National Marine Fisheries Service
51 0 Desmond Drive SE Suite 103
Lacey, WA 98503 (360)753-9530
Fax: (360)753-9517
Fish and Wildlife Service
510 Desmond Drive SE
Suite 102
Lacey, WA 98503 (360)753-9440
Fax: (360)753-9518
July 13, 2000
Dear Interested Party:
We need your help. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are working with a group of partners to provide family tree farmers in Lewis County the ability to seek regulatory certainty under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and State Forest Practices Rules and Regulations via an Incidental Take Permit (Permit). The Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service is guiding this process, with a strong link to the Forest Stewardship Program and Small Forest Landowners Office, administered by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Other partners include state, federal and local agencies; environmental groups; and landowner associations.
As required for the Permit application, this collaboration is proposing to develop a conservation plan, titled the Family Forest Conservation Project (for more information, see the attached Fact Sheet). For this plan, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being developed. We need your input and assistance to ensure that the full range of issues related to the conservation plan and EIS are addressed, that all reasonable alternatives are recognized, and that all significant impacts are identified in this EIS. For example, your comments may address the following: the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts that implementation of the proposal could have on endangered and threatened species and their habitats; other possible alternatives; total number of Permits to be issued; duration of Permits; potential adaptive management and/or monitoring provisions; funding issues; baseline environmental conditions in Lewis County; other plans or projects that might be relevant to this project; and minimization and mitigation efforts. The EIS must also include information on impacts resulting from the alternatives on other components of the human environment, such as air quality, water quality and quantity, geology and soils, cultural resources, unlisted fish and wildlife species, social resources, and economic resources. We request that comments be as specific as possible.
As well as accepting written comments, public meetings will be held at the following locations and times:
Lacey, Washington, on July 26, 2000, at the Fish and Wildlife Service/National Marine Fisheries Service office on the St. Martins College Campus at 5 1 0 Desmond Drive SE (Sawyer Hall) from 3:00-5:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm
Chehalis, Washington, on August 15, 2000, at the Lewis and Clark State Park (1 2 miles south of Chehalis on the Jackson Highway/4583 Jackson Highway) from 6:00-8:00 pm.
This public comment period will remain open until September 1, 2000. During this time, please provide us with any comments you have either in person at the public meetings or contact Mark Ostwald (Fish and Wildlife Service) or Mike Parton (National Marine Fisheries Service) at the addresses, phone or -fax numbers in the letterhead. I
Thank you for your participation.
Sincerely,
Gerry Jackson
Manager, Western Washington Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Steve Landino
Manager, Habitat Conservation Division
National Marine Fisheries Service
What is it? The proposed Family Forest Conservation Project (FFCP) is a pilot project to create a process for nonindustrial private forest landowners to develop scientifically sound long-term forest management plans. The FFCP will provide regulatory stability under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and Washington State's Forest Practices Act, and should afford the landowner a "one-stop-shopping" process for regulatory certainty while allowing their timber harvesting activities to remain economically viable.
Who can participate? This project is being designed for nonindustrial private forest landowners
with forest acreages within Lewis County, Washington who voluntarily want to participate.
How does it work? A landowner will choose from several management pathways, or options, developed for this project. These options may include an integrated silviculture! regime with an 80-year harvest rotation, a 50-year rotation with variable retention harvest practices, a conservation easement, and/or alternative riparian management for landowners with streamside ownership. After choosing an option the landowner will enter a coached planning course with the Department of Natural Resources Forest Stewardship Program. During the coached planning sessions, landowners will be assisted in choosing the management pathway that best fits their management objectives and the specifics of their property to complete a "super stewardship" plan. The landowner then submits the plan to the appropriate entity (federal agencies or primary permit holder) for approval and inclusion under the FFCP.
What's in it for me? The FFCP will provide a landowner with a scientifically defensible long-term management plan and regulatory certainty under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and Washington State's Forest Practices Act. This will provide the landowner with incentives for long-term financial investments in forest management. Most nonindustrial private forest landowners do not have access to the technical assistance required for such planning efforts and regulatory agencies do not have the staff to address nonindustrial private forest landowners individually. The proposed programmatic approach should enable multiple landowners and regulatory agencies to avoid technical and procedural requirements, and the associated negotiations that typically accompany individual efforts. This programmatic conservation plan for family forest owners will provide incentives for the continued contributions of clean air, clean water, habitat, and aesthetics that their forestlands currently provide.
What will it cost? The expected costs of developing a plan under the FFCP are:
The costs associated with developing a land inventory and long-term management objectives
The nominal fee ($100 or less) charged for the coached planning sessions
The opportunity costs of the time spent developing the individual stewardship plan
And, depending on the pathway selected and the landowner's objectives, opportunity costs in terms of harvest timing and structural retention.
How can I participate in developing this project? The purpose for this mailing is twofold: (1) to inform interested parties about the proposed FFCP, and (2) to encourage interested parties to voice their opinions about the FFCP, how it should be developed, how it should be implemented, what other alternatives exist, etc. For more information on commenting on this project, please see the attached letter.
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council