Timber Harvest Implementation for Spotted Owls Under Oregon Forest Practices Clause Samples

Timber Harvest Implementation for Spotted Owls Under Oregon Forest Practices. The Oregon Forest Practices Act protects resource sites through a notification process but the State Forester does not issue permits or approvals. Oregon Forest Practices Rules protect active spotted owl nesting sites or activity centers occupied by a pair of adult owls capable of breeding. Resource sites receive protection where the State Forester determines (a) it is an active spotted owl site and (b) the proposed forest practices conflict with the resource site. The State Forester is required to maintain an inventory of protected resource sites that are used by threatened and endangered species, including the spotted owl. A written plan is required when the State Forester determines an operation will conflict with the protection of a nesting site or when the forest operation is 300 feet from any nesting site of any threatened or endangered species. A written plan provides, among other things, protection of a 70-acre core area around the spotted owl nest site. SDS owns 19,153 total acres in Oregon while BLC does not own any land in Oregon. There are no known spotted owl nests on or in the vicinity of the Applicants land in Oregon. There are six spotted owl sites on USFS land in proximity to SDS lands, of unknown status and occupancy, but none of the 70-acre cores intersect SDS lands. Because there are no spotted owls or activity centers on SDS land in Oregon, there are no harvest restrictions under the Forest Practices Rules. All stands that qualify as owl habitat will be prioritized for harvest with the goal of eliminating it within the next 10 years.