(1) The Independent Research and Science Team is established as an advisory committee to the State Board of Forestry.

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(2) The team shall consist of an odd number of at least five voting members. The voting members must:

(a) Have demonstrated subject matter expertise in a relevant field and a graduate-level degree in a relevant natural resources-related field such as forestry, silviculture, ecology, hydrology, wildlife, fisheries or geology.

(b) Include, at all times:

(A) At least one voting member who represents a public institution.

(B) At least one voting member who represents the timber industry.

(C) At least one voting member who represents a nongovernmental organization that promotes conservation of freshwater aquatic habitat.

(3) Team members shall serve for initial terms of four years and may serve an unlimited number of terms.

(4) A team member may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the team or by a majority vote of the board.

(5) If there is a vacancy on the team, or if the team determines that a new scientific or technical discipline must be represented on the team in order for the team to perform its research duties:

(a) The team shall submit a list of candidates to the board.

(b) The board may appoint one or more of the candidates as voting members of the team.

(c) If the board does not select one or more voting members from the list of candidates, the team shall submit a new list of candidates to the board until such time as the board appoints one or more candidates as voting members of the team.

(6) The board shall adopt rules for administering subsection (5) of this section.

(7) The team shall:

(a) Conduct or oversee research requested by the Adaptive Management Program Committee.

(b) Report to the board and the committee on the findings of the research, including findings concerning the magnitude of impacts on species of concern, the urgency of needed action and the degree of scientific confidence or uncertainty behind the findings.

(8)(a) The team shall strive for full consensus in team decision-making.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, the team shall make substantial decisions by a vote of at least two-thirds of the team members.

(9) Team members are not eligible for compensation or reimbursement for expenses. If an organization represented by a team member requests a participation grant to compensate for the organizational resources the organization dedicated to supporting the team member’s service on the team, subject to available funding, the board shall award the participation grant in an amount determined by the board.

(10) The board shall adopt rules describing a process for awarding participation grants described in subsection (9) of this section. [2022 c.33 § 38]

527.733 is repealed only if certain conditions are met. See sections 54 and 60 to 64, chapter 33, Oregon Laws 2022 (third note following 527.711).