Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
A new state committee working on rules for private forest practices holds its fourth meeting Monday, April 24.
The noon to 4 p.m. meeting will be conducted in a hybrid format, with the in-person component at the Clatsop Room, Building C, ODF Headquarters, 2600 State St., Salem. Interested parties can join virtually at https://odf.zoom.us/j/99328326840.
The committee, known as the Adaptive Management Program Committee (AMPC) is charged via the private forest accord and Oregon Senate Bill 1501, passed in 2022, to determine if forestry practices are meeting their goals to protect natural resources through a science-based and transparent process.
The AMPC guides the overall policy and process, with a second panel, the Independent Research and Sciences Team (IRST) coordinating research in support of policy decisions. Final recommendations on members of the IRST is on the agenda of the April 24 meeting of the AMPC. Committee members also will finalize the panel’s charter.
Ultimately, the committee work will produce a habitat conservation plan for private forest properties that will link the survival of aquatic species with logging practices.
The Oregon Department of Forestry is charged with drafting a habitat conservation plan (HCP). The work is required by SB 1501 and the Private Forest Accord (PFA) that revised forest practices.
A key outcome of the process will be the establishment of “incidental take permits,” which would recognize that the harming or killing of aquatic species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can occur even when the forest practices involved were legal.
The AMPC consists of 13 members, 10 of which vote.
The voting members represent the following groups: the Oregon Forest and Industries Council,the Coalition ofOregon Land Trusts, Associated Oregon Loggers, the Oregon Small Woodlands Association, the Commission on Indian Services, Oregon Wild (conservation), the Wild Salmon Center (fishing), the Association of Oregon Counties, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Department of Environmental Quality.
The non-voting members represent the Oregon Department of Forestry, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The AMPC is required to establish preliminary research questions by Oct. 1, 2023, and by July 1 in succeeding years and create a research agenda by July 15 in odd-numbered years. The IRST implements the research agenda.
The adaptive management committee, after receiving research findings from the IRST, makes recommendations to the Board of Forestry, including any proposed rule changes. The Board of Forestry is the approval authority for those proposed changes. The habitat plan is due by 2027.
