Federal Government Agrees to Reevaluate Northern Spotted Owl "Critical Habitat" After Supreme Court Ruling- American Forest Resource Council
A coalition representing counties, business and labor has reached an agreement with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that will initiate a public regulatory rule-making process for reevaluating critical habitat designated for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
PORTLAND, Ore., April 13, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A coalition representing counties, business and labor has reached an agreement with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that will initiate a public regulatory rule-making process for reevaluating critical habitat designated for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agreement was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and is subject to court approval.
The agreement is related to a unanimous 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision finding the ESA does not authorize the government to designate lands as critical habitat, unless it is in fact habitat for the species. The Supreme Court also ruled that courts can review government evaluations of the impact of designating critical habitat, which the lower courts had refused to allow for over 30 years.
The coalition brought legal action after the Fish & Wildlife Service designated 9.5 million acres of mostly federal lands as NSO critical habitat across Washington, Oregon and Northern California in 2012. This was 38 percent more than was set aside in 1992 following the listing of the NSO. The coalition's legal action focused on the inclusion of millions of acres of forests not occupied by the species, including over 1.1 million acres of federal lands designated for active forest management activities and where no owls are present.
The ESA requires the federal government to take "into consideration the economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other relevant impact, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat." The coalition argued the 2012 NSO designation violated the ESA by failing to consider any negative effects from designating areas that aren't used by the NSO and never will be.
This agreement does not invalidate the 2012 NSO designation, nor does it change the Northwest Forest Plan that sets aside 20 million acres in reserve areas. Rather, it secures a commitment by the Fish & Wildlife Service to reevaluate whether designations are appropriate based on conservation benefits, environmental and economic impacts, and other factors. As with conventional federal rule-making, this regulatory process will offer opportunities for public comment and involvement.
"Our coalition supports balanced federal policies that carefully follow sound science while recognizing and considering the economic and social needs of our rural communities. This agreement will provide a public process that will enable federal agencies to develop a policy that is based in federal law and modern science. It will also enable agencies to better manage public lands to improve forest health, support local economies, while providing outdoor recreation and habitat for other species." Travis Joseph, President of the American Forest Resource Council.
"The listing of the Northern Spotted Owl and the designation of critical habitat has had a enormous negative social and economic impact on our rural communities. This agreement is a positive first step toward developing policies that balance the needs of our communities, while assuring protections for the species." Tom Lannen, Skamania County (Wash.) Commissioner.
"In addition to costing jobs and critical county revenues, the 2012 NSO critical habitat designation has severely impacted science-based efforts to implement forest management and restoration projects, including in overstocked forests, to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Millions of acres of federal forests in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California are at risk of fire, disease, insect infestations, and drought putting habitat and communities at risk." Ray Haupt, Siskiyou County (Calif.) Commissioner.
"Our coalition supports science-based solutions to recovering the Northern Spotted Owl and mitigating threats to its population. Addressing threats such as the invasive Barred Owl and stand-replacing wild-fires that have devastated occupied habitat will be critical. We believe this agreement will help to restore the social and economic balances in our local communities that they so desperately need." Gary Stamper, Lewis County (Wash.) Commissioner.
The Coalition in this action includes:
Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Siskiyou County, California
American Forest Resource Council
Hampton Affiliates
The Murphy Company
Rough & Ready Lumber LLC
Perpetua Forests Company
Seneca Sawmill Company
Seneca Jones Timber Company
Swanson Group Mfg. LLC
Trinity River Lumber Company,
Lewis County, Washington
Skamania County, Washington
Klickitat County, Washington
SOURCE American Forest Resource Council
Share this article