Obama administration proposes dropping 'critical habitat' protections for threatened marbled murrelets

Obama administration proposes dropping 'critical habitat' protections for threatened marbled murrelets

By Scott Learn, The Oregonian 
on October 24, 2012 at 5:19 PM, updated October 24, 2012 at 7:53 PM

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The Associated Press

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to drop all 3.9 million acres of "critical habitat" for the marbled murrelet, a tiny, threatened seabird that nests in coastal forest in Oregon, California and Washington. 

Its proposal would partially settle a federal lawsuit brought by the American Forest Resource Council, southwestern Oregon's Douglas County and theCarpenters Industrial Council, who say the service inappropriately set aside habitat for the bird in 1996. 

The service says continuing coverage under the Endangered Species Act and the Clinton-era Northwest Forest Plan will protect the bird until the service's budget allows it to set a new habitat designation in 2018. 

But the proposed consent order, which the service frames as a compromise, has infuriated environmental activists, who point to declining West Coast murrelet numbers in recent years. 

Among other objections, they say removing the designation will reduce protection for marbled murrelets on at least a million acres of "unoccupied" forest -- land where the murrelet doesn't nest currently that could provide prime habitat for the bird. 

In a letter to President Obama Tuesday, the Audubon Society of Portland, theCenter for Biological Diversity and 19 other conservation groups said the "entirely voluntary" consent order comes as the lawsuit is still in its early stages. 

"It is extraordinary that the Service has simply given up," they wrote. 

Dropping critical habitat protection would limit the bird's prospects, the groups said, particularly on Bureau of Land Management forestland in western Oregon, where proposals to increase logging and related county revenues have gained momentum of late. 

Marbled murrelets, listed as threatened under the ESA in 1992, are robin-sized seabirds that forage in the ocean but nest in mature or old growth forests. 

West Coast populations of have declined because of logging, the groups say. A 2009 status review estimated that the population dropped to 18,000 birds in 2008, a 26 percent drop from 2002. 

Service officials declined to comment Wednesday, citing the ongoing litigation. In lawsuit filings, they said previous court rulings made it clear that the 1996 habitat designation is flawed. 

Most of the critical habitat is on federal land and is included under the Northwest Forest Plan as "late successional reserves," Gary Frazer, the service's assistant director for endangered species, said in an affidavit to the court. 

Birds in those areas will be protected from threats, Frazer said, including "major human impacts such as tree cutting." Removing the habitat designation "will not result in significant harm to the murrelet," he said. 

In other cases, courts have generally left habitat protections in place while errors are fixed, the conservation groups said. 

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, D.C., must sign off on the consent agreement for it to take effect. The conservation groups want the Obama Administration to drop the agreement before a decision is handed down. 

-- Scott Learn; Twitter: @slearn1 

Gov. Kitzhaber's timber panel is on necessary, difficult path

Gov. Kitzhaber's timber panel is on necessary, difficult path

By The Oregonian Editorial Board 
on October 22, 2012 at 5:20 PM, updated October 22, 2012 at 5:56 PM

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A truck carrying logs from private lands winds its way through Curry County, one of the counties hardest hit by a sharp decline in timber harvests on federal forestlands.Jamie Francis, The Oregonian

The 14-member panel appointed by Gov. John Kitzhaber to create a proposal for allowing more logging on federal lands in Oregon's timber-dependent counties has barely started its work. But already the task looks about as daunting as logging those lands with nothing but axes and old-fashioned cross-saws.

First, well-known conservationist Andy Kerr declined an invitation to join the panel. A week or so later, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who will play a key role in trying to persuade Congress to support the panel's proposal, sent another bolt of lightning into the forest when he released a seven-point "road map for federal legislation to navigate both the House and Senate." Wyden's road map included the notion that the counties "also need to do their part in reducing disparities in tax rates and developing a reasonable level of revenue from local activities."

Kerr and Wyden both did the right thing. If Kerr, as The Oregonian's Charles Pope reported, felt that Kitzhaber's ground rules required concessions he could not make, his presence would have been counterproductive. And Wyden only stated the obvious. If anything, their actions might help inject some urgency into the process.

Jamie Damon, a Clackamas County commissioner and member of the Kitzhaber panel who also is a professional mediator, described the challenge: "We're trying to create a new path forward where one doesn't necessarily exist."

Wyden's "road map" is really a list of seven principles that focus on what he thinks should be included in the proposal to make it politically palatable: stable funding for counties, sustainability, conservation, more efficient management of forestlands, legality, assignment of land-management responsibilities and safeguarding old growth. While the details within some of these categories -- such as the role of taxes in stable funding and the possibility of private management of some federal lands -- are controversial, the broad goals are reasonable.

Both Wyden and Kitzhaber have expressed concern that an existing proposal to revise management of so-called Oregon & California railroad lands -- backed by Oregon U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden -- cannot navigate its way through Congress. Thus the need to find a new path.

While attention has focused on reaching a compromise between conservationists and the forest products industry, both of which are represented on the advisory panel, that is not the only challenge. Whatever compromise the panel negotiates must also be applicable in other states.

It helps that Wyden likely will be chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the next Congress. But it's unlikely that he can deliver a bill that grants his home state more say in management of federal lands unless some of that leniency extends elsewhere.

"You don't get to do something that groundbreaking without other people looking to apply it to their states," said chief of staff Jeff Michels.

This probably seems unnecessarily complicated to rural residents long starved for hope. Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson, also a member of Kitzhaber's panel, said the view in these counties is: "They have been doing their part; they've been living within their budgets."

Robertson also points out that even if residents of struggling counties like Josephine and Curry wanted to raise their taxes, the options would be limited. The quickest path would be a temporary levy, and the political cultivation necessary for a yes vote would take months, if not years.

We will repeat our long-held belief that these counties, most of which have property-tax rates 40 to 80 percent below the state median, eventually need to raise taxes. But political leaders in Salem and Washington, D.C., also have to recognize that these rural residents want tangible signs that more forest jobs are on the way before they'll even think about voting for higher tax rates.

Damon, the mediator, summed up the challenge, saying both sides need to "come at it more from an analytical perspective and less of an emotional perspective."

That's easier to say than to do, but it's the only road map that's likely to lead to a more prosperous future.

Oregon Forest Resources Institute News Release

Oct. 17, 2012

For immediate release

Contact: Mike Cloughesy –

Upward trend in housing starts portends

good news for Oregon forest sector

PORTLAND, Ore. – Today’s (Oct. 17) announcement by the U.S. Census Bureau that privately owned housing starts are up 15 percent over last month and 35 percent over a year ago reinforces research by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute that shows the forest sector is “poised to rebound.”

“The forest sector in Oregon potentially could add thousands of new jobs if the market continues to move in the direction we see in today’s numbers,” said Paul Barnum, OFRI executive director. “The Great Recession hit wood products hard, and we want to be careful about predicting a recovery. But this is cause for cautious optimism.”

The forest sector still accounts for one in 20 jobs in Oregon, even after the collapse and sluggish recovery of the housing market, a new OFRI research report shows.

OFRI earlier this month published a comprehensive study of the forest sector’s employment and economic impact. “The 2012 Forest Report: An Economic Assessment of Oregon’s Forest and Wood Products Manufacturing Sector” is a collaborative effort by 12 researchers representing five Pacific Northwest firms.

The study notes that the national recession “pulled the rug out” from Oregon’s forest sector. Housing starts fell from a peak of 2.3 million in 2006 to 478,000 in 2009. About 14,000 forest sector jobs and $527 million of income have been lost since 2007, the report said.

Even through the difficult few years since the recession, the forest sector in Oregon accounts for about $12.7 billion in total industrial output, making it one of the state’s largest traded sectors. It directly employs 76,000 Oregonians who earn in $5.2 billion in total income.

The Census Bureau reported today that September starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000. This is 15 percent more than the revised August estimate of 758,000 and 35 percent above the September 2011 rate. Housing experts project a sustainable nationwide replacement housing rate annually of about 1.5 million starts.

“Oregon’s deep soils and temperate climate give it a natural advantage for tree growing,” Barnum said. “Combined with a superior workforce, competitive manufacturing and a positive business climate, we’re well-positioned to participate in a recovery.”

The “2012 Forest Report” warns, however, that recovery of Oregon’s forest sector could falter without a stable, dependable supply of timber from the state’s federal forests.

“It is time to assess and reconsider the policies that govern management of Oregon’s federal forests,” the report states. “A successful effort could lead to healthier federal forests and more robust and resilient rural economies.”

A summary of the study can be found at TheForestReport.org, where it is also available for download.

###

Forest-sector recovery dependent on markets and timber

Forest-sector recovery dependent on markets and timber

Paul Barnum, Oregon Forest Resources Institute

Forest products have long been an economic engine for the state. As a state agency charged with public education about the forest sector, it’s one of OFRI’s core competencies to lead a deep dive into the sector’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.

In October, OFRI published its assessment of the economic impact of Oregon’s forest sector. Titled “The 2012 Forest Report,” the 200-page study is the most comprehensive look at sector employment and economic impact in nearly a decade.

The findings may surprise you. For starters, the sector directly employs 76,000 Oregonians who earn, including benefits, a collective $5.2 billion. Another 37,000 people are dependent on the sector, providing it with services and supplies.

To be sure, the Great Recession has taken a toll. As new home construction tumbled from a high of 2.3 million housing starts nationally in 2005 to fewer than 500,000 starts in 2009, Oregon wood products manufacturers cut production. The sector lost 14,000 jobs and $527 million in income. But the housing market is slowly coming back; current data from the U.S. Census Bureau puts new residential housing starts at about 750,000 nationally.

The loss of jobs has been felt hardest in rural areas. Statewide, the sector accounts for 6.8 percent of the economy – $12.7 billion in total economic output. But in some rural areas, the sector represents well over 10 percent of a county’s economic output, employing hundreds of people. In northwest Oregon and southern Oregon, for example, one out of every 10 jobs is tied to the forest sector – twice the state average.

Although the feeble housing market has taken its toll, the new study found that there’s another force restraining the sector’s recovery: timber supply. The federal government manages nearly 60 percent of the forestland in this state, but contributes only 12 percent of the harvest. Conversely, private forestland owners manage 34 percent of the forestland but contribute 75 percent of the harvest. Even allowing for the fact that federal land is not as productive as private, the ratio is badly out of balance.

It’s no surprise, then, that one of the five recommendations of the study is to “Reassess and reshape policies for Oregon’s federal forests.” If Oregon’s rural areas are to fully emerge from the current recession, if they’re ever going to be financially independent, then state leaders must find a way to increase harvest in our federal forests – not only to supply raw material to sawmills and put people back to work, but also to manage our forests for ecosystem health and protect them from wildfire.

A summary of the study can be found at TheForestReport.org, where it is also available for download.

For the forest,

Paul Barnum
Executive Director

Oregon's 2012 Wildfires: Predictable and Preventable

 Oregon's 2012 Wildfires: Predictable and Preventable

Waterfalls 2 Burnout, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Oregon, August 25, 2012. (Photo by Gary Sampson, Jr., Inciweb).

Oregon's 2012 Wildfires: Predictable and Preventable

by Dr. Bob Zybach

This is the fourth, and final, of a series of four articles published in Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal during 2012. The series was specific to the prediction and mitigation of forest and prairie wildfires in Oregon, but has general application for most forests and grassslands in the western U.S. -- particularly those lands managed by the federal government. The other three articles in the series (the first is actually a short introductory editorial), and an earlier article I coauthored regarding Wildfire Economics (which is directly referenced in the introduction to this series), are linked in the table below.

This article was published in the Fall of 2012, by Cristy Rein, long-time editor and publisher of Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal. The Journal doesn't publish an online version of their magazine for business and advertising reasons, but have a focused distribution of 10,000; including all members of Congress and 1,000 doctors, lawyers, and business waiting rooms across rural Oregon. The large number of loyal advertisers are heavily represented by family-owned logging, trucking, sawmilling, nursery, landscaping, and construction businesses.

To contact Cristy Rein or Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal, go to: www.oregonfishandwildlifejournal.com/

Reference: Zybach, Bob 2012c. "Oregon's 2012 Wildfires: Predictable and Preventable," Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal, Vol. 34, No. 4: 7-17. [PDF_2.2_MB].

	Zybach, Bob 2012. "My Voice," Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1: 5. [PDF_1.7 MB].
	Zybach, Bob 2012a. "Forest Restoration: Problems and Opportunities,"Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2: 15-27. [PDF_1.3_mb].
	Zybach, Bob 2012b. "Predicting Oregon's 2012 Major Wildfire Events,"Oregon Fish & Wildlife Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3: 29-39. [PDF_881_KB].
	Zybach, Bob, Michael Dubrasich, Gregory Brenner, and John Marker 2009a. U.S. Wildfire Cost-Plus-Loss Economics Project: The 'One-Pager' Checklist (online version). USDA Wildfire Lessons Learned Center: 9 pp. [PDF_280_kb].

More Articles by Dr. Zybach

© 2012 NW Maps Co.

Oregon forest sector poised to rebound

Oregon forest sector poised to rebound

See TheForestReport.org

 October 10, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon’s forest sector remains a resilient and vital contributor to Oregon’s economy, according to a comprehensive economic study published today by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. The sector could create thousands of new rural jobs, given the right market conditions and a dependable supply of raw material.

Even as the nation emerges from the Great Recession, one in 20 Oregon jobs depends on active management of forests and the manufacturing of forest products – some 76,000 people. Total annual sector wages were $5.2 billion in Oregon in 2011, according to the study. An additional 37,000 Oregonians are at work supplying and servicing the sector.

The sector’s overall impact on the state’s economy last year was $12.7 billion – nearly 7 percent of the state’s economic base. That wealth was brought to the state as the sector supplied lumber and finished products, such as doors and windows, to a flagging U.S. housing sector that peaked at 2.3 million housing starts in 2006 and plummeted to 478,000 in 2009.

“The U.S. housing market has not rebounded as quickly as it typically does after recession,” said Tom Potiowsky, director of the Northwest Economic Research Center at Portland State University, and a member of the team that collaborated on the report. “But housing starts nationally are on the rise, and this is a good sign for Oregon – especially our rural areas.”

The report sounds a note of caution, calling for a high-level review of federal forest policies that have reduced harvest from public lands to record lows. This lack of harvest, combined with a century of fire suppression, has created unnatural conditions in the federal forests. They are ripe for insect infestation and catastrophic fire. If the federal forest health crisis is not addressed, Oregon could experience more mill closures, as well as the kind of wildfire disasters seen in other Western states, the report states.

“The report recommends solutions that balance the economic benefits of sustainable timber harvest with the dividends of healthy forest ecosystems,” said Paul Barnum, OFRI executive director. “It points out that Oregon's policies and laws are doing a good job of protecting the forest resource. Finally, it notes that through collaborative efforts, we can act to improve the health of federal forests in Oregon. This is especially good news for our state's rural, natural resource-based economies,” Barnum said.

According to the report, the number of forested acres in Oregon has remained nearly constant over the past 30 years. The report states the Oregon Forest Practices Act, which regulates logging on private land, is effective. It also says that the state’s unique system of land use laws and comprehensive planning practices have successfully steered development away from forestland. Across all ownerships, standing timber volume is about the same as it was in 1953, and trend data shows that timber volume is increasing.

“The 2012 Forest Report – An Economic Assessment of Oregon’s Forest and Wood Products Manufacturing Sector” updates a similar study by OFRI in 2004. The current report provides a snapshot of the forest sector’s status and capacity. It examines the sector’s supply and demand factors, as well as its operating environment. The report makes five recommendations:

·       Reshape federal policies for federally managed forests – Current policies evolved from controversy and litigation, not sound forestry. Without a stable, dependable supply of public timber, more mills will close and forest health will continue to decline.

·       Pursue markets overseas – A consortium of state and industry leaders could create momentum for finished wood products that would benefit the sector throughout the state.

·       Defend Oregon’s Forest Practices Act – The Oregon’s Forest Practices Act works. It keeps forests healthy and timber flowing, which encourages private forest ownership and stewardship. Changes to regulations should be based on science and local conditions, not on political compromise.

·       Keep the forest sector a priority – The forest sector can continue being a significant part of Oregon’s economy, especially in rural areas. Keeping it a state priority encourages investment in mills and other infrastructure.

·       Develop “ecosystem services” – State leaders can address how to monetize ecosystem services such as wetland mitigation banks, biodiversity, cold water production and carbon sequestration.

At nearly 200 pages, The 2012 Forest Report is the most exhaustive look at the forest sector in nearly a decade. A summary of the report is available at TheForestReport.org, and the full report can be downloaded from the website.

A dozen researchers from five firms collaborated on The 2012 Forest Report. The Portland-based consultancy Mason, Bruce & Girard led the effort with help from Forest Econ, Inc., Moscow, Idaho; The Northwest Economic Research Center, Portland State University; the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, College of Forestry, Oregon State University; and the Beck Group, also in Portland.

OFRI was created in 1991 by the Oregon Legislature to improve public understanding of the state’s forest resources and encourage environmentally sound forest management through landowner education. It is governed by a 13-member board of directors and funded by a dedicated tax on timber harvest.

Contact: Dave Kvamme – 503-805-0857

Aiming to boost timber products Kitzhaber orders state to feature wood in two construction projects

By Dylan J. Darling / The Bulletin

Published: October 09. 2012 4:00AM PST

SUNRIVER — Gov. John Kitzhaber is ordering the agency in charge of state office buildings to find a pair of construction projects to highlight the possibilities of building with wood.

“In this my hope is to add value to wood products here in the state," he said.

Kitzhaber announced the executive order Monday morning at the annual meeting of the Oregon Forest Industries Council, a trade association of forestland owners and timber product companies, in Sunriver. About 150 people were in the room.

The order calls for the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, which oversees the construction and maintenance of state buildings, to find at least two construction projects that can be improved by featuring wood products.

It also tasks the department with considering wood in all new construction and renovations, said Scott Nelson, jobs and economy policy adviser for the governor.

“Wood hasn’t been used as much as it could be in the U.S. in nonresidential construction," he said by phone Monday. “This is a way to pilot that concept."

Increased interest in wood for commercial building would bring welcome demand for wood products, said Ralph Saperstein, public policy specialist for Boise Cascade. The Boise-based company operates mills in Southern and Northeastern Oregon.

“What better way to show off the wood products we have in Oregon than to have our state build buildings out of wood," said Saperstein, who was at the meeting in Sunriver.

While concrete and steel have traditionally been used for big buildings — mid-rises of four to six stories and high-rises of seven stories and up — new products make it possible to make those out of wood, said Bryan Schuyler, western regional director for Woodworks for Non-Residential Construction, a California-based organization.

“We can build those buildings out of wood," said Schuyler, who was at the Sunriver meeting.

Kitzhaber also ordered the Oregon Business Development Department to devise a strategy to speed up development and selling of new wood products and put together a plan to increase the market for Oregon wood products.

Nelson said there are potential markets for Oregon wood products all over the world.

“Asia could be a big market for our finished products," he said.

Since the federal listing of the spotted owl as a threatened species in 1990, the state’s timber industry has all but disappeared as the amount of harvest on federally managed land dropped drastically. But Kitzhaber said Monday he thinks there is a chance for a revival. To accomplish this, he said, the industry should focus on projects aimed at thinning forests and lowering the risk and effects of wildfire. And it should work in collaboratives — groups composed of local, state and federal leaders, as well as environmental groups — to avoid lawsuits.

“We have a remarkable opportunity to turn things around," he said.

Conservation leader bolts from Kitzhaber's county payments panel

Conservation leader bolts from Kitzhaber's county payments panel

Published: Thursday, October 04, 2012, 4:38 PM     Updated: Thursday, October 04, 2012, 4:54 PM

 By Charles Pope, The Oregonian 
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View full sizeThe Associated PressThe fight to replace county timber payments with a plan that would increase logging on some federal land has triggered controversy.

WASHINGTON – Gov. John Kitzhaber’s delicate effort to reachagreement for replacing the county timber payments program hit a bump Thursday when the leader of one conservation group refused to participate, denouncing it as an “effort to apply lipstick to a pig.”
    
The blast came from Andy Kerr, a well-known Oregon conservationist who Kitzhaber invited to join a panel of other environmentalists, county officials and timber interests to write a plan for using federal forests controlled by the Bureau of Land Management to fund payments to counties.
    
In a letter to Kitzhaber, however, Kerr declined, saying the starting point was fatally flawed because it would allow “clear cutting” on some federal land.
    
“I felt that the Governor’s necessary precondition of supporting clear-cutting as part of any possible solution he is willing to support to be unnecessary,” Kerr said in a statement. “Clear-cutting is so 20th Century.”
    
Kerr also said the three environmental groups that have accepted Kitzhaber’s invitation “collectively do not have the ability to deliver the necessary critical mass of conservation community support.”
    
The stakeholders are charged with crafting a blueprint based on a proposal offered by Reps.Peter DeFazio, Greg Walden and Kurt Schrader.
    
The plan would convert 1.5 million acres of Oregon and California Railroad Grant, the so-calledO&C lands, to a "public trust" that would be managed by a committee selected by the governor. The trust property would be managed for commercial purposes with some of the revenue going to counties for such critical local functions as education and law enforcement.
    
Another large parcel would be managed as a conservation area. Walden, DeFazio and Schrader say they've charted a middle course that allows additional production while also including environmental protections. Their plan also would bestow federal protection to several pristine areas in the state, including 93 miles of the Rogue River and 15 miles of the Molalla River.
    
Whatever emerges will attempt to find a new source of income that once came from commercial logging. When the amount of timber harvested plummeted, Congress approved direct payments to the counties began beginning in 2000.  Those payments end next year and if a replacement isn’t found, some counties could face bankruptcy. Congress must approve any plan, however.
    
Kerr says the plan is not balanced. 
    
“As a card-carrying conservationist, I've compromised before and will do so again,” he said in an email interview. 
    
“The federal component can involve federal public lands, but not if it involves effective privatization and industrialization such as clear-cutting,” he said.
    
Walden said in an interview Thursday that Kerr’s decision would not slow progress. DeFazio and a spokesman for Kitzhaber agreed, characterizing Kerr as a rogue actor who’s out of step with the larger conservation community.
    
“It’s time to move forward with Oregonians who want to fix this problem,” Walden said.
    
“We will work through this and I have no doubt we’ll succeed. This is just one person,” he said.
    
“Frankly, people who do not want a solution should not be at the table anyway,” DeFazio said in a statement. “It says a lot that Kerr doesn’t even want to have a conversation about this issue, unless it’s on his terms.  That’s sad.  This process demands compromise – something Kerr is apparently not interested in.”
    
Kitzhaber’s spokesman Tim Raphael said the governor is “disappointed and surprised” by Kerr’s decision, insisting that Kitzhaber is committed to properly balanced conservation and production.

-- Charles Pope