"We met the court deadline," John Turner said, "but a great deal remains to be done. We must combine conservation with common sense as we seek to forge a sensible plan that balances protection for the owl with concern for the well-being of the people of the Northwest. The Endangered Species Act expressly allows that kind of balancing in designating critical habitat, and Secretary Lujan and I are committed to making this process work."
The Act allows areas to be excluded from a proposal if the costs outweigh the benefits and if the exclusion does not result in extinction of the species, Turner added.
Critical habitat is defined under the Endangered Species Act as those areas containing the physical and biological features essential to the conservation of a species. On February 26, 1991, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle ordered the Service to propose critical habitat designation for the spotted owl by April 29.
Approximately 11.6 million acres are covered under the proposal--5.1 million acres in Oregon, 3.2 million in California, and 3.3 million in Washington. Activities on much of this land are already subject to review under the Endangered Species Act for their effect on spotted owls.
"I am concerned that there is a widespread misconception that critical habitat prohibits all activities within designated areas," Turner said. "This is not the case."
Under the Endangered Species Act, Federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when actions they might take could affect a threatened or endangered species, or harm its critical habitat. However, even in cases where actions would harm a species the Act requires the Service to work with the involved agency to develop "reasonable and prudent" alternatives so the project might go forward.
Turner said that, although his agency had completed its proposal within the 9 weeks it had to meet the court order, substantial additional information would be needed before a final critical habitat designation can be made. He said the Service would seek extensive public comment on all aspects of the current proposal.
"We need to cast a much wider net than weve been able to so far," Turner said. "In particular, we need more time and better information to analyze the impact of this proposal on the economy of the Pacific Northwest. To accomplish this, I intend to form a blue-ribbon economics team drawn from both the public and private sectors. The team will have the challenging task of weighing the economic costs with the benefits of designating critical habitat so we can balance all the vital interests at stake."
Turner said the current proposal will be subject to a 30-day public comment period. After a review of all public comments, the Service will submit a revised proposal, which will, in turn, be followed by a second opportunity for public input. Public hearings in California, Washington, and Oregon are planned to gather information for the proposal.
"I dont know when the Service has dealt with an issue that has attracted such intense public interest," Turner said. "We are going to use the next weeks and months to make sure the people are heard as the process moves forward."
In drafting its critical habitat proposal, the Fish and Wildlife Service started with owl protection sites called Habitat Conservation Areas (HCAs) previously identified by the Interagency Scientific Committee (ISC) authorized by Congress in 1989. HCAs are large, contiguous blocks of current and potential owl habitat.
The HCAs identified in the ISC report of May 1990 encompassed nearly 8 million acres of Federal lands, but the protection plan recommended by the ISC could potentially affect more land than the 11.6 million acres proposed for critical habitat. This is because the ISC plan calls for timber management outside HCAs to protect owl habitat. Under the "50-11-40" rule prescribed by the previous plan, 50 percent of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands outside HCAs were recommended for maintenance in stands of trees measuring at least 11 inches in diameter and at least 40 percent canopy closure.
The "50-11-40" rule was designed to protect areas used by owls when they move outside HCAs. The Services critical habitat proposal differs from the ISC plan in that it identifies areas upon which owls depend, regardless of ownership (the ISC Committee plan focused only on public lands). Although the critical habitat proposal includes 3 million acres of private land, it differs from the ISC plan by not prescribing management requirements outside the critical habitat areas.
The proposed critical habitat rule will appear in the Federal Register the week of April 29. Public comments are encouraged particularly with regard to why habitat areas should or should not be designated; current or planned activities in habitat areas, and their possible impacts; any foreseeable economic and other impacts; economic values associated with the benefits of designating critical habitat; anticipated timber harvest activities on Federal lands other than Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands; percentage of proposed areas available for timber harvest; information on non-timber-related activities; and alternative methods to ensure that habitats are linked.
The public will have 30 days to comment on the proposal. The Fish and Wildlife Service will have 60 days to review input and develop a revised proposal for critical habitat. A second 60-day public comment period will follow publication of the revised proposal. The Service will publish a final rule on critical habitat designation within 60 days of closure of the second comment period.
Public hearings in the Pacific Northwest will be held during each of the comment periods following publication of the proposals in the Federal Register. Specific information on dates and locations will be announced later.
Comments and information should be submitted to: Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastside Federal Complex, 911 NE. 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232-4181.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
