Revised critical habitat proposed 
for marbled murrelet

LACY, WA (09/14/06) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a revised proposal to designate 221,692 acres of critical habitat for the marbled murrelet, a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Areas proposed for critical habitat include portions of California, Oregon and Washington.

The marbled murrelet is a small seabird that spends most of its time in the marine environment and nests in forests along the Pacific Coast. The Service identified 3,590,642 acres in the three states as critical habitat, but is proposing to exclude 3,368,950 acres already protected under other existing regulations or plans, such as the Northwest Forest Plan, state and tribal management plans and habitat conservation plans. An additional 1,574,201 acres were considered but not included in the proposal because they already are managed in ways that meet the needs of the marbled murrelet. These include federal wilderness areas, tribal conservation easements and Redwood state and national parks.

If the proposed exclusions are finalized, the final critical habitat designation will include 112,037 acres in California, 82,747 acres in Oregon and 26,908 acres in Washington. After the exclusions, approximately 1 percent of the proposed area is federal land, 80 percent is city, county or state land, and 19 percent is private land. These are areas not covered by a management plan that provides protection to the marbled murrelet and its habitat.

The proposal would revise a 1996 critical habitat designation for the marbled murrelet that includes nearly 3.9 million acres.  The proposal designates only those areas of suitable habitat known to be occupied by marbled murrelets and to contain features essential to the species' survival.  Consistent with the 1996 designation, no marine areas are being proposed for designation because, while they are important to the life history of the birds, we are unable to define specific areas essential to the conservation of the species.

The proposed critical habitat rule was published in the Sept. 12, 2006, Federal Register, pages 53838-53951 [TEXT] [PDF]. The proposed rule, maps and descriptions of the areas proposed for critical habitat are available online.

Comments must be submitted by November 13, 2006, 
to Ken Berg, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Drive, Suite 101, Lacey, Washington 98503-1273. Comments also may be faxed to 360-753-9405 or submitted by email to MurreletCH@fws.gov.

The new proposal is based on updated information and is part of a court settlement agreement with the American Forest Resource Council. The Service completed a recovery plan for the marbled murrelet in 1997 and a 5-year status review of the species in 2003.

An economic analysis of the critical habitat proposal will be completed and released for public comment before final critical habitat for the marbled murrelet is designated. The final designation is scheduled to be made by August 30, 2007.