in suppressing fires and in preserving life and property from the threat of fire within the vicinity of Forest Service fire protection facilities under the following conditions:

(1) If a prescribed fire initiated on lands administered by the Forest Service escapes onto lands not administered by the Forest Service, the Forest Service may commit personnel, materials, and equipment without reimbursement or consideration of the fire's continuing threat to National Forest System lands or resources.

(2) When requested, the Forest Service may commit personnel, materials, and equipment on a reimbursable basis on lands not administered by the Forest Service without regard to the fire's threat to National Forest System lands or resources.

(a) Purpose and scope. Forest Service officers, when engaged in cooperative activities otherwise authorized, may receive monies from cooperators only for cooperative work in forest investigations or for the protection, management, and improvement of the National Forest System and only in accordance with written cooperative agreements. Management of the National Forest System may include such work as planning, analysis, and related studies, as well as resource activities.

(b) Reimbursements. Agency expenditures for work undertaken in accordance with this section may be made from Forest Service appropriations available for such work, with subsequent reimbursement from the cooperator, in accordance with established written agreements. Forest Service officers shall issue written bills for collection for cooperator reimbursement payments within the same fiscal year as Forest Service expenditures.

(c) Bonding. Each written agreement involving a non-Government cooperator's total contribution of $25,000 or more to the Forest Service on a reimbursable basis, must include a provision requiring a payment bond to guarantee the cooperator's reimbursement payment. Acceptable security for a payment bond includes Department of the Treasury approved corporate sureties, Federal Government obligations, and irrevocable letters of credit. For the purposes of this section, a non-Government cooperator is an entity that is not a member, division, or affiliate of a Federal, State, local government, a federally recognized Indian Tribe (as defined by the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 [25 U.S.C. 479a]), or other organizations funding a Forest Service agreement with pass through funding from an entity that is a member, division, or affiliate of a Federal, State, local government, or federally recognized Indian Tribe.

(d) Avoiding conflict of interest. Forest Service officers shall avoid acceptance of contributions from cooperators when such contributions would reflect unfavorably upon the ability of the Forest Service to carry out its responsibilities and duties. Forest Service officers shall be guided by the provisions of 18 U.S.C. parts 201-209, 5 CFR part 2635, and applicable Department of Agriculture regulations, in determining if a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest exists in a proposed cooperative effort. Forest Service ethics officials or the designated Department of Agriculture ethics official should be consulted on conflict of interest issues.