The Marbled Murrelet, Brachyramphus marmoratus, is a robin-sized seabird that nests in old-growth forest near the coast. Nesting activity usually takes place within 15-20 miles from the ocean. Since most of the old-growth forest along the Northern California / Oregon / Washington coast has been logged there is relatively little suitable habitat remaining for the murrelet. As a result, the Marbled Murrelet population has declined considerably.

In 1991 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing of the Marbled Murrelet required that a plan be crafted to assure protection of their nesting areas. Likewise, a plan had to be developed to protect the Northern Spotted Owl which had been listed as Threatened in 1989. The administration of President Bush had declined to address the Spotted Owl situation and Federal District Judge William Dwyer enjoined the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management from logging in the range of the Spotted Owl until a credible management plan was produced that would assure the protection of the owl and other old-growth dependent species.

Attempting to ameliorate this situation, President Clinton convened a panel of scientists, economists, sociologists and others to produce a plan that would address the issues that had led to the injunction. The Forest Ecosystem Management Team (FEMAT), led by Dr. Jack Ward Thomas, proposed several options that would achieve the desired result. The Clinton Administration selected Option 9. Judge Dwyer decided that Option 9 did (barely) meet the legal requirements of the Endangered Species Act and lifted the injunction.

The enactment of President Clinton’s Northwest Forest Plan in 1993 resulted in a Record of Decision (ROD), signed by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, committing the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to a common management approach to the lands they administer in the range of the Northern Spotted Owl.

"Pre-project surveys of marbled murrelet habitat are required according to protocol currently used by federal agencies. Current protocol requires 2 years of surveys to assure that no marbled murrelet nests exist in areas planned for timber harvest. If behavior indicating occupation is documented (described below), all contiguous existing and recruitment habitat for marbled murrelets (i.e., stands that are capable of becoming marbled murrelet habitat within 25 years) within a 0.5 mile radius will be protected."

"Behavior indicating marbled murrelet occupation includes at least one of the following:

1. discovery of a nest or a recent nest site, evidenced by a fecal ring or eggshell fragments;
2. discovery of a chick or eggshell fragments on the forest floor;
3. birds flying below, through, into, or out of the forest canopy within or adjacent to a stand;
4. birds perching, landing, or attempting to land on branches;
5. birds calling from a stationary location within the stand;
6. birds flying in small or large radius circles above the canopy."

The ROD prohibited timber harvest within occupied Marbled Murrelet habitat. It further required that silvicultural treatments in non-habitat within the 0.5 mile circle must protect or enhance the suitable or replacement habitat.

Beginning in 1992, all federal lands in southwest Oregon (Siskiyou and Rogue River National Forests and Medford District BLM) were surveyed for Marbled Murrelets. The aforementioned districts were surveyed under one contract; and, every year from 1992 through 1998, this contract was awarded to Galea Wildlife Consulting of Crescent City, California.

 Friends Of Elk River (FOER) Involvement

1991: In anticipation of Marbled Murrelet listing, a Friends of Elk River volunteer became certified to survey for murrelets.

In June, a member of Friends of Elk River discovered a murrelet eggshell on the forest floor in a stand of 6-8 foot diameter old-growth Douglas-fir in the North Fork of Elk River. A pre-dawn survey by FOER and an OSU wildlife biologist revealed a murrelet flying into a 200 foot tall tree. A video camera was set up in an adjacent tree, and excellent documentation (including footage of the adult feeding the chick) was obtained. This was the first murrelet nest found on the Siskiyou National Forest and the eighth nest found in Oregon.

In July, while surveying for Spotted Owls, the FOER surveyor observed several murrelets flying below canopy height at the forks of Panther Creek. This site was located in the bottom of a canyon about 1 mile from the nearest road.

FOER had now documented Marbled Murrelet nesting activity in both the North Fork Elk and Panther Creek drainages of the Elk River watershed. For the next two years FOER trusted the Forest Service and their contractors to detect any murrelet activity in the vicinity of planned timber sales.

1994: A private party asked the FOER surveyor to look for murrelets in Unit 1 of the Father Oak Timber Sale (a stand of Forest Service timber destined to be logged under the Section 318 Rider). Initially, FOER surveys were conducted from Forest Service survey stations. All these stations were located on roads adjoining the stand of timber. As no murrelets were detected, a new survey station was established at a point affording a view of Beartrap Creek that flowed through the Unit. On July 4, a single murrelet was observed flying up the creek. This was the third occupied site located by FOER.

1995: FOER was informed that murrelet occupancy in Unit 1 of the Father Oak sale would not be recognized by the U.S. Forest Service, inasmuch as FOER was not employed by the government at the time of the documentation. Hence, the aforementioned private party provided funding to survey Unit 1 and Unit 5 of the timber sale. By the second week of the survey season FOER had observed occupied behavior by murrelets in both Units and had documented this activity with a video camera. Although the Forest Service continued to ignore FOER findings; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service accepted that FOER had recorded "presence" of murrelets in the two units and formally asked the Forest Service to occasionally send a wildlife biologist out in the field with FOER. On July 14, FOER led a Forest Service biologist to the spot where the surveyor had documented murrelets landing in a tree. The FOER surveyor videotaped the biologist’s confirmation of the second murrelet nest found on the Siskiyou. A few days later the same biologist accompanied the FOER surveyor down to the bottom of Unit 5 and observed murrelets flying below and circling above the canopy along Bald Mountain Creek. At this point, FOER had verified documentation of murrelet nesting activity in the Bald Mountain Creek drainage as well as the North Fork Elk and Panther Creek. During 1995, FOER also observed murrelets exhibiting occupied behavior in the Anvil Creek drainage along the southwestern edge of the Grassy Knob Wilderness Area. The area to the west of this observation was included in the original 1984 Oregon Wilderness Bill, but was excised by Senator Hatfield so that it could be logged to pay for the road the Forest Service had built into the Grassy Knob area in an effort (thwarted by FOER) to prevent Wilderness designation.

1997: While examining maps of the Milther Sale (located primarily in Elk River’s Panther Creek drainage) FOER noticed that all of the Forest Service’s murrelet survey stations were still located alongside roads. Apparently the Forest Service had not taken heed of FOER experience that indicated murrelets tend to be down in the deep canyons, and that survey stations located on the ridgetop roads were unlikely to detect these birds. Upon expressing concern over the misplacement of survey stations, the Forest Service advised FOER to "get used to the fact that all of the Matrix will be logged." (Matrix lands are designated for logging under President Clinton’s Northwest Forest Plan.) FOER recognized that much of the Matrix would be logged, but had assumed that the Forest Service would take great pains to "assure that no marbled murrelet nests exist in areas planned for timber harvest."

FOER suddenly questioned if the Forest Service contractor’s failure to detect murrelet activity might not be a fluke. With financial assistance from John Paul Mitchell Systems, additional members of Friends of Elk River received training to become certified Marbled Murrelet surveyors. Then, utilizing donations from local citizens and emergency grants offered by The True North Foundation and The Brainerd Foundation, FOER conducted intensive independent surveys of the Milther Sale that resulted in documentation of "occupied activity" throughout most of the sale area. For the first half of the survey season the Forest Service ignored FOER findings, but eventually, at the insistence of the Fish & Wildlife Service, the FS began sending a biologist out one day a week to visit the stations where FOER had recorded occupancy. The biologists were able to confirm most FOER sightings.

Late in the season FOER also conducted two surveys in Blackberry Creek and observed occupied behavior, including a murrelet appearing to land in a tree. This survey station was located within 200 feet of a BBerry Thin sale unit. Although comprised entirely of healthy timber, this sale had been sold under the Salvage Rider after the Forest Service contractors failed to detect any murrelets in the sale area during two years of surveys. The discovery in Blackberry Creek added another drainage in the Elk River watershed in which FOER observed Marbled Murrelet nesting.

FOER also discovered that the mouth of Panther Creek is a center of murrelet activity. Visiting this location on a weekly basis revealed varying levels of activity that seemed to roughly parallel a pattern documented in Chapter 11 of the Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet (see Appendix A).

1998: By means of grants from wildlife and watershed devotees (The True North Foundation, The Samuel Skaggs Foundation, The Mountaineers Foundation, The Wm. C. Kinney Watershed Protection Foundation, The Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and The Strong Foundation for Environmental Values), FOER surveyed the entire BBerry Thin sale to see if there were other murrelets nesting in the sale area. When the results were tallied, all ten units of the sale were located within 0.5 miles of occupied sites! A Forest Service biologist attempted to confirm FOER sightings, but the agency declared that any unconfirmed sightings would not be accepted. However, a strongly worded letter from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service "recommended" that the Forest Service accept all FOER sightings, and the Forest Service acquiesced. Nonetheless, because it had been sold under the Salvage Rider, the sale remained immune from legal challenge.

1999: Seeking to determine if the situation documented in Elk River was an anomaly, Friends Elk River decided to conduct surveys elsewhere on the west side of the Siskiyou National Forest. Thanks to grants from the Skaggs Foundation, the Mountaineers Foundation, The Rockwood Fund, and The W. Alton Jones Foundation, FOER filed a Freedom of Information Act request and conducted a thorough review of murrelet survey records for the Powers, Gold Beach, and Chetco Ranger Districts.

Freedom of Information Act Findings

FOER first examined the Gold Beach District records. The most striking discovery was how little old growth remained in the Gold Beach District Matrix lands, compared to Elk River where over 1/3 of the Matrix is comprised of old growth forest. District wildlife biologists had determined the existence of a boundary, east of which there appeared to be no murrelet nesting taking place. These biologists had also revisited sales in which they previously failed to detect murrelets and, in several cases, were successful in finding murrelets using FOER methods. FOER examiners got the impression that Gold Beach Ranger District had been conscientious in surveying all suitable habitat in areas planned for timber harvest.

The records of the Chetco District were examined. FOER found maps and records were up to date. The Matrix on this District contained even less old-growth than the Gold Beach District, and the few stringers and patches that remained appeared to have been adequately surveyed by contractors and district personnel. Most of the patches of suitable habitat that might have been used for nesting by murrelets were, in fact, found to be occupied. District biologists had also determined an eastern boundary beyond which murrelets apparently didn’t nest.

Last of all, FOER searched the records of the Powers District. The Powers District is comprised of three primary watersheds — Elk River, Sixes River, and the South Fork of the Coquille River. A detailed study of the timber type maps and land designation maps revealed the following:

The Sixes watershed appears to have no murrelet habitat left within Matrix designation. A lone stand of old-growth in the Matrix was found to be occupied by Forest Service contractors in 1995 and is now quasi-LSR. Another stand in the same vicinity had been found to be unoccupied and was subsequently logged in the Taylor Ranch Sale. Currently all old-growth forest in the Sixes watershed is located in Late-Successional Reserve or in the Grassy Knob Wilderness.

The South Fork Coquille watershed has numerous occurrences of murrelet habitat within Matrix designation. Except for fragmentation in many areas, the quality of habitat is high. The Coquille tends to be heavily roaded; therefore one can often access good survey stations without long hikes into steep canyons.

The Elk River watershed has many areas of excellent habitat located in the Matrix designation. This year, one project area surveyed by Forest Service contractors was located in a region of Late-Successional Reserve in the Elk River watershed in less-than-prime nesting habitat atop Bald Mountain.

It is apparent, through studying the older records, that hundreds, and possibly thousands of acres of prime murrelet nesting stands were logged without ever having been adequately surveyed. FOER uncovered numerous instances where murrelets were detected in a stand; however, as the birds were only heard but not seen, the stand was considered to be unoccupied and subsequently logged. One classic example is Unit 4 of the Toastberry Sale. This was a stand of prime old-growth murrelet habitat located in the east fork of Blackberry Creek in the Elk River watershed. The Forest Service contractor’s crew recorded murrelet presence in this stand on 9 occasions in 1994 and 1995 during a total of 14 survey visits. Most of the survey stations were placed on roads. No stations were down in the canyon at the bottom of the unit. Most of the detections were audible only and the murrelets couldn’t be seen. One of the contractors had heard murrelets in the stand and had written "sounded like circling or stationary." On another visit the contractor had seen murrelets flying slightly over the stand, making a 90 degree turn and then lost sight of the birds behind the trees. Murrelets calling from a stationary location or murrelets observed flying in an arc are signs of occupancy. Nonetheless, in both instances the detection was considered presence only. Under the survey protocol, the detection of murrelet presence in a stand requires 10 more intensive surveys be conducted. However, this Blackberry Creek unit was surveyed during the reign of the Salvage Rider which mandated that, unless the stand has been found to be "used for nesting" (i.e. occupied by murrelets) it must be released. The stand was considered to be unoccupied and was clearcut in the fall of 1995. Had effectual surveys been conducted down in the canyon, or had the stationary calling or circling been correctly interpreted as occupied behavior, that old-growth wouldn’t have been clearcut. The Forest Service had until the end of the 1995 survey season to conduct murrelet surveys before releasing the sales, so they should have conducted more intensive surveys to try to prove occupancy. Three years later, in 1998, Friends of Elk River established a survey station about 200 feet downstream from the clearcut and observed a murrelet flying across the creek at 80% of canopy height which established occupancy in that stand. FOER uncovered similar circumstances in Unit 3 of the same sale. This unit was clearcut and FOER subsequently observed occupied behavior further up the draw that cut down through the unit.

FOER uncovered several instances where behavior the ROD describes as "occupied" was recorded as mere "presence" on the surveyor’s records (see Appendix B, Milther 7/18/97). In all instances, when there appeared to be any doubt in the surveyor’s mind as to whether the observed behavior was occupied or presence, the behavior was recorded as presence only. During murrelet observer training classes, surveyors are encouraged "to err on the side of the endangered species, if doubt arises."

It was apparent that, prior to the 1998 survey season, nearly all survey stations were located on the ridgetop roads (see Appendix C, survey map for the BBerry Thin Sale). The Forest Service failed to detect any murrelets in the sale area and the sale was sold under the "Salvage Rider." Subsequent surveys conducted by FOER found murrelets nesting throughout the sale area. These FOER surveys convinced the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that the Forest Service was not conducting surveys in optimum locations and in December 1997 they instructed the Forest Service to improve their station locations.

Having thoroughly examined Powers District survey records and maps, it appears that the situation FOER uncovered, while prevalent throughout the Powers District, was primarily concentrated in Elk River, due chiefly to the fact that there is so much good habitat still standing in the Elk whereas the Coquille’s habitat consists of tattered remnants in accessible areas.

FOER 1999 Marbled Murrelet Forest Surveys

Upon finding no apparent problems during review of Gold Beach District records, FOER decided to sample survey suitable murrelet habitat east of their no-nesting boundary lines, to test that hypothesis. And since the "Salvage Rider" ordered logging of murrelet habitat in Late-Successional Reserve (e.g. the Elk Fork and Boulder Krab Timber Sales in the North Fork of Elk River), FOER decided to survey a previously unsurveyed LSR stand of excellent habitat on the edge of Matrix land in the Quosatana Creek drainage of the Rogue River watershed.

Then placing the center of attention on the Powers District where problems were prevalent, FOER decided to conduct surveys in current timber sale areas that had been or are in the process of being surveyed by USFS contractors. FOER also conducted surveys in areas of Elk River Late-Successional Reserve to help assure its protection in the event of another "Salvage Rider" debacle. In addition, a first-year FOER volunteer visited FOER’s bellwether station at the mouth of Panther Creek on the same days the station was visited in 1998. The purpose of this survey was to ascertain whether there are clear patterns of activity throughout the survey season as well as to give the volunteer sufficient experience to conduct surveys next year.

Gold Beach Ranger District: FOER surveys resulted in no detections east of the suspected nesting boundary. The 5 surveys conducted in this area were insufficient to provide a definitive conclusion in this regard, but did serve to bolster the Forest Service theory. In addition, FOER surveyed an isolated stand of old-growth forest that is designated Late-Successional Reserve, but borders on Matrix land. This tract had not been previously surveyed for murrelets. The observer found eight occupied sites in this stand as well as a Spotted Owl nest that was unknown to the Forest Service. While about half of the stand appears to be used for nesting, no more than two birds were seen at any occupied site — whereas in some of the occupied sites in Elk River, more than a dozen murrelets can be seen. These observations indicate the comparative richness and extreme value of the Elk River ecosystem. As an added bonus in the Gold Beach stand, FOER’s surveyor had face-to-face encounters with five mountain lions on three separate occasions! The heavy concentration of cougars, murrelet nesting sites, and a spotted owl nest in this relatively small stand (600 acres m/l) is an indication of the scarcity of old-growth habitat on this heavily-logged district.

Chetco Ranger District: FOER confined surveys to the area east of the apparent boundary of occupancy. No detections were recorded here, adding additional credence to their Biologist’s theory that murrelets aren’t nesting east of this boundary. However, the five surveys conducted in this area were certainly insufficient to present a definitive conclusion in this regard. Two surveys conducted on State Park land near the ocean west of the Forest Service land revealed murrelets nesting within 1/2 mile of the ocean.

Powers Ranger District: Murrelet sightings have previously been recorded at the eastern edges of this district, which are further inland than the Chetco and Gold Beach Districts. FOER conducted surveys in six of the seven timber sales currently being planned on the district. No surveys were conducted in the Milther Sale in Elk River since FOER surveyed that sale in 1997. Five of the six sales were in the South Fork Coquille. Occupied activity was recorded in two of the five areas. The sixth sale was in an area of older second growth near the top of Bald Mountain in the Elk River watershed. Surveys were also conducted in a 2,000 acre island of Late-Successional Reserve in Elk River that had initially been included in the Grassy Knob Wilderness but had been dropped at Senator Hatfield’s insistence to allow its being logged to pay for the road the Forest Service had built through the proposed wilderness in a failed attempt to prevent its designation as Wilderness. FOER surveys proved that this de facto wilderness is, in fact, being used for nesting by Marbled Murrelets. The documented use of this area by an endangered species should bolster Friends of Elk River’s intention to have this area annexed to the Grassy Knob Wilderness.

Most stands of old-growth that were surveyed prior to 1996 have been logged. However, district timber type maps are several years out-of-date, and fail to reflect the removal of numerous stands of old-growth. Examination of their current records reveals that the contractors are finding more murrelets in the stands they’re surveying.

The location of FOER’s bellwether station 1-A is a center of murrelet activity. A volunteer visits this station at the mouth of Panther Creek, to indicate the best days to survey for murrelets in nearby areas. Although the number of surveys conducted over the past three years are insufficient to create an accurate picture, patterns are apparent (see Appendix D). There are commonly one or two peaks of activity in May; then June shows little activity except during the very beginning of the month. The period of greatest activity is mid-July through early August. After the first week of August, Marbled Murrelet activity drops off precipitously.

During the 1996-97-98 murrelet survey seasons, Friends of Elk River discovered and proved that the Forest Service contractors were failing to find most of the Marbled Murrelets nesting in the areas of Matrix land they were surveying in the Elk River watershed. In 1999 FOER undertook a project to determine if this situation was peculiar to Elk River, or if it was widespread over the west side of the Siskiyou National Forest.

FOER studies of Forest Service records, maps, and aerial photos revealed that the Chetco and Gold Beach Districts have relatively little old-growth forest in their Matrix land and they have made a diligent effort to locate the murrelets using these stands of old-growth. After the 1996 survey season, if there were instances when USFS contractors failed to locate murrelets in stands that appeared to be good habitat, District Wildlife Biologists conducted further surveys themselves. The biologists employed the creek-side/canyon-bottom survey methods used by FOER, and succeeded in locating murrelets in areas previously surveyed and found to be free of murrelets. Biologists from these Districts commented that they enjoyed checking the FOER survey stations in Elk River because they got to see murrelets, which was a rare occurrence on their Districts.

The Powers District has significantly more old-growth in their Matrix land than the other two Westside districts. Most of the old-growth in the South Fork Coquille drainage is highly fragmented and roaded. There has been an attempt made to locate survey stations in stream channels since the FOER results became known, but station locations are often located in less than optimum spots. If a contractor is truly interested in doing the best job possible, he might put in the effort to find the best survey location, but if he’s just doing surveys for the money, he’ll put the survey station where the map shows. There is no effort on the Powers District to check on the survey station locations or even to see if the contractors are on the site during a station visit. Nevertheless it appeared that the situation FOER uncovered in Elk River was somewhat of an anomaly. This is primarily due to the fact that there is much more old-growth in the Matrix land in Elk River and far fewer roads. In much of the Westside Matrix, roadside survey stations are likely to be within the stand being surveyed. In the Elk Matrix the roads are usually above the stand being surveyed.

Nevertheless, FOER achieved each of their stated goals:

1) Find where murrelets are nesting in Matrix lands in the Elk River watershed.

2) Convince the Forest Service to adopt the innovative survey methods employed by FOER.

3) Determine if other Siskiyou Ranger Districts are finding murrelets in timber sale areas.

Appendices

A  Patterns of Seasonal Variation of Activity, Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet, USFS, February 1995

B  USFS Marbled Murrelet Survey Forms, July 1997. Depict surveyor categorizing murrelet "Occupied Behavior" as mere "Presence".

• Forest survey form
• Site activity
• Detection description

C  1996 USFS Marbled Murrelet Survey Contract Map of BBerry Thin Timber Sale. (Area was known at the time as "Elk River Thin".) Map depicts USFS roadside survey station placement and FOER canyon-bottom occupied detections.

D  Patterns of Seasonal Variations of Activity, FOER Station 1-A, 1997-1999