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TOKETEE -- Steve Burns scans a stand of old growth in search of a muddy brown mass.
The acting wildlife biologist for the North Umpqua Ranger District is looking for evidence of a red tree vole in order to demonstrate what the Umpqua National Forest was once required to do under the survey and management requirement of the Northwest Forest Plan.
The plan covers 24.5 million acres of spotted owl habitat managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
In March, the Bush Administration eliminated the program. Many of the 300 species were moved to a sensitive species list, leaving behind management recommendations, and raising questions as to what the change will mean on the ground.
The survey component obligated land managers to climb trees or sift through dirt in search of mushrooms, slugs, and other plants and animals before they could implement a project.
"It's a matter of putting on the rain gear, laying down and picking through the detritus," said Burns, who coordinated the survey and manage program in the Diamond Lake District beginning in late 1998. In the latest round of reorganizing at the end of 2003, he was moved to the North Umpqua District.
Surveying took two years or more before the agency could log, underburn, or even put in a pit toilet. The goal was to keep some 300 species important to the health of old-growth forests from making the endangered species list, said Richard Helliwell, forest botanist for the UNF. Less than two dozen of the species were on the UNF's survey list.
How the agency will manage for the sensitive species isn't yet clear, Helliwell said. The goal, he said, will be to manage the listed species on a landscape basis, rather than at the project level.
A timber industry lawsuit, which included Roseburg-based Douglas Timber Operators, prompted the change. The timber industry has complained for years that the rule took too long and was partially to blame for agencies repeatedly falling short of the timber promised by the Northwest Forest Plan.
"Survey and manage only applied to 15 percent (of the forest), ignoring the fact these very species were abundant in (reserves)," Bob Ragon, DTO director, added.
Conservationists, on the other hand, defend the rule, saying it safeguards rare species. Penny Lind, executive director of Umpqua Watersheds, said she is skeptical the sensitive species list will adequately protect those plants and animals.
"The old growth itself is very dependent on the very un-sexy fungi. ... The same with spotted owl being dependent on the red tree voles on down to the salamanders," she said.
Red tree voles -- a favorite food of spotted owls -- served as a "poster child" for the survey and manage burden, Helliwell said.
The acting wildlife biologist for the North Umpqua Ranger District is looking for evidence of a red tree vole in order to demonstrate what the Umpqua National Forest was once required to do under the survey and management requirement of the Northwest Forest Plan.
The plan covers 24.5 million acres of spotted owl habitat managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
In March, the Bush Administration eliminated the program. Many of the 300 species were moved to a sensitive species list, leaving behind management recommendations, and raising questions as to what the change will mean on the ground.
The survey component obligated land managers to climb trees or sift through dirt in search of mushrooms, slugs, and other plants and animals before they could implement a project.
"It's a matter of putting on the rain gear, laying down and picking through the detritus," said Burns, who coordinated the survey and manage program in the Diamond Lake District beginning in late 1998. In the latest round of reorganizing at the end of 2003, he was moved to the North Umpqua District.
Surveying took two years or more before the agency could log, underburn, or even put in a pit toilet. The goal was to keep some 300 species important to the health of old-growth forests from making the endangered species list, said Richard Helliwell, forest botanist for the UNF. Less than two dozen of the species were on the UNF's survey list.
How the agency will manage for the sensitive species isn't yet clear, Helliwell said. The goal, he said, will be to manage the listed species on a landscape basis, rather than at the project level.
A timber industry lawsuit, which included Roseburg-based Douglas Timber Operators, prompted the change. The timber industry has complained for years that the rule took too long and was partially to blame for agencies repeatedly falling short of the timber promised by the Northwest Forest Plan.
"Survey and manage only applied to 15 percent (of the forest), ignoring the fact these very species were abundant in (reserves)," Bob Ragon, DTO director, added.
Conservationists, on the other hand, defend the rule, saying it safeguards rare species. Penny Lind, executive director of Umpqua Watersheds, said she is skeptical the sensitive species list will adequately protect those plants and animals.
"The old growth itself is very dependent on the very un-sexy fungi. ... The same with spotted owl being dependent on the red tree voles on down to the salamanders," she said.
Red tree voles -- a favorite food of spotted owls -- served as a "poster child" for the survey and manage burden, Helliwell said.
Burns said when staff learned about the red tree vole surveys, they knew next to nothing about the animal and had no idea how to approach the task.
"It's not feasible to survey was the original thought."
On a project site, land managers were instructed to scan the trees in search of red tree vole evidence. Red tree voles munch on a small portion of Douglas fir needles and discard the remains in a pile that soon builds up into a clump on one of the lower branches, often visible from the ground.
According to the protocol, staff had to climb every tree with a possible vole for verification. Initially, staff had to leave a 10-foot buffer around every nest.
The site Burns visited recently, along the North Umpqua Trail, was in the heart of prime old growth, characterized by trees of a variety of ages and species, he said. Spots of sunlight reached the forest floor and the North Umpqua River whisked through the background beyond the small colony of tree vole nests.
Burns said for a couple month period in the fall or spring, the Diamond Lake District would dedicate up to 25 people to the task. Some were seasonal, and at times "it was all hands on deck."
After surveying hundreds of trees and thousands of acres, he's never actually seen the critter. "Their reaction is to just jump, hit the ground running," he said.
Through the survey process, land managers learned that the heart of the vole's habitat was in Douglas County. Though rare above 5,000 feet, the animal's nests were so common in lower elevations that the animal was removed from the list for most of Douglas County last December -- three months before survey and manage was eliminated.
Helliwell said the survey and manage program looked much different in the months before it was removed compared to when it started years earlier, making it a prime example of adaptive management.
Through an annual review process, land managers were able to evaluate the species on the list and drop those that turned up the most.
"That was probably the most effective part of the program," he said, adding, "We expect to be doing something similar with the sensitive species program."
Though the red tree vole surveys had sucked up significant money, "the price of survey and manage had actually been steadily declining as some of these species were dropped from the list," he said.
He said it's too soon to determine the implications of removing the survey requirement.
"How much (money) we're actually going to save under the sensitive species program remains to be seen," he said.
Despite complaints, Burns said the survey and manage program taught biologists about species other than those with a high profile, such as coho salmon, cougars and bears. It's the slugs and mosses and mushrooms that are helping to turn dead trees and needles back into plants, he said.
"It opened the eyes for a lot of folks. ... Those species are really important for maintaining forest health."
* You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
"It's not feasible to survey was the original thought."
On a project site, land managers were instructed to scan the trees in search of red tree vole evidence. Red tree voles munch on a small portion of Douglas fir needles and discard the remains in a pile that soon builds up into a clump on one of the lower branches, often visible from the ground.
According to the protocol, staff had to climb every tree with a possible vole for verification. Initially, staff had to leave a 10-foot buffer around every nest.
The site Burns visited recently, along the North Umpqua Trail, was in the heart of prime old growth, characterized by trees of a variety of ages and species, he said. Spots of sunlight reached the forest floor and the North Umpqua River whisked through the background beyond the small colony of tree vole nests.
Burns said for a couple month period in the fall or spring, the Diamond Lake District would dedicate up to 25 people to the task. Some were seasonal, and at times "it was all hands on deck."
After surveying hundreds of trees and thousands of acres, he's never actually seen the critter. "Their reaction is to just jump, hit the ground running," he said.
Through the survey process, land managers learned that the heart of the vole's habitat was in Douglas County. Though rare above 5,000 feet, the animal's nests were so common in lower elevations that the animal was removed from the list for most of Douglas County last December -- three months before survey and manage was eliminated.
Helliwell said the survey and manage program looked much different in the months before it was removed compared to when it started years earlier, making it a prime example of adaptive management.
Through an annual review process, land managers were able to evaluate the species on the list and drop those that turned up the most.
"That was probably the most effective part of the program," he said, adding, "We expect to be doing something similar with the sensitive species program."
Though the red tree vole surveys had sucked up significant money, "the price of survey and manage had actually been steadily declining as some of these species were dropped from the list," he said.
He said it's too soon to determine the implications of removing the survey requirement.
"How much (money) we're actually going to save under the sensitive species program remains to be seen," he said.
Despite complaints, Burns said the survey and manage program taught biologists about species other than those with a high profile, such as coho salmon, cougars and bears. It's the slugs and mosses and mushrooms that are helping to turn dead trees and needles back into plants, he said.
"It opened the eyes for a lot of folks. ... Those species are really important for maintaining forest health."
* You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
<b>FOREST PLAN glance</b>
<b>Established:</b> April 13, 1994. The plan was designed to reach a balance between ecological and economic values.
<b>Area: </b>The plan covers 24.5 million acres of spotted owl habitat in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. <b>Projected timber levels:</b> Federal land managers would be able to harvest 1.1 billion board feet of timber in the three-state region. Later, the target was changed to 805 million board feet. On the Umpqua National Forest, the target is about 70 million board feet; the Roseburg BLM has a target of 45 million board feet. <b>Late-Successional Reserves:</b> The plan put 78 percent of the land into reserves, where no logging is allowed. Projects such as thinning and prescribed burning are permitted, provided they improve old-growth characteristics. <b>Matrix lands:</b> Another 16 percent of the land was set aside for logging. <b>Survey and manage:</b> The plan mandated land managers to survey for about 300 plants and animals before implementing any projects, from pit toilets to logging. Agencies were charged with developing protocols for how to look for the each species and had to leave designated buffers around those species’ habitats. The Bush administration removed the program in March. <b>Aquatic conservation strategy:</b> Delineates buffers along waterways and riparian areas, and provides other measures to protect or improve aquatic habitats. The Bush administration modified the measure in March, clarifying that watershed protection goals should be applied on a broader, watershed-wide basis, rather than at the project level. |
