II 

Calendar No. 407 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1301 

[Report No. 113–180] 

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 

JULY 16 (legislative day, JULY 15), 2013 

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 

JUNE 2, 2014 

Reported by Ms. LANDRIEU, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oregon Eastside For3 ests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 

4 2013’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of this Act are— 

7 (1) to conserve and restore the eastside Na8 tional Forests of the State; 

9 (2) to create an immediate, predictable, and in10 creased timber flow to support locally based restora11 tion economies in the communities of the eastside 

12 National Forests of the State; 

13 (3) to make the eastside National Forests of 

14 the State more resistant and resilient to, and to 

15 mitigate the effects of, climate change; 

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

17 forest stands and trees in the eastside National For18 ests of the State; 

19 (5) to promote collaboration in the communities 

20 of the eastside National Forests of the State to re21 spond to critical threats to forest and watershed 

22 health and to support natural resource- and restora23 tion-based economies; 

24 (6) to prioritize, strategically target, and accel25 erate projects to improve forest health and waterVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:10 Jun 03, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1301.RS S1301

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1 shed health in old growth forests located in the 

2 eastside National Forests of the State; and 

3 (7) to provide the Secretary, collaborative 

4 groups, and the public with independent scientific 

5 advice for restoring forest health and watershed 

6 health in the eastside National Forests of the State. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

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

10 panel’’ means the Eastside Forest Scientific and 

11 Technical Advisory Panel established under section 

12 6(a). 

13 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUP.—The term ‘‘col14 laborative group’’ means a group of individuals that 

15 meets the requirements of section 8(a)(2). 

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

17 means the area selected by the Secretary under sec18 tion 4(a)(1) that is— 

19 (A) within the State; and 

20 (B) not within the area covered by the 

21 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest 

22 Service and Bureau of Land Management Plan23 ning Documents Within the Range of the 

24 Northern Spotted Owl, dated April 1994. 


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1 (4) DECISION NOTICE.—The term ‘‘Decision 

2 Notice’’ means the decision notice entitled ‘‘Decision 

3 Notice for the Revised Continuation of Interim Man4 agement Direction Establishing Riparian, Ecosystem 

5 and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales, United 

6 States Forest Service Region 6, Colville, Deschutes, 

7 Fremont, Malheur, Ochoco, Okanogan, Umatilla, 

8 Wallowa-Whitman and Winema National Forests in 

9 Oregon and Washington’’ and approved by the Pa10 cific Northwest Regional Forester on June 6, 1995. 

11 (5) EMERGENCY CONDITION.—The term ‘‘emer12 gency condition’’ means a condition— 

13 (A) that results in an— 

14 (i) imminent risk to life or property; 

15 or 

16 (ii) immediate impairment of the pub17 lic use and enjoyment of a trail, road, 

18 highway, public facility, or public land; and 

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

20 the urgency to address the emergency of which 

21 outweighs the benefits of full notice and com22 ment. 

23 (6) FOREST HEALTH.—The term ‘‘forest 

24 health’’ means conditions that enable forested 

25 land— 


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

2 to uncharacteristic wildfire, insect, or pathogen 

3 outbreaks, while— 

4 (i) supporting ecosystem services and 

5 populations of native species; and 

6 (ii) allowing for natural disturbances; 

7 (B) to maintain or develop species com8 position, ecosystem function and structure, hy9 drologic function, and sediment regimes that 

10 are within an acceptable range that considers— 

11 (i) historic variability; and 

12 (ii) anticipated future conditions; and 

13 (C) to be resistant and resilient to unchar14 acteristic events. 

15 (7) FOREST STAND.—The term ‘‘forest stand’’ 

16 means a contiguous group of trees that are suffi17 ciently uniform in age-class distribution, composi18 tion, and structure and that are growing on a site 

19 of sufficiently uniform quality to be a distinguishable 

20 unit. 

21 (8) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

22 an initiative established by the Secretary— 

23 (A) to restore and improve the ecological 

24 structure, composition, and function and the 


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1 natural processes of watersheds within the Na2 tional Forest System; 

3 (B) to preserve and create local jobs in 

4 rural communities that are located in or near 

5 National Forest System land; 

6 (C) to sustain the local wood products in7 frastructure and community capacity that is 

8 necessary for the appropriate management and 

9 restoration of National Forest System land; 

10 (D) to promote cooperation and collabora11 tion in the management of National Forest Sys12 tem land; 

13 (E) to carry out collaborative projects to 

14 restore forest health and watershed health and 

15 to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic disturb16 ances from fire, insects, and disease to commu17 nities, watersheds, and natural resources 

18 through a collaborative process of planning, 

19 prioritizing, and implementing ecological res20 toration, hazardous fuel reduction, and other 

21 vegetation management projects; 

22 (F) to collect information from the projects 

23 carried out under this Act in an effort to better 

24 understand the manner in which to improve for25 est restoration and management activities; 


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1 (G) that includes all National Forest Sys2 tem land within the covered area; and 

3 (H) under which not more than 15 Na4 tional Forests may be selected to participate. 

5 (9) INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREA.—The term 

6 ‘‘inventoried roadless area’’ means 1 of the areas 

7 identified in the set of inventoried roadless area 

8 maps contained in the Forest Service Roadless 

9 Areas Conservation, Final Environmental Impact 

10 Statement, Volume 2, dated November 2000. 

11 (10) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

13 the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range14 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

16 (11) PILOT LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘‘pilot land17 scape’’ means a National Forest entirely within the 

18 covered area on which a project is being carried out 

19 under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land 

20 Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) as of 

21 January 1, 2013. 

22 (12) PLANT ASSOCIATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘plant asso24 ciation’’ means a description of a plant commu25 nity that— 


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1 (i) would potentially, in the absence of 

2 a disturbance, occupy a site; and 

3 (ii) may be aggregated into 1 or more 

4 groups based on similarities in plant spe5 cies, composition, environment, and pro6 ductivity. 

7 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘plant associa8 tion’’ includes, with respect to a forested site, 

9 species representing tree, shrub, and herbaceous 

10 layers. 

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

12 means the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through 

13 the Chief of the Forest Service). 

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

15 State of Oregon. 

16 (15) UNCHARACTERISTIC.—The term ‘‘unchar17 acteristic’’ means a wildfire, insect, or pathogen out18 break or level of forest fuel, the severity, size, fre19 quency, or quantity of which exceeds the historic 

20 range of variability. 

21 (16) WATERSHED AREA.—The term ‘‘watershed 

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

23 as 6th code hydrologic units). 


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1 (17) WATERSHED HEALTH.—The term ‘‘water2 shed health’’ means landscape conditions that enable 

3 riparian and aquatic ecosystems— 

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

5 sediment, wood, and nutrients; 

6 (B) to provide for water temperatures that 

7 are within the range of variability of the nat8 ural regimes for the processes described in sub9 paragraph (A); and 

10 (C) to create and sustain functional ripar11 ian, aquatic, and wetland habitats that are ca12 pable of supporting diverse populations of na13 tive aquatic- and riparian-dependent species. 

14 SEC. 4. LAND MANAGEMENT. 

15 (a) APPLICATION OF THE INITIATIVE TO THE COV16 ERED AREA.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall select all or part of 1 or more National Forests 

20 in the State as part of the Initiative. 

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

22 shall be for a period of 15 years. 

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

24 apply to the covered area. 

25 (b) LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the covered area, the Sec2 retary shall, considering the best available science, 

3 seek— 

4 (A) to conserve and restore forest health, 

5 watershed health, and other ecosystems; 

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

7 resistance and resiliency of the land to, 

8 uncharacteristic disturbances; 

9 (C) to allow for characteristic natural dis10 turbances; and 

11 (D) to harvest wood to maintain adequate 

12 levels of industry infrastructure to accomplish 

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

14 and (C). 

15 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—To achieve the 

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

17 covered area, the Secretary shall consider opportuni18 ties— 

19 (A) to reduce the basal area in overstocked 

20 forest stands; 

21 (B) to increase the mean diameter of for22 est stands; 

23 (C) to maintain or create a forest composi24 tion that focuses on more fire- and drought-tol25 erant species; 


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1 (D) to restore historic levels of within-for2 est stand spatial heterogeneity; 

3 (E) to conserve and restore old growth; 

4 (F) to conserve and restore population lev5 els of older trees; 

6 (G) to conserve and restore ecologically 

7 sustainable forest stands and landscapes to in8 corporate characteristic forest stand structures 

9 and older tree populations; 

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

11 merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help off12 set the cost of improving forest health and wa13 tershed health; 

14 (I) to restore or maintain sustainable and 

15 fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through 

16 active management (including management 

17 through prescribed or wildland fire and me18 chanical treatments); 

19 (J) to restore or maintain ecologically ap20 propriate spatial complexity (including a range 

21 of open to dense forest patches at scales from 

22 the forest stand to the landscape); 

23 (K) to create nonuniform effects in car24 rying out vegetation management projects by 

25 avoiding extensive areas of uniform treatment, 


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1 except for certain treatments (such as broad2 cast burns) that are carried out to enhance the 

3 spatial heterogeneity of the forest site; 

4 (L) to restore or maintain ecologically ap5 propriate understory plant community composi6 tion and condition, including— 

7 (i) by restoring and maintaining na8 tive ground cover; and 

9 (ii) by reducing the impacts of, and 

10 potential for, exotic and other invasive spe11 cies; and 

12 (M) to increase stakeholder participation 

13 through collaborative groups. 

14 (c) PLANNING.—To help to achieve the goals de15 scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary shall use landscape 

16 scale planning based on watershed areas as a tool to im17 plement ecological restoration projects in the covered area. 

18 (d) PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

20 the date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

21 area, the Secretary, in consultation with the relevant 

22 collaborative groups, may establish performance 

23 goals, in addition to the goals that are established 

24 by subsection (b), that the Secretary shall seek to 

25 achieve consistent with the purposes of this Act and 


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1 the goals and opportunities described in subsection 

2 (b) for the covered area. 

3 (2) TERM.—Subject to paragraph (3), each per4 formance goal established under paragraph (1) shall 

5 be measured annually for a period of 15 years. 

6 (3) ADDITIONS.—The Secretary may develop 

7 additional performance goals that the Secretary de8 termines to be appropriate during the period estab9 lished by paragraph (2). 

10 (4) PRIORITIZATION.—Subject to the limita11 tions described in section 12(c), the Secretary shall 

12 prioritize the vegetation management and hazardous 

13 fuels reduction program activities in the covered 

14 area to achieve the performance goals established 

15 under this subsection. 

16 (5) RESTORATION GOALS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within the covered 

18 area, consistent with the goals, and after con19 sidering the opportunities, described in sub20 section (b), the Secretary shall, to the max21 imum extent practicable, prepare, offer, and 

22 promptly implement— 

23 (i) projects that— 

24 (I) are predominantly comprised 

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1 ered area that emphasize sawtimber 

2 as a byproduct; and 

3 (II) are conducted on— 

4 (aa) for the first fiscal year 

5 after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act, not less than 60,000 

7 acres; 

8 (bb) for the subsequent fis9 cal year, not less than 80,000 

10 acres; and 

11 (cc) for each fiscal year 

12 thereafter until the fiscal year in 

13 which at least 1 ecological res14 toration project for each National 

15 Forest is initiated under section 

16 7, not less than 100,000 acres; 

17 and 

18 (ii) for each fiscal year after the fiscal 

19 year specified in subparagraph clause 

20 (i)(II)(cc), an ecological restoration project 

21 on each National Forest in the covered 

22 area with a gross planning area of not less 

23 than 25,000 acres. 

24 (B) ANNUAL GOALS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the 

2 first fiscal year after the date on which at 

3 least 1 ecological restoration project is ini4 tiated for each National Forest under sec5 tion 8 and each fiscal year thereafter until 

6 the date on which the Initiative is com7 pleted, the Secretary may, subject to clause 

8 (ii), set annual acreage performance goals 

9 for projects that are predominantly com10 prised of mechanical treatment in the cov11 ered area that emphasize sawtimber as a 

12 byproduct consistent with the goals, and 

13 after considering the opportunities, de14 scribed in subsection (b). 

15 (ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In setting 

16 goals under clause (i), the Secretary shall 

17 consider— 

18 (I) any specific recommendations 

19 of the advisory panel relating to acre20 age treatment needs; and 

21 (II) advice provided by a collabo22 rative group relating to acreage treat23 ment needs. 

24 (C) PRIORITY FOR RESTORATION GOALS.— 

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1 lished under subparagraph (A) or (B), the Sec2 retary shall prioritize for treatment— 

3 (i) any area located on a pilot land4 scape; and 

5 (ii) any area that has opportunities 

6 for reduced planning and implementation 

7 costs because of— 

8 (I) opportunities to work with a 

9 collaborative group on the project; or 

10 (II) opportunities to use non11 Federal resources to complete the 

12 project. 

13 (e) PROHIBITIONS ON REMOVAL OF CERTAIN

14 TREES.— 

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

16 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prohibit the cut17 ting or removal of any live tree located in the cov18 ered area that is 150 years of age or older measured 

19 at breast height. 

20 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition de22 scribed in paragraph (1) shall not apply if the 

23 Secretary determines that there is no reason24 able alternative to the cutting or removal of the 


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1 tree to provide for a safe administrative, public, 

2 or special use. 

3 (B) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—The Sec4 retary shall provide to the public and each rel5 evant collaborative group notice and an oppor6 tunity to comment before making a determina7 tion under subparagraph (A), unless the Sec8 retary determines that the cutting or removal of 

9 the tree is necessary to respond to an emer10 gency condition. 

11 (C) APPLICATION OF DECISION NOTICE.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

13 (ii), if the Secretary, after considering the 

14 recommendations of the relevant collabo15 rative group or the recommendations re16 port issued under section 6(d), determines 

17 that the prohibition in paragraph (1) is in18 feasible to implement for a specific vegeta19 tion management project, the Secretary 

20 shall apply the Decision Notice with re21 spect to the specific vegetation manage22 ment project. 

23 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—In applying the 

24 Decision Notice to a specific vegetation 

25 management project under clause (i), the 


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1 Secretary may make site-specific forest 

2 plan amendments to allow the cutting or 

3 removal of live trees greater than 21 

4 inches in diameter at breast height that 

5 are younger than 150 years old at breast 

6 height, the cutting or removal of which is 

7 necessary to meet the land management 

8 goals described in subsection (b)(1). 

9 (f) LIMITATIONS ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—In car10 rying out any vegetation management project in the cov11 ered area, the Secretary shall— 

12 (1) not construct any permanent road, unless 

13 the Secretary determines that the road is a justifi14 able realignment of a permanent road to restore or 

15 improve the ecological structure, composition, and 

16 function and the natural processes of the affected 

17 forest or watershed; and 

18 (2) by the earlier of the date on which the vege19 tation management project is completed or the date 

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

21 was constructed are complete, decommission any 

22 temporary road constructed to carry out the vegeta23 tion management project by— 

24 (A) reestablishing vegetation on the road; 

25 and 


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1 (B) restoring any natural drainage, water2 shed function, or other ecological processes that 

3 are disrupted or adversely impacted by the 

4 road, including by removing or hydrologically 

5 disconnecting the road prism. 

6 SEC. 5. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT. 

7 (a) AQUATIC AND RIPARIAN RESOURCES MANAGE8 MENT.— 

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

10 each vegetation management project in an area de11 lineated under subsection (b) shall protect and re12 store the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources 

13 of the delineated area. 

14 (2) EFFECTS.—A project described in para15 graph (1) may result in short-term negative effects 

16 on the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources of 

17 the delineated area if the Secretary determines, after 

18 considering the best available science, that the 

19 project would result in a net improvement to the 

20 condition of those resources over the long term. 

21 (b) DELINEATION OF AREAS.— 

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

23 shall delineate each permanently flowing fishbearing 

24 stream and the area extending away from each edge 

25 of the active stream channel to include— 


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1 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 

2 (B) the outer edges of the 100-year flood3 plain; 

4 (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; 

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

6 site-potential trees; and 

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

8 feet. 

9 (2) PERMANENTLY FLOWING NON-FISHBEARING

10 STREAMS.—The Secretary shall delineate each per11 manently flowing non-fishbearing stream and the 

12 area extending away from each edge of the active 

13 stream channel to include— 

14 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 

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

16 plain; 

17 (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; 

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

19 site-potential tree; and 

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

21 feet. 

22 (3) PONDS, LAKES, RESERVOIRS, AND WET23 LANDS LARGER THAN 1 ACRE.—The Secretary shall 

24 delineate each pond, lake, reservoir, and wetland 


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1 larger than 1 acre and the area extending away from 

2 the high-water edges to include— 

3 (A) the outer edges of the riparian vegeta4 tion; 

5 (B) the extent of the seasonally saturated 

6 soil; 

7 (C) the extent of moderately and highly 

8 unstable areas; 

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

10 site-potential tree; and 

11 (E) a slope distance of— 

12 (i) if the area located in a watershed 

13 identified as key or priority under the ap14 plicable land and resource management 

15 plan, not less than 100 feet; or 

16 (ii) not less than 50 feet. 

17 (4) INTERMITTENT STREAMS, WETLANDS LESS

18 THAN 1 ACRE, LANDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDE-PRONE

19 AREAS.—The Secretary shall delineate each wetland 

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

21 intermittent stream channel, and the area extending 

22 away from the edges of the wetland, landslide, land23 slide-prone area, or intermittent stream channel to 

24 include— 

25 (A) the top of the inner gorge; 


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1 (B) the outer edges of the riparian vegeta2 tion; 

3 (C) a distance equal to the height of 1 site4 potential tree; and 

5 (D) a slope distance of— 

6 (i) if the area is located in a water7 shed identified as key or priority under the 

8 applicable land and resource management 

9 plan, not less than 100 feet; or 

10 (ii) not less than 50 feet. 

11 (c) AQUATIC AND RIPARIAN PROTECTION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), the Secretary shall comply with the 

14 aquatic and riparian protection requirements of the 

15 applicable land and resource management plan in 

16 existence on the date of enactment of this Act in 

17 carrying out each vegetation management project in 

18 the covered area. 

19 (2) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary may mod20 ify the aquatic and riparian protection requirements 

21 described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary deter22 mines, after considering the best available science, 

23 that the modifications would meet or exceed the 

24 goals of the aquatic and riparian protection require25 ments. 


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1 SEC. 6. EASTSIDE FOREST SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AD2 VISORY PANEL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

5 Secretary shall establish an advisory panel— 

6 (1) to be known as the ‘‘Eastside Forest Sci7 entific and Technical Advisory Panel’’; and 

8 (2) to advise the Secretary, collaborative 

9 groups, and the public regarding the development 

10 and implementation of— 

11 (A) goals to improve forest health, water12 shed health, and related social and economic 

13 goals in the covered area; and 

14 (B) projects needed to accomplish the pur15 poses of this Act. 

16 (b) COMPOSITION.—The advisory panel shall be com17 posed of 9 members, each of whom shall have expertise 

18 in 1 or more of the following: 

19 (1) Silviculture. 

20 (2) Timber economics. 

21 (3) Road and logging engineering. 

22 (4) Soil science and geology. 

23 (5) Ecosystem services or natural resources eco24 nomics. 

25 (6) Community economics or ecosystem work26 force development. 


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1 (7) Forest ecology. 

2 (8) Aquatic and riparian ecology. 

3 (9) Wildlife ecology. 

4 (10) Fish Ecology. 

5 (11) Ecological restoration. 

6 (12) Invasive species control and eradication. 

7 (13) Wildland fire. 

8 (14) Hydrology. 

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

10 (16) Social science. 

11 (c) APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary shall— 

12 (1) ensure that the advisory panel includes ex13 perts in a broad array of the fields described in sub14 section (b); and 

15 (2) give consideration to the recommendations 

16 of institutions of higher education (as defined in sec17 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), professional societies, and 

19 other interested organizations and persons. 

20 (d) DUTIES.— 

21 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.— 

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

23 days after the date on which the Secretary ap24 points the members of the advisory panel, the 

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1 able science and information, shall submit to 

2 the Secretary and make available to the public 

3 a report that contains recommendations regard4 ing the manner by which the Secretary may 

5 best achieve the purposes and goals and con6 sider the opportunities described in section 

7 4(b). 

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report shall 

9 provide recommendations based on the best 

10 available science— 

11 (i) for the size and scope of projects 

12 needed to accomplish the goals and con13 sider the opportunities described in section 

14 4(b); 

15 (ii) for increasing local capacity to ac16 complish the goals and consider the oppor17 tunities described in section 4(b); 

18 (iii) for hydrologically and ecologically 

19 restoring land and water by— 

20 (I) decommissioning unnecessary 

21 and undesirable roads; and 

22 (II) reducing the environmental 

23 impact of necessary and desirable 

24 roads; and 


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1 (iv) for each relevant plant association 

2 group— 

3 (I) for protecting and restoring 

4 terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, wildlife, 

5 fish, vegetation, soil, carbon, and 

6 other resources; 

7 (II) for the types of activities 

8 necessary and desirable to restore for9 est health and watershed health (in10 cluding thinning, prescribed, and nat11 ural fire, and other appropriate activi12 ties); 

13 (III) for cases in which the cut14 ting or removal of trees described in 

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

16 considered to be ecologically appro17 priate; and 

18 (IV) for cases in which the cut19 ting or removal of trees described in 

20 section 4(e)(2)(C) would generally be 

21 considered to be ecologically appro22 priate. 

23 (C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

25 extent practicable, the advisory panel shall 


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1 achieve a consensus with respect to each 

2 recommendation included in the report. 

3 (ii) INCLUSION OF DISSENTING OPIN4 IONS.—If the advisory panel fails to 

5 achieve a consensus with respect to any 

6 recommendation included in the report, the 

7 report shall include each dissenting opinion 

8 relating to the recommendation. 

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

10 after the date on which the Secretary appoints the 

11 members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel 

12 shall submit to the Secretary and make available to 

13 the public a report providing— 

14 (A) a quantitative and qualitative assess15 ment of the status of, and changes to, forest 

16 health and watershed health in the covered 

17 area, including the resiliency, aquatic function, 

18 and plant composition, structure, and function; 

19 and 

20 (B) an assessment of the implementation 

21 of the recommendations made under paragraph 

22 (1). 

23 SEC. 7. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

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


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1 Secretary shall, considering the opportunities described in 

2 section 4(b)(2), implement ecological restoration projects 

3 in the covered area to further the goals described in sec4 tion 4(b). 

5 (b) LANDSCAPE-SCALE PROJECTS.—Subject to the 

6 availability of appropriations in accordance with section 

7 12, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, implement 1 or more ecological restoration 

9 projects with a gross planning area of 50,000 acres for 

10 each National Forest in the covered area that provide 

11 landscape-scale work within a watershed area not later 

12 than 3 years after the date on which the Secretary selects 

13 the covered area. 

14 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing and imple15 menting ecological restoration projects under this section, 

16 the Secretary shall consider— 

17 (1) the best available science and data; 

18 (2) the recommendations of the advisory panel; 

19 and 

20 (3) the views of the relevant collaborative 

21 groups. 

22 (d) NET ROAD REDUCTION.—In developing ecologi23 cal restoration projects under this Act, the Secretary shall 

24 examine opportunities for, and achieve, a net reduction in 


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1 the permanent road system to improve forest and water2 shed health to the maximum extent practicable. 

3 (e) PRIORITIZATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 prioritize ecological restoration projects in the cov6 ered area considering the requirements in subsection 

7 (c) and based on the degree to which the ecological 

8 restoration projects would improve forest health and 

9 watershed health, based on— 

10 (A) dry and moist forest plant association 

11 groups; and 

12 (B) the need to sustain adequate levels of 

13 industry infrastructure to accomplish the goals 

14 described in section 4(b). 

15 (2) INCLUSIONS.—In carrying out this section, 

16 the types of projects the Secretary shall consider to 

17 be priority projects include projects that— 

18 (A) reduce the risk of, and increase the re19 sistance and resiliency of the land to, 

20 uncharacteristic disturbances, particularly if 

21 critical components or values are at risk, in22 cluding— 

23 (i) communities located in the 

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1 tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora2 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and 

3 (ii) valuable forest structures (includ4 ing old growth and older mature trees); 

5 (B) restore the structure and composition 

6 of forest stands at a high or moderate depar7 ture from the historic range of variability; 

8 (C) accelerate the development of complex 

9 forest structure in a young forest that has been 

10 simplified through past management, such as 

11 by— 

12 (i) creating spatial heterogeneity (in13 cluding the creation of skips and gaps) 

14 using mechanical treatments to create 

15 wildlife habitat; and 

16 (ii) retaining biological legacies (in17 cluding large standing, downed, live, and 

18 dead trees); 

19 (D) assist in the implementation of com20 munity wildfire protection plans developed by 

21 at-risk communities (as those terms are defined 

22 in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora23 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 


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1 (E) use the value of merchantable sawlogs 

2 and biomass to help offset the cost of ecological 

3 restoration projects; 

4 (F) meet local and rural community needs 

5 through a source that is selected on a best6 value basis; and 

7 (G) reduce the permanent road system to 

8 improve forest health and watershed health. 

9 SEC. 8. COLLABORATION. 

10 (a) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.— 

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

12 of the projects needed to accomplish the purposes of 

13 this Act in the covered area, the Secretary shall con14 sult with, and consider the recommendations of, any 

15 collaborative group that meets the criteria described 

16 in paragraph (2). 

17 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.—A collaborative 

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

19 (A) is interested in the implementation of 

20 this Act; 

21 (B) includes multiple individuals rep22 resenting diverse interests that include— 

23 (i) environmental organizations; 

24 (ii) timber and forest products indus25 try representatives; and 


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1 (iii) county governments; 

2 (C) operates— 

3 (i) in a transparent and nonexclusive 

4 manner; and 

5 (ii) by consensus or in accordance 

6 with voting procedures to ensure a high de7 gree of agreement among participants and 

8 across various interests; and 

9 (D) requires a level of participation suffi10 cient to ensure that members of the collabo11 rative group are adequately informed before 

12 each decision. 

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

14 consultation with the relevant collaborative groups, may 

15 develop a multiparty monitoring plan for any vegetation 

16 management project carried out under this Act. 

17 SEC. 9. LARGE SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE18 MENT. 

19 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.—Congress finds that 

20 it is expected that the environmental impact statement de21 scribed in subsection (b) would be adequate to support the 

22 requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

23 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for projects implemented 

24 under this section, as documented in subsequent agency 

25 decision documents. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall prepare a 

2 large scale environmental impact statement that is ade3 quate under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

4 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to support a record of deci5 sion for vegetation management projects under this sec6 tion in National Forests in the eastern part of the State 

7 for projects— 

8 (1) that are located wholly in dry ponderosa 

9 pine and dry mixed conifer forests types; 

10 (2) that are located on a pilot landscape; 

11 (3) that are endorsed by or the product of a 

12 collaborative group; and 

13 (4) no portion of which are located in an inven14 toried roadless area. 

15 (c) COMPLETION DATE.—The Secretary shall com16 plete the record of decision for the large scale environ17 mental impact statement under subsection (b) not later 

18 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (d) TIMELINESS.—Any legal challenge to the environ20 mental impact statement and record of decision under this 

21 section shall be filed not later than 120 days after the 

22 record of decision is signed by the Secretary. 

23 SEC. 10. COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP. 

24 (a) FOREST PLANNING.—Section 327(b)(2) of the 

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1 priations Act, 1996 (16 U.S.C. 1611 note; Public Law 

2 104–134) is amended by inserting after ‘‘may include’’ the 

3 following: ‘‘expenditures for forest planning activities nec4 essary for timber sales for projects that are on a pilot 

5 landscape (as defined in section 3 of the Oregon Eastside 

6 Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act 

7 of 2013) and’’. 

8 (b) COOPERATIVE FOREST INNOVATION PARTNER9 SHIP PROJECTS.—Section 13B of the Cooperative For10 estry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109b) is amend11 ed by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside Forests Res14 toration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013, 

15 the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement 

16 the authority of the Secretary under that Act. 

17 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION WITH STATE GOVERNMENTS.— 

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

19 after the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside 

20 Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and 

21 Jobs Act of 2013, the Secretary shall carry out a 

22 project to support the ability of the Department of 

23 Agriculture to address the restoration of forests in 

24 cooperation with States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—A project under para2 graph (1) may be carried out on a pilot landscape 

3 (as defined in section 3 of the Oregon Eastside For4 ests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs 

5 Act of 2013). 

6 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use not 

7 more than 5 percent of the funds for the ‘Forest 

8 Health-Federal Lands’ budget line item made avail9 able under the State and Private Forestry appro10 priation to pay not more than 50 percent of the total 

11 cost of carrying out a project under paragraph (1).’’. 

12 SEC. 11. ADMINISTRATION. 

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

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

15 Indian tribe and the United States; or 

16 (2) any biological opinion, including any opinion 

17 associated with the aquatic and riparian protection 

18 requirements of applicable land and resource man19 agement plans. 

20 (b) NO RETROACTIVE EFFECT DURING TRANSI21 TION.— 

22 (1) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.— 

23 The provisions of this Act shall not apply to a vege24 tation management project that is— 


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1 (A) initiated, either through a scoping no2 tice or a notice of intent, more than 180 days 

3 before the date on which the Secretary selects 

4 the covered area under section 4(a)(1); or 

5 (B) approved or under contract before the 

6 date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

7 area under section 4(a)(1). 

8 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.—The comple9 tion of the Eastside Scientific and Technical Advi10 sory Panel recommendations report shall not auto11 matically compel an amendment or revision of any 

12 vegetation management project initiated, approved, 

13 or under contract before the date on which the rec14 ommendations report is completed. 

15 (3) FOREST PLANS.—The completion of the 

16 Eastside Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel 

17 recommendations report shall not automatically com18 pel an amendment or revision of any existing forest 

19 plan. 

20 (c) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Secretary shall carry out 

21 this Act in accordance with applicable law (including regu22 lations). 

23 (d) 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; and 

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 (e) 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 paragraph (1) shall, for each National Forest in the 


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1 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 (f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

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

8 Act (other than the authorities under sections 4(e) 

9 and 5(c)) shall terminate on the date that is 15 

10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection af12 fects a valid contract in effect on the date described 

13 in paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), there is 

16 authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out 

17 this Act, to remain available until expended. 

18 (b) USE.—Any amounts appropriated to the Sec19 retary under subsection (a) may be used to support imple20 mentation of any cost-sharing authorities provided by this 

21 Act. 

22 (c) LIMITATION.—Amounts expended to carry out 

23 provisions of this Act that are not subject to a cost-sharing 

24 requirement shall not reduce the allocations of appro25 priated funds to the Secretary for use in— 


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1 (1) other National Forests not included in the 

2 covered area; 

3 (2) other States; or 

4 (3) other Regions of the Forest Service. 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Or7 egon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, 

8 and Jobs Act of 2013’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

10 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—FOREST RESTORATION, OLD GROWTH PROTECTION, AND 

JOBS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Forest management. 

Sec. 103. Restoration goals. 

Sec. 104. Aquatic and riparian resources management. 

Sec. 105. Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel. 

Sec. 106. Ecological restoration projects. 

Sec. 107. Collaboration. 

Sec. 108. Large-scale environmental impact statement. 

Sec. 109. Administration. 

Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP FUNDING 

Sec. 201. Forest planning. 

Sec. 202. Cooperative forest innovation partnership projects. 

11 TITLE I—FOREST RESTORATION, 

12 OLD GROWTH PROTECTION, 

13 AND JOBS 

14 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 


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

2 panel’’ means the Eastside Forest Scientific and 

3 Technical Advisory Panel established under section 

4 105(a). 

5 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUP.—The term ‘‘collabo6 rative group’’ means a group of individuals that 

7 meets the requirements of section 107(b). 

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

9 means the national forests within the State that are 

10 not within the area covered by the document entitled 

11 ‘‘Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service 

12 and Bureau of Land Management Planning Docu13 ments Within the Range of the Northern Spotted 

14 Owl’’ and dated April 1994. 

15 (4) FOREST HEALTH.—The term ‘‘forest health’’ 

16 means conditions that enable a forest to be resistant 

17 and resilient to disturbance events and to support 

18 natural ecosystem and hydrologic processes, functions, 

19 and structures, including viable populations of native 

20 wildlife and ecosystem services. 

21 (5) INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREA.—The term 

22 ‘‘inventoried roadless area’’ means 1 of the areas 

23 identified in the set of inventoried roadless area maps 

24 contained in the document entitled ‘‘Forest Service 

25 Roadless Areas Conservation, Final Environmental 


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1 Impact Statement, Volume 2’’ and dated November 

2 2000. 

3 (6) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Na4 tional Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

5 in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renew6 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

7 1609(a)). 

8 (7) PLANT ASSOCIATION GROUP.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘plant associa10 tion group’’ means a description of a plant com11 munity that— 

12 (i) would potentially, in the absence of 

13 a disturbance, occupy a site; and 

14 (ii) may be aggregated into 1 or more 

15 groups based on similarities in plant spe16 cies, composition, environment, and produc17 tivity. 

18 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘plant associa19 tion group’’ includes, with respect to a forested 

20 site, species representing tree, shrub, and herba21 ceous layers. 

22 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief 

24 of the Forest Service). 


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1 (9) SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY.—The term ‘‘spa2 tial heterogeneity’’ means trees and other structural 

3 elements of the forest landscape that have a nonuni4 form, diversely clustered spatial arrangement. 

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

6 of Oregon. 

7 (11) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘vegetation 

9 management project’’ means a project involving 

10 activities that manipulate vegetation. 

11 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘vegetation 

12 management project’’ includes— 

13 (i) ecological restoration or fuel reduc14 tion projects; 

15 (ii) harvesting timber; 

16 (iii) prescribed burning; and 

17 (iv) thinning trees, brush, weeds, or 

18 grass. 

19 (12) WATERSHED AREA.—The term ‘‘watershed 

20 area’’ means 1 or more subwatersheds (also known as 

21 6th code hydrologic units). 

22 (13) WATERSHED HEALTH.—The term ‘‘water23 shed health’’ means the range of landscape conditions 

24 that enable riparian, aquatic, and wetland ecosystems 

25 to create and sustain functional habitats capable of 


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1 supporting diverse populations of native aquatic- and 

2 riparian-dependent species. 

3 SEC. 102. FOREST MANAGEMENT. 

4 (a) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall implement this 

5 title in the covered area during the 15-year period begin6 ning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Taking into consideration the 

9 best available science, the Secretary shall seek in the 

10 covered area— 

11 (A) to conserve and restore forest and wa12 tershed health; 

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

14 resistance and resiliency of the land to, 

15 uncharacteristic disturbances; 

16 (C) to allow for characteristic natural dis17 turbances; and 

18 (D) to harvest wood to maintain the appro19 priate scale of industry infrastructure to accom20 plish the goals described in subparagraphs (A), 

21 (B), and (C). 

22 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—To achieve the goals 

23 of paragraph (1) in the forested land in the covered 

24 area, the Secretary shall consider opportunities— 


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1 (A) to reduce the basal area in overstocked 

2 forest stands; 

3 (B) to increase the mean diameter of forest 

4 stands; 

5 (C) to maintain or create a forest composi6 tion that focuses on more fire- and drought-toler7 ant species; 

8 (D) to restore historic levels of within-forest 

9 stand spatial heterogeneity; 

10 (E) to conserve and restore old growth; 

11 (F) to conserve and restore population levels 

12 of older trees; 

13 (G) to conserve and restore ecologically sus14 tainable forest stands and landscapes to incor15 porate characteristic forest stand structures and 

16 older tree populations; 

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

18 merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help offset 

19 the cost of improving forest health and watershed 

20 health; 

21 (I) to restore or maintain sustainable and 

22 fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through ac23 tive management (including management 

24 through prescribed or wildland fire and mechan25 ical treatments); 


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1 (J) to restore or maintain ecologically ap2 propriate spatial complexity (including a range 

3 of open to dense forest patches at scales from the 

4 forest stand to the landscape); 

5 (K) to conduct vegetation management 

6 projects that create an uneven-aged mosaic of 

7 isolated individual trees, clumps of trees, and 

8 openings to enhance the spatial heterogeneity of 

9 the forest landscape; 

10 (L) to restore or maintain understory plant 

11 communities that reflect a composition and con12 dition that is appropriate for the forest type, in13 cluding native ground cover and limiting exotic 

14 and invasive species; 

15 (M) to increase stakeholder participation 

16 through collaborative groups; and 

17 (N) to restore and maintain the historic 

18 complement of aspen, willows, and other native 

19 hardwoods in riparian and upland ecosystems, 

20 including by— 

21 (i) removing conifers that have invaded 

22 hardwood sites and overtopped hardwoods 

23 or have invaded wet and dry meadow sys24 tems; 


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1 (ii) restoring fire to hardwood eco2 systems; and 

3 (iii) creating barriers around hard4 wood sites to reduce ungulate pressure. 

5 (c) PLANNING.—To achieve the goals described in sub6 section (b), the Secretary shall— 

7 (1) use landscape-scale planning based on water8 shed boundaries as a tool to implement vegetation 

9 management and ecological restoration projects in the 

10 covered area; and 

11 (2) seek to achieve planning and implementation 

12 efficiencies on projects carried out under this title by 

13 working with— 

14 (A) the relevant collaborative group; 

15 (B) the advisory panel; and 

16 (C) other partners. 

17 (d) OLDER TREE RETENTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and imple19 menting any project in the covered area, the Sec20 retary shall— 

21 (A) identify, based on the protocols devel22 oped under paragraph (2), trees that are 150 

23 years of age or older, as measured at breast 

24 height; and 


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1 (B) retain the trees described in subpara2 graph (A). 

3 (2) PROTOCOL.—The Secretary, in collaboration 

4 with the advisory panel, based on the best available 

5 science, shall develop protocols for identifying trees 

6 that are 150 years of age or older, as measured at 

7 breast height. 

8 (3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The retention objectives 

10 described in paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply if 

11 the Secretary determines that 1 of the following 

12 applies: 

13 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTIONS.— 

14 There is no reasonable alternative to the 

15 cutting or removal of trees that are 150 

16 years of age or older, as measured at breast 

17 height, to provide for public safety, admin18 istrative necessity, or special uses, such as 

19 rights of way. 

20 (ii) RESTORATION PROJECT EXCEP21 TIONS.—The Secretary determines that the 

22 cutting or removal of trees that are 150 

23 years of age or older, as measured at breast 

24 height, is needed to help implement and 


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1 fund restoration projects, subject to the con2 ditions that— 

3 (I) no tree that is 200 years of age 

4 or older, as measured at breast height, 

5 may be cut; 

6 (II) only as many trees as are 

7 needed to fund restoration work that 

8 protects and enhances the resiliency of 

9 trees that are 200 years of age or older, 

10 as measured at breast height, may be 

11 cut; 

12 (III) the removal of trees that are 

13 150 years of age or older, as measured 

14 at breast height, and less than 200 

15 years of age, as measured at breast 

16 height, shall not exceed 50 percent of 

17 the population of those trees in the 

18 project area; and 

19 (IV) there would be sufficient old20 growth tree replacements remaining in 

21 the project area. 

22 (B) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

23 shall provide to the public and collaborative 

24 groups notice and an opportunity to comment 

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1 graph (A), unless the Secretary determines that 

2 the cutting or removal of the tree is necessary to 

3 respond to an emergency condition. 

4 (4) APPLICATION.—The retention requirements of 

5 this subsection shall not— 

6 (A) apply to any other forests in the Na7 tional Forest System outside of the covered area; 

8 or 

9 (B) establish a precedent for setting age 

10 limits on trees that may be cut on any National 

11 Forest System land. 

12 (e) LIMITATIONS ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION.—In car13 rying out any vegetation management project in the covered 

14 area, the Secretary— 

15 (1) shall not construct any permanent road, un16 less the Secretary determines that the road is a jus17 tifiable realignment of a permanent road to restore or 

18 improve the ecological structure, composition, and 

19 function and the natural processes of the affected for20 est or watershed; and 

21 (2) by the earlier of the date on which the vegeta22 tion management project is completed and the date 

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

24 was constructed are complete, shall decommission any 


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1 temporary road constructed to carry out the vegeta2 tion management project. 

3 (f) MONITORING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—In 

4 carrying out this title, the Secretary— 

5 (1) shall ensure that the projects developed pur6 suant to this title include monitoring to inform an 

7 assessment of the effectiveness of treatments and 

8 adaptive management of future projects; and 

9 (2) in consultation with the relevant collabo10 rative groups, may develop for a vegetation manage11 ment project carried out under this title a multiparty 

12 monitoring plan, which shall take into consideration 

13 the recommendations of the advisory panel. 

14 SEC. 103. RESTORATION GOALS. 

15 (a) PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

17 the date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

18 area, the Secretary, in consultation with the relevant 

19 collaborative groups, may establish performance objec20 tives, in addition to the goals established by section 

21 102(b), which the Secretary shall seek to achieve for 

22 the covered area, consistent with those goals and the 

23 purposes of this title. 


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1 (2) TERM.—Subject to paragraph (4), 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 ad5 ditional performance goals that the Secretary deter6 mines to be appropriate during the period established 

7 by paragraph (2). 

8 (4) PRIORITIZATION.—Subject to the limitations 

9 described in section 110(c), the Secretary shall 

10 prioritize the vegetation management project and haz11 ardous fuels reduction program activities in the cov12 ered area to achieve the performance goals established 

13 under this subsection. 

14 (b) RESTORATION GOALS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the covered area, con16 sistent with the goals, and after considering the op17 portunities, described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

18 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prepare, 

19 offer, and promptly implement— 

20 (A) 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 60,000 acres; 

4 (II) for the subsequent fiscal year, 

5 not less than 80,000 acres; and 

6 (III) for each fiscal year thereafter 

7 until the fiscal year in which at least 

8 1 ecological restoration project for each 

9 National Forest is initiated under sec10 tion 106, not less than 100,000 acres; 

11 and 

12 (B) for each fiscal year after the fiscal year 

13 specified in subparagraph (A)(ii)(III), an eco14 logical restoration project on each National For15 est in the covered area with a gross planning 

16 area of not less than 25,000 acres. 

17 (2) ANNUAL GOALS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the first 

19 fiscal year after the date on which at least 1 eco20 logical restoration project is initiated for each 

21 National Forest under section 106 and each fis22 cal year thereafter until the date on which the 

23 project is completed, the Secretary may establish, 

24 subject to subparagraph (B), annual acreage per25 formance goals for each project that is predomiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:10 Jun 03, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1301.RS S1301

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1 nantly comprised of mechanical treatment in the 

2 covered area that emphasize sawtimber as a by3 product consistent with the goals, and after con4 sidering the opportunities, described in sub5 section (b). 

6 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the 

7 goals under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

8 shall take into consideration— 

9 (i) any specific recommendations of the 

10 advisory panel relating to acreage treat11 ment needs; and 

12 (ii) advice provided by a collaborative 

13 group relating to acreage treatment needs. 

14 (3) PRIORITY FOR RESTORATION GOALS.—In 

15 seeking to meet the restoration goals established under 

16 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prioritize for treat17 ment any area that has opportunities for reduced 

18 planning and implementation costs because of— 

19 (A) opportunities to work with a collabo20 rative group on the project; or 

21 (B) opportunities to use non-Federal re22 sources to complete the project. 


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1 SEC. 104. AQUATIC AND RIPARIAN RESOURCES MANAGE2 MENT. 

3 (a) PRIMARY FOCUS.—The primary focus of aquatic 

4 and riparian protection activities in the covered area shall 

5 be to protect, maintain, and restore natural ecological func6 tions and processes beneficial to water quality and quan7 tity, including temperature and turbidity, native fish and 

8 wildlife, and watershed resilience. 

9 (b) DESIRED WATERSHED CONDITIONS.—Desired wa10 tershed conditions shall include maintaining or enhancing 

11 riparian processes and conditions, including stable slopes, 

12 wood and nutrient delivery to aquatic and terrestrial sys13 tems, stream shade, microclimate, water quantity, and 

14 water quality, to ensure that the watersheds— 

15 (1) operate consistently with local disturbance 

16 regimes; and 

17 (2) support native flora and fauna. 

18 (c) STRATEGY.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (1) develop an aquatic and riparian conserva20 tion strategy that incorporates— 

21 (A) riparian management areas; 

22 (B) key watersheds; 

23 (C) watershed analysis; 

24 (D) watershed restoration; and 

25 (E) monitoring; and 


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1 (2) use as the basis for watershed, aquatic, and 

2 riparian ecosystem management and restoration the 

3 interaction of the elements described in paragraph (1) 

4 at the watershed or landscape scale. 

5 (d) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary may modify the 

6 aquatic and riparian protection standards under subsection 

7 (a) if the Secretary determines, taking into consideration 

8 the best available science, that the modifications would meet 

9 or exceed the goals and standards of the aquatic and ripar10 ian protection requirements of subsection (e). 

11 (e) REQUIREMENT.—The management activities car12 ried out within the covered area shall not retard or prevent 

13 the attainment of— 

14 (1) the aquatic, riparian, and watershed goals 

15 described in this section; and 

16 (2) the goals of applicable resource management 

17 plans, biological opinions, and water quality stand18 ards in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 105. EASTSIDE FOREST SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 

20 ADVISORY PANEL. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

23 an advisory panel, to be known as the ‘‘Eastside Forest Sci24 entific and Technical Advisory Panel’’, to advise the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:10 Jun 03, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1301.RS S1301

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1 retary, collaborative groups, and the public regarding the 

2 development and implementation of— 

3 (1) goals and performance measures to improve 

4 forest health, watershed health, and related social and 

5 economic goals in the covered area; and 

6 (2) projects needed to accomplish the goals of this 

7 title. 

8 (b) COMPOSITION.—The advisory panel shall be com9 posed of 9 members, each of whom shall have expertise in 

10 1 or more of the following: 

11 (1) Silviculture. 

12 (2) Timber economics. 

13 (3) Road and logging engineering. 

14 (4) Soil science and geology. 

15 (5) Ecosystem services or natural resources eco16 nomics. 

17 (6) Community economics or ecosystem workforce 

18 development. 

19 (7) Forest ecology. 

20 (8) Aquatic and riparian ecology. 

21 (9) Wildlife ecology. 

22 (10) Fish ecology. 

23 (11) Ecological restoration. 

24 (12) Invasive species control and eradication. 

25 (13) Wildland fire. 


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1 (14) Hydrology. 

2 (15) Forest carbon lifecycle and sequestration. 

3 (16) Social science. 

4 (c) APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary shall— 

5 (1) ensure that the advisory panel includes ex6 perts in a broad array of the fields described in sub7 section (b); and 

8 (2) give consideration to the recommendations of 

9 institutions of higher education (as defined in section 

10 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1001(a)), professional societies, and other in12 terested organizations and individuals. 

13 (d) DUTIES.— 

14 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date on which the Secretary appoints 

17 the members of the advisory panel, the advisory 

18 panel, taking into consideration the best avail19 able science and information, shall submit to the 

20 Secretary, who shall make available to the public 

21 a report that contains recommendations regard22 ing the manner by which the Secretary can best 

23 achieve the purposes and goals, and consider the 

24 opportunities, described in section 102(b). 


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1 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall provide recommenda3 tions based on the best available science regard4 ing— 

5 (i) the size and scope of projects needed 

6 to accomplish the goals and consider the op7 portunities described in section 102(b); 

8 (ii) increasing local capacity to accom9 plish the goals and consider the opportuni10 ties described in section 102(b); 

11 (iii) hydrologically and ecologically re12 storing land and water by— 

13 (I) decommissioning unnecessary 

14 and undesirable roads; and 

15 (II) reducing the environmental 

16 impact of necessary and desirable 

17 roads; and 

18 (iv) actions for each relevant plant as19 sociation group, taking into account current 

20 or future potential vegetation and soil types 

21 that— 

22 (I) protect and restore terrestrial, 

23 aquatic, riparian, wildlife, fish, vegeta24 tion, soil, carbon, and other resources; 

25 and 


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1 (II) would be necessary and desir2 able to restore forest health and water3 shed health (including thinning, pre4 scribed, and natural fire and other ap5 propriate activities); and 

6 (v) monitoring protocols to evaluate the 

7 success of the vegetation management 

8 projects and ecological restoration projects 

9 on the covered area in meeting the goals 

10 and objectives of this title. 

11 (C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex13 tent practicable, the advisory panel shall 

14 achieve a consensus with respect to each rec15 ommendation included in the report under 

16 this paragraph. 

17 (ii) INCLUSION OF DISSENTING OPIN18 IONS.—If the advisory panel fails to achieve 

19 a consensus with respect to any rec20 ommendation included in the report under 

21 this paragraph, the report shall include 

22 each dissenting opinion relating to the rec23 ommendation. 

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

25 after the date on which the Secretary appoints the 


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1 members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel 

2 shall submit to the Secretary and make available to 

3 the public a report providing— 

4 (A) a quantitative and qualitative assess5 ment of the status of, and changes to, forest 

6 health and watershed health in the covered area, 

7 including the resiliency, aquatic function, and 

8 plant composition, structure, and function; and 

9 (B) an assessment of the implementation of 

10 the recommendations made under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 106. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall imple14 ment, taking into consideration the annual goals described 

15 in section 103(b)(2), ecological restoration projects in the 

16 covered area to support the land management goals de17 scribed in section 102(b). 

18 (b) LANDSCAPE-SCALE PROJECTS.—Subject to the 

19 availability of appropriations under section 110, the Sec20 retary shall implement, to the maximum extent practicable, 

21 1 or more ecological restoration projects with a gross plan22 ning area of 50,000 acres for each National Forest in the 

23 covered area that provide landscape-scale work within a 

24 watershed area by not later than 3 years after the date on 

25 which the Secretary selects the covered area. 


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1 (c) CRITERIA.—In developing and implementing eco2 logical restoration projects under this section, the Secretary 

3 shall consider— 

4 (1) the best available science and data; 

5 (2) the recommendations of the advisory panel; 

6 (3) the views of collaborative groups; and 

7 (4) dry and moist forest plant association 

8 groups. 

9 (d) NET ROAD REDUCTION.—In developing ecological 

10 restoration projects under this section, the Secretary shall 

11 examine opportunities for, and achieve, a net reduction in 

12 the permanent road system to improve forest and watershed 

13 health, to the maximum extent practicable. 

14 (e) PRIORITIZATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prioritize 

16 ecological restoration projects in the covered area, tak17 ing into consideration— 

18 (A) the criteria described in subsection (c); 

19 and 

20 (B) the degree to which the ecological res21 toration projects would improve forest health and 

22 watershed health. 

23 (2) PRIORITIES.—In selecting and planning eco24 logical restoration projects, the Secretary shall 

25 prioritize projects that— 


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1 (A) reduce the risk of, and increase the re2 sistance and resiliency of the land to, 

3 uncharacteristic disturbances, particularly if 

4 critical components or values are at risk, includ5 ing— 

6 (i) communities located in the 

7 wildland-urban interface (as defined in sec8 tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

9 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and 

10 (ii) valuable forest structures (includ11 ing old growth and older mature trees); 

12 (B) restore the structure and composition of 

13 forest stands at a high or moderate departure 

14 from the historic range of variability; 

15 (C) sustain the appropriate scale of indus16 try infrastructure to accomplish the goals de17 scribed in section 102(b); 

18 (D) accelerate the development of complex 

19 forest structure in a young forest that has been 

20 simplified through past management, such as 

21 by— 

22 (i) creating spatial heterogeneity (in23 cluding the creation of skips and gaps) 

24 using mechanical treatments to create wild25 life habitat; and 


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1 (ii) retaining biological legacies (in2 cluding large standing, downed, live, and 

3 dead trees); 

4 (E) assist in the implementation of commu5 nity wildfire protection plans developed by at6 risk communities (as those terms are defined in 

7 section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

8 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 

9 (F) use the value of merchantable sawlogs 

10 and biomass to help offset the cost of ecological 

11 restoration projects; 

12 (G) meet local and rural community needs 

13 through a source that is selected on a best-value 

14 basis; 

15 (H) reduce the permanent road system to 

16 improve forest health and watershed health; and 

17 (I) help recover aspen, willows, and other 

18 native hardwoods in riparian and upland eco19 systems. 

20 SEC. 107. COLLABORATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in the development of the 

22 projects needed to accomplish the purposes of this title in 

23 the covered area, the Secretary shall consult with, and con24 sider the recommendations of, any collaborative group that 

25 meets the criteria described in subsection (b). 


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1 (b) CRITERIA.—A collaborative group referred to in 

2 subsection (a) is a group that— 

3 (1) is interested in the implementation of this 

4 title; 

5 (2) includes multiple individuals representing 

6 diverse interests, including— 

7 (A) environmental organizations; 

8 (B) timber and forest products industry 

9 representatives; and 

10 (C) county governments; 

11 (3) operates— 

12 (A) in a transparent and nonexclusive 

13 manner; and 

14 (B) by consensus or in accordance with vot15 ing procedures to ensure a high degree of agree16 ment among participants and across various in17 terests; and 

18 (4) requires a level of participation sufficient to 

19 ensure that members of the collaborative group are 

20 adequately informed before making each decision. 

21 SEC. 108. LARGE-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE22 MENT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out vege24 tation management projects and ecological restoration 


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1 projects under this section in accordance with the National 

2 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

3 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

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

5 landscape-scale environmental impact statement for 

6 purposes of compliance with the National Environ7 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for 

8 vegetation management projects and ecological res9 toration projects carried out under this title in Na10 tional Forests in the eastern part of the State that 

11 share ecological conditions and resource issues, in12 cluding projects— 

13 (A) that are located wholly in dry pon14 derosa pine and dry mixed conifer forests types; 

15 (B) that are endorsed by, or are the product 

16 of, a collaborative group; and 

17 (C) no portion of which are located in an 

18 inventoried roadless area. 

19 (2) USE.—The large-scale environmental impact 

20 statement under paragraph (1) shall be used as the 

21 basis for decisions on covered vegetation management 

22 projects and ecological restoration projects, except for 

23 limited projects— 

24 (A) that are developed after the completion 

25 of the environmental impact statement; and 


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1 (B) for which the environmental impact 

2 statement does not adequately analyze the work 

3 to be performed. 

4 (c) COMPLETION DATE.—The Secretary shall complete 

5 the record of decision for the large-scale environmental im6 pact statement under subsection (b) by not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (d) TIMELINESS.—A legal challenge to the environ9 mental impact statement and record of decision under this 

10 section shall be filed by not later than 120 days after the 

11 date on which the record of decision is signed by the Sec12 retary. 

13 SEC. 109. ADMINISTRATION. 

14 (a) EFFECT OF TITLE.—Nothing in this title 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 opin18 ion associated with the aquatic and riparian protec19 tion requirements of applicable land and resource 

20 management plans. 

21 (b) NO RETROACTIVE EFFECT.— 

22 (1) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.—This 

23 title shall not apply to a vegetation management 

24 project that is— 


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1 (A) initiated, through a scoping notice or a 

2 notice of intent, more than 180 days before the 

3 date of enactment of this Act; or 

4 (B) approved or under contract before the 

5 date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.—The comple7 tion of the recommendations report of the advisory 

8 panel under section 105(d)(2) shall not automatically 

9 compel an amendment or revision to— 

10 (A) any vegetation management project ini11 tiated, approved, or under contract before the 

12 date on which the recommendations report is 

13 completed; or 

14 (B) any existing forest plan. 

15 (c) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Secretary shall carry out 

16 this title in accordance with applicable law (including reg17 ulations). 

18 (d) PRINCIPAL AGENCY CONTACT.— 

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

20 principal agency contact for the implementation of 

21 this title. 

22 (2) DUTIES.—The principal agency contact 

23 shall— 

24 (A) serve as the point-of-contact for the ad25 visory panel; 


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1 (B) facilitate communications among— 

2 (i) the advisory panel; 

3 (ii) collaborative groups; 

4 (iii) employees of the Forest Service; 

5 and 

6 (iv) any other stakeholders (including 

7 the public). 

8 (e) REPORTING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare a 

10 report on the implementation of this title— 

11 (A) not later than 5 years after the date on 

12 which the Secretary selects the covered area; but 

13 (B) not earlier than 2 years before the date 

14 described in subparagraph (A). 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports required under 

16 paragraph (1) shall assess, for each National Forest 

17 in the covered area, the progress achieved in accom18 plishing— 

19 (A) the purposes of this title; and 

20 (B) the performance goals established under 

21 section 103. 

22 (f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authority provided by 

24 this title shall terminate on the date that is 15 years 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection affects 

2 a valid contract in effect on the date described in 

3 paragraph (1). 

4 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), there is 

6 authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out this 

7 title, to remain available until expended. 

8 (b) USE.—Any amounts appropriated to the Secretary 

9 under subsection (a) may be used to support implementa10 tion of any cost-sharing authorities provided by this title. 

11 (c) EFFECT ON OTHER FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

12 not divert funding from a National Forest or grassland out13 side of the State to meet the performance requirements of 

14 this title. 

15 (d) REPROGRAMMING AUTHORITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), after submitting to the Committees on Ap18 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

19 Senate a notice, the Secretary may reprogram any 

20 funds— 

21 (A) made available to the Secretary through 

22 an appropriation for the National Forest Sys23 tem; and 

24 (B) allocated to be used on the National 

25 Forests in the covered area. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION.—No funds appropriated for a 

2 recreation or grazing activity may be subject to re3 programming under paragraph (1). 

4 TITLE II—COOPERATIVE 

5 PARTNERSHIP FUNDING 

6 SEC. 201. FOREST PLANNING. 

7 Section 327(b)(2) of the Department of the Interior 

8 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (16 U.S.C. 

9 1611 note; Public Law 104–134) is amended by inserting 

10 ‘‘expenditures for forest planning activities necessary for 

11 timber sales for projects that are located on any landscape 

12 that receives funding under section 4004 of the Omnibus 

13 Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7304) 

14 and’’ after ‘‘may include’’. 

15 SEC. 202. COOPERATIVE FOREST INNOVATION PARTNER16 SHIP PROJECTS. 

17 Section 13B of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act 

18 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109b) is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restora22 tion, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013, the Sec23 retary shall promulgate regulations to implement the au24 thority of the Secretary under that Act. 

25 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION WITH STATE GOVERNMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 

2 180 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon 

3 Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, 

4 and Jobs Act of 2013, the Secretary, in cooperation 

5 with the States, shall carry out projects to support the 

6 ability of the Department of Agriculture to address 

7 the restoration of National Forests in eligible areas. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—A project under para9 graph (1) may be carried out on— 

10 ‘‘(A) the covered area (as defined in section 

11 101 of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, 

12 Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) any additional areas of the National 

15 Forest System that the Secretary selects to carry 

16 out paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—For each fiscal year, the Sec18 retary shall use not more than 5 percent of the funds 

19 made available for forest health on Federal land 

20 under the heading ‘STATE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY’ of 

21 title III of an appropriations Act making funds 

22 available to the Department of the Interior to pay for 

23 not more than 50 percent of the total cost of carrying 

24 out paragraph (1).’’. 


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Calendar No. 407 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1301 

[Report No. 113–180] 

A BILL 

To provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, 

the State of Oregon. ment of national forests in the eastside forests of protection of old growth forests, and manageJUNE 2, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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