ORS § 477.503

Current through 2024 Regular Session legislation effective June 6, 2024

Section 477.503 - Reduction of wildfire risk

(1)

(a) The State Forestry Department shall design and implement a program to reduce wildfire risk through the restoration of landscape resiliency and the reduction of hazardous fuel on public or private forestlands and rangelands and in communities near homes and critical infrastructure.

(b) The department shall ensure that the program is consistent with the objectives described in this section and biennially select, administer and evaluate projects consistent with the objectives described in this subsection.

(c) When developing program and project selection criteria, the department shall, to the extent practicable, consult and cooperate with state and federal agencies, counties, cities and other units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribes in this state, public and private forestland and rangeland owners, forest and rangeland collaboratives and other relevant community organizations and ensure consistency with the priorities described in subsection (3) of this section.

(2) The department shall develop a 20-year strategic plan, as described in the Shared Stewardship Agreement signed on August 13, 2019, that prioritizes restoration actions and geographies for wildfire risk reduction. The plan must be able to be used to direct federal, state and private investments in a tangible way.

(3) In selecting and administering projects, the department shall:

(a) In collaboration with the Oregon State University Extension Service and other entities, identify strategic landscapes that are ready for treatment, giving priority to projects within the landscapes that are:

(A) On lands in the four highest eNVC risk classes identified in the United States Forest Service report titled "Pacific Northwest Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment: Methods and Results" and dated April 9, 2018;

(B) Inclusive of federal lands with treatment projects currently approved under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

(C) Focusing on treatments protective of human life, property, critical infrastructure, watershed health and forest or rangeland habitat restoration; and

(D) Part of a collaborative partnership with agreements across diverse forestland or rangeland stakeholders that use an expansive, landscape-scale approach to address underlying causes of poor wildfire resilience and elevated risk of wildfire or that establish innovative approaches to addressing the underlying causes that could be implemented on a larger scale.

(b) To the extent practicable, identify and support projects that are designed to:

(A) Evaluate varying types of fuel treatment methods;

(B) Leverage the collective power of public-private partnerships and federal and state funding, including leverage of the coordination of funding to support collaborative initiatives that address the underlying causes of elevated forestland and rangeland wildfire risk across ownerships; and

(C) Optimize the receipt of federal government investments that equal or exceed department investments.

(c) Design the projects to involve existing forest-based and range-based contracting entities.

(d) Design the projects to complement programs and projects of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board or other state agencies as needed.

(e) Design the projects to involve the Oregon Conservation Corps Program established by ORS 476.694, to the maximum extent possible, for community protection projects located in the wildland-urban interface, subject to funding available in the Oregon Conservation Corps Fund established by ORS 476.698.

(f) Affirmatively seek, and enhance opportunities for, collaboration from stakeholders holding a wide variety of perspectives regarding forest and rangeland management and opportunities for significant involvement by communities in proximity to project sites.

(g) Engage in monitoring of the projects to produce useful information on which to base recommendations to the Legislative Assembly.

(4) A project under this section may not include commercial thinning on:

(a) Inventoried roadless areas;

(b) Riparian reserves identified in the Northwest Forest Plan or in federal Bureau of Land Management resource management plans;

(c) Late successional reserves, except to the extent consistent with the 2011 United States Fish and Wildlife Service Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina);

(d) Areas protected under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (P.L. 90-542), national recreation areas, national monuments or areas protected under ORS 390.805 to 390.925;

(e) Designated critical habitat for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-205) or by the State Fish and Wildlife Commission under ORS 496.172, unless commercial thinning is already allowed under an existing environmental review or recognized habitat recovery plan; or

(f) Federally designated areas of critical environmental concern or federally designated wilderness study areas.

(5) The department shall give public notice, and allow reasonable opportunity for public input, when identifying and selecting landscapes under this section.

ORS 477.503

2021 c. 592, § 18

See note under 477.490.

Section 20, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021, provides:

Sec. 20. (1) The State Forestry Department shall complete the operation of projects under section 18, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021 [477.503], no later than June 30, 2025.

(2) The department shall report regarding progress in carrying out projects under section 18, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021, to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to natural resources, in the manner provided by ORS 192.245, and to the Governor, State Wildfire Programs Director and Wildfire Programs Advisory Council no later than January 15, 2022. The report shall include, but need not be limited to:

(a) An explanation of how landscapes were selected, a summary of the selected projects, a description of initial outcomes from projects selected under the requirements established by section 18, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021, anticipated time frames for completion of the projects and any initial recommendations concerning landscape identification and projects selected under the requirements established by section 18, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021;

(b) A description of the funding source types and amounts secured by the department as matching funds to implement projects; and

(c) A summary of outreach and coordination with relevant federal and state agencies, counties, cities and other units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribes in this state, public and private forestland and rangeland owners, forestland and rangeland collaboratives and other relevant community organizations to identify and select landscapes for treatment and develop selection criteria for projects.

(3)(a) The department shall report its findings and recommendations regarding wildfire risk reduction on forestland and rangeland and in communities, based on information obtained from the projects described in section 18, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021, to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to natural resources, in the manner provided by ORS 192.245, and to the Governor, State Wildfire Programs Director and Wildfire Programs Advisory Council no later than July 15, 2023. The report shall include, but need not be limited to:

(A) A qualitative and quantitative summary of the project outcomes that, at a minimum, states the number of acres treated, the treatment actions carried out and any resulting or anticipated changes in landscape conditions related to enhanced resiliency or the mitigation of wildfire risk to public values;

(B) The identification of barriers to more efficient implementation and achievement of goals in future wildfire risk reduction projects;

(C) A qualitative and quantitative summary of the use of prescribed fire activities and invasive annual grass treatments for wildfire risk reduction that, at a minimum, states the number of acres burned or treated and any resulting or anticipated changes in landscape conditions related to enhanced resiliency or the mitigation of wildfire risk to public values;

(D) The identification of existing disincentives to, and recommendation for reducing barriers to, the use of prescribed fire;

(E) Recommendations for creating optimal working relationships with forestland or rangeland collaboratives and other relevant community organizations regarding future wildfire risk reduction projects;

(F) A description of the funding source types and amounts secured by the department as matching funds to carry out projects; and

(G) Recommendations for investment in future wildfire risk reduction projects to be carried out in the 2023-2025 biennium.

(b) In developing the report required under this subsection, the department shall work in coordination with federal land management agencies, institutions of higher education and third parties to develop consistent performance measurements and condition-based metrics for monitoring and communicating the effectiveness of state investments and project actions in reducing wildfire risk on public or private forestlands and rangelands and in communities. [2021 c. 592, § 20; 2023 c. 602, § 40]