Purpose and Need for the Action

The RMP focuses on the 11 key planning issues associated with management of BLM-administered land in the Medford District (see Issues and Concerns in this chapter). The issues were identified through public scoping that started in September 1987. These same 11 issues are addressed in the five (5) other western Oregon District's RMPs.

This RMP establishes guidelines for the management of BLM-administered land in the Medford District. It will provide a comprehensive framework for allocating and managing BLM-administered resources in the planning area for the life of the plan, which is expected to be at least ten years, within the principles of multiple-use and sustained-yield. It will supersede and replace the management framework plans (MFPs) for the Josephine and Jackson/Klamath sustained-yield units (SYUs).

As discussed in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-growth Forest Related Species within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (hereafter referred to as the SEIS), the RMP responds to dual needs: the need for forest habitat and forest products.

The need for forest habitat is the need for a healthy forest ecosystem with habitat that will support populations of native species and includes protection for riparian areas and water bodies. This need was reflected by President Clinton at the April 2, 1993, Forest Conference in Portland, Oregon.

The need for forest products from forest ecosystems is the need for a sustainable supply of timber and other forest products that will help maintain the stability of local and regional economies and contribute valuable resources to the national economy on a predictable and long-term basis. This need also was reflected by President Clinton at the Forest Conference.

The resource management plan was developed after consideration of the following:

public comments at open house meetings and in correspondence;
comments from other government agencies;
BLM staff analysis of the consequences of alternatives;
legal mandates of Federal laws and executive orders;
decisions made in the Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl and its Attachment A (hereafter referred to as the SEIS ROD); and
requirements of Bureau policy.

The management of the O&C lands is governed by a variety of statutes, including the O&C Lands Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Clean Water Act. The O&C Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to manage O&C lands for permanent forest production, however, such management must also be in accord with sustained-yield principles. Further, that Act requires that management of O&C lands protect watersheds, regulate streamflow, provide for recreational facilities, and contribute to the economic stability of local communities and industries. The Act does not require the Secretary to harvest all old-growth timber or all commercial timber as rapidly as possible or according to any particular schedule. The Secretary has discretion to determine how to manage the forest on a sustained-yield basis that provides for permanency of timber production over a long-term period. The Secretary must necessarily make judgments, informed by as much information as possible, about what kind of management will lead to permanent forest production that satisfies the principle of sustained yield.

Lands administered under the O&C Lands Act must also be managed in accordance with other environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. Some provisions of these laws take precedence over the O&C Lands Act. For instance, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires the Secretary to ensure that management of O&C lands will not likely result in jeopardy to listed species or destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. The ESA directs the Secretary and all Federal agencies to utilize their authorities to carry out programs for the conservation and recovery of listed species. Section 5(a) of the Act also directs: "the Secretary, and the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the National Forest System, shall establish and implement a program to conserve fish, wildlife, and plants, including those that are listed as endangered species or threatened species pursuant to Section 4 of this Act." 16 U.S.C. 1534(a). Although several northern spotted owl recovery plans have been proposed, the Secretary has not yet adopted final recovery plans for either the northern spotted owl or the marbled murrelet. The SEIS ROD's late-successional and riparian reserve concepts are important building blocks in the development of recovery plans to achieve the conservation and recovery of those species.

One of the purposes of the Endangered Species Act is the preservation of ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. A forward-looking land management policy would require that Federal lands be managed in a way to minimize the need to list species under the ESA. Additional species listings could have the effect of further limiting the O&C Lands Act's goal of achieving and maintaining permanent forest production. This would contribute to the economic instability of local communities and industries in contravention of a primary objective of Congress in enacting the O&C Lands Act. That Act does not limit the Secretary's ability to take steps now that would avoid future listings and additional disruptions.

Protection of watersheds and regulating streamflows are explicit purposes of forest production under the O&C Lands Act. Riparian reserves including those established on O&C lands under the RMP are designed to restore and maintain aquatic ecosystem functions. With other components of the Aquatic Conservation Strategy, riparian reserves will provide substantial watershed protection benefits. Riparian reserves will also help attain and maintain water quality standards, a fundamental aspect of watershed protection. Both riparian reserves and late-successional reserves will help regulate streamflows, thus moderating peak streamflows and attendant adverse impacts to watersheds.