II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 220 

To provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, protection of old growth 

forests, and management of national forests in the eastside forests of 

the State of Oregon. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2011 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, protection 

of old growth forests, and management of national forests in the eastside forests of the State of Oregon. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oregon Eastside For5 ests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 

6 2011’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to conserve and restore the eastside Na2 tional Forests of the State; 

3 (2) to create an immediate, predictable, and in4 creased timber flow to support locally based restora5 tion economies in the communities of the eastside 

6 National Forests of the State; 

7 (3) to make the eastside National Forests of 

8 the State more resistant and resilient to, and to 

9 mitigate the effects of, climate change; 

10 (4) to protect, restore, and increase old-growth 

11 forest stands and trees in the eastside National For12 ests of the State; 

13 (5) to promote collaboration in the communities 

14 of the eastside National Forests of the State to re15 spond to critical threats to forest and watershed 

16 health and to support natural resource- and restora17 tion-based economies; 

18 (6) to prioritize, strategically target, and accel19 erate projects to improve forest health and water20 shed health in old growth forests located in the 

21 eastside National Forests of the State; and 

22 (7) to provide the Secretary, collaborative 

23 groups, and the public with independent scientific 

24 advice for restoring forest health and watershed 

25 health in the eastside National Forests of the State. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘advisory 

4 panel’’ means the Eastside Forest Scientific and 

5 Technical Advisory Panel established under section 

6 6(a). 

7 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUP.—The term ‘‘col8 laborative group’’ means a group of individuals that 

9 meets the requirements of section 9(a)(2). 

10 (3) COVERED AREA.—The term ‘‘covered area’’ 

11 means the area selected by the Secretary under sec12 tion 4(a)(1) that is— 

13 (A) within the State; and 

14 (B) not within the area covered by the 

15 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest 

16 Service and Bureau of Land Management Plan17 ning Documents Within the Range of the 

18 Northern Spotted Owl, dated April 1994. 

19 (4) EMERGENCY CONDITION.—The term ‘‘emer20 gency condition’’ means a condition— 

21 (A) that results in an— 

22 (i) imminent risk to life or property; 

23 or 

24 (ii) immediate impairment of the pub25 lic use and enjoyment of a trail, road, 

26 highway, public facility, or public land; and 


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1 (B) with respect to subparagraph (A)(ii), 

2 the urgency to address the emergency of which 

3 outweighs the benefits of full notice and com4 ment. 

5 (5) FOREST HEALTH.—The term ‘‘forest 

6 health’’ means conditions that enable forested 

7 land— 

8 (A) to be durable, resilient, and less prone 

9 to uncharacteristic wildfire, insect, or pathogen 

10 outbreaks, while— 

11 (i) supporting ecosystem services and 

12 populations of native species; and 

13 (ii) allowing for natural disturbances; 

14 (B) to maintain or develop species com15 position, ecosystem function and structure, hy16 drologic function, and sediment regimes that 

17 are within an acceptable range that considers— 

18 (i) historic variability; and 

19 (ii) anticipated future conditions; and 

20 (C) to be resistant and resilient to 

21 uncharacteristic events. 

22 (6) FOREST STAND.—The term ‘‘forest stand’’ 

23 means a contiguous group of trees that are suffi24 ciently uniform in age-class distribution, composi25 tion, and structure and that are growing on a site 


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1 of sufficiently uniform quality to be a distinguishable 

2 unit. 

3 (7) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

4 an initiative established by the Secretary— 

5 (A) to restore and improve the ecological 

6 structure, composition, and function and the 

7 natural processes of watersheds within the Na8 tional Forest System; 

9 (B) to preserve and create local jobs in 

10 rural communities that are located in or near 

11 National Forest System land; 

12 (C) to sustain the local wood products in13 frastructure and community capacity that is 

14 necessary for the appropriate management and 

15 restoration of National Forest System land; 

16 (D) to promote cooperation and collabora17 tion in the management of National Forest Sys18 tem land; 

19 (E) to carry out collaborative projects to 

20 restore forest health and watershed health and 

21 to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic disturb22 ances from fire, insects, and disease to commu23 nities, watersheds, and natural resources 

24 through a collaborative process of planning, 

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1 toration, hazardous fuel reduction, and other 

2 vegetation management projects; 

3 (F) to collect information from the projects 

4 carried out under this Act in an effort to better 

5 understand the manner in which to improve for6 est restoration and management activities; and 

7 (G) under which not more than 15 Na8 tional Forests may be selected to participate. 

9 (8) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

10 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range12 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

13 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

14 (9) PLANT ASSOCIATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘plant asso16 ciation’’ means a description of a plant commu17 nity that— 

18 (i) would potentially, in the absence of 

19 a disturbance, occupy a site; and 

20 (ii) may be aggregated into 1 or more 

21 groups based on similarities in plant spe22 cies, composition, environment, and pro23 ductivity. 

24 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘plant associa25 tion’’ includes, with respect to a forested site, 


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1 species representing tree, shrub, and herbaceous 

2 layers. 

3 (10) RESTORATION ASSESSMENT.—The term 

4 ‘‘restoration assessment’’ means the Eastside Land5 scape Forest Restoration Assessment prepared 

6 under section 7(a). 

7 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

8 means the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through 

9 the Chief of the Forest Service). 

10 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

11 State of Oregon. 

12 (13) UNCHARACTERISTIC.—The term 

13 ‘‘uncharacteristic’’ means a wildfire, insect, or 

14 pathogen outbreak or level of forest fuel, the sever15 ity, size, frequency, or quantity of which exceeds the 

16 historic range of variability. 

17 (14) WATERSHED AREA.—The term ‘‘watershed 

18 area’’ means 1 or more subwatersheds (also known 

19 as 6th code hydrologic units). 

20 (15) WATERSHED HEALTH.—The term ‘‘water21 shed health’’ means landscape conditions that enable 

22 riparian and aquatic ecosystems— 

23 (A) to capture, store, and release water, 

24 sediment, wood, and nutrients; 


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1 (B) to provide for water temperatures that 

2 are within the range of variability of the nat3 ural regimes for the processes described in sub4 paragraph (A); and 

5 (C) to create and sustain functional ripar6 ian, aquatic, and wetland habitats that are ca7 pable of supporting diverse populations of na8 tive aquatic- and riparian-dependent species. 

9 SEC. 4. LAND MANAGEMENT. 

10 (a) SELECTION OF COVERED AREA.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may 

13 select all or part of 1 or more National Forests in 

14 the State as part of the Initiative. 

15 (2) TERM.—The selection under paragraph (1) 

16 shall be for a period of 15 years. 

17 (3) EFFECT.—The provisions of this Act shall 

18 apply to the covered area. 

19 (b) LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the covered area, the Sec21 retary shall, considering the best available science, 

22 seek— 

23 (A) to conserve and restore forest health, 

24 watershed health, and other ecosystems; 


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1 (B) to reduce the risk of, and increase the 

2 resistance and resiliency of the land to, 

3 uncharacteristic disturbances; 

4 (C) to allow for characteristic natural dis5 turbances; and 

6 (D) to harvest wood to maintain adequate 

7 levels of industry infrastructure to accomplish 

8 the goals described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 

9 and (C). 

10 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—To achieve the 

11 goals of paragraph (1) in the forested land in the 

12 covered area, the Secretary shall consider opportuni13 ties— 

14 (A) to reduce the basal area in overstocked 

15 forest stands; 

16 (B) to increase the mean diameter of for17 est stands; 

18 (C) to maintain or create a forest composi19 tion that focuses on more fire- and drought-tol20 erant species; 

21 (D) to restore historic levels of within-for22 est stand spatial heterogeneity; 

23 (E) to conserve and restore old growth; 

24 (F) to conserve and restore population lev25 els of older trees; 


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1 (G) to conserve and restore ecologically 

2 sustainable forest stands and landscapes to in3 corporate characteristic forest stand structures 

4 and older tree populations; 

5 (H) to harvest wood and use the value of 

6 merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help off7 set the cost of improving forest health and wa8 tershed health; 

9 (I) to restore or maintain sustainable and 

10 fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through 

11 active management (including management 

12 through prescribed or wildland fire and me13 chanical treatments); 

14 (J) to restore or maintain ecologically ap15 propriate spatial complexity (including a range 

16 of open to dense forest patches at scales from 

17 the forest stand to the landscape); 

18 (K) to create nonuniform effects in car19 rying out vegetation management projects by 

20 avoiding extensive areas of uniform treatment, 

21 except for certain treatments (such as broad22 cast burns) that are carried out to enhance the 

23 spatial heterogeneity of the forest site; 


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1 (L) to restore or maintain ecologically ap2 propriate understory plant community composi3 tion and condition, including— 

4 (i) by restoring and maintaining na5 tive ground cover; and 

6 (ii) by reducing the impacts of, and 

7 potential for, exotic and other invasive spe8 cies; and 

9 (M) to increase stakeholder participation 

10 through collaborative groups. 

11 (c) PLANNING.—To help to achieve the goals de12 scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary shall use landscape 

13 scale planning based on watershed areas as a tool to im14 plement ecological restoration projects in the covered area. 

15 (d) PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date on which the Secretary selects the cov18 ered area, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

19 relevant collaborative groups, may establish perform20 ance goals, in addition to the goals that are estab21 lished by subsection (b), that the Secretary shall 

22 seek to achieve consistent with the purposes of this 

23 Act and the goals and opportunities described in 

24 subsection (b) for the covered area. 


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1 (2) TERM.—Subject to paragraph (3), each per2 formance goal established under paragraph (1) shall 

3 be measured annually for a period of 15 years. 

4 (3) ADDITIONS.—The Secretary may develop 

5 additional performance goals that the Secretary de6 termines to be appropriate during the period estab7 lished by paragraph (2). 

8 (4) PRIORITIZATION.—Subject to the limita9 tions described in section 11(b), the Secretary shall 

10 prioritize the vegetation management and hazardous 

11 fuels reduction program activities in the covered 

12 area to achieve the performance goals established 

13 under this subsection. 

14 (5) RESTORATION GOALS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within the covered 

16 area, consistent with the goals, and after con17 sidering the opportunities, described in sub18 section (b), the Secretary shall, to the max19 imum extent practicable, prepare, offer, and 

20 promptly implement projects, that— 

21 (i) are predominantly comprised of 

22 mechanical treatment in the covered area 

23 that emphasize sawtimber as a byproduct; 

24 and 

25 (ii) are conducted on— 


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1 (I) for the first fiscal year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, not 

3 less than 39,000 acres; 

4 (II) for the subsequent fiscal 

5 year, not less than 58,000 acres; and 

6 (III) for each fiscal year there7 after until the fiscal year in which at 

8 least 1 ecological restoration project 

9 for each National Forest is initiated 

10 under section 8, not less than 80,000 

11 acres. 

12 (B) ANNUAL GOALS.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the 

14 first fiscal year after the date on which at 

15 least 1 ecological restoration project is ini16 tiated for each National Forest under sec17 tion 8 and each fiscal year thereafter until 

18 the date on which the Initiative is com19 pleted, the Secretary may, subject to clause 

20 (ii), set annual acreage performance goals 

21 for projects that are predominantly com22 prised of mechanical treatment in the cov23 ered area that emphasize sawtimber as a 

24 byproduct consistent with the goals, and 


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1 after considering the opportunities, de2 scribed in subsection (b). 

3 (ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In setting 

4 goals under clause (i), the Secretary shall 

5 consider— 

6 (I) the restoration assessment; 

7 (II) any specific recommenda8 tions of the advisory panel relating to 

9 acreage treatment needs; and 

10 (III) advice provided by a col11 laborative group relating to acreage 

12 treatment needs. 

13 (e) PROHIBITIONS ON REMOVAL OF CERTAIN

14 TREES.— 

15 (1) LARGER TREES.—Except as provided in 

16 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall prohibit the cut17 ting or removal of any live tree located in the cov18 ered area, the diameter of which is 21 inches or 

19 greater measured at breast height. 

20 (2) SMALLER TREES.—Except as provided in 

21 paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary shall prohibit the 

22 cutting or removal of any live tree located in the cov23 ered area, the diameter of which is less than 21 

24 inches measured at breast height, if the Secretary 

25 determines, after considering the recommendations 


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1 of the advisory panel, that prohibiting the cutting or 

2 removal is required to meet the goals described in 

3 subsection (b). 

4 (3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

5 (A) ECOLOGICAL EXCEPTION.—The prohi6 bitions described in paragraph (1) shall not 

7 apply if the Secretary, after considering the rec8 ommendations of the advisory panel and con9 sulting with each relevant collaborative group, 

10 determines that the cutting or removal of the 

11 tree would be consistent with the goals de12 scribed in subsection (b)(1). 

13 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTION.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The prohibitions 

15 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 

16 not apply if the Secretary determines that 

17 there is no reasonable alternative to the 

18 cutting or removal of the tree to provide 

19 for a safe administrative, public, or special 

20 use. 

21 (ii) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—The 

22 Secretary shall provide to the public and 

23 each relevant collaborative group notice 

24 and an opportunity to comment before 

25 making a determination under clause (i), 


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1 unless the Secretary determines that the 

2 cutting or removal of the tree is necessary 

3 to respond to an emergency condition. 

4 (f) LIMITATIONS ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—In car5 rying out any vegetation management project in the cov6 ered area, the Secretary shall— 

7 (1) not construct any permanent road, unless 

8 the Secretary determines that the road is a justifi9 able realignment of a permanent road to restore or 

10 improve the ecological structure, composition, and 

11 function and the natural processes of the affected 

12 forest or watershed; and 

13 (2) by the earlier of the date on which the vege14 tation management project is completed or the date 

15 that is 1 year after the activities for which the road 

16 was constructed are complete, decommission any 

17 temporary road constructed to carry out the vegeta18 tion management project by— 

19 (A) reestablishing vegetation on the road; 

20 and 

21 (B) restoring any natural drainage, water22 shed function, or other ecological processes that 

23 are disrupted or adversely impacted by the 

24 road, including by removing or hydrologically 

25 disconnecting the road prism. 


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1 SEC. 5. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT. 

2 (a) AQUATIC AND RIPARIAN RESOURCES MANAGE3 MENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the covered area, 

5 each vegetation management project in an area de6 lineated under subsection (b) shall protect and re7 store the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources 

8 of the delineated area. 

9 (2) EFFECTS.—A project described in para10 graph (1) may result in short-term negative effects 

11 on the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources of 

12 the delineated area if the Secretary determines, after 

13 considering the best available science, that the 

14 project would result in a net improvement to the 

15 condition of those resources over the long-term. 

16 (b) DELINEATION OF AREAS.— 

17 (1) FISH-BEARING STREAMS.—The Secretary 

18 shall delineate each permanently flowing fishbearing 

19 stream and the area extending away from each edge 

20 of the active stream channel to include— 

21 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 

22 (B) the outer edges of the 100-year flood23 plain; 

24 (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; 

25 (D) a distance equal to the height of 2 

26 site-potential trees; and 


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1 (E) a slope distance of not less than 300 

2 feet. 

3 (2) PERMANENTLY FLOWING NON-FISHBEARING

4 STREAMS.—The Secretary shall delineate each per5 manently flowing non-fishbearing stream and the 

6 area extending away from each edge of the active 

7 stream channel to include— 

8 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 

9 (B) the outer edges of the 100-year flood 

10 plain; 

11 (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; 

12 (D) a distance equal to the height of 1 

13 site-potential tree; and 

14 (E) a slope distance of not less than 150 

15 feet. 

16 (3) PONDS, LAKES, RESERVOIRS, AND WET17 LANDS LARGER THAN 1 ACRE.—The Secretary shall 

18 delineate each pond, lake, reservoir, and wetland 

19 larger than 1 acre and the area extending away from 

20 the high-water edges to include— 

21 (A) the outer edges of the riparian vegeta22 tion; 

23 (B) the extent of the seasonally saturated 

24 soil; 


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1 (C) the extent of moderately and highly 

2 unstable areas; 

3 (D) a distance equal to the height of 1 

4 site-potential tree; and 

5 (E) a slope distance of— 

6 (i) if the area located in a watershed 

7 identified as key or priority under the ap8 plicable land and resource management 

9 plan, not less than 100 feet; or 

10 (ii) not less than 50 feet. 

11 (4) INTERMITTENT STREAMS, WETLANDS LESS

12 THAN 1 ACRE, LANDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDE-PRONE

13 AREAS.—The Secretary shall delineate each wetland 

14 smaller than 1 acre, landslide, landslide-prone area, 

15 intermittent stream channel, and the area extending 

16 away from the edges of the wetland, landslide, land17 slide-prone area, or intermittent stream channel to 

18 include— 

19 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 

20 (B) the outer edges of the riparian vegeta21 tion; 

22 (C) a distance equal to the height of 1 site23 potential tree; and 

24 (D) a slope distance of— 


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1 (i) if the area is located in a water2 shed identified as key or priority under the 

3 applicable land and resource management 

4 plan, not less than 100 feet; or 

5 (ii) not less than 50 feet. 

6 (c) AQUATIC AND RIPARIAN PROTECTION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the Secretary shall comply with the 

9 aquatic and riparian protection requirements of the 

10 applicable land and resource management plan in 

11 existence on the date of enactment of this Act in 

12 carrying out each vegetation management project in 

13 the covered area. 

14 (2) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary may mod15 ify the aquatic and riparian protection requirements 

16 described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary deter17 mines, after considering the best available science, 

18 that the modifications would meet or exceed the 

19 goals of the aquatic and riparian protection require20 ments. 

21 SEC. 6. EASTSIDE FOREST SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AD22 VISORY PANEL. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

24 date on which the Secretary selects the covered area, the 

25 Secretary shall establish an advisory panel— 


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1 (1) to be known as the ‘‘Eastside Forest Sci2 entific and Technical Advisory Panel’’; and 

3 (2) to advise the Secretary, collaborative 

4 groups, and the public regarding the development 

5 and implementation of— 

6 (A) goals to improve forest health, water7 shed health, and related social and economic 

8 goals in the covered area; 

9 (B) the restoration assessment; and 

10 (C) projects needed to accomplish the pur11 poses of this Act. 

12 (b) COMPOSITION.—The advisory panel shall be com13 posed of 9 members, each of whom shall have expertise 

14 in 1 or more of the following: 

15 (1) Silviculture. 

16 (2) Timber economics. 

17 (3) Road and logging engineering. 

18 (4) Soil science and geology. 

19 (5) Ecosystem services or natural resources eco20 nomics. 

21 (6) Community economics or ecosystem work22 force development. 

23 (7) Forest ecology. 

24 (8) Aquatic and riparian ecology. 

25 (9) Wildlife ecology. 


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1 (10) Ecological restoration. 

2 (11) Invasive species control and eradication. 

3 (12) Wildland fire. 

4 (13) Water quantity and water quality. 

5 (14) Hydrology. 

6 (15) Forest carbon life-cycle and sequestration. 

7 (16) Social science. 

8 (c) APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary shall— 

9 (1) ensure that the advisory panel includes ex10 perts in a broad array of the fields described in sub11 section (b); and 

12 (2) give consideration to the recommendations 

13 of institutions of higher education (as defined in sec14 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

15 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), professional societies, and 

16 other interested organizations and persons. 

17 (d) DUTIES.— 

18 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date on which the Secretary ap21 points the members of the advisory panel, the 

22 advisory panel shall submit to the Secretary 

23 and make available to the public a report that 

24 contains recommendations regarding the man25 ner by which the Secretary may best achieve 


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1 the purposes and goals and consider the oppor2 tunities described in section 4(b). 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report shall 

4 provide recommendations based on the best 

5 available science— 

6 (i) for the size and scope of projects 

7 needed to accomplish the goals and con8 sider the opportunities described in section 

9 4(b); 

10 (ii) for potential protocols that could 

11 be used to efficiently identify trees older 

12 than 150 years in carrying out experi13 mental ecological restoration projects 

14 under section 8(b); 

15 (iii) for increasing local capacity to 

16 accomplish the goals and consider the op17 portunities described in section 4(b); and 

18 (iv) for each relevant plant association 

19 group— 

20 (I) for protecting and restoring 

21 terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, wildlife, 

22 fish, vegetation, soil, carbon, and 

23 other resources; 

24 (II) for the types of activities 

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1 est health and watershed health (in2 cluding thinning, prescribed, and nat3 ural fire, and other appropriate activi4 ties); 

5 (III) for cases in which the cut6 ting or removal of trees described in 

7 section 4(e)(1) would generally be 

8 considered to be ecologically appro9 priate; and 

10 (IV) for cases in which prohib11 iting the cutting or removal of trees 

12 described in section 4(e)(2) would 

13 generally be considered to be eco14 logically appropriate. 

15 (C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

17 extent practicable, the advisory panel shall 

18 achieve a consensus with respect to each 

19 recommendation included in the report. 

20 (ii) INCLUSION OF DISSENTING OPIN21 IONS.—If the advisory panel fails to 

22 achieve a consensus with respect to any 

23 recommendation included in the report, the 

24 report shall include each dissenting opinion 

25 relating to the recommendation. 


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1 (2) REVIEW REPORT.—Not later than 5 years 

2 after the date on which the Secretary appoints the 

3 members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel 

4 shall submit to the Secretary and make available to 

5 the public a report providing— 

6 (A) a quantitative and qualitative assess7 ment of the status of, and changes to, forest 

8 health and watershed health in the covered 

9 area, including the resiliency, aquatic function, 

10 and plant composition, structure, and function; 

11 and 

12 (B) an assessment of the implementation 

13 of the recommendations made under paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY. 

16 (a) EASTSIDE LANDSCAPE FOREST RESTORATION

17 ASSESSMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare 

19 an assessment of the covered area to be known as 

20 the ‘‘Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assess21 ment’’. 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The restoration assess23 ment shall— 


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1 (A) compile the best available scientific as2 sessments of, and relating to, the covered area 

3 concerning— 

4 (i) forest health and watershed health, 

5 including measures necessary to restore 

6 forest health and watershed health; 

7 (ii) the road system, including— 

8 (I) travel management; and 

9 (II) the funding levels necessary 

10 to maintain the road system; 

11 (iii) the local infrastructure and work12 force capacity needs and the potential 

13 value to the local economy resulting from 

14 comprehensive forest restoration; 

15 (iv) baseline ecological conditions in 

16 the forests and watersheds; 

17 (v) baseline economic conditions in the 

18 communities; 

19 (vi) the volume of biomass that— 

20 (I) consists of slash, brush, and 

21 any tree that does not exceed the min22 imum size standards for sawtimber; 

23 and 


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1 (II) can be supplied consistent 

2 with the goals and considering the op3 portunities described in section 4(b); 

4 (vii) the volume of sawtimber that can 

5 be supplied consistent with the goals and 

6 considering the opportunities described in 

7 section 4(b); and 

8 (viii) methods to hydrologically and 

9 ecologically restore land and water by— 

10 (I) decommissioning unnecessary 

11 and undesirable roads; and 

12 (II) reducing the environmental 

13 impact of necessary and desirable 

14 roads; and 

15 (B) to the extent practicable and using the 

16 best available science, develop and provide the 

17 information described in subparagraph (A) that 

18 is not available in any existing assessment. 

19 (3) TIMING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

21 after the date on which the Secretary selects 

22 the covered area, the Secretary shall make 

23 available to the public the information required 

24 under paragraph (2). 


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1 (B) COMPLETION.—Not later than 2 years 

2 after the date on which the Secretary selects 

3 the covered area, the Secretary shall complete 

4 the restoration assessment. 

5 (4) REVIEW AND UPDATE.—The Secretary shall 

6 periodically review and update the information com7 piled and developed under paragraph (2). 

8 (b) STRATEGY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using the restoration assess10 ment, the Secretary shall develop a strategy to assist 

11 in the development and implementation of projects 

12 needed to accomplish the purposes of this Act. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy required 

14 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

15 (A) methods to identify and prioritize 

16 areas within the covered area in which projects 

17 would address the restoration needs and oppor18 tunities described in the restoration assessment; 

19 (B) recommendations for possible projects 

20 within the covered area, consistent with the pri21 orities described in section 8; and 

22 (C) recommendations for improving the 

23 commercial use of biomass and other byprod24 ucts of projects within the covered area. 


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1 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall 

2 make available to the public draft and final copies of the 

3 restoration assessment and the strategy required by sub4 section (b). 

5 SEC. 8. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

6 (a) ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

8 the date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

9 area, the Secretary shall, considering the opportuni10 ties described in section 4(b)(2), implement ecologi11 cal restoration projects in the covered area to fur12 ther the goals described in section 4(b). 

13 (2) LANDSCAPE-SCALE PROJECTS.—Subject to 

14 the availability of appropriations in accordance with 

15 section 11, the Secretary shall, to the maximum ex16 tent practicable, implement 1 or more ecological res17 toration projects for each National Forest in the 

18 covered area that provide landscape-scale work with19 in a watershed area by the earlier of the date that 

20 is— 

21 (A) 1 year after the date of completion of 

22 the restoration assessment; or 

23 (B) 3 years after the date on which the 

24 Secretary selects the covered area. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing and imple2 menting ecological restoration projects under this 

3 section, the Secretary shall consider— 

4 (A) the best available science and data; 

5 (B) the recommendations of the advisory 

6 panel; 

7 (C) the restoration needs and opportunities 

8 described in the restoration assessment; 

9 (D) the strategy developed under section 

10 7(b); and 

11 (E) the views of the relevant collaborative 

12 groups. 

13 (4) NET ROAD REDUCTION.—In developing eco14 logical restoration projects under this Act, the Sec15 retary shall examine opportunities for, and achieve, 

16 a net reduction in the permanent road system to im17 prove forest and watershed health to the maximum 

18 extent practicable. 

19 (5) PRIORITIZATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 prioritize ecological restoration projects in the 

22 covered area considering the requirements in 

23 paragraph (3) and based on the degree to which 

24 the ecological restoration projects would imVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:28 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S220.IS S220

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1 prove forest health and watershed health, based 

2 on— 

3 (i) dry and moist forest plant associa4 tion groups; and 

5 (ii) the need to sustain adequate levels 

6 of industry infrastructure to accomplish 

7 the goals described in section 4(b). 

8 (B) INCLUSIONS.—In carrying out this 

9 section, the types of projects the Secretary shall 

10 consider to be priority projects include projects 

11 that— 

12 (i) reduce the risk of, and increase the 

13 resistance and resiliency of the land to, 

14 uncharacteristic disturbances, particularly 

15 if critical components or values are at risk, 

16 including— 

17 (I) communities located in the 

18 wildland-urban interface (as defined 

19 in section 101 of the Healthy Forests 

20 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

21 6511)); and 

22 (II) valuable forest structures 

23 (including old growth and older ma24 ture trees); 


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1 (ii) restore the structure and composi2 tion of forest stands at a high or moderate 

3 departure from the historic range of varia4 bility; 

5 (iii) accelerate the development of 

6 complex forest structure in a young forest 

7 that has been simplified through past man8 agement, such as by— 

9 (I) creating spatial heterogeneity 

10 (including the creation of skips and 

11 gaps) using mechanical treatments to 

12 create wildlife habitat; and 

13 (II) retaining biological legacies 

14 (including large standing, downed, 

15 live, and dead trees); 

16 (iv) assist in the implementation of 

17 community wildfire protection plans devel18 oped by at-risk communities (as those 

19 terms are defined in section 101 of the 

20 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

21 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 

22 (v) use the value of merchantable 

23 sawlogs and biomass to help offset the cost 

24 of ecological restoration projects; 


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1 (vi) meet local and rural community 

2 needs through a source that is selected on 

3 a best-value basis; and 

4 (vii) reduce the permanent road sys5 tem to improve forest health and water6 shed health. 

7 (b) EXPERIMENTAL ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

8 PROJECTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

10 final agency action, but not later than 5 years after 

11 the date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

12 area, the Secretary shall implement experimental ec13 ological restoration projects in the covered area that 

14 are designed to use an age limitation that prohibits 

15 the cutting or removal of any tree older than 150 

16 years. 

17 (2) APPLICABILITY OF CUTTING LIMITATION.— 

18 The prohibitions described in section 4(e)(1) shall 

19 not apply to any experimental ecological restoration 

20 project carried out under this subsection. 

21 (3) PROTOCOL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

22 protocol to efficiently identify trees older than 150 

23 years in carrying out each experimental ecological 

24 restoration project under this subsection, such as 

25 by— 


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1 (A) sampling trees within forest stands; or 

2 (B) establishing standards for determining 

3 which forest stands contain trees older than 

4 150 years. 

5 (4) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary shall use 

6 data from experimental ecological restoration 

7 projects— 

8 (A) to examine the feasibility of imple9 menting age limits at a broader scale; and 

10 (B) to provide recommendations regarding 

11 the manner by which future vegetation manage12 ment projects designed to protect trees older 

13 than 150 years may be carried out more effi14 ciently. 

15 (c) REVIEW.—Each project carried out under this 

16 section may be subject to— 

17 (1) the predecisional administrative review proc18 ess established in part 218 of title 36, Code of Fed19 eral Regulations, except that the Secretary shall pro20 vide notice of, and distribute, a proposed decision 

21 before or with the environmental assessment or final 

22 environmental impact statement for any project sub23 ject to review under this paragraph; and 


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1 (2) subsections (b) and (c)(3) of section 106 of 

2 the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

3 U.S.C. 6516). 

4 SEC. 9. COLLABORATION. 

5 (a) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—To assist in the development 

7 of the restoration assessment and the projects need8 ed to accomplish the purposes of this Act in the cov9 ered area, the Secretary shall consult with, and con10 sider the recommendations of, any collaborative 

11 group that meets the criteria described in paragraph 

12 (2). 

13 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.—A collaborative 

14 group under paragraph (1) means a group that— 

15 (A) is interested in the implementation of 

16 this Act; 

17 (B) includes multiple individuals rep18 resenting diverse interests that include— 

19 (i) environmental organizations; 

20 (ii) timber and forest products indus21 try representatives; and 

22 (iii) county governments; 

23 (C) operates— 

24 (i) in a transparent and nonexclusive 

25 manner; and 


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1 (ii) by consensus or in accordance 

2 with voting procedures to ensure a high de3 gree of agreement among participants and 

4 across various interests; and 

5 (D) requires a level of participation suffi6 cient to ensure that members of the collabo7 rative group are adequately informed before 

8 each decision. 

9 (b) MULTIPARTY MONITORING.—The Secretary, in 

10 consultation with the relevant collaborative groups, may 

11 develop a multiparty monitoring plan for any vegetation 

12 management project carried out under this Act. 

13 SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATION. 

14 (a) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act affects— 

15 (1) any right described in a treaty between an 

16 Indian tribe and the United States; or 

17 (2) any biological opinion, including any opinion 

18 associated with the aquatic and riparian protection 

19 requirements of applicable land and resource man20 agement plans. 

21 (b) APPLICABLE LAW.—Except as provided in section 

22 8(c), the Secretary shall carry out this Act in accordance 

23 with applicable law (including regulations). 

24 (c) PRINCIPAL AGENCY CONTACT.— 


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1 (1) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select a 

2 principal agency contact for the implementation of 

3 this Act. 

4 (2) DUTIES.—The principal agency contact 

5 shall— 

6 (A) serve as the point-of-contact for the 

7 advisory panel; 

8 (B) facilitate communications among— 

9 (i) the advisory panel; 

10 (ii) collaborative groups; 

11 (iii) employees of the Forest Service; 

12 and 

13 (iv) any other stakeholders (including 

14 the public). 

15 (d) REPORTING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare 

17 a report on the implementation of this Act— 

18 (A) not later than 5 years after the date 

19 on which the Secretary selects the covered area; 

20 and 

21 (B) 2 years before the date referred to in 

22 subsection (e)(1). 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports required under 

24 subparagraph (A) shall, for each National Forest in 


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1 the covered area, assess the progress toward accom2 plishing— 

3 (A) the purposes of this Act; and 

4 (B) the performance goals established 

5 under section 4(d). 

6 (e) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities under this 

8 Act shall terminate on the date that is 15 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection af11 fects a valid contract in effect on the date described 

12 in paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), there 

15 is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out 

16 this Act, to remain available until expended. 

17 (b) LIMITATION.— 

18 (1) OTHER ALLOCATIONS.—Amounts expended 

19 to carry out this Act shall not reduce the allocations 

20 of appropriated funds to the Secretary for use in— 

21 (A) other National Forests not included in 

22 the covered area; 

23 (B) other States; or 

24 (C) other Regions of the Forest Service. 


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1 (2) REDUCTION.—The amount authorized to be 

2 appropriated under subsection (a) shall be reduced 

3 by any Federal funds allocated to, and expended by, 

4 a National Forest in the covered area under the pro5 gram established under section 4003 of the Omnibus 

6 Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

7 7303) to implement a proposal under subsection (d) 

8 of that section. 

Æ 


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