S 220
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 220
To provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, protection
of old growth forests, and management of national forests in the eastside
forests of the State of Oregon.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 27, 2011
Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
A BILL
To provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, protection
of old growth forests, and management of national forests in the eastside
forests of the State of Oregon.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old
Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2011'.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) ADVISORY PANEL- The term `advisory panel' means the Eastside Forest
Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel established under section
6(a).
(2) COLLABORATIVE GROUP- The term `collaborative group' means a group
of individuals that meets the requirements of section 9(a)(2).
(3) COVERED AREA- The term `covered area' means the area selected
by the Secretary under section 4(a)(1) that is--
(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) EMERGENCY CONDITION- The term `emergency condition' means a condition--
(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.
(5) FOREST HEALTH- The term `forest health' means conditions that
enable forested land--
(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.
(6) FOREST STAND- The term `forest stand' means a contiguous group
of trees that are sufficiently uniform in age-class distribution,
composition, and structure and that are growing on a site of sufficiently
uniform quality to be a distinguishable unit.
(7) INITIATIVE- The term `Initiative' means an initiative established
by the Secretary--
(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; and
(G) under which not more than 15 National Forests may be selected
to participate.
(8) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM- The term `National Forest System' has
the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(A) IN GENERAL- The term `plant association' means a description
of a plant community that--
(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' includes, with respect
to a forested site, species representing tree, shrub, and herbaceous
layers.
(10) RESTORATION ASSESSMENT- The term `restoration assessment' means
the Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment prepared under
section 7(a).
(11) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture
(acting through the Chief of the Forest Service).
(12) STATE- The term `State' means the State of Oregon.
(13) UNCHARACTERISTIC- The term `uncharacteristic' means a wildfire,
insect, or pathogen outbreak or level of forest fuel, the severity,
size, frequency, or quantity of which exceeds the historic range of
variability.
(14) WATERSHED AREA- The term `watershed area' means 1 or more subwatersheds
(also known as 6th code hydrologic units).
(15) WATERSHED HEALTH- The term `watershed health' means landscape
conditions that enable riparian and aquatic ecosystems--
(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.
SEC. 4. LAND MANAGEMENT.
(a) Selection of Covered Area-
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary may 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.
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 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
11(b), 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.
(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 projects, that--
(i) are predominantly comprised of mechanical treatment in the
covered area that emphasize sawtimber as a byproduct; and
(I) for the first fiscal year after the date of enactment of
this Act, not less than 39,000 acres;
(II) for the subsequent fiscal year, not less than 58,000 acres;
and
(III) 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 8, not less than
80,000 acres.
(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) the restoration assessment;
(II) any specific recommendations of the advisory panel relating
to acreage treatment needs; and
(III) advice provided by a collaborative group relating to acreage
treatment needs.
(e) Prohibitions on Removal of Certain Trees-
(1) LARGER TREES- Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Secretary
shall prohibit the cutting or removal of any live tree located in
the covered area, the diameter of which is 21 inches or greater measured
at breast height.
(2) SMALLER TREES- Except as provided in paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary
shall prohibit the cutting or removal of any live tree located in
the covered area, the diameter of which is less than 21 inches measured
at breast height, if the Secretary determines, after considering the
recommendations of the advisory panel, that prohibiting the cutting
or removal is required to meet the goals described in subsection (b).
(A) ECOLOGICAL EXCEPTION- The prohibitions described in paragraph
(1) shall not apply if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations
of the advisory panel and consulting with each relevant collaborative
group, determines that the cutting or removal of the tree would
be consistent with the goals described in subsection (b)(1).
(B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTION-
(i) IN GENERAL- The prohibitions described in paragraphs (1) and
(2) 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.
(ii) 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 clause (i), unless
the Secretary determines that the cutting or removal of the tree
is necessary to respond to an emergency condition.
(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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 6. EASTSIDE FOREST SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ADVISORY PANEL.
(a) In General- Not later than 120 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'; and
(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;
(B) the restoration assessment; and
(C) 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:
(3) Road and logging engineering.
(4) Soil science and geology.
(5) Ecosystem services or natural resources economics.
(6) Community economics or ecosystem workforce development.
(8) Aquatic and riparian ecology.
(10) Ecological restoration.
(11) Invasive species control and eradication.
(13) Water quantity and water quality.
(15) Forest carbon life-cycle and sequestration.
(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.
(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 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 potential protocols that could be used to efficiently
identify trees older than 150 years in carrying out experimental
ecological restoration projects under section 8(b);
(iii) for increasing local capacity to accomplish the goals and
consider the opportunities described in section 4(b); 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 prohibiting the cutting or removal of
trees described in section 4(e)(2) would generally be considered
to be ecologically appropriate.
(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).
SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY.
(a) Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall prepare an assessment of the covered
area to be known as the `Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment'.
(2) REQUIREMENTS- The restoration assessment shall--
(A) compile the best available scientific assessments of, and relating
to, the covered area concerning--
(i) forest health and watershed health, including measures necessary
to restore forest health and watershed health;
(ii) the road system, including--
(I) travel management; and
(II) the funding levels necessary to maintain the road system;
(iii) the local infrastructure and workforce capacity needs and
the potential value to the local economy resulting from comprehensive
forest restoration;
(iv) baseline ecological conditions in the forests and watersheds;
(v) baseline economic conditions in the communities;
(vi) the volume of biomass that--
(I) consists of slash, brush, and any tree that does not exceed
the minimum size standards for sawtimber; and
(II) can be supplied consistent with the goals and considering
the opportunities described in section 4(b);
(vii) the volume of sawtimber that can be supplied consistent
with the goals and considering the opportunities described in
section 4(b); and
(viii) methods to hydrologically and ecologically restore land
and water by--
(I) decommissioning unnecessary and undesirable roads; and
(II) reducing the environmental impact of necessary and desirable
roads; and
(B) to the extent practicable and using the best available science,
develop and provide the information described in subparagraph (A)
that is not available in any existing assessment.
(A) IN GENERAL- As soon as practicable after the date on which the
Secretary selects the covered area, the Secretary shall make available
to the public the information required under paragraph (2).
(B) COMPLETION- Not later than 2 years after the date on which the
Secretary selects the covered area, the Secretary shall complete
the restoration assessment.
(4) REVIEW AND UPDATE- The Secretary shall periodically review and
update the information compiled and developed under paragraph (2).
(1) IN GENERAL- Using the restoration assessment, the Secretary shall
develop a strategy to assist in the development and implementation
of projects needed to accomplish the purposes of this Act.
(2) REQUIREMENTS- The strategy required under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) methods to identify and prioritize areas within the covered
area in which projects would address the restoration needs and opportunities
described in the restoration assessment;
(B) recommendations for possible projects within the covered area,
consistent with the priorities described in section 8; and
(C) recommendations for improving the commercial use of biomass
and other byproducts of projects within the covered area.
(c) Public Availability- The Secretary shall make available to the public
draft and final copies of the restoration assessment and the strategy
required by subsection (b).
SEC. 8. ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECTS.
(a) Ecological Restoration Projects-
(1) 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).
(2) LANDSCAPE-SCALE PROJECTS- Subject to the availability of appropriations
in accordance with section 11, the Secretary shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, implement 1 or more ecological restoration projects
for each National Forest in the covered area that provide landscape-scale
work within a watershed area by the earlier of the date that is--
(A) 1 year after the date of completion of the restoration assessment;
or
(B) 3 years after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered
area.
(3) REQUIREMENTS- In developing and implementing ecological restoration
projects under this section, the Secretary shall consider--
(A) the best available science and data;
(B) the recommendations of the advisory panel;
(C) the restoration needs and opportunities described in the restoration
assessment;
(D) the strategy developed under section 7(b); and
(E) the views of the relevant collaborative groups.
(4) 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.
(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall prioritize ecological restoration
projects in the covered area considering the requirements in paragraph
(3) and based on the degree to which the ecological restoration
projects would improve forest health and watershed health, based
on--
(i) dry and moist forest plant association groups; and
(ii) the need to sustain adequate levels of industry infrastructure
to accomplish the goals described in section 4(b).
(B) INCLUSIONS- In carrying out this section, the types of projects
the Secretary shall consider to be priority projects include projects
that--
(i) 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)); and
(II) valuable forest structures (including old growth and older
mature trees);
(ii) restore the structure and composition of forest stands at
a high or moderate departure from the historic range of variability;
(iii) 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);
(iv) 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));
(v) use the value of merchantable sawlogs and biomass to help
offset the cost of ecological restoration projects;
(vi) meet local and rural community needs through a source that
is selected on a best-value basis; and
(vii) reduce the permanent road system to improve forest health
and watershed health.
(b) Experimental Ecological Restoration Projects-
(1) IN GENERAL- As soon as practicable after final agency action,
but not later than 5 years after the date on which the Secretary selects
the covered area, the Secretary shall implement experimental ecological
restoration projects in the covered area that are designed to use
an age limitation that prohibits the cutting or removal of any tree
older than 150 years.
(2) APPLICABILITY OF CUTTING LIMITATION- The prohibitions described
in section 4(e)(1) shall not apply to any experimental ecological
restoration project carried out under this subsection.
(3) PROTOCOL- The Secretary shall establish a protocol to efficiently
identify trees older than 150 years in carrying out each experimental
ecological restoration project under this subsection, such as by--
(A) sampling trees within forest stands; or
(B) establishing standards for determining which forest stands contain
trees older than 150 years.
(4) USE OF DATA- The Secretary shall use data from experimental ecological
restoration projects--
(A) to examine the feasibility of implementing age limits at a broader
scale; and
(B) to provide recommendations regarding the manner by which future
vegetation management projects designed to protect trees older than
150 years may be carried out more efficiently.
(c) Review- Each project carried out under this section may be subject
to--
(1) the predecisional administrative review process established in
part 218 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, except that the
Secretary shall provide notice of, and distribute, a proposed decision
before or with the environmental assessment or final environmental
impact statement for any project subject to review under this paragraph;
and
(2) subsections (b) and (c)(3) of section 106 of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6516).
SEC. 9. COLLABORATION.
(a) Collaborative Groups-
(1) IN GENERAL- To assist in the development of the restoration assessment
and 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;
(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.
SEC. 10. 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) Applicable Law- Except as provided in section 8(c), the Secretary
shall carry out this Act in accordance with applicable law (including
regulations).
(c) 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;
(B) facilitate communications among--
(ii) collaborative groups;
(iii) employees of the Forest Service; and
(iv) any other stakeholders (including the public).
(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 subparagraph (A) 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).
(e) Termination of Authority-
(1) IN GENERAL- The authorities under this Act 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).
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General- Subject to subsection (b), there is authorized to be
appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out this Act, to remain available
until expended.
(1) OTHER ALLOCATIONS- Amounts expended to carry out this Act shall
not reduce the allocations of appropriated funds to the Secretary
for use in--
(A) other National Forests not included in the covered area;
(C) other Regions of the Forest Service.
(2) REDUCTION- The amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection
(a) shall be reduced by any Federal funds allocated to, and expended
by, a National Forest in the covered area under the program established
under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
(16 U.S.C. 7303) to implement a proposal under subsection (d) of that
section.
END
