1.This Act may be cited as
the Oregon Eastside Forests
Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of
2011
.
2.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.In this Act:
(1)The term advisory panel means the Eastside
Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel established under section
6(a).
(2)The term collaborative group means a group of
individuals that meets the requirements of section 9(a)(2).
(3)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)The term emergency condition means a
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.
(5)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)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)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)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)).
(9)
(A)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)The
term plant association includes, with respect to a forested site,
species representing tree, shrub, and herbaceous layers.
(10)The term restoration assessment means the
Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment prepared under section
7(a).
(11)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service).
(12)The
term State means the State of Oregon.
(13)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)The term watershed area means 1 or more
subwatersheds (also known as 6th code hydrologic units).
(15)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.
4.
(a)Selection of
covered area
(1)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)The
selection under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of 15 years.
(3)The
provisions of this Act shall apply to the covered area.
(b)
(1)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)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)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)
(1)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)Subject
to paragraph (3), each performance goal established under paragraph (1) shall
be measured annually for a period of 15 years.
(3)The
Secretary may develop additional performance goals that the Secretary
determines to be appropriate during the period established by paragraph
(2).
(4)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.
(5)
(A)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
(ii)are conducted
on—
(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.
(B)
(i)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)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)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)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).
(3)
(A)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)
(i)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)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 constructionIn 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.
(a)Aquatic and
riparian resources management
(1)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)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)
(1)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 streamsThe 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 acreThe 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
areasThe 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)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)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)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)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)Ecological
restoration.
(11)Invasive species
control and eradication.
(12)Wildland
fire.
(13)Water quantity
and water quality.
(14)Hydrology.
(15)Forest carbon
life-cycle and sequestration.
(16)Social
science.
(c)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)
(1)
(A)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)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.
(C)
(i)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 opinionsIf 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)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.
(a)Eastside
landscape forest restoration assessment
(1)The Secretary shall prepare an assessment of the covered
area to be known as the Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration
Assessment
.
(2)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.
(3)
(A)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)Not
later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary selects the covered
area, the Secretary shall complete the restoration assessment.
(4)The Secretary shall periodically review and update the
information compiled and developed under paragraph (2).
(b)
(1)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)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)The Secretary shall make available to the public
draft and final copies of the restoration assessment and the strategy required
by subsection (b).
8.Ecological
restoration projects
(a)Ecological
restoration projects
(1)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)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)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)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.
(5)
(A)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)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)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 limitationThe prohibitions described in section
4(e)(1) shall not apply to any experimental ecological restoration project
carried out under this subsection.
(3)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)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)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).
9.
(a)
(1)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)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)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.
10.
(a)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)Except as provided in section 8(c), the Secretary shall carry
out this Act in accordance with applicable law (including regulations).
(c)
(1)The
Secretary shall select a principal agency contact for the implementation of
this Act.
(2)The
principal agency contact shall—
(A)serve as the
point-of-contact for the advisory panel;
(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).
(d)
(1)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)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)
(1)The authorities under this Act shall terminate on the
date that is 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2)Nothing
in this subsection affects a valid contract in effect on the date described in
paragraph (1).
11.Authorization
of appropriations
(a)Subject to subsection (b), there is authorized to be
appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out this Act, to remain available until
expended.
(b)
(1)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;
(B)other States;
or
(C)other Regions of
the Forest Service.
(2)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.