ORS 526.905: Management plans or policies to reduce risk of loss of forest resources.

(1) Pursuant to its authority to improve the efficient and effective use of state resources, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall coordinate with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Parks and Recreation Department, the State Forestry Department, the Department of State Lands and any other state agency that has oversight responsibilities for state forestlands to adopt forest management plans or policies that: (a) Establish forest health programs and management strategies designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic loss of forest resources from disease and insect infestation. (b) Establish goals and strategies for managing forest fuel accumulation in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires in areas historically subject to frequent, periodic fires. (2) To the extent that a state agency with oversight responsibilities for state forestlands has, as of January 1, 2004, policies, approved forest management plans or other strategies designed to address forest health and forest fuels management, those policies, plans and strategies may be incorporated into the plans and policies developed by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. (3) The Oregon Department of Administrative Services may develop forest fuel reduction and forest health restoration projects that may be implemented by state agencies. Such projects may include procedures for: (a) Identifying forests that are at high risk of loss due to fuel accumulation, disease or insect infestation. (b) Cooperating with local governments to identify locations where the urban-forest interface poses the greatest risk of contributing to damage or loss during a fire. (c) Establishing priority areas for the projects due to natural, economic or scenic values. [2003 c.424 §1] (Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program) Sec. 14. (1) As used in this section: (a) “Cultural burn” means the intentional application of fire to land by an Indian tribe or cultural fire practitioner to achieve cultural goals or objectives identified by a tribal ordinance, traditional tribal custom or law of an Indian tribe, such as subsistence, ceremonial activities, biodiversity or other benefits. (b) “Cultural fire practitioner” means a person associated with an Indian tribe with experience in burning to meet cultural goals or objectives, including subsistence, ceremonial activities, biodiversity or other benefits. (c) “Indian tribe” means a federally recognized Indian tribe in Oregon. (2) The State Forestry Department shall establish a Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program and administer the program. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, the Department of Consumer and Business Services shall administer reimbursements for claims under the program. (4) The program must be administered to: (a) Increase the pace and scale of the use of prescribed fire and cultural burning. (b) Reduce barriers for conducting prescribed fires and cultural burning. (c) Support coverage for losses from prescribed fires and cultural burning by nonpublic entities such as cultural fire practitioners, private landowners, nongovernmental entities, Certified Burn Managers as defined in ORS 526.005, companies, contractors and operators. (d) Support nonpublic entities, such as cultural fire practitioners, private landowners, nongovernmental entities, Certified Burn Managers, companies, contractors and operators, that are alleged to have caused damages resulting from prescribed fires or cultural burning. (5) Under the program, the Department of Consumer and Business Services may reimburse a claim that meets the following criteria: (a) The claim relates to: (A) A prescribed fire conducted or supervised by the State Forester, a forest protective association or a rangeland protection association, pursuant to ORS 477.315 to 477.325; (B) A prescribed fire in a forest protection district, as described in ORS 477.205 to 477.281, that is conducted or supervised by a Certified Burn Manager pursuant to ORS 526.360; or (C) A cultural burn conducted or supervised by a cultural fire practitioner; (b) The claim relates to a prescribed fire or cultural burn conducted in accordance with the provisions of any applicable burn plan or permit and any other applicable conditions or requirements; (c) The claim is: (A) For economic and property damage, as defined in ORS 477.089, suffered by the claimant as a result of the prescribed fire or cultural burn; or (B) If the claimant is the State Forester or a forest protective association or agency, for the actual costs incurred by the claimant in controlling or extinguishing the prescribed fire or cultural burn, but only to the extent that such costs would be recoverable from an owner or operator of forestland pursuant to ORS 477.068 and 477.120; and (d) The claimant was not willful, malicious or negligent in the origin or subsequent spread of the prescribed fire or cultural burn. (6) The Department of Consumer and Business Services may reimburse a claim under the program only if the State Forestry Department certifies that the claim meets the criteria described in subsection (5) of this section. (7)(a) The amount paid from the Prescribed Fire Claims Fund established by section 15, chapter 611, Oregon Laws 2023, for any claim for losses arising from a prescribed fire or cultural burn may not exceed $1,000,000. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law: (A) The amount paid for all claims under the program may not exceed the amount in the fund. (B) Awards for claims under the program may be reduced if moneys in the fund are insufficient to pay the claims. (C) This section does not limit the ability of a person to assert a claim for losses arising from a prescribed fire or cultural burn under any other law in lieu of asserting a claim under this section. (8) The State Forestry Department: (a) Shall consult with other relevant state agencies, cultural fire practitioners, forest protective associations, rangeland protection associations and Certified Burn Managers to establish guidelines for the program. (b) Shall adopt the guidelines by rule. (c) Shall make the guidelines publicly available on a department website. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, shall adopt rules to determine how claims under the program will be accepted and processed. (e) Shall adopt by rule a definition of the term “prescribed fire” for purposes of implementing this section. (f) Shall adopt rules establishing requirements for incident reports for prescribed fires and cultural burning. (g) May adopt rules imposing requirements for eligibility for reimbursement of a claim under this section that are in addition to eligibility requirements described in subsection (6) of this section. (9) A person who interacts with an Indian tribe or cultural fire practitioner pursuant to this section shall respect tribal sovereignty, customs and culture. (10) The provisions of ORS 183.310 to 183.497 do not apply to rules adopted under this section. (11) This section does not undermine or diminish the exercise of tribal sovereignty. [2023 c.611 §14; 2024 c.26 §1] Sec. 15. (1) There is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund, the Prescribed Fire Claims Fund. Interest earned by the fund shall be credited to the fund. All moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Department of Consumer and Business Services for the program described in section 14, chapter 611, Oregon Laws 2023. (2) The fund shall consist of all moneys credited to the fund, including moneys appropriated or transferred to the fund by the Legislative Assembly. [2023 c.611 §15; 2024 c.26 §2] Sec. 16. (1) Sections 14 and 15 of this 2023 Act are repealed on January 2, 2028. (2) Forty-five days before the date specified in subsection (1) of this section, the Department of Consumer and Business Services and the State Forestry Department shall determine the number of claims certified by the State Forestry Department pursuant to section 14 (6)(e) of this 2023 Act that have not been processed. (3) Any moneys in the Prescribed Fire Claims Fund that are unexpended and unobligated on the date of the repeal of sections 14 and 15 of this 2023 Act by subsection (1) of this section shall revert to the General Fund. (4) The Department of Consumer and Business Services shall determine the amount of unexpended and unobligated moneys described in subsection (3) of this section, based on the amount remaining in the fund and the number of claims described in subsection (2) of this section. [2023 c.611 §16] Sec. 17. (1) On or before April 1, 2028, in consultation with the Department of Consumer and Business Services, the State Forestry Department shall report to the Governor and to a committee or interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to natural resources, in the manner prescribed in ORS 192.245, on the performance of the Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program described in section 14 of this 2023 Act. (2) The report must include: (a) The number of claims that were processed after the program was established and before the date of the report. (b) The total costs of claims paid. (c) A reference to an incident report for each claim processed or paid after the program was established and before the date of the report. (d) Recommendations for revising the program and improving administration of the program if sections 14 and 15 of this 2023 Act are not repealed on January 2, 2028, pursuant to section 16 of this 2023 Act. [2023 c.611 §17] (Study of Classification and Compensation) Sec. 1. (1) The Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall study classification and compensation for forestry and wildland fire positions in state government. The study must: (a) Address any wage and management compression that would result from changes in classification and compensation. (b) Identify the deficiencies in the span of control of the structure of the State Forestry Department and evaluate recommendations for addressing these deficiencies, including the classifications and number and type of employees needed to right size the organizational structure. (2) The Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall submit a report in the manner provided by ORS 192.245, and may include recommendations for legislation, to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to natural resources and wildfire no later than September 15, 2026. [2025 c.596 §1] Sec. 2. Section 1 of this 2025 Act is repealed on January 2, 2027. [2025 c.596 §2] PENALTIES