United States
Department of
Agriculture

Forest
Service

R-6

OR/WA

Bureau of Land
Management

United States
Department of
Interior

 

Reply Refer To: 2630(FS)/ 1736PFP(BLM) (OR-935) P

Date: May 23, 2003


FS-Memorandum

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 05/28/2003
BLM-Instruction Memorandum No. OR-2003-075
Expires: 09/30/2004

 

To:

Bureau of Land Management District Managers (Coos Bay, Eugene, Roseburg) and Forest Service Supervisors (Umpqua, Willamette, Siuslaw)
 

Subject:

Red Tree Vole Protocol Revision, Version 2.2 - Release of Pre-Disturbance Survey Requirements in Six Watersheds
 

On April 22, 2003, "Supplemental Direction for Identification of Non-High Priority Sites for Red Tree Vole Within the "Pilot" Area" (Forest Service File Code 2630; Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memorandum No. OR-2003-062) was transmitted to the field. The supplemental direction established a programmatic process that field units can use to identify non-high priority sites. Application of the programmatic process allows for sites within Matrix or Adaptive Management Area (AMA) land allocations in 5th field watersheds with high amounts of future red tree vole habitat in reserved land allocations, to be identified as non-high priority and released for other management priorities. This memorandum revises the Red Tree Vole Survey Protocol in order to provide consistency between the programmatic process and the requirement to complete pre-disturbance surveys.

Authority to revise survey protocols for this purpose is provided in the Survey and Manage Record of Decision (2001). Page 23 of the Standards and Guidelines states that "Survey Protocols should also identify habitat conditions or locations…where surveys are not needed for a reasonable assurance of persistence, and thus surveys are not needed." Also on page 23, "For "uncommon" species, Survey Protocols should specify habitats or conditions not needing surveys because "high priority" sites are not expected to be found there."

In compliance with these Standards and Guidelines, Matrix and AMA land within the following 5th field watersheds are released from the pre-disturbance survey requirement, since Matrix/AMA sites in these watersheds can be identified as non-high priority through implementation of the programmatic process: Fall Creek (Willamette NF and Eugene BLM), Steamboat Creek (Umpqua NF), Middle Fork Willamette River/Lookout Point (Willamette NF), Little Fall Creek (Eugene BLM and Willamette NF), Wolf Creek (Eugene BLM), and Upper Siuslaw River (Eugene BLM). Please see the attached map that also identifies these watersheds in dark blue.

This memorandum amends the survey protocol for the red tree vole to Version 2.2.

 

2

Questions regarding this protocol revision should be directed to taxa lead Laura Finley (laura_finley@fws.gov, 530-842-5763); BLM agency representative Rob Huff (rob_huff@blm.gov, 503-808-6479); or FS R6 agency representative Carol Hughes (cshughes@fs.fed.us, 503-808-2661).

Charles E. Wassinger

For ELAINE M. BRONG
Chair of the Regional Interagency Executive Committee
State Director, OR/WA
Bureau of Land Management

Authenticated by

Mary O'Leary
Management Assistant

1 Attachment(s)
 

1 - Map of pilot area with "high reserve" watersheds identified (1 pp)
   

Distribution

 

BLM

WO-230 (Room 204LS)
CA-330 (Paul Roush)
OR-010 (Lucile Housley)
OR-930 (Judy Nelson)
OR-931 (Acting Chief)
OR-932 (Janis VanWyhe)
OR-935 (Nancy Duncan, Paul Hohenlohe, Russell Holmes, Rob Huff, Neal Middlebrook, Bruce Rittenhouse)

FWS
Jay Watson, Laura Finley, Barbara Amidon, Paul Phifer, Steve Morey

cc:

R-5: Kathy Anderson, Paula Crumpton

R-6: Terry Brumley, Carol Hughes, Kathleen Cushman, Chiska Derr, Judy Harpel, Richard Helliwell, Peggy Kain, Pat Ormsbee, Deb Quintana-Coyer, Roger Sandquist, Marty Stein

PNW: Brian Biswell, Tina Dreisbach, Randy Molina, Dede Olson, Nan Vance

PSW: Ted Weller