II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1301 

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 

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 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1301 IS

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. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1301 IS

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 8(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) DECISION NOTICE.—The term ‘‘Decision 

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

21 Notice for the Revised Continuation of Interim Man22 agement Direction Establishing Riparian, Ecosystem 

23 and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales, United 

24 States Forest Service Region 6, Colville, Deschutes, 

25 Fremont, Malheur, Ochoco, Okanogan, Umatilla, 

26 Wallowa-Whitman and Winema National Forests in 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1301 IS

1 Oregon and Washington’’ and approved by the Pa2 cific Northwest Regional Forester on June 6, 1995. 

3 (5) EMERGENCY CONDITION.—The term ‘‘emer4 gency condition’’ means a condition— 

5 (A) that results in an— 

6 (i) imminent risk to life or property; 

7 or 

8 (ii) immediate impairment of the pub9 lic use and enjoyment of a trail, road, 

10 highway, public facility, or public land; and 

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

12 the urgency to address the emergency of which 

13 outweighs the benefits of full notice and com14 ment. 

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

16 health’’ means conditions that enable forested 

17 land— 

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

19 to uncharacteristic wildfire, insect, or pathogen 

20 outbreaks, while— 

21 (i) supporting ecosystem services and 

22 populations of native species; and 

23 (ii) allowing for natural disturbances; 

24 (B) to maintain or develop species com25 position, ecosystem function and structure, hyVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1301 IS

1 drologic function, and sediment regimes that 

2 are within an acceptable range that considers— 

3 (i) historic variability; and 

4 (ii) anticipated future conditions; and 

5 (C) to be resistant and resilient to unchar6 acteristic events. 

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

8 means a contiguous group of trees that are suffi9 ciently uniform in age-class distribution, composi10 tion, and structure and that are growing on a site 

11 of sufficiently uniform quality to be a distinguishable 

12 unit. 

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

14 an initiative established by the Secretary— 

15 (A) to restore and improve the ecological 

16 structure, composition, and function and the 

17 natural processes of watersheds within the Na18 tional Forest System; 

19 (B) to preserve and create local jobs in 

20 rural communities that are located in or near 

21 National Forest System land; 

22 (C) to sustain the local wood products in23 frastructure and community capacity that is 

24 necessary for the appropriate management and 

25 restoration of National Forest System land; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1301 IS

1 (D) to promote cooperation and collabora2 tion in the management of National Forest Sys3 tem land; 

4 (E) to carry out collaborative projects to 

5 restore forest health and watershed health and 

6 to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic disturb7 ances from fire, insects, and disease to commu8 nities, watersheds, and natural resources 

9 through a collaborative process of planning, 

10 prioritizing, and implementing ecological res11 toration, hazardous fuel reduction, and other 

12 vegetation management projects; 

13 (F) to collect information from the projects 

14 carried out under this Act in an effort to better 

15 understand the manner in which to improve for16 est restoration and management activities; 

17 (G) that includes all National Forest Sys18 tem land within the covered area; and 

19 (H) under which not more than 15 Na20 tional Forests may be selected to participate. 

21 (9) INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREA.—The term 

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

23 identified in the set of inventoried roadless area 

24 maps contained in the Forest Service Roadless 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1301 IS

1 Areas Conservation, Final Environmental Impact 

2 Statement, Volume 2, dated November 2000. 

3 (10) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

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

5 the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range6 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

8 (11) PILOT LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘‘pilot land9 scape’’ means a National Forest entirely within the 

10 covered area on which a project is being carried out 

11 under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land 

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

13 January 1, 2013. 

14 (12) 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, 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1301 IS

1 species representing tree, shrub, and herbaceous 

2 layers. 

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

4 means the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through 

5 the Chief of the Forest Service). 

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

7 State of Oregon. 

8 (15) UNCHARACTERISTIC.—The term ‘‘unchar9 acteristic’’ means a wildfire, insect, or pathogen out10 break or level of forest fuel, the severity, size, fre11 quency, or quantity of which exceeds the historic 

12 range of variability. 

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

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

15 as 6th code hydrologic units). 

16 (17) WATERSHED HEALTH.—The term ‘‘water17 shed health’’ means landscape conditions that enable 

18 riparian and aquatic ecosystems— 

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

20 sediment, wood, and nutrients; 

21 (B) to provide for water temperatures that 

22 are within the range of variability of the nat23 ural regimes for the processes described in sub24 paragraph (A); and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1301 IS

1 (C) to create and sustain functional ripar2 ian, aquatic, and wetland habitats that are ca3 pable of supporting diverse populations of na4 tive aquatic- and riparian-dependent species. 

5 SEC. 4. LAND MANAGEMENT. 

6 (a) APPLICATION OF THE INITIATIVE TO THE COV7 ERED AREA.— 

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

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

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

11 in the State as part of the Initiative. 

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

13 shall be for a period of 15 years. 

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

15 apply to the covered area. 

16 (b) LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the covered area, the Sec18 retary shall, considering the best available science, 

19 seek— 

20 (A) to conserve and restore forest health, 

21 watershed health, and other ecosystems; 

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

23 resistance and resiliency of the land to, 

24 uncharacteristic disturbances; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1301 IS

1 (C) to allow for characteristic natural dis2 turbances; and 

3 (D) to harvest wood to maintain adequate 

4 levels of industry infrastructure to accomplish 

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

6 and (C). 

7 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—To achieve the 

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

9 covered area, the Secretary shall consider opportuni10 ties— 

11 (A) to reduce the basal area in overstocked 

12 forest stands; 

13 (B) to increase the mean diameter of for14 est stands; 

15 (C) to maintain or create a forest composi16 tion that focuses on more fire- and drought-tol17 erant species; 

18 (D) to restore historic levels of within-for19 est stand spatial heterogeneity; 

20 (E) to conserve and restore old growth; 

21 (F) to conserve and restore population lev22 els of older trees; 

23 (G) to conserve and restore ecologically 

24 sustainable forest stands and landscapes to inVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1301 IS

1 corporate characteristic forest stand structures 

2 and older tree populations; 

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

4 merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help off5 set the cost of improving forest health and wa6 tershed health; 

7 (I) to restore or maintain sustainable and 

8 fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through 

9 active management (including management 

10 through prescribed or wildland fire and me11 chanical treatments); 

12 (J) to restore or maintain ecologically ap13 propriate spatial complexity (including a range 

14 of open to dense forest patches at scales from 

15 the forest stand to the landscape); 

16 (K) to create nonuniform effects in car17 rying out vegetation management projects by 

18 avoiding extensive areas of uniform treatment, 

19 except for certain treatments (such as broad20 cast burns) that are carried out to enhance the 

21 spatial heterogeneity of the forest site; 

22 (L) to restore or maintain ecologically ap23 propriate understory plant community composi24 tion and condition, including— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1301 IS

1 (i) by restoring and maintaining na2 tive ground cover; and 

3 (ii) by reducing the impacts of, and 

4 potential for, exotic and other invasive spe5 cies; and 

6 (M) to increase stakeholder participation 

7 through collaborative groups. 

8 (c) PLANNING.—To help to achieve the goals de9 scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary shall use landscape 

10 scale planning based on watershed areas as a tool to im11 plement ecological restoration projects in the covered area. 

12 (d) PERFORMANCE GOALS.— 

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

14 the date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

15 area, the Secretary, in consultation with the relevant 

16 collaborative groups, may establish performance 

17 goals, in addition to the goals that are established 

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

19 achieve consistent with the purposes of this Act and 

20 the goals and opportunities described in subsection 

21 (b) for the covered area. 

22 (2) TERM.—Subject to paragraph (3), each per23 formance goal established under paragraph (1) shall 

24 be measured annually for a period of 15 years. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1301 IS

1 (3) ADDITIONS.—The Secretary may develop 

2 additional performance goals that the Secretary de3 termines to be appropriate during the period estab4 lished by paragraph (2). 

5 (4) PRIORITIZATION.—Subject to the limita6 tions described in section 12(c), the Secretary shall 

7 prioritize the vegetation management and hazardous 

8 fuels reduction program activities in the covered 

9 area to achieve the performance goals established 

10 under this subsection. 

11 (5) RESTORATION GOALS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within the covered 

13 area, consistent with the goals, and after con14 sidering the opportunities, described in sub15 section (b), the Secretary shall, to the max16 imum extent practicable, prepare, offer, and 

17 promptly implement— 

18 (i) projects that— 

19 (I) are predominantly comprised 

20 of mechanical treatment in the cov21 ered area that emphasize sawtimber 

22 as a byproduct; and 

23 (II) are conducted on— 

24 (aa) for the first fiscal year 

25 after the date of enactment of 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1301 IS

1 this Act, not less than 60,000 

2 acres; 

3 (bb) for the subsequent fis4 cal year, not less than 80,000 

5 acres; and 

6 (cc) for each fiscal year 

7 thereafter until the fiscal year in 

8 which at least 1 ecological res9 toration project for each National 

10 Forest is initiated under section 

11 7, not less than 100,000 acres; 

12 and 

13 (ii) for each fiscal year after the fiscal 

14 year specified in subparagraph clause 

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

16 on each National Forest in the covered 

17 area with a gross planning area of not less 

18 than 25,000 acres. 

19 (B) ANNUAL GOALS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the 

21 first fiscal year after the date on which at 

22 least 1 ecological restoration project is ini23 tiated for each National Forest under sec24 tion 8 and each fiscal year thereafter until 

25 the date on which the Initiative is comVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1301 IS

1 pleted, the Secretary may, subject to clause 

2 (ii), set annual acreage performance goals 

3 for projects that are predominantly com4 prised of mechanical treatment in the cov5 ered area that emphasize sawtimber as a 

6 byproduct consistent with the goals, and 

7 after considering the opportunities, de8 scribed in subsection (b). 

9 (ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In setting 

10 goals under clause (i), the Secretary shall 

11 consider— 

12 (I) any specific recommendations 

13 of the advisory panel relating to acre14 age treatment needs; and 

15 (II) advice provided by a collabo16 rative group relating to acreage treat17 ment needs. 

18 (C) PRIORITY FOR RESTORATION GOALS.— 

19 In seeking to meet the restoration goals estab20 lished under subparagraph (A) or (B), the Sec21 retary shall prioritize for treatment— 

22 (i) any area located on a pilot land23 scape; and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1301 IS

1 (ii) any area that has opportunities 

2 for reduced planning and implementation 

3 costs because of— 

4 (I) opportunities to work with a 

5 collaborative group on the project; or 

6 (II) opportunities to use non7 Federal resources to complete the 

8 project. 

9 (e) PROHIBITIONS ON REMOVAL OF CERTAIN

10 TREES.— 

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

12 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prohibit the cut13 ting or removal of any live tree located in the cov14 ered area that is 150 years of age or older measured 

15 at breast height. 

16 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition de18 scribed in paragraph (1) shall not apply if the 

19 Secretary determines that there is no reason20 able alternative to the cutting or removal of the 

21 tree to provide for a safe administrative, public, 

22 or special use. 

23 (B) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—The Sec24 retary shall provide to the public and each rel25 evant collaborative group notice and an opporVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1301 IS

1 tunity to comment before making a determina2 tion under subparagraph (A), unless the Sec3 retary determines that the cutting or removal of 

4 the tree is necessary to respond to an emer5 gency condition. 

6 (C) APPLICATION OF DECISION NOTICE.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

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

9 recommendations of the relevant collabo10 rative group or the recommendations re11 port issued under section 6(d), determines 

12 that the prohibition in paragraph (1) is in13 feasible to implement for a specific vegeta14 tion management project, the Secretary 

15 shall apply the Decision Notice with re16 spect to the specific vegetation manage17 ment project. 

18 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—In applying the 

19 Decision Notice to a specific vegetation 

20 management project under clause (i), the 

21 Secretary may make site-specific forest 

22 plan amendments to allow the cutting or 

23 removal of live trees greater than 21 

24 inches in diameter at breast height that 

25 are younger than 150 years old at breast 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1301 IS

1 height, the cutting or removal of which is 

2 necessary to meet the land management 

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

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. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1301 IS

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 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1301 IS

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; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1301 IS

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— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1301 IS

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 90 days after the 

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

25 Secretary shall establish an advisory panel— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1301 IS

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; and 

9 (B) projects needed to accomplish the pur10 poses of this Act. 

11 (b) COMPOSITION.—The advisory panel shall be com12 posed of 9 members, each of whom shall have expertise 

13 in 1 or more of the following: 

14 (1) Silviculture. 

15 (2) Timber economics. 

16 (3) Road and logging engineering. 

17 (4) Soil science and geology. 

18 (5) Ecosystem services or natural resources eco19 nomics. 

20 (6) Community economics or ecosystem work21 force development. 

22 (7) Forest ecology. 

23 (8) Aquatic and riparian ecology. 

24 (9) Wildlife ecology. 

25 (10) Fish Ecology. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1301 IS

1 (11) Ecological restoration. 

2 (12) Invasive species control and eradication. 

3 (13) Wildland fire. 

4 (14) Hydrology. 

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

6 (16) Social science. 

7 (c) APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary shall— 

8 (1) ensure that the advisory panel includes ex9 perts in a broad array of the fields described in sub10 section (b); and 

11 (2) give consideration to the recommendations 

12 of institutions of higher education (as defined in sec13 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), professional societies, and 

15 other interested organizations and persons. 

16 (d) DUTIES.— 

17 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.— 

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

19 days after the date on which the Secretary ap20 points the members of the advisory panel, the 

21 advisory panel, after considering the best avail22 able science and information, shall submit to 

23 the Secretary and make available to the public 

24 a report that contains recommendations regard25 ing the manner by which the Secretary may 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1301 IS

1 best achieve the purposes and goals and con2 sider the opportunities described in section 

3 4(b). 

4 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report shall 

5 provide recommendations based on the best 

6 available science— 

7 (i) for the size and scope of projects 

8 needed to accomplish the goals and con9 sider the opportunities described in section 

10 4(b); 

11 (ii) for increasing local capacity to ac12 complish the goals and consider the oppor13 tunities described in section 4(b); 

14 (iii) for hydrologically and ecologically 

15 restoring land and water by— 

16 (I) decommissioning unnecessary 

17 and undesirable roads; and 

18 (II) reducing the environmental 

19 impact of necessary and desirable 

20 roads; and 

21 (iv) for each relevant plant association 

22 group— 

23 (I) for protecting and restoring 

24 terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, wildlife, 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1301 IS

1 fish, vegetation, soil, carbon, and 

2 other resources; 

3 (II) for the types of activities 

4 necessary and desirable to restore for5 est health and watershed health (in6 cluding thinning, prescribed, and nat7 ural fire, and other appropriate activi8 ties); 

9 (III) for cases in which the cut10 ting or removal of trees described in 

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

12 considered to be ecologically appro13 priate; and 

14 (IV) for cases in which the cut15 ting or removal of trees described in 

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

17 considered to be ecologically appro18 priate. 

19 (C) ADMINISTRATION.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum 

21 extent practicable, the advisory panel shall 

22 achieve a consensus with respect to each 

23 recommendation included in the report. 

24 (ii) INCLUSION OF DISSENTING OPIN25 IONS.—If the advisory panel fails to 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1301 IS

1 achieve a consensus with respect to any 

2 recommendation included in the report, the 

3 report shall include each dissenting opinion 

4 relating to the recommendation. 

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

6 after the date on which the Secretary appoints the 

7 members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel 

8 shall submit to the Secretary and make available to 

9 the public a report providing— 

10 (A) a quantitative and qualitative assess11 ment of the status of, and changes to, forest 

12 health and watershed health in the covered 

13 area, including the resiliency, aquatic function, 

14 and plant composition, structure, and function; 

15 and 

16 (B) an assessment of the implementation 

17 of the recommendations made under paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 SEC. 7. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

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

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

22 Secretary shall, considering the opportunities described in 

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

24 in the covered area to further the goals described in sec25 tion 4(b). 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1301 IS

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

2 availability of appropriations in accordance with section 

3 12, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, implement 1 or more ecological restoration 

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

6 each National Forest in the covered area that provide 

7 landscape-scale work within a watershed area not later 

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

9 the covered area. 

10 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing and imple11 menting ecological restoration projects under this section, 

12 the Secretary shall consider— 

13 (1) the best available science and data; 

14 (2) the recommendations of the advisory panel; 

15 and 

16 (3) the views of the relevant collaborative 

17 groups. 

18 (d) NET ROAD REDUCTION.—In developing ecologi19 cal restoration projects under this Act, the Secretary shall 

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

21 the permanent road system to improve forest and water22 shed health to the maximum extent practicable. 

23 (e) PRIORITIZATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

25 prioritize ecological restoration projects in the covVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1301 IS

1 ered area considering the requirements in subsection 

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

3 restoration projects would improve forest health and 

4 watershed health, based on— 

5 (A) dry and moist forest plant association 

6 groups; and 

7 (B) the need to sustain adequate levels of 

8 industry infrastructure to accomplish the goals 

9 described in section 4(b). 

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

11 the types of projects the Secretary shall consider to 

12 be priority projects include projects that— 

13 (A) reduce the risk of, and increase the re14 sistance and resiliency of the land to, 

15 uncharacteristic disturbances, particularly if 

16 critical components or values are at risk, in17 cluding— 

18 (i) communities located in the 

19 wildland-urban interface (as defined in sec20 tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora21 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and 

22 (ii) valuable forest structures (includ23 ing old growth and older mature trees); 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1301 IS

1 (B) restore the structure and composition 

2 of forest stands at a high or moderate depar3 ture from the historic range of variability; 

4 (C) accelerate the development of complex 

5 forest structure in a young forest that has been 

6 simplified through past management, such as 

7 by— 

8 (i) creating spatial heterogeneity (in9 cluding the creation of skips and gaps) 

10 using mechanical treatments to create 

11 wildlife habitat; and 

12 (ii) retaining biological legacies (in13 cluding large standing, downed, live, and 

14 dead trees); 

15 (D) assist in the implementation of com16 munity wildfire protection plans developed by 

17 at-risk communities (as those terms are defined 

18 in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora19 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 

20 (E) use the value of merchantable sawlogs 

21 and biomass to help offset the cost of ecological 

22 restoration projects; 

23 (F) meet local and rural community needs 

24 through a source that is selected on a best25 value basis; and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1301 IS

1 (G) reduce the permanent road system to 

2 improve forest health and watershed health. 

3 SEC. 8. COLLABORATION. 

4 (a) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.— 

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

6 of the projects needed to accomplish the purposes of 

7 this Act in the covered area, the Secretary shall con8 sult with, and consider the recommendations of, any 

9 collaborative group that meets the criteria described 

10 in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) COLLABORATIVE GROUPS.—A collaborative 

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

13 (A) is interested in the implementation of 

14 this Act; 

15 (B) includes multiple individuals rep16 resenting diverse interests that include— 

17 (i) environmental organizations; 

18 (ii) timber and forest products indus19 try representatives; and 

20 (iii) county governments; 

21 (C) operates— 

22 (i) in a transparent and nonexclusive 

23 manner; and 

24 (ii) by consensus or in accordance 

25 with voting procedures to ensure a high deVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:12 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 1301 IS

1 gree of agreement among participants and 

2 across various interests; and 

3 (D) requires a level of participation suffi4 cient to ensure that members of the collabo5 rative group are adequately informed before 

6 each decision. 

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

8 consultation with the relevant collaborative groups, may 

9 develop a multiparty monitoring plan for any vegetation 

10 management project carried out under this Act. 

11 SEC. 9. LARGE SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE12 MENT. 

13 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.—Congress finds that 

14 it is expected that the environmental impact statement de15 scribed in subsection (b) would be adequate to support the 

16 requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

17 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for projects implemented 

18 under this section, as documented in subsequent agency 

19 decision documents. 

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

21 large scale environmental impact statement that is ade22 quate under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

23 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to support a record of deci24 sion for vegetation management projects under this secVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jul 17, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1301.IS S1301

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 1301 IS

1 tion in National Forests in the eastern part of the State 

2 for projects— 

3 (1) that are located wholly in dry ponderosa 

4 pine and dry mixed conifer forests types; 

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

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

7 collaborative group; and 

8 (4) no portion of which are located in an inven9 toried roadless area. 

10 (c) COMPLETION DATE.—The Secretary shall com11 plete the record of decision for the large scale environ12 mental impact statement under subsection (b) not later 

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

14 (d) TIMELINESS.—Any legal challenge to the environ15 mental impact statement and record of decision under this 

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

17 record of decision is signed by the Secretary. 

18 SEC. 10. COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP. 

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

20 Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appro21 priations Act, 1996 (16 U.S.C. 1611 note; Public Law 

22 104–134) is amended by inserting after ‘‘may include’’ the 

23 following: ‘‘expenditures for forest planning activities nec24 essary for timber sales for projects that are on a pilot 

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


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 1301 IS

1 Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act 

2 of 2013) and’’. 

3 (b) COOPERATIVE FOREST INNOVATION PARTNER4 SHIP PROJECTS.—Section 13B of the Cooperative For5 estry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109b) is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following: 

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

8 the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside Forests Res9 toration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013, 

10 the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement 

11 the authority of the Secretary under that Act. 

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

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

14 after the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside 

15 Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and 

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

17 project to support the ability of the Department of 

18 Agriculture to address the restoration of forests in 

19 cooperation with States. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—A project under para21 graph (1) may be carried out on a pilot landscape 

22 (as defined in section 3 of the Oregon Eastside For23 ests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs 

24 Act of 2013). 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 1301 IS

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

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

3 Health-Federal Lands’ budget line item made avail4 able under the State and Private Forestry appro5 priation to pay not more than 50 percent of the total 

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

7 SEC. 11. ADMINISTRATION. 

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

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

10 Indian tribe and the United States; or 

11 (2) any biological opinion, including any opinion 

12 associated with the aquatic and riparian protection 

13 requirements of applicable land and resource man14 agement plans. 

15 (b) NO RETROACTIVE EFFECT DURING TRANSI16 TION.— 

17 (1) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.— 

18 The provisions of this Act shall not apply to a vege19 tation management project that is— 

20 (A) initiated, either through a scoping no21 tice or a notice of intent, more than 180 days 

22 before the date on which the Secretary selects 

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


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 1301 IS

1 (B) approved or under contract before the 

2 date on which the Secretary selects the covered 

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

4 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.—The comple5 tion of the Eastside Scientific and Technical Advi6 sory Panel recommendations report shall not auto7 matically compel an amendment or revision of any 

8 vegetation management project initiated, approved, 

9 or under contract before the date on which the rec10 ommendations report is completed. 

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

12 Eastside Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel 

13 recommendations report shall not automatically com14 pel an amendment or revision of any existing forest 

15 plan. 

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

17 this Act in accordance with applicable law (including regu18 lations). 

19 (d) PRINCIPAL AGENCY CONTACT.— 

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

21 principal agency contact for the implementation of 

22 this Act. 

23 (2) DUTIES.—The principal agency contact 

24 shall— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 1301 IS

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

2 advisory panel; and 

3 (B) facilitate communications among— 

4 (i) the advisory panel; 

5 (ii) collaborative groups; 

6 (iii) employees of the Forest Service; 

7 and 

8 (iv) any other stakeholders (including 

9 the public). 

10 (e) REPORTING.— 

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

12 a report on the implementation of this Act— 

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

14 on which the Secretary selects the covered area; 

15 and 

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

17 subsection (e)(1). 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports required under 

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

20 covered area, assess the progress toward accom21 plishing— 

22 (A) the purposes of this Act; and 

23 (B) the performance goals established 

24 under section 4(d). 

25 (f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 1301 IS

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

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

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

4 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection af6 fects a valid contract in effect on the date described 

7 in paragraph (1). 

8 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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

11 this Act, to remain available until expended. 

12 (b) USE.—Any amounts appropriated to the Sec13 retary under subsection (a) may be used to support imple14 mentation of any cost-sharing authorities provided by this 

15 Act. 

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

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

18 requirement shall not reduce the allocations of appro19 priated funds to the Secretary for use in— 

20 (1) other National Forests not included in the 

21 covered area; 

22 (2) other States; or 

23 (3) other Regions of the Forest Service. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS