Sec. 101. Management of Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land
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The Act of August 28, 1937 ( 43 U.S.C. 1181a et seq. ), is amended— by redesignating sections 2, 4, and 5 ( 43 U.S.C. 1181b , 1181d, 1181e) as sections 13, 14, and 15, respectively; and by striking the first section and inserting the following: This Act may be cited as the . Oregon and California Land Grant Act In this Act: The term 80 year old age class , following the common usage by the Bureau of Land Management, means a group of trees of which the average age of the dominant trees is 75 to 85 years old, comprising part of or an entire stand.
The term 90 year old age class , following the common usage by the Bureau of Land Management, means a group of trees of which the average age of the dominant trees is 85 to 95 years old, comprising part of or an entire stand. The term adjacent private land means any privately owned land that is— contiguous to covered land as defined in this Act; or situated so that it is reasonably necessary to use covered land as defined in this Act to access the privately owned land. The term agency action has the meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
The term archeological site means any district, site, building, structure, or object that is included, or eligible for inclusion, in the National Register under chapter 3021 of title 54, United States Code. The term Conservation Emphasis Area means the land allocated for various purposes in section 10, except for subsection (f), and generally depicted on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Conservation Emphasis Areas and dated November 3, 2014 and the land generally depicted on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014:
Late Successional Old-Growth Forest Heritage Areas and dated November 3, 2014. The term covered agency action means an agency action carried out by the Secretary, through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, relating to the management of vegetation on covered land. The term covered civil action means a civil action seeking judicial review of a covered agency action. The term covered land means the approximately 2,800,000 acres of land designated as Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land , generally depicted as covered land on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014 and dated November 3, 2014, which includes the approximately 410,000 acres of the Public Domain and acquired land in section 3(d), the approximately 72,000 acres of the reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land that is under the jurisdiction of the Department, and the approximately 311,500 acres of final BLM land, formerly Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers land, denoted in section 11 of this Act entitled Land Management Rationalization all to be designated O&C land; provided further any land later acquired by the Secretary surrounding the area generally depicted on this map shall also be covered land and designated O&C land; and further provided that any land otherwise intended to be accepted into the O&C land base also be considered covered land by this Act.
The term decommission , with respect to a road, means to restore any natural drainage, watershed function, or other ecological process that has been disrupted or adversely impacted by the road by— removing or hydrologically disconnecting the road prism; reestablishing vegetation on the former road prism; and using the best available science to restore the integrity and form of associated hill slopes, channels, and floodplains. The term Department means the Department of the Interior.
The term Dry Forests means the land that is labeled as Dry Forest on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Moist Forests and Dry Forests and dated November 3, 2014 and that is located within the area labeled as Forestry Emphasis Area on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Forestry Emphasis Areas and dated November 3, 2014. The term forest health means conditions that enable forested land— to be durable, resilient, and less prone to uncharacteristic wildfire, insect, or pathogen events, while— supporting ecosystem services and populations of native species; and allowing for natural disturbances; and to maintain or develop species composition, ecosystem function and structure, hydrologic function, and sediment regimes that are within an acceptable range that considers— historic variability; and anticipated future conditions.
The term forest management , with respect to the activities of adjacent private land owners, means any activity or plan reasonably necessary for the prudent management, upkeep, and use of forested land, including— timber harvesting, thinning, reforestation, vegetation and pest management, and other silvicultural activities; development and harvest of other forest resources and products; fire prevention and suppression activities; and installing, constructing, maintaining, improving, and reconstructing— roads; landings; yarding corridors and wedges; guyline supports; and tail holds for permanent or temporary use that are reasonably necessary for prudent land management.
The term late successional old-growth forest means a stand of trees equal to or greater than 1/4 acre in size and with a 90-year or older age class of trees as of the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015. The term legacy tree means a live tree that is determined to be equal to or greater than 150 years of age, or a dead tree that is estimated to have been 150 years or older when it died. The term Moist Forestry Emphasis Area means the land that is labeled as Moist Forest on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014:
Moist Forests and Dry Forests and dated November 3, 2014 and that is located within the area labeled as Forestry Emphasis Area on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Forestry Emphasis Areas and dated November 3, 2014, excluding the land generally depicted on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Late Successional Old-Growth Forest Heritage Areas and dated November 3, 2014. The term place into storage , with respect to a road, means— to maintain the road in order to prevent resource damage; but to alter the road to eliminate all vehicular traffic— for purposes of controlling erosion— by installing appropriate water control structures, such as water bars; or by ensuring the surface of the road slopes such that water quickly drains off the surface of the road; for purposes of preventing access by vehicles— by blocking the entrance of the road; and by scattering slash atop the road surface; and for purposes of restoring native vegetation— by scarifying lightly the surface of the road; by seeding the surface of the road, as needed; and by treating noxious weeds.
The term residence means a privately owned, permanent structure that is maintained for habitation as a dwelling or workplace. The term salmon means any of the wild Oncorhynchus species that occur in the State of Oregon. The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, or her designee. The term site-potential tree means the average dominant tree, modeled at 200 years of age, for a given site class. The term Source Water Emphasis Area means the areas identified as Source Water Emphasis Area on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014:
Source Water Emphasis Areas and dated November 3, 2014. The term sustained yield means the definition of sustained yield under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ) applying the ecological forestry principles and other provisions of this Act. The term timber-byproduct means timber produced as a consequence of vegetative treatments or other management actions undertaken solely to achieve ecological goals. The term tree tipping and tree felling activity means any activity relating to the intentional felling and placement of a tree in a stream or on the forest floor during a timber harvest operation for the purposes of fish or stream or riparian habitat improvement.
The term vegetation management project means an activity carried out on covered land that involves the cutting of vegetation to achieve the purposes of this Act. Notwithstanding the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218, chapter 137), and the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179, chapter 47), any portion of the revested Oregon and California Railroad grant land or the reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land that is under the jurisdiction of the Department, heretofore part of the covered land as defined in this Act, shall be managed in accordance with this Act.
The purposes of land managed through this Act are to provide collectively certainty and economic stability for local communities and industries, fish and wildlife benefits, improved ecological and hydrological function and health, improved forest health, municipal and community drinking water, permanent forest production for identified forestry areas, protection of watersheds and regulation of stream flow, and recreational opportunities. The document entitled Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standard and Guidelines shall not apply to any— Dry Forestry Emphasis Area; or Moist Forestry Emphasis Area.
Any Federal public land generally depicted as covered land on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014 and dated November 3, 2014, that is not designated as Oregon and California Railroad grant land under this Act, as of the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 shall be designated as Oregon and California Railroad grant land and managed as covered land under this Act. The Secretary may not cut or remove late successional old-growth forests within any land designated under section 4(a)(3)(A) and (B), section 8, within the Late Successional Old Growth Heritage Forest Reserve or section 10 of this Act, allowing action— for public safety purposes; or to fulfill existing obligations pursuant to agreements affecting adjacent private land.
Legacy trees shall not be cut in areas designated under section 4(a)(3)(A) and (B), allowing action for— safety purposes; or tree tipping and felling activities. When legacy trees are located within a Moist Forest Emphasis Area the Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, protect legacy trees by using them to meet the retention requirements applicable under section 8. When legacy trees are located within a Dry Forest Emphasis Area the Secretary shall where appropriate protect legacy trees by using trees to meet the retention requirements applicable under section 9.
Nothing in this Act modifies any obligation— of the Secretary to prepare or implement a land use plan in accordance with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 ); under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ); under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ); or under other law, except as expressly provided in this Act in regard to other law. If there is a conflict between any portion of this Act and land protection designations included in the National Landscape Conservation System or boundaries for such designations, the more protective provision shall control.
Without a permit from the Secretary, a person may enter and treat adjacent Federal land in a Dry or Moist Forestry Emphasis Area that is located within 100 feet of the residence of that person if— the residence is in existence on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 ; the treatment is carried out at the expense of the person; the person notifies the Secretary of the intent to treat that land; and the Secretary has adequate supervisory, monitoring, and enforcement resources to ensure that the person carries out the treatment activities in accordance with paragraph (3).
Not less than 30 days before beginning to treat land described in paragraph (1), the person shall notify, in writing, the Secretary of the intention of that person to treat that land. The person shall also notify the Secretary not less than 14 days before beginning the treatment. On receiving a notification to treat land under paragraph (h), the Secretary, if the requirements of paragraph (1)(D) are satisfied, shall inform the person of the treatment requirements in paragraph (3).
A person treating land described in paragraph
(1)shall carry out the treatment in accordance with the following requirements: No dead tree, nest tree, legacy tree, or tree greater than 16 inches in diameter shall be cut. No herbicide or insecticide application shall be used. Vegetation shall be cut so that— less flammable species are favored for retention; and the adequate height and spacing between bushes and trees are maintained. Any residual trees shall be pruned— to a height of the lesser of 10 feet or 50 percent of the crown height of the tree; and so that all parts of the tree are at not less than 10 feet away from the residence. All slash created from treatment activities under this subparagraph shall be removed or treated not later than 60 days after the date on which the slash is created. Any material of commercial value generated by the activity authorized in paragraph
(1)is the property of the United States. Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary— shall evaluate the initial assignments of Dry Forest and Moist Forest on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Moist Forest and Dry Forest and dated November 3, 2014, and may, as the Secretary determines to be necessary and in accordance with the criteria described in paragraph (2)— redesignate Moist Forestry Emphasis Area land as Dry Forestry Emphasis Area land; and redesignate Dry Forestry Emphasis Area land as Moist Forestry Emphasis Area land. In addition to adjustments authorized under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may adjust dry and moist forest assignments in specific locations within a vegetation management project based on an on-the-ground field examination by the Secretary. In redesignating land as Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or Dry Forestry Emphasis Area, the Secretary shall use the criteria described in this paragraph. For purposes of this subsection, land in the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area generally— would have historically experienced infrequent wildfires at intervals that are greater than 100 years; and these wildfires would have included significant areas of partial or complete stand-replacement intensity; and dominated by 1 or more of the following plant association groups: The Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) series. The Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) series. The Western Red cedar (Thuja plicata) series. The Pacific Silver Fir (Abies amabilis) series. The Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) series. The Subalpine Fir-Engelmann Spruce (Abies lasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii) series. The Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) series. The Moist Grand Fir (Abies grandis) plant association group. The Moist White Fir (Abies concolor) plant association group. For purposes of this subsection, land in the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area generally— would have historically experienced relatively frequent wildfires; and these wildfires would have been predominantly low or mixed in severity; and dominated by 1 or more of the following plant association groups: The Moist Grand Fir (Abies grandis) plant association group. The Moist White Fir (Abies concolor) plant association group. The Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) series. The Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana) series. The Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) series. The Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi) series. The Dry Grand Fir (Abies grandis) plant association group. The Dry White Fir (Abies concolor) plant association group. For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary may consider land that contains a Moist Grand Fir or a Moist White Fir plant association group as Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or Dry Forestry Emphasis Area based on the condition of the land, landscape context, or management goals. For land that meets criteria under both subparagraphs
(B)and (C), the Secretary may choose to categorize the land as either Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or Dry Forestry Emphasis Area to align with the designations of adjacent covered land. In carrying out subsection (i)(1)(A), the Secretary shall provide the public a period of not less than 60 days to comment on a proposed redesignation of land. Notwithstanding any other section of this Act, nothing in this Act— affects any private ownership or rights, including rights-of-way and reciprocal rights-of-way agreements, tail hold agreements, permits, easement obligations, and tribal treaty rights; or affects the ability or process under which the Secretary can grant new permissions or terminates any valid existing lease, permit, patent, agreement, or other right of authorization, including new permissions for an existing lease, permit, patent, agreement, or other right of authorization concerning access to or for forest management activities on adjacent private land, upon enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 . Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of the State of Oregon with respect to the management of fish and wildlife on public land in the State. Pesticides may be used within the covered land, if the use— is limited to plants listed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture as invasive plants; is part of an integrated pest management plan; and is restricted to the use of various ground-based systems that are designed to target only invasive plants. The Secretary and the State of Oregon shall develop an agreement to provide fire protection on the covered land, renegotiable every 5 years after the date of enactment to reassess fire protection needs. The Secretary shall designate 50,000 acres across 2 to 5 sites in the covered land to include moist forests and dry forests, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Moist Forest and Dry Forest and dated November 3, 2014, to be managed by the Secretary in consultation and coordination with Oregon State University as agreed to through a memorandum of understanding as special management and research areas in accordance with the criteria described in paragraph (2). In designating land as special management and research areas under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall designate— land that is designated as Forestry Emphasis Areas on the map described in paragraphs
(12)and
(17)of section 2; land, to the maximum extent practicable, contiguous to other land designated under paragraph (1); land within close proximity of other land designated under paragraph (1); land located within 150 miles of the main campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon; and land selected in consultation with Oregon State University. Land designated under paragraph
(1)shall be used by institutions of higher education, primarily in the State of Oregon, for the conduct of research projects and demonstration projects that address— increasing social awareness and knowledge of the environmental, social, and economic impacts on the implementation of ecological forestry on public land; improving the health of rural communities and citizens; reducing uncharacteristic fires and the degradation of ecosystem health; increasing conservation with a landscape approach; relative to the retention requirements at variable retention harvest, half of the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area will be managed under section 8(b)(4)(E) and half will be managed as under section 8(b)(2)(c); and understanding and conducting research on riparian reserve approaches authorized under this Act. Work performed on land designated under paragraph
(1)shall include pre- and post-treatment monitoring on the land. Not less than 10 percent of the authorized projects conducted annually under this subsection shall be conducted by an institution of higher education other than Oregon State University. Not less than 3,750 acres of the land designated under paragraph
(1)shall be treated during each 5-year period. If the minimum acreage under subparagraph
(A)is not treated for 2 5-year periods during a 20-year period, management of the land designated under paragraph
(1)shall revert to management by the Secretary. The Secretary shall— review and decide whether to permit each proposed treatment to be conducted as part of an authorized project under this subsection; and review for adequacy the documentation required to be prepared for each treatment. The Secretary shall estimate— the quantity of timber that can be produced in the sustained yield base from the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area, not including riparian reserves established under section 4, late successional old-growth forest reserves and other reserves; and the quantity of timber-byproduct from the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area, including riparian reserves established under section 4, and the portions of the Dry Forest Emphasis Area covered by this section. During the period beginning on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 and ending 90 days after the date on which the record of decision is completed under section 6, a transition period shall be in effect in accordance with this section. Any timber sale or agreement to perform work on covered land that was entered into by the Secretary before the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 shall remain binding and effective according to the terms of the contract. Timber sales for which review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) has been completed or will be completed not later than 90 days following the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 shall continue as planned. The Secretary may conduct vegetation management projects on the covered land during the transition period on the conditions that the vegetation management projects— comply with the designations and requirements of this Act; and are reviewed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ), outside of the process described in section 7. The Secretary shall seek to make such accommodations as are necessary to avoid interfering with the performance of a timber sale or work agreement described in paragraph
(1)or (2). The procedures established under section 105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6515 ) shall be the only process to administratively challenge projects during the transition period. The Secretary shall carry out the Aquatic Conservation Strategy incorporated in its entirety by reference for covered land as set forth in the Northwest Forest Plan 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, (hereinafter NWFP and its Standards and Guidelines in Attachment A to the 1994 Record of Decision (hereinafter referred to as Aquatic Conservation Strategy ), and as modified herein. In addition to those program components contained in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the NWFP, the aquatic conservation strategy under paragraph
(1)shall also incorporate provisions for watershed analysis in accordance with paragraph (2)(A), and riparian reserve establishment and management within the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or Dry Forestry Emphasis Area but that are not within Source Water Emphasis Areas or within Key Watersheds designated in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy in accordance with paragraph (3). The Secretary shall develop appropriate management actions for a watershed, including adjustment of riparian reserve widths under subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii); and Within 90 days and via a contractor if necessary, determine the ecological importance of streams in the covered area using the following criteria: The importance of the streams to salmonid and other native aquatic species. The potential impacts of thermal loading. The presence of areas of high erosion potential. The potential for the delivery and deposition of sediment and wood from upslope sources. Vegetative management projects undertaken in riparian reserves or vegetative management projects or harvest undertaken in the outer riparian zone shall not cut or harvest trees in the 90 year age class or above. 4(a) The Secretary shall establish within Forestry Emphasis Areas described in paragraph (2)(A) riparian reserves in accordance with clause (ii). The widths of a riparian reserve established under clause
(i)shall be as follows: 1 site-potential tree or 150-feet slope distance, whichever is greater, from a fish-bearing stream of great ecological importance, as determined by the Secretary. 1 site-potential tree or 150-feet slope distance, whichever is greater, from a nonfish-bearing stream of great ecological importance, as determined by the Secretary 100-feet slope distance from a fish-bearing stream that is not a stream described in subclauses
(I)and (II). 50-feet slope distance from a nonfish-bearing stream that is not a stream described in subclauses
(I)and (II). The ecological forestry practices established in sections 8 and 9 of this Act shall apply the riparian reserves established in clause
(ii)and the riparian management of section 4 of this Act. The outer riparian zone is the area between the riparian reserve established in clause (A)(ii) and 1 site-potential tree height. The Secretary may carry out harvest in areas in the outer riparian zones using the standards for ecological forestry in Forestry Emphasis Areas subject to section 4(a)(3)(D) and other relevant provisions of this Act. When harvesting timber within the outer riparian zone, the Secretary shall employ tree tipping and tree felling activities during the harvest to maintain wood recruitment to adjacent streams. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of the United States Geological Survey and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish minimum live and dead tree retention levels for thinning and other vegetation management projects consistent with the goals identified in subsection (a)(1). Riparian reserves and reserve widths within the Conservation Emphasis Areas, source water emphasis areas, and Key Watersheds shall be managed to carry out the Aquatic Conservation Strategy as set forth in subsection (a)(1) without modifications set forth in subsection (a)(2). Not earlier than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , and not more frequently than once each 5 years thereafter, the Secretary may adjust the riparian reserve widths established under paragraph (1), as well as the size of designated key watersheds, subject to the advice of the scientific committee established under subparagraph (B). The Secretary shall establish a scientific committee made up of scientific and land management expertise to determine whether the riparian reserve widths and management should be adjusted to better attain the goals and objectives of the Aquatic Conservation Strategy. In addition to not more than 6 representatives of the Federal Government (including 1 representative of each of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Forest Service, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service), the scientific committee shall include 6 individuals, to be appointed by the Secretary, who— are not full-time employees of the Federal Government; and have expertise relating to aquatic and riparian ecosystems, as demonstrated by— an advanced degree in a related field; and subsequent relevant work experience. The scientific committee shall make recommendations regarding whether the riparian reserve widths and management should be adjusted on individual bodies of water, and submit said recommendations to the Secretary in a report, taking into consideration— the criteria listed in section 4(a)(2)(A)(ii); additional criteria deemed appropriate; new scientific information and understanding; and the need to manage covered land per section 3(b). On receipt of the report under clause (iii), the Secretary shall— make the report available to the public; and provide a period of not less than 60 days for public comment regarding the recommendations contained in the report. After taking into consideration the report under clause
(iii)and any public comments received under clause (iv)(II), the Secretary may adjust the riparian reserve width— taking into consideration the recommendations included in the report, and the public comments; and if the Secretary determines that the adjustment meet the aquatic goals established in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy under paragraph (a)(1) and would be in the public interest. Except as provided in sections 3(e) and 3(j) of this Act, and paragraph
(2)of this subsection, the Secretary shall not construct a road inside a riparian reserve. The Secretary may construct a temporary road to enter a riparian reserve, including crossing a stream where necessary, to complete a vegetation management project, if— there is no existing road system that can be used; it is not possible to construct a road outside of the riparian reserve; the temporary road is decommissioned no more than 2 years after it is constructed or and the project for which it was constructed is completed, whichever comes first; and any significant potential adverse impacts from the construction of any temporary road do not persist more than 1 year after the temporary road is decommissioned. The Secretary may realign an existing road permanently inside a riparian reserve, including the replacement of stream crossings, if the Secretary determines that the realignment will maintain, restore, or improve aquatic or riparian ecosystems and water quality. The Secretary may conduct certain activities on the covered land in accordance with this subsection. During a vegetation management project, the Secretary may carry out tree tipping and tree felling activities within the riparian reserves in Dry Forestry Emphasis Areas or Moist Forestry Emphasis Areas as the Secretary determines necessary to improve habitat for aquatic species. The Secretary shall annually, subject to appropriations, use not less than $1,000,000, indexed for inflation, of amounts made available under section 12(c) to transport and place large trees in streams on Federal, State, or private land to improve fish habitat. Within riparian reserves, the Secretary may only plant vegetation that is native to the site. The Secretary may replace a culvert that impedes the passage of fish or is unable to withstand a 100-year flood event. Except as provided in paragraph (4), each activity described in paragraph
(2)shall be— considered an action categorically excluded from review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) or section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation); and exempt from administrative review. Paragraph
(3)does not apply to any activity located in— a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; land with wilderness characteristics as defined in the Bureau of Land Management Manual provisions 6310 and 6320; or a Conservation Emphasis Area established by section 10 if the activity would be inconsistent with the purposes and values for which the area was established. Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , and every 5 years thereafter the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare— the landscape prioritization plan; and the draft comprehensive environmental impact statements required under section 6(g)(2). During the 45-day period beginning on the date of publication of the notice of intent under subsection (a), the Secretary shall solicit public comments regarding— the scope and content of the documents described in subsection (a); and the impacts that the Secretary should analyze regarding the alternatives in the draft comprehensive environmental impact statements described in subsection (a)(2). The Secretary shall include the notice of intent in the development or revision of a land use plan required under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 ) for the covered land or shall amend the land use plan required under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 ) for the covered land. Not later than 30 days after the date on which a notice of intent is published under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall— enter into an early planning and consultation agreement, including timelines, regarding the development of information, data and documents required to carry out this Act with— the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the U.S. Geological Survey; and invite to serve as cooperating agencies or to provide comments regarding the notice of intent— the State of Oregon; Federally recognized Indian tribes with ancestral land or officially ceded land in the covered land; and affected units of local government. Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , and every 5 years thereafter the Secretary, shall develop and make available to the public a landscape prioritization plan, which shall prioritize vegetation management projects and describe activities to be performed and areas to be established to satisfy landscape-related needs in the covered land— as a part of the development or revision of a land use plan required under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 ) for the covered land; and implement the landscape prioritization plan required in this section through the comprehensive environmental impact statements regardless of whether a revision of that land use plan has been completed. The Secretary shall develop the landscape prioritization plan under this section under the agreement entered into under section 5(d) in coordination with the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to ensure that the landscape prioritization plan complies with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ) and in coordination with the State of Oregon to ensure compliance with water quality standards adopted under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ). Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall identify the locations of the vegetation management projects that the Secretary proposes to conduct in the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area for the length of each Landscape Prioritization Plan. For each consecutive 5-year period during the period described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall plan to conduct— variable retention harvest consistent with this Act across stands that comprise 4 to 6 percent of the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area, subject to clause (ii); and thinning activities consistent with this Act across stands in Moist Forest Emphasis Area. The locations of the proposed vegetation management projects under clause (i)(I) shall be distributed across the Bureau of Land Management districts, to the extent practicable. The Secretary shall identify the locations of the vegetation management projects consistent with ecological forestry principles the Secretary proposes to conduct in the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area for each consecutive length of the Landscape Prioritization Plan beginning on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 . The Secretary shall identify the locations of vegetation management projects, including habitat protection or restoration projects, the Secretary proposes to conduct in the Conservation Emphasis Area consistent with section 10 for the length of each Landscape Prioritization Plan beginning on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 . For each vegetation management project proposed by the Secretary, the Landscape Prioritization Plan shall include an identification of— the location of forest stands to be treated; the approximate size and timing of the treatment in those stands; the specific vegetation treatment recommended for each forest stand; and the goals and objectives for any habitat protection or restoration projects. In addition to identifying forest stands under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall conduct onsite reviews to verify, at a minimum— riparian and aquatic parameters and assessments; any streams or aquatic resources within the specific stands; water quality; the presence of sensitive or special status species and habitats; road conditions and information; and forest stand boundaries. The Secretary shall solicit public comments regarding the Landscape Prioritization Plan for a period of not less than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary makes the landscape prioritization plan available to the public. The Secretary shall revise the Landscape Prioritization Plan as the Secretary considers to be necessary, based on public comments received under subsection (d). Each Landscape Prioritization Plan implementation shall be monitored annually, and evaluated every 5 years as a part of the development or revision of a resource management plan required under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 ) for the covered land, with opportunity for public comment prior to finalizing the monitoring assessments. In preparing the monitoring assessment, the Secretary shall include assessments and reports on— changes in the volume and quality of timber sold; changes in water quality; changes in recreation; the effectiveness of fish and wildlife protections; the effectiveness of measures to prevent uncharacteristic wildfire; and changes in forest health and fish and wildlife habitat. Each Landscape Prioritization Plan shall include for monitoring and evaluation a description of the Moist Forest Emphasis Areas and Dry Forest Emphasis Areas— for Moist Forestry Emphasis Areas— landscape-level plans depicting areas of the moist forest landscape that would result in a distribution of variable retention regeneration harvests to ensure the desired placement and the appropriate scale of vegetation management projects; and areas that will accelerate the development of complex forest structure, including opportunities to create spatial heterogeneity (such as creating skips and gaps), in a young stand that has a canopy that has closed and been simplified through past forest management; for Dry Forestry Emphasis Areas— a landscape-level plan depicting areas of dry forest landscape that will be left over the length of the Landscape Prioritization Plan in a denser condition beginning on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 ; and areas that will minimize and reduce the risk of uncharacteristic fire and insect events, and improve fire resiliency particularly if critical components and values are at risk, including— communities in the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 )); and valuable forest structures, such as legacy trees and oak savannas that are in need of restoration or in danger from a potential fire risk; and for Conservation Emphasis Areas the Secretary shall describe and evaluate the landscape-level plan depicting areas of the Conservation Emphasis Areas that will be left in a more natural condition over the length of the Landscape Prioritization Plan beginning on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 . The Secretary shall annually use not less than $1,000,000, adjusted for inflation, of the amounts made available under section 13(c) to monitor short-term and long-term changes in forest health, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat. The Secretary shall implement the Landscape Prioritization Plan, including priorities and vegetation management projects identified in a landscape prioritization plan under section 6(a), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) and the requirements of this section. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , and every 5 years thereafter the Secretary shall publish notice in the Federal Register of the availability for public review of 2 draft comprehensive environmental impact statements for the vegetation management projects proposed to be carried out during the 5-year period, of which— 1 shall cover the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area and, of the Conservation Emphasis Areas designated under section 10— the Conservation Network that is predominantly moist forest; the Late Successional Old-Growth Forest Heritage Reserves; the Drinking Water Special Management Units; the Molalla National Recreation Area; the Crabtree Valley Primitive Backcountry Area; the Brummit Fir Primitive Backcountry Area; the Kilchis Wild Salmon Refuge Area; and the Protected Environmental Zones that are predominantly moist forest; and 1 shall cover the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area and, of the Conservation Emphasis Areas designated under section 10— the Conservation Network that is predominantly dry forest; the Rogue Canyon National Recreation Area; the Illinois Valley Salmon and Botanical Area; the Grizzly Peak Primitive Backcountry Area; the Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry Area; the Wellington Wildlands Primitive Backcountry Area; the Mungers Butte Primitive Backcountry Area; the Pacific Crest Trail Corridor; the Applegate Primitive Backcountry Area; and the Protected Environment Zones that are predominantly dry forest. Each draft comprehensive environmental impact statement under this subsection shall analyze different locations for the relevant vegetation management projects under— the no-action alternative; and 3 other alternatives that are consistent with this Act. The Secretary shall require the Directors of the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to coordinate and cooperate between their agencies, and shall coordinate and cooperate with the Secretary of Commerce in developing each draft comprehensive impact statement under this subsection to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ). The Secretary shall solicit public comment regarding the draft comprehensive environmental impact statements under subsection
(b)during the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary makes the draft comprehensive environmental impact statements available to the public. Not later than 27 months after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , and 9 months after publication of subsequent draft comprehensive environmental impact statements the Secretary— shall prepare 2 final comprehensive environmental impact statements for the vegetation management projects that have been identified in the draft comprehensive environmental impact statements in paragraph (2); shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of availability for public review of the final comprehensive environmental impact statements; and may publish the final comprehensive environmental impact statements in conjunction with the environmental impact assessments relating to the land use plan developed by the Bureau of Land Management for the covered land. Except as provided in section 7(a), not later than 60 days after the date on which a notice of availability of the final comprehensive environmental impact statements is published in the Federal Register, the Secretary shall issue a record of decision relating to the vegetation management projects analyzed in the final comprehensive environmental impact statements. During the 60-day period described in section 6(h)(7), an eligible person may file an objection to the final comprehensive environmental impact statement, or during the first 15 days of the 90-day period described in section 7(b) an eligible person may protest a proposed vegetation management project. This objection or protest must be used in lieu of any other appeal that may be available. A protest will be considered and treated as an objection in this subsection. To be eligible to file an objection to the final environmental impact statement or a protest for a proposed vegetation management project under paragraph (1), a person shall have submitted to the Secretary during the 60-day period described in section 6(h)(5) written comments that describe the objections to the action proposed under the final comprehensive environmental impact statement. An objection to an individual vegetation management project may only be filed under paragraph
(1)if the objector can show— a proposed activity under the vegetation management project is inconsistent with a record of decision; and the likely impacts of that activity are inconsistent with the impacts analyzed in the final comprehensive environmental impact statement; the vegetation management project violates the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ) or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ); or in the circumstance of new information, changed circumstances, or changed conditions on a particular project that may result in significant negative environmental impacts that were not encompassed in the analysis in the applicable final comprehensive environmental impact statement; and those circumstances were not considered in the final comprehensive environmental impact statement. The Secretary shall respond in writing to an objection filed under paragraph
(1)not later than 30 days after the date on which the objection is filed. In response to an objection filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary may supplement the final comprehensive environmental impact statement or the draft Record of Decision to reflect the objection. If a person files an objection under section 7(a)(1) relating to a final comprehensive environmental impact statement, the Secretary shall publish a record of decision for that final comprehensive environmental impact statement— immediately after the Secretary responds to the objection; or as soon as practicable after the date on which the Secretary supplements the final comprehensive environmental impact statement to reflect that objection under section 7(a)(4). The Secretary shall not offer for a bid or implementation a vegetation management project pending the disposition of the objection. Not less than 90 days prior to actual commencement of the project, notice of a bid or implementation shall be published in the Federal Register and mailed electronically to each person that submitted comments on a comprehensive environmental impact statement and requested a reply. A person may only challenge a covered agency action in a United States district court by bringing a covered civil action. Venue for any covered civil action shall lie in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon or the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. A person shall only have standing to bring a covered civil action under paragraph
(1)for claims under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ), if that person filed an objection under subsection (a)(1). A reviewing court under this subsection shall not consider any issue in a covered civil action unless the issue has previously been raised, in the discretion of the court, in writing in the administrative review process described in section 7(a) or through other judicial notice provisions required by Federal law. A covered civil action shall not be maintained unless the covered civil action commenced not later than 75 days after the date on which the covered agency action to which the covered civil action relates is final. Congress expects that judicial review of covered actions will be based on review of the administrative record prepared by the Secretary. The disposition of the complaint, by summary judgment or any other mechanism, shall commence not later than 190 days after the date on which the covered civil action is commenced. Congress encourages a court of competent jurisdiction to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the proceedings in a covered civil action with the goal of rendering a final determination on the merits of the covered civil action as soon as practicable after the date on which a complaint or appeal is filed to initiate the action. Except as otherwise provided in this section, judicial review of a covered agency action shall be conducted in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Procedure Act ). Timber from the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area shall be sold, cut, and removed in conformity with the principle of sustained yield as defined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ) and in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The Secretary shall maintain the highest consistent timber production levels that can be sustained under ecological forestry principles and other provisions described in this Act. The Secretary shall calculate— the sustained yield and identify the quantity of timber the Secretary can produce as part of the draft comprehensive environmental impact statement required under this Act for the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area, not including riparian reserves established under section 4; and the quantity of timber as a byproduct the Secretary can produce, as part of the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area, including riparian reserves established under section 4, and the portions of the Conservation Emphasis Area, as described in the draft comprehensive environmental impact statement under section 6(h)(2). The Secretary shall— calculate the quantities under clauses
(i)and
(ii)of subparagraph
(A)in 5-year increments; and in calculating that quantity, classify the volume of timber that could be offered from the various areas defined in subparagraph (A). Moist Forestry Emphasis Areas shall be managed in accordance with the principles of ecological forestry. The ecological forestry principles referred to in paragraph
(1)relate to variable retention regeneration harvests and include— the retention of legacy trees; the acceleration of the development of structural complexity, including spatial heterogeneity, through the use of diverse silvicultural approaches, such as variable density and clump-based thinning prescriptions; the implementation of variable retention regeneration harvesting activities that retain approximately 1/3 of the live basal area of the forest within the harvest area, primarily but not exclusively in aggregates, provided that non-fish bearing stream riparian reserves within the harvest unit count towards retention, but other reserves, including riparian reserves on fish bearing streams, do not count; the development and maintenance of early seral ecosystems with diverse species following harvesting activities through the use of less intense approaches to site preparation and tree regeneration and nurturing of diverse early seral ecosystems; and the long-term establishment of a silvicultural system that includes the development and management of multiaged, mixed-species stands. The Secretary shall designate not less than 4 percent and not greater than 6 percent of the moist forests described in paragraph
(1)as land on which the Secretary shall carry out during each 5 year period variable retention regeneration harvesting activities, consistent with— this section and other provisions of this Act; the Endangered Species Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ); and the environmental impact statement required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) as described in section 6. The Secretary shall identify 50,000 acres of Moist Forest Emphasis Area that— have been previously subject to forest management; whose trees are in the 80 year age class or younger; are not within 1 site-potential tree height of any stream, or within a source water emphasis area or a key watershed under the NWFP; are not within critical habitat; and apply the implementation of variable retention regeneration harvesting activities that retain approximately 1/4 of the live basal area of the forest within the harvest area, provided that non-fish bearing stream riparian reserves within the harvest unit count towards retention, but other reserves, including riparian reserves on fish bearing streams, do not. In total, not less than 15 percent of the live basal area in the stand, excluding all reserves, must be retained. The Secretary shall not increase the total quantity of mileage of permanent, system and non-system roads that are operational in the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area to a quantity greater than the quantity of mileage in existence on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , excluding roads constructed pursuant to reciprocal rights of way agreements, easement obligations or other access rights of non-Federal parties in effect as of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , subject to the rights of the owner of adjacent private land as set forth in sections 3(e) and 3(j) of this Act. The Secretary— may construct new system roads outside of the riparian reserves to carry out a vegetation management project under this Act; and subject to the availability of appropriations and to the maximum extent practicable, shall reduce the quantity of mileage of system roads by decommissioning roads, subject to the rights of the owner of adjacent private land as set forth in sections 3(e) and 3(j) of this Act, provided that decommissioning shall be done with an adjacent private landowner if— the adjacent private landowner is a party to a reciprocal right-of-way agreement covering an area which includes the road in question; or the decommissioning would remove or increase the cost of vehicular access to the adjacent private land. Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall annually reduce the total quantity of mileage of nonsystem roads. If the Secretary constructs a temporary road as part of a vegetation management project, the Secretary shall close and decommission the temporary road not later than the earlier of— the date that is 2 years after the date on which the activity for which the temporary road was constructed is completed; and the date that is 1 year after the date on which the vegetation management project is completed. The Secretary shall manage the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area to increase the resiliency of the stands by reducing the risk from uncharacteristic wildfires, droughts, and insect or disease events while maintaining consistent timber production levels that can be sustained under ecological forestry principles and other provisions described in this Act. Timber from the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area shall be sold, cut, and removed in conformity with the principle of sustained yield as defined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ) and in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The Secretary shall maintain the highest consistent timber production levels that can be sustained under ecological forestry principles and other provisions described in this Act. The Secretary shall calculate— the sustained yield and identify the quantity of timber the Secretary can produce as part of the draft comprehensive environmental impact statement required under this Act for the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area, not including riparian reserves established under section 4; and the quantity of timber as a byproduct the Secretary can produce, as part of the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area, including riparian reserves established under section 4, and the portions of the Conservation Emphasis Area, as described in the draft comprehensive environmental impact statement under section 6. The Secretary shall maintain, restore, or improve conditions of tree density, tree composition, and tree size distribution that will result in a stand with a high level of resistance and resilience to uncharacteristic wildfires, droughts, and insect events. In carrying out vegetation management projects, the Secretary shall give priority to areas that contain important components, including— communities in the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 )); and valuable forest structures, such as legacy trees and oak savannas that are in need of restoration or are in danger from uncharacteristic fire. Dry Forestry Emphasis Areas shall be managed in accordance with ecological forestry principles described in paragraph (2). The ecological forestry principles referred to in paragraph
(1)include— the retention and improvement of the survivability of legacy trees through the reduction of adjacent fuels and competing vegetation to promote resilience against mortality from insects, disease, and fire; the retention and protection of important structures such as large hardwoods, snags, and logs; the reduction of overall stand densities through partial cutting in an effort— to reduce basal areas to desired levels, particularly in overstocked stands; to increase the mean stand diameter; and to shift the composition of stands to fire- and drought-tolerant species; the restoration of spatial heterogeneity through the variation of the treatment of stands, such as by leaving untreated patches, creating openings, and establishing tree clumps and isolated single trees; the establishment of new tree cohorts of shade-intolerant species in created openings; the harvesting of timber during the restoration process; the maintenance of sustainable and fire-resilient conditions in perpetuity through both passive and active management of the dry forests in accordance with this subsection, including the treatment of activity fuels and other surface and ladder fuels and understory vegetation using prescribed fire, natural fire or mechanical activities; and the retention of a basal area after a partial cut that is not less than 35 percent of the initial basal area of the sale. The Secretary shall not increase the total quantity of mileage of system roads that are operational in the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area to a quantity greater than the quantity of mileage in existence on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , excluding roads constructed pursuant to reciprocal rights of way agreements, easement obligations or other access rights of non-Federal parties in effect as of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , subject to the rights of the owner of adjacent private land as set forth in sections 3(e) and 3(j) of this Act. The Secretary— may construct new system roads to carry out a vegetation management project; and subject to the availability of appropriations, shall decommission or place into storage all system roads that the Secretary has not planned to use in the next 5 years for vegetation management projects or administrative purposes, subject to the rights of the owner of adjacent private land as set forth in sections 3(e) and 3(j) of this Act, provided that decommissioning shall be done with an adjacent private landowner if— the adjacent private landowner is a party to a reciprocal right-of-way agreement covering an area which includes the road in question; or the decommissioning would remove or increase the cost of vehicular access to the adjacent private land. Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall annually reduce the total quantity of mileage of nonsystem roads by decommissioning. If the Secretary constructs a temporary road as part of a vegetation management project, the Secretary shall close and decommission the temporary road not later than the earlier of— the date that is 2 years after the date on which the activity for which the temporary road was constructed is completed; and the date that is 1 year after the date on which the vegetation management project is completed. The approximately 690,000 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted as Conservation Network on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Conservation Network and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Conservation Network, the purpose of which is to create forest reserves providing ecological benefits and protect conservation values, including providing late successional old-growth forest complex habitat, complex early successional habitat, aquatic and riparian protection, fish and wildlife benefits, recreational and educational opportunities and other natural processes needed for the healthy functioning of the ecosystem, shall be managed in accordance with subsection (h). The approximately 510,000 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Late Successional Old-Growth Forest Heritage Reserves and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Late Successional Old-Growth Forest Heritage Reserves , the purpose of which is to protect and preserve Moist Forest stands that, as of the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , contain a 90 year or above age class, shall be managed by the Secretary in a manner that does not allow harvesting of any tree within the area. For the purposes of ensuring the protection of the watersheds as a source of clean drinking water, to safeguard the water quality and quantity in the areas, and to allow visitors to enjoy the special scenic, natural, cultural, and fish and wildlife values of the watersheds, the following areas in the State of Oregon are designated as special management units for special management by the Secretary in accordance with subsection
(h)and this subsection: The approximately 12,042 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: McKenzie Source Water Emphasis Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the McKenzie Drinking Water Special Management Unit . The approximately 1,243 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Hillsboro Source Water Emphasis Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Hillsboro Drinking Water Special Management Unit . The approximately 416 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Clackamas Source Water Emphasis Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Clackamas Drinking Water Special Management Unit . The approximately 3,161 acres of land managed by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Springfield Source Water Emphasis Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Springfield Drinking Water Special Management Unit . The grazing of livestock shall not be allowed within a special management unit designated by paragraph (1). For the purposes of protecting, conserving, and enhancing the unique and nationally important recreational, ecological, scenic, cultural, watershed, and fish and wildlife values of the areas, the following areas in the State of Oregon are designated as recreation areas for management by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (h): The approximately 94,700 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, within the boundary generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Rogue Canyon National Recreation Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Rogue Canyon National Recreation Area . The approximately 24,100 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, within the boundary generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Molalla National Recreation Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Molalla National Recreation Area . For the purposes of protecting, preserving and enhancing the natural character, scientific use, and the botanical, recreational, ecological, fish and wildlife, scenic, drinking water, or cultural values of the areas or to preserve opportunities for primitive recreation, the following areas in the State of Oregon are designated for special management by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (h): The approximately 15,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Illinois Valley Salmon and Botanical Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Illinois Valley Salmon and Botanical Special Management Area . The approximately 9,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Kilchis Wild Salmon Refuge Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Kilchis Wild Salmon Refuge Area . The purpose of this restoration unit is to ensure the protection, maintenance and restoration of the salmonid resources of these rivers segments. The riparian areas along the mainstem of the Smith River, from the confluence of Spencer Creek (Smith River mile 22.8), upstream to Clabber Creek (Smith River mile 60.5), which flows through the covered land and the mainstem of the West Fork of the Smith River, from the confluence of W. Fork Smith river with the main stem Smith River (Smith River mile 34.5) upstream along the West Fork of the Smith River to the junction of Upper W. Fork Smith River Road (W. Fork Smith River mile 12.43), which flows through the covered land, will be managed to under section 4(a)(1 of this Act without modifications under 4(a)(2). The approximately 2,100 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Grizzly Peak Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Grizzly Peak Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 21,200 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 5,700 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Wellington Wildlands Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Wellington Wildlands Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 10,200 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Mungers Butte Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Mungers Butte Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 2,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Brummit Fir Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Brummit Fir Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 2,100 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Crabtree Valley Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Crabtree Valley Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 9,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Crabtree Valley Primitive Backcountry Area and dated November 1, 2014, which is designated as the Crabtree Valley Primitive Backcountry Special Management Area . The approximately 95,767 acres of land administered by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Special Environmental Zones and dated November 3, 2014, which is designated as the Special Environmental Zone Special Management Area . The approximately 560 acres of land administered by the Secretary, as generally depicted on the map entitled Cathedral Hills Natural and Recreation Area and dated January 5, 2015, which is designated as the Cathedral Hills Natural and Recreation Area . Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary shall administer the approximately 2,050 acres of land administered by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management generally depicted on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Expansion and dated November 3, 2014, as part of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and subject to the same proclamation, regulations, rules and policies that apply to the rest of the national monument. There is designated in the State of Oregon a protective corridor for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, to be known as the Pacific Crest Trail Protection Corridor , consisting of all Bureau of Land Management land located within approximately 1/4 mile on either side of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, beginning at the west boundary of Section 23, T.40.S, R.7.W, W.M. at the border of the Klamath National Forest in the Siskiyou Mountains, continuing approximately 45 miles and ending at the eastern boundary Section 13, T.38.S, R.4.E, W.M near the southern boundary of the Rogue River National Forest in the Cascade Range, to be managed by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (h). The purposes of the Pacific Crest Trail Protection Corridor are to protect and enhance the recreational, scenic, historic, and wildlife values of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in as natural and undeveloped a state as practicable. Forest roads crossing the Pacific Crest Trail Protection Corridor or within the Pacific Crest Trail Protection Corridor shall be limited to those necessary for the proper use and administration of adjacent public land, as determined by the Secretary in applicable management plans. As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015, the Secretary shall a prepare a map and legal description of each Conservation Emphasis Area. The maps and legal descriptions prepared under subparagraph
(A)shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct any minor errors in the maps and legal descriptions. The maps and legal descriptions prepared under subparagraph
(A)shall be available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management. The Secretary shall administer each Conservation Emphasis Area— in a manner that furthers the purposes for which the Conservation Emphasis Area was established; and in accordance with— this subsection; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ); and any other applicable Federal laws. The Secretary shall only allow uses of a Conservation Emphasis Area that are consistent with the purposes and values for which the Conservation Emphasis Area is established. Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal surface and subsurface land within a Conservation Emphasis Area is withdrawn from— all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws. Nothing in this section creates any protective perimeter or buffer zone around an area designated under this section. The use of motorized vehicles within the Conservation Emphasis Areas shall be limited to roads allowed by the Secretary for such use, provided that the Secretary may allow off-road vehicle use in designated portions of the areas designated by this section if such use is consistent with the purposes and values for which the area was designated. Subject to subparagraph (B), in the Conservation Emphasis Area (other than a special management area designated by subsection (e)), the cutting, sale, or removal of timber may be permitted— to the extent necessary to improve forest health in ways that also— improve the habitats of threatened or endangered species or species considered sensitive by the Secretary over the long term after completion of the vegetation management project; or in the case of harvests in moist forest sites, is conducted— through variable density and clump based thinning; in a manner that retains legacy trees; and in the case of dry forests, through partial cutting in a manner that retains legacy trees; is also in furtherance of the purposes for which the Conservation Emphasis Area was established; or for de minimis personal or administrative use within a Conservation Emphasis Area established in subsection (a), if the use would not impact the purposes for which the Conservation Network was established. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), forest thinning and vegetation treatments may be permitted in a special management area designated by subsection (e), if the purpose of the treatments is— to improve forest health in a case in which the forest is threatened by uncharacteristic fire, an insect event, or disease; to improve or maintain recreational facilities and opportunities; or to protect public health or safety. The Secretary shall calculate the quantity of timber that the Secretary would produce from the Conservation Emphasis Areas as a byproduct of the conservation management, not including riparian reserves established under section 4 and Late Successional Old-Growth Heritage Reserves. The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall decrease the total mileage of system roads that are operational in the Conservation Emphasis Areas to a quantity less than the quantity of mileage in existence on the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015. The Secretary shall prioritize decreasing the mileage of the road network in order to reduce impacts to water quality from sediment delivered to streams by forest roads. If the Secretary constructs a temporary road as part of a vegetation management project, the Secretary shall close and decommission the temporary road not later than the earlier of— the date that is 2 years after the date on which the activity for which the temporary road was constructed is completed; and the date that is 1 year after the date on which the vegetation management project is completed. The Secretary shall prohibit any new system or nonsystem road within the Conservation Emphasis Areas and key watersheds under the NWFP after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 except as necessary, where no practicable alternative exists and subject to the availability of appropriations. The Secretary shall also prohibit the construction of any new road in any roadless area or areas with wilderness characteristics. Requirements in section 4(b) apply to riparian reserves in the Conservation Emphasis Areas. The Secretary may exchange Federal land in the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or the Dry Forestry Emphasis Area or the Conservation Emphasis Area or interests in the Federal land in the Emphasis Areas for adjacent non-Federal land or interests in the non-Federal land if— the Federal land does not contain critical habitat for a species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ); the Federal land is not identified in the landscape prioritization plan developed under section 6(a); the Secretary determines that the land exchange would facilitate the administration of the Moist Forestry Emphasis Area or Dry Forestry Emphasis Area or the Conservation Emphasis Area; and the Secretary determines that the land exchange is in the public interest, including, but not limited to, the acknowledgment that the consolidation of Federal land and non-Federal land and the enhancement of conservation values are in the in public interest. The approximately 25,000 acres of land, as generally depicted as BLM to USFS on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Land Management Rationalization and dated November 3, 2014, are transferred to the administration of the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture from the administration of the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall manage the land described in paragraph (1): as other National Forest Systems land and subject to the same statutes, regulations and policies; as they have been generally managed under the Northwest Forest Plan and the appropriate Bureau of Land Management resource management plan at least until revised in a land and resource management plan revision; and under any specific statutes that may apply to any of the land. The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall adjust the official boundaries of the relevant national forests to accommodate the inclusion of the land described in paragraph (1). Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 , the Secretary of Agriculture shall identify for transfer to the Secretary of the Interior approximately 102,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land, some of which is identified on the map entitled O&C Land Grant Act of 2014: Land Management Rationalization and dated November 3, 2014, with the following criteria— adjacent to existing Bureau of Land Management covered land under this Act; facilitates management by reducing fragmentation and creating more contiguous parcels of land for both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land; appropriate for designation into Moist or Dry Forestry Emphasis Areas as identified in this Act; and not within— inventoried roadless areas; wilderness or other designated conservation areas; or critical habitat. The Secretary shall manage the land described in subparagraph
(1)under this Act, including section 4(a)(1) without modification under section 4(a)(2). Not later than 30 days after completion of actions required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall identify for transfer to the Secretary of the Interior not less than 206,000 acres of Forest Service land ecologically associated with the acres identified in paragraph
(1)and other covered land, suitable for conservation protection. The Secretary shall allocate, as most appropriately consistent with this Act, the land described in paragraph
(1)into— moist forestry emphasis area subject to the provisions of section 8; or dry forestry emphasis area subject to the provisions of section 9. The Secretary shall designate the land described in paragraph
(3)as Conservation Emphasis Areas to be managed under section 10 and section 4(a)(1) without modification under section 4(a)(2) of this Act. Within 1 year of the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report detailing how, after consideration of public comment in subparagraph (B), the land described in paragraph
(1)were allocated pursuant to paragraph (3). Before submitting the report as required in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make a draft available for public comment for no less than 60 days. The approximately 3,502 acres of land, as generally depicted as USACE to BLM on the map entitled O & C Land Grant Act of 2014: Land Management Rationalization and dated November 3, 2014, are transferred to the administration of the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior from the administration of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Secretary shall— allocate as appropriate the transferred land that are not within the Elk Creek Wild and Scenic River management corridor, to the Dry Areas Conservation Network or the Moist Areas Conservation Network established in Sec. 10(a); and manage the transferred land consistent with this Act. The Secretary of the Army, through the Corps of Engineers, will continue to have the obligation to maintain the safe condition of the Elk Creek Dam structure, rock piles and associated components, in an area of approximately 147.1 acres of the transferred land. The Secretary shall establish a program to be known as the Legacy Roads and Trails program to provide— urgently needed road decommissioning, road and trail repair and maintenance and associated activities, and removal of fish passage barriers, especially in areas in which roads may be contributing to water quality problems in streams and water bodies that support threatened, endangered, or sensitive species or community water sources; urgently needed road repairs required due to recent storm events; or the decommissioning of unauthorized roads that are not part of the transportation system. The Secretary shall— consider public input in the selection of projects; and publish the selection process of the Secretary on the website of the Bureau of Land Management. In selecting projects under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to decommissioning and repairing roads and trails in— environmentally sensitive areas; and areas in which roads may be contributing to water quality problems in streams and water bodies that support threatened or endangered species, or species considered sensitive by the Secretary. Not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the status of the projects selected for completion in the previous 2 fiscal years. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 adjusted for inflation for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2025. Effective for fiscal year 2015 and each fiscal year thereafter, all receipts generated from activities on covered land shall be collected, deposited in a separate fund in the Treasury designated the Oregon and California Railroad Grant Land Fund , and distributed annually in accordance with this section and title II of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1181f ) and sections 1 through 4 of the Act of May 24, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 1181f–1 through 1181f–4), as applicable. Subject to subsection (d)(4), as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year described in subsection (a), $4,000,000 of all amounts received by the Secretary for the applicable fiscal year from the covered land shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury. Subject to paragraph
(2)and subsection (d)(4), all amounts received for the applicable fiscal year by the Secretary from the covered land shall be used to pay for the management of, administrative expenses for, and capital improvement costs for the covered land, including the protection or restoration of fish and wildlife habitat on the covered land. The amount of revenue that is used to pay for expenses and costs for a fiscal year under paragraph
(1)shall not exceed— 25 percent of all amounts received for the applicable fiscal year by the Secretary from the covered land during the fiscal year; or $20,000,000 in 2015 dollars indexed for inflation. All amounts received for the applicable fiscal year by the Secretary from the covered land during a fiscal year that is in excess of the amount necessary to carry out subsections
(b)and
(c)shall be provided to the counties that contain covered land (referred to in this subsection as a covered county ) in the form of annual payments. Payments shall be made available to covered counties under this subsection as soon as practicable following the end of each fiscal year. Payments made to covered counties under this subsection shall be used as other county funds. Subject to clauses
(ii)and (iii), the annual payment paid to a covered county under this subsection, to the extent practicable, shall not be less than the payment that the covered county would have received solely under this Act (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015) for fiscal year 2015 if the covered county had elected to receive payment under this Act and not under any other law. If the portion of revenues to be provided to a covered county for a fiscal year is less than the amount described in clause (i), the payment made to the Treasury for the fiscal year under subsection
(b)shall be reduced by an amount necessary to provide the minimum payments required under clause
(i)for the covered county. . Section 2002(b)(2) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 ( 16 U.S.C. 7202(b)(2) ) is amended— in subparagraph (D), by striking and after the semicolon; by redesignating subparagraph
(E)as subparagraph (F); and by inserting after subparagraph
(D)the following: public land designated as Oregon and California Land grant land in the State of Oregon, administered by the Bureau of Land Management as conservation emphasis areas; and . The first section of the Act of June 24, 1954 (68 Stat. 270, chapter 357; 43 U.S.C. 1181g ) is amended in subsection (a)— by striking are hereby declared to be revested Oregon and California Railroad grant lands; and said lands ; and by striking : and all that follows through the end of the subsection and inserting a period. Provided, That
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U.S. Code
- Transferred§ 1181a
- Transferred§ 1181b
- Congressional declaration of policy§ 1701
- Land use plans§ 1712
- Congressional findings and declaration of purposes and policy§ 1531
- Congressional declaration of goals and policy§ 1251
- Congressional declaration of purpose§ 4321
- Special administrative review process§ 6515
- Definitions§ 6511
- Transferred§ 1181f
- Establishment of the National Landscape Conservation System§ 7202
- Transferred§ 1181g
statutes-at-large
- /statutes-at-large/vol-50/public-law-385Public Law 385
- granting lands to the State of Oregon to aid in the construction of a military wagon road from the navigable waters of Coos Bay to Roseburg, in said State,” commonly known as the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant, to provide for the disposition of said lands, and for other purposesChapter 47
2 references not yet in our index
- 43 USC 1181f–1
- 68 Stat. 270
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 101
Management of Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land
Cite43 USC 1181f–1
Stat.68 Stat. 270
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