The oregon department of forestry (ODF) through oregon department of fish and wildlife (odfw) is requesting 1,000,000 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year (FY) 2022 cooperative endangered…

The oregon department of forestry (ODF) through oregon department of fish and wildlife (odfw) is requesting 1,000,000 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year (FY) 2022 cooperative endangered species conservation fund(cescf) (section 6 of the endangered species act ESA ) habitat conservation planning assistance program. Weanticipate the development of the statewide ODF private forest accord aquatic habitat conservation plan (HCP) andthe concurrent national environmental policy act (nepa) process shall occur in three phases. With phase 1CURRENTLY under way, we are requesting funds for phase 2 of the planning process which will include thecompletion of a second administrative draft HCP and the early stages of the nepa planning process. Grant fundswill be used for contracted services.conflict between the timber industry and conservation groups over timber, aquatic, and wildlife resources came TOA head in early 2020. With guidance from the governor s office, members from each of the major interest groups onboth the industry and conservation side came together, signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU), and over ayear found common ground on revisions to the oregon forest practices act (FPA) rules. As a result of many hoursand hard work the revised FPA actions were formalized in the private forest accord (PFA), which was passed by thestate legislature in march of 2022. The legislation directed the board of forestry to develop new rules under thefpa to implement the terms of the PFA agreement and to develop a HCP for the purposes of obtaining an incidentaltake permit (ITP) under the ESA for the covered aquatic fish and amphibian species. The purpose of pursuing a PFA aquatic HCP is to provide regulatory streamlining opportunities for private forestlandowners throughout oregon while promoting conservation of aquatic species. The programmatic nature of this hcpallows large and small private landowners, as well as the potential for tribes to participate in a streamlinedapproach to protecting covered species under the ESA.