Lawsuit seeks to end delay in revising owl habitat ByChristine Souza
habitat issuedthepreviousweekunder the Trump administration. The initial proposedrule torevisenorth- ernspottedowl critical habitatwouldhave excluded approximately 204,653 acres in 15 counties in Oregon. The final rule, issued in the last days of the Trump ad- ministration, excluded an additional 3.2 million acres in 10 counties in California, 21 counties in Oregon and 14 counties in Washington from the species’ designat-
ed critical habitat. Affected California counties include Del Norte, Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, Mendocino, Glenn, Lake andColusa. TheTrumpadministrationactionwould have left more than 6.1 million acres of land in the three states designatedas criti- cal habitat for theowl,whichhasbeenpro- tected as a threatened species under the federalEndangeredSpeciesAct since1990. On March 5, the American Forest
Resource Council, the Association of O&CCounties and counties in California, Oregon and Washington challenged the Fish andWildlife Service delay in imple- menting its critical-habitat designation for the northern spotted owl. The groups’ lawsuit, filed inU.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges the Fish andWildlife Service did not pro- vide a lawful justification for thedelay and did not provide the public with notice or opportunity to comment before the delay was imposed. American Forest Resource Council general counsel Lawson Fite said the critical habitat designation by the Trump administration removed areas that are not habitat for the owl and that have been set aside for timber production under the Northwest Forest Plan and federal law. The AFRC added that a 2020 study indicates the prior designation had cost PacificNorthwest communitiesmore than abilliondollars andmore thana thousand jobs, while providing little benefit for spe- cies conservation. “The 2021 designation aligns NSO critical habitat with federal law, modern forest science and common sense, at a time when unprecedented and severe wildfires threaten both owls and people fromNorthern California to Washington state,” Fite said. “We are challenging the delay because it violates federal laws and wrongfully restricts timber harvests on non-NSOhabitat.” He said the delay violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act and ex- tends a 2012 northern spotted owl habi- tat designation that restricts active forest management on federal lands that arenot actually habitat for the species. The delay also restricts management on Bureau of Land Management territory known as “O&C lands,” which are required by law tobemanaged for timber productionona sustained-yield basis, he said. “We do not understandwhy the service continues to ignore the Supreme Court and tries to lock up almost amillion acres ofnon-habitat that areofnouse totheowl,” Fite said. George Hollister, a farmer of redwood timber inMendocino County, said, “Here in the North Coast redwood region, the lack of science in the regulatory deci- sion-makingprocess regarding thenorth- ern spotted owl likely reflects how the is- sue is handled with federal projects. The Trump administration appears to have attempted toaddress the same lack-of-sci- enceproblemonfederal land, andBidenis going back to the political formula.” Hollister said regulatory agencies “have cultivated a climate where the last thing a tree farmerwouldwant is anNSOon their property, which is in direct conflict with theneeds forNSOs tosurvive inthe future.” The Forest Service has opened a com- ment period on the delayed final rule is- sued by the Trump administration, and whether further delay is necessary; com- ments are dueMarch 31. (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
A coalition of timber and business groups and counties has challenged a de- cisionby theU.S. FishandWildlifeService to delay removing millions of acres of northernspottedowl habitat inCalifornia, Oregon andWashington. Shortlyafterhis inaugurationon Jan. 20, President Joe Biden signed a regulatory freeze memorandum that initiated a re- viewof a final ruleonnorthernspottedowl
CLEAN ACRES START WITH RebelEX ® CA HERBICIDE
From the moment rice seeds settle in roller grooves, they battle with weeds for space and nutrients. RebelEX ® CA herbicide manages key early-season weeds – like watergrass, sprangletop, ricefield bulrush and ducksalad – to help your rice achieve the strongest plant stand possible. RebelEX CA contains two modes of action that provide post-emergence weed control in rice as early as the 1-leaf stage. Learn more about RebelEX CA and other rice herbicides from Corteva Agriscience at www.corteva.us.
® ™Trademark of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Clincher CA, Grandstand CA, Granite GR, Granite SC and RebelEX CA are not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions. ©2021 Corteva
6 Ag Alert March 17, 2021
Powered by FlippingBook