Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013

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. Short title This Act may be cited as the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013 2. Purposes The purposes of this Act are— (1) to conserve and restore the eastside National Forests of the State; (2) to create an immediate, predictable, and increased timber flow to support locally based restoration economies in the communities of the eastside National Forests of the State; (3) to make the eastside National Forests of the State more resistant and resilient to, and to mitigate the effects of, climate change; (4) to protect, restore, and increase old-growth forest stands and trees in the eastside National Forests of the State; (5) to promote collaboration in the communities of the eastside National Forests of the State to respond to critical threats to forest and watershed health and to support natural resource- and restoration-based economies; (6) to prioritize, strategically target, and accelerate projects to improve forest health and watershed health in old growth forests located in the eastside National Forests of the State; and (7) to provide the Secretary, collaborative groups, and the public with independent scientific advice for restoring forest health and watershed health in the eastside National Forests of the State. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Advisory panel The term advisory panel (2) Collaborative group The term collaborative group (3) Covered area The term covered area (A) within the State; and (B) not within the area covered by the Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, dated April 1994. (4) Decision notice The term Decision Notice Decision Notice for the Revised Continuation of Interim Management Direction Establishing Riparian, Ecosystem and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales, United States Forest Service Region 6, Colville, Deschutes, Fremont, Malheur, Ochoco, Okanogan, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Winema National Forests in Oregon and Washington (5) Emergency condition The term emergency condition (A) that results in an— (i) imminent risk to life or property; or (ii) immediate impairment of the public use and enjoyment of a trail, road, highway, public facility, or public land; and (B) with respect to subparagraph (A)(ii), the urgency to address the emergency of which outweighs the benefits of full notice and comment. (6) Forest health The term forest health (A) to be durable, resilient, and less prone to uncharacteristic wildfire, insect, or pathogen outbreaks, while— (i) supporting ecosystem services and populations of native species; and (ii) allowing for natural disturbances; (B) to maintain or develop species composition, ecosystem function and structure, hydrologic function, and sediment regimes that are within an acceptable range that considers— (i) historic variability; and (ii) anticipated future conditions; and (C) to be resistant and resilient to un­char­ac­ter­is­tic events. (7) Forest stand The term forest stand (8) Initiative The term Initiative (A) to restore and improve the ecological structure, composition, and function and the natural processes of watersheds within the National Forest System; (B) to preserve and create local jobs in rural communities that are located in or near National Forest System land; (C) to sustain the local wood products infrastructure and community capacity that is necessary for the appropriate management and restoration of National Forest System land; (D) to promote cooperation and collaboration in the management of National Forest System land; (E) to carry out collaborative projects to restore forest health and watershed health and to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic disturbances from fire, insects, and disease to communities, watersheds, and natural resources through a collaborative process of planning, prioritizing, and implementing ecological restoration, hazardous fuel reduction, and other vegetation management projects; (F) to collect information from the projects carried out under this Act in an effort to better understand the manner in which to improve forest restoration and management activities; (G) that includes all National Forest System land within the covered area; and (H) under which not more than 15 National Forests may be selected to participate. (9) Inventoried roadless area The term inventoried roadless area (10) National forest system The term National Forest System 16 U.S.C. 1609(a) (11) Pilot landscape The term pilot landscape (12) Plant association (A) In general The term plant association (i) would potentially, in the absence of a disturbance, occupy a site; and (ii) may be aggregated into 1 or more groups based on similarities in plant species, composition, environment, and productivity. (B) Inclusion The term plant association (13) Secretary The term Secretary (14) State The term State (15) Uncharacteristic The term un­char­ac­ter­is­tic (16) Watershed area The term watershed area (17) Watershed health The term watershed health (A) to capture, store, and release water, sediment, wood, and nutrients; (B) to provide for water temperatures that are within the range of variability of the natural regimes for the processes described in subparagraph (A); and (C) to create and sustain functional riparian, aquatic, and wetland habitats that are capable of supporting diverse populations of native aquatic- and riparian-dependent species. 4. Land management (a) Application of the initiative to the covered area (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall select all or part of 1 or more National Forests in the State as part of the Initiative. (2) Term The selection under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of 15 years. (3) Effect The provisions of this Act shall apply to the covered area. (b) Land management goals (1) In general In the covered area, the Secretary shall, considering the best available science, seek— (A) to conserve and restore forest health, watershed health, and other ecosystems; (B) to reduce the risk of, and increase the resistance and resiliency of the land to, uncharacteristic disturbances; (C) to allow for characteristic natural disturbances; and (D) to harvest wood to maintain adequate levels of industry infrastructure to accomplish the goals described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C). (2) Forest management To achieve the goals of paragraph (1) in the forested land in the covered area, the Secretary shall consider opportunities— (A) to reduce the basal area in overstocked forest stands; (B) to increase the mean diameter of forest stands; (C) to maintain or create a forest composition that focuses on more fire- and drought-tolerant species; (D) to restore historic levels of within-forest stand spatial heterogeneity; (E) to conserve and restore old growth; (F) to conserve and restore population levels of older trees; (G) to conserve and restore ecologically sustainable forest stands and landscapes to incorporate characteristic forest stand structures and older tree populations; (H) to harvest wood and use the value of merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help offset the cost of improving forest health and watershed health; (I) to restore or maintain sustainable and fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through active management (including management through prescribed or wildland fire and mechanical treatments); (J) to restore or maintain ecologically appropriate spatial complexity (including a range of open to dense forest patches at scales from the forest stand to the landscape); (K) to create nonuniform effects in carrying out vegetation management projects by avoiding extensive areas of uniform treatment, except for certain treatments (such as broadcast burns) that are carried out to enhance the spatial heterogeneity of the forest site; (L) to restore or maintain ecologically appropriate understory plant community composition and condition, including— (i) by restoring and maintaining native ground cover; and (ii) by reducing the impacts of, and potential for, exotic and other invasive species; and (M) to increase stakeholder participation through collaborative groups. (c) Planning To help to achieve the goals described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall use landscape scale planning based on watershed areas as a tool to implement ecological restoration projects in the covered area. (d) Performance goals (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area, the Secretary, in consultation with the relevant collaborative groups, may establish performance goals, in addition to the goals that are established by subsection (b), that the Secretary shall seek to achieve consistent with the purposes of this Act and the goals and opportunities described in subsection (b) for the covered area. (2) Term Subject to paragraph (3), each performance goal established under paragraph (1) shall be measured annually for a period of 15 years. (3) Additions The Secretary may develop additional performance goals that the Secretary determines to be appropriate during the period established by paragraph (2). (4) Prioritization Subject to the limitations described in section 12(c), the Secretary shall prioritize the vegetation management and hazardous fuels reduction program activities in the covered area to achieve the performance goals established under this subsection. (5) Restoration goals (A) In general Within the covered area, consistent with the goals, and after considering the opportunities, described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prepare, offer, and promptly implement— (i) projects that— (I) are predominantly comprised of mechanical treatment in the covered area that emphasize sawtimber as a byproduct; and (II) are conducted on— (aa) for the first fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, not less than 60,000 acres; (bb) for the subsequent fiscal year, not less than 80,000 acres; and (cc) for each fiscal year thereafter until the fiscal year in which at least 1 ecological restoration project for each National Forest is initiated under section 7, not less than 100,000 acres; and (ii) for each fiscal year after the fiscal year specified in subparagraph clause (i)(II)(cc), an ecological restoration project on each National Forest in the covered area with a gross planning area of not less than 25,000 acres. (B) Annual goals (i) In general Beginning in the first fiscal year after the date on which at least 1 ecological restoration project is initiated for each National Forest under section 8 and each fiscal year thereafter until the date on which the Initiative is completed, the Secretary may, subject to clause (ii), set annual acreage performance goals for projects that are predominantly comprised of mechanical treatment in the covered area that emphasize sawtimber as a byproduct consistent with the goals, and after considering the opportunities, described in subsection (b). (ii) Considerations In setting goals under clause (i), the Secretary shall consider— (I) any specific recommendations of the advisory panel relating to acreage treatment needs; and (II) advice provided by a collaborative group relating to acreage treatment needs. (C) Priority for restoration goals In seeking to meet the restoration goals established under subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary shall prioritize for treatment— (i) any area located on a pilot landscape; and (ii) any area that has opportunities for reduced planning and implementation costs because of— (I) opportunities to work with a collaborative group on the project; or (II) opportunities to use non-Federal resources to complete the project. (e) Prohibitions on removal of certain trees (1) Older trees Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prohibit the cutting or removal of any live tree located in the covered area that is 150 years of age or older measured at breast height. (2) Administrative exceptions (A) In general The prohibition described in paragraph (1) shall not apply if the Secretary determines that there is no reasonable alternative to the cutting or removal of the tree to provide for a safe administrative, public, or special use. (B) Notice requirement The Secretary shall provide to the public and each relevant collaborative group notice and an opportunity to comment before making a determination under subparagraph (A), unless the Secretary determines that the cutting or removal of the tree is necessary to respond to an emergency condition. (C) Application of decision notice (i) In general Subject to clause (ii), if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the relevant collaborative group or the recommendations report issued under section 6(d), determines that the prohibition in paragraph (1) is infeasible to implement for a specific vegetation management project, the Secretary shall apply the Decision Notice with respect to the specific vegetation management project. (ii) Requirement In applying the Decision Notice to a specific vegetation management project under clause (i), the Secretary may make site-specific forest plan amendments to allow the cutting or removal of live trees greater than 21 inches in diameter at breast height that are younger than 150 years old at breast height, the cutting or removal of which is necessary to meet the land management goals described in subsection (b)(1). (f) Limitations on road construction In carrying out any vegetation management project in the covered area, the Secretary shall— (1) not construct any permanent road, unless the Secretary determines that the road is a justifiable realignment of a permanent road to restore or improve the ecological structure, composition, and function and the natural processes of the affected forest or watershed; and (2) by the earlier of the date on which the vegetation management project is completed or the date that is 1 year after the activities for which the road was constructed are complete, decommission any temporary road constructed to carry out the vegetation management project by— (A) reestablishing vegetation on the road; and (B) restoring any natural drainage, watershed function, or other ecological processes that are disrupted or adversely impacted by the road, including by removing or hydrologically disconnecting the road prism. 5. Watershed management (a) Aquatic and riparian resources management (1) In general Within the covered area, each vegetation management project in an area delineated under subsection (b) shall protect and restore the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources of the delineated area. (2) Effects A project described in paragraph (1) may result in short-term negative effects on the aquatic and riparian-dependent resources of the delineated area if the Secretary determines, after considering the best available science, that the project would result in a net improvement to the condition of those resources over the long term. (b) Delineation of areas (1) Fish-bearing streams The Secretary shall delineate each permanently flowing fishbearing stream and the area extending away from each edge of the active stream channel to include— (A) the top of the inner gorge; (B) the outer edges of the 100-year floodplain; (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; (D) a distance equal to the height of 2 site-potential trees; and (E) a slope distance of not less than 300 feet. (2) Permanently flowing non-fishbearing streams The Secretary shall delineate each permanently flowing non-fishbearing stream and the area extending away from each edge of the active stream channel to include— (A) the top of the inner gorge; (B) the outer edges of the 100-year flood plain; (C) the outer edges of riparian vegetation; (D) a distance equal to the height of 1 site-potential tree; and (E) a slope distance of not less than 150 feet. (3) Ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands larger than 1 acre The Secretary shall delineate each pond, lake, reservoir, and wetland larger than 1 acre and the area extending away from the high-water edges to include— (A) the outer edges of the riparian vegetation; (B) the extent of the seasonally saturated soil; (C) the extent of moderately and highly unstable areas; (D) a distance equal to the height of 1 site-potential tree; and (E) a slope distance of— (i) if the area located in a watershed identified as key or priority under the applicable land and resource management plan, not less than 100 feet; or (ii) not less than 50 feet. (4) Intermittent streams, wetlands less than 1 acre, landslides, and landslide-prone areas The Secretary shall delineate each wetland smaller than 1 acre, landslide, landslide-prone area, intermittent stream channel, and the area extending away from the edges of the wetland, landslide, landslide-prone area, or intermittent stream channel to include— (A) the top of the inner gorge; (B) the outer edges of the riparian vegetation; (C) a distance equal to the height of 1 site-potential tree; and (D) a slope distance of— (i) if the area is located in a watershed identified as key or priority under the applicable land and resource management plan, not less than 100 feet; or (ii) not less than 50 feet. (c) Aquatic and riparian protection (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall comply with the aquatic and riparian protection requirements of the applicable land and resource management plan in existence on the date of enactment of this Act in carrying out each vegetation management project in the covered area. (2) Modifications The Secretary may modify the aquatic and riparian protection requirements described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines, after considering the best available science, that the modifications would meet or exceed the goals of the aquatic and riparian protection requirements. 6. Eastside forest scientific and technical advisory panel (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area, the Secretary shall establish an advisory panel— (1) to be known as the Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (2) to advise the Secretary, collaborative groups, and the public regarding the development and implementation of— (A) goals to improve forest health, watershed health, and related social and economic goals in the covered area; and (B) projects needed to accomplish the purposes of this Act. (b) Composition The advisory panel shall be composed of 9 members, each of whom shall have expertise in 1 or more of the following: (1) Silviculture. (2) Timber economics. (3) Road and logging engineering. (4) Soil science and geology. (5) Ecosystem services or natural resources economics. (6) Community economics or ecosystem workforce development. (7) Forest ecology. (8) Aquatic and riparian ecology. (9) Wildlife ecology. (10) Fish Ecology. (11) Ecological restoration. (12) Invasive species control and eradication. (13) Wildland fire. (14) Hydrology. (15) Forest carbon life-cycle and sequestration. (16) Social science. (c) Appointments The Secretary shall— (1) ensure that the advisory panel includes experts in a broad array of the fields described in subsection (b); and (2) give consideration to the recommendations of institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), professional societies, and other interested organizations and persons. (d) Duties (1) Recommendations report (A) In general Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary appoints the members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel, after considering the best available science and information, shall submit to the Secretary and make available to the public a report that contains recommendations regarding the manner by which the Secretary may best achieve the purposes and goals and consider the opportunities described in section 4(b). (B) Requirements The report shall provide recommendations based on the best available science— (i) for the size and scope of projects needed to accomplish the goals and consider the opportunities described in section 4(b); (ii) for increasing local capacity to accomplish the goals and consider the opportunities described in section 4(b); (iii) for hydrologically and ecologically restoring land and water by— (I) decommissioning unnecessary and undesirable roads; and (II) reducing the environmental impact of necessary and desirable roads; and (iv) for each relevant plant association group— (I) for protecting and restoring terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, wildlife, fish, vegetation, soil, carbon, and other resources; (II) for the types of activities necessary and desirable to restore forest health and watershed health (including thinning, prescribed, and natural fire, and other appropriate activities); (III) for cases in which the cutting or removal of trees described in section 4(e)(1) would generally be considered to be ecologically appropriate; and (IV) for cases in which the cutting or removal of trees described in section 4(e)(2)(C) would generally be considered to be ecologically appropriate. (C) Administration (i) In general To the maximum extent practicable, the advisory panel shall achieve a consensus with respect to each recommendation included in the report. (ii) Inclusion of dissenting opinions If the advisory panel fails to achieve a consensus with respect to any recommendation included in the report, the report shall include each dissenting opinion relating to the recommendation. (2) Review report Not later than 5 years after the date on which the Secretary appoints the members of the advisory panel, the advisory panel shall submit to the Secretary and make available to the public a report providing— (A) a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the status of, and changes to, forest health and watershed health in the covered area, including the resiliency, aquatic function, and plant composition, structure, and function; and (B) an assessment of the implementation of the recommendations made under paragraph (1). 7. Ecological restoration projects (a) In general As soon as practicable after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area, the Secretary shall, considering the opportunities described in section 4(b)(2), implement ecological restoration projects in the covered area to further the goals described in section 4(b). (b) Landscape-Scale projects Subject to the availability of appropriations in accordance with section 12, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, implement 1 or more ecological restoration projects with a gross planning area of 50,000 acres for each National Forest in the covered area that provide landscape-scale work within a watershed area not later than 3 years after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area. (c) Requirements In developing and implementing ecological restoration projects under this section, the Secretary shall consider— (1) the best available science and data; (2) the recommendations of the advisory panel; and (3) the views of the relevant collaborative groups. (d) Net road reduction In developing ecological restoration projects under this Act, the Secretary shall examine opportunities for, and achieve, a net reduction in the permanent road system to improve forest and watershed health to the maximum extent practicable. (e) Prioritization (1) In general The Secretary shall prioritize ecological restoration projects in the covered area considering the requirements in subsection (c) and based on the degree to which the ecological restoration projects would improve forest health and watershed health, based on— (A) dry and moist forest plant association groups; and (B) the need to sustain adequate levels of industry infrastructure to accomplish the goals described in section 4(b). (2) Inclusions In carrying out this section, the types of projects the Secretary shall consider to be priority projects include projects that— (A) reduce the risk of, and increase the resistance and resiliency of the land to, uncharacteristic disturbances, particularly if critical components or values are at risk, including— (i) communities located in the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 (ii) valuable forest structures (including old growth and older mature trees); (B) restore the structure and composition of forest stands at a high or moderate departure from the historic range of variability; (C) accelerate the development of complex forest structure in a young forest that has been simplified through past management, such as by— (i) creating spatial heterogeneity (including the creation of skips and gaps) using mechanical treatments to create wildlife habitat; and (ii) retaining biological legacies (including large standing, downed, live, and dead trees); (D) assist in the implementation of community wildfire protection plans developed by at-risk communities (as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 (E) use the value of merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help offset the cost of ecological restoration projects; (F) meet local and rural community needs through a source that is selected on a best-value basis; and (G) reduce the permanent road system to improve forest health and watershed health. 8. Collaboration (a) Collaborative groups (1) In general To assist in the development of the projects needed to accomplish the purposes of this Act in the covered area, the Secretary shall consult with, and consider the recommendations of, any collaborative group that meets the criteria described in paragraph (2). (2) Collaborative groups A collaborative group under paragraph (1) means a group that— (A) is interested in the implementation of this Act; (B) includes multiple individuals representing diverse interests that include— (i) environmental organizations; (ii) timber and forest products industry representatives; and (iii) county governments; (C) operates— (i) in a transparent and nonexclusive manner; and (ii) by consensus or in accordance with voting procedures to ensure a high degree of agreement among participants and across various interests; and (D) requires a level of participation sufficient to ensure that members of the collaborative group are adequately informed before each decision. (b) Multiparty monitoring The Secretary, in consultation with the relevant collaborative groups, may develop a multiparty monitoring plan for any vegetation management project carried out under this Act. 9. Large scale environmental impact statement (a) Congressional finding Congress finds that it is expected that the environmental impact statement described in subsection (b) would be adequate to support the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for projects implemented under this section, as documented in subsequent agency decision documents. (b) Requirements The Secretary shall prepare a large scale environmental impact statement that is adequate under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to support a record of decision for vegetation management projects under this section in National Forests in the eastern part of the State for projects— (1) that are located wholly in dry ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer forests types; (2) that are located on a pilot landscape; (3) that are endorsed by or the product of a collaborative group; and (4) no portion of which are located in an inventoried roadless area. (c) Completion date The Secretary shall complete the record of decision for the large scale environmental impact statement under subsection (b) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (d) Timeliness Any legal challenge to the environmental impact statement and record of decision under this section shall be filed not later than 120 days after the record of decision is signed by the Secretary. 10. Cooperative partnership (a) Forest planning Section 327(b)(2) of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 ( 16 U.S.C. 1611 may include expenditures for forest planning activities necessary for timber sales for projects that are on a pilot landscape (as defined in section 3 of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013) and (b) Cooperative forest innovation partnership projects Section 13B of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2109b (d) Regulations Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement the authority of the Secretary under that Act. (e) Cooperation with State governments (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013, the Secretary shall carry out a project to support the ability of the Department of Agriculture to address the restoration of forests in cooperation with States. (2) Eligible areas A project under paragraph (1) may be carried out on a pilot landscape (as defined in section 3 of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013). (3) Funding The Secretary shall use not more than 5 percent of the funds for the Forest Health-Federal Lands . 11. Administration (a) Effect Nothing in this Act affects— (1) any right described in a treaty between an Indian tribe and the United States; or (2) any biological opinion, including any opinion associated with the aquatic and riparian protection requirements of applicable land and resource management plans. (b) No retroactive effect during transition (1) Vegetation management projects The provisions of this Act shall not apply to a vegetation management project that is— (A) initiated, either through a scoping notice or a notice of intent, more than 180 days before the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area under section 4(a)(1); or (B) approved or under contract before the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area under section 4(a)(1). (2) Recommendations report The completion of the Eastside Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel recommendations report shall not automatically compel an amendment or revision of any vegetation management project initiated, approved, or under contract before the date on which the recommendations report is completed. (3) Forest plans The completion of the Eastside Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel recommendations report shall not automatically compel an amendment or revision of any existing forest plan. (c) Applicable law The Secretary shall carry out this Act in accordance with applicable law (including regulations). (d) Principal agency contact (1) Selection The Secretary shall select a principal agency contact for the implementation of this Act. (2) Duties The principal agency contact shall— (A) serve as the point-of-contact for the advisory panel; and (B) facilitate communications among— (i) the advisory panel; (ii) collaborative groups; (iii) employees of the Forest Service; and (iv) any other stakeholders (including the public). (e) Reporting (1) In general The Secretary shall prepare a report on the implementation of this Act— (A) not later than 5 years after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered area; and (B) 2 years before the date referred to in subsection (e)(1). (2) Contents The reports required under paragraph (1) shall, for each National Forest in the covered area, assess the progress toward accomplishing— (A) the purposes of this Act; and (B) the performance goals established under section 4(d). (f) Termination of authority (1) In general The authorities under this Act (other than the authorities under sections 4(e) and 5(c)) shall terminate on the date that is 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act. (2) Effect Nothing in this subsection affects a valid contract in effect on the date described in paragraph (1). 12. Authorization of appropriations (a) In general Subject to subsection (c), there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out this Act, to remain available until expended. (b) Use Any amounts appropriated to the Secretary under subsection (a) may be used to support implementation of any cost-sharing authorities provided by this Act. (c) Limitation Amounts expended to carry out provisions of this Act that are not subject to a cost-sharing requirement shall not reduce the allocations of appropriated funds to the Secretary for use in— (1) other National Forests not included in the covered area; (2) other States; or (3) other Regions of the Forest Service.

Summary: Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2013 - Provides for the management of forest service land in Washington on the eastside of the Cascade Range (covered area). (Sec. 102) Directs the Forest Service to manage the forest in accordance with this Act for 15 years. Directs the Forest Service in the covered area to seek to: (1) conserve and restore forest and watershed health; (2) reduce the risk of, and increase the resistance and resiliency of the land to, uncharacteristic disturbances; (3) allow for characteristic natural disturbances; and (4) harvest wood to maintain the appropriate scale of industry infrastructure to accomplish these goals. Instructs the Forest Service to: (1) use landscape-scale planning based on watershed boundaries as a tool to implement vegetation management and ecological restoration projects; and (2) seek to achieve planning and implementation efficiencies by working with the relevant collaborative group, the Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel established by this Act, and other partners. Instructs the Forest Service to identify and retain trees that are 150 years of age or older, with exceptions. Limits road construction in carrying out any vegetation management project. Requires the Forest Service to ensure that the projects include monitoring to inform an assessment of the effectiveness of treatments and adaptive management of future projects. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Forest Service to establish performance objectives for the covered area. Requires each performance goal to be measured annually for a 15-year period. Requires the Forest Service to prioritize vegetative management project and hazardous fuels reduction activities in the covered area. Requires the Forest Service to prepare, offer, and promptly implement projects that are predominantly comprised of mechanical treatment in the covered area that emphasize sawtimber as a byproduct and meet specified criteria. Requires the Forest Service to prioritize for treatment any area that has opportunities for reduced planning and implementation costs because of opportunities to work with a collaborative group on a project, or opportunities to use non-federal resources to complete a project. (Sec. 104) Requires the primary focus of aquatic and riparian protection activities to be to protect, maintain, and restore natural ecological functions and processes beneficial to water quality and quantity, including temperature and turbidity, native fish and wildlife, and watershed resilience. States that desired watershed conditions shall include maintaining or enhancing riparian processes and conditions to ensure that the watersheds operate consistently with local disturbance regimes and support native flora and fauna. Directs the Forest Service to develop an aquatic and riparian conservation strategy that incorporates riparian management areas, key watersheds, watershed analysis, watershed restoration and monitoring. (Sec. 105) Requires the Secretary to establish the Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel to advise the Secretary, collaborative groups, and the public about the development and implementation of: (1) goals to improve forest and watershed health and related social and economic goals in the covered area; and (2) projects needed to accomplish goals. (Sec. 106) Directs the Forest Service to implement ecological restoration projects in the covered area to support land management goals. Directs the Forest Service to implement at least one ecological restoration project with a gross planning area of 50,000 acres for each national forest in the covered area that provides landscape-scale work within a watershed area within three years. Requires the Forest Service, in developing and implementing ecological restoration projects, to consider the best available science and data, the recommendations of the Advisory Panel, the views of collaborative groups, and dry and moist forest plant association groups. Requires the Forest Service to examine opportunities for, and achieve, a net reduction in the permanent road system to improve forest and watershed health. Requires the Forest Service to prioritize ecological restoration projects in the covered area, taking into consideration: (1) the criteria to be considered in developing and implementing such projects, and (2) the degree to which such projects would improve forest health and watershed health. Instructs the Forest Service, in selecting and planning ecological restoration projects, to prioritize projects that meet certain criteria. (Sec. 107) Directs the Forest Service to consult with, and consider the recommendations of, any collaborative group that meet certain criteria. (Sec. 108) Directs the Forest Service to carry out vegetation management projects and ecological restoration projects in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Instructs the Forest Service to prepare a large scale environmental impact statement to support a record of decision for vegetation management projects in National Forests in the eastern part of Oregon for projects that share ecological conditions and resource issues, including projects: (1) that are located wholly in dry ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer forests types, (2) that are endorsed by or the product of a collaborative group, and (3) no portion of which is located in an inventoried roadless area. Requires the environmental impact statement to be used as the basis for decisions on covered vegetation management projects and ecological restoration projects, except for limited projects: (1) that are developed after the completion of such statement; and (2) for which such statement does not adequately analyze the work to be performed. Instructs the Forest Service to complete the record of decision for the environmental impact statement within one year. Specifies the legal timeline for a legal challenge to the environmental impact statement and record of decision. (Sec. 109) Makes this title inapplicable to a vegetation management project that is: (1) initiated more than 180 days before this Act's enactment; or (2) approved or under a contract before that date. Requires the Forest Service to prepare a report on the implementation of this title. Terminates the authority provided by this title 15 years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 110) Permits any amounts appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this title to be used to support cost-sharing authorities provided by this title. Prohibits the Forest Service from diverting funding from a national forest or grassland outside of Oregon to meet the performance requirements of this title. Permits the Forest Service to reprogram any funds: (1) made available to the Secretary through an appropriation for the National Forest System, and (2) allocated to be used on the national forests in the covered area. Prohibits any funds appropriated for a recreation or grazing activity from being subject to reprogramming. Title II: Cooperative Partnership Funding - (Sec. 201) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to permit expenditures for the preparation of timber sales to include expenditures for forest planning activities necessary for timber sales for projects that are located on any landscape that receives funding under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. (Sec. 202) Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to carry out projects to address the restoration of forests in cooperation with the states.