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Marbled Murrelet Survey Synopsis An FOER Citizen Science Report Sharyn Boyd Becker |
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We hope the published results of our Marbled Murrelet survey program will educate and empower other citizens to not accept government assurances at face value, but to conduct their own surveys for threatened and endangered species. |
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The Marbled Murrelet is a small robin-size sea bird. From
late April to early August, they travel inland from their ocean habitat to nest and raise
their young in mature stands of coniferous trees usually within 20 miles of the ocean.
Since there is relatively little old-growth forest remaining close to the ocean, the
murrelet population has dropped to a small fraction of the numbers present along the
Oregon Coast prior to Euro-American settlement. Because of this precipitous decline, in
1991the Marbled Murrelet was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is responsible for protecting all Threatened and Endangered species on federal land within the Elk River watershed. Before a timber sale can begin, a stand with suitable murrelet nesting habitat must have two years of surveys performed, following the Pacific Seabird Group Marbled Murrelet Survey Protocol. |
| Trying to see a murrelet fly toward its nest at sixty-five miles an hour above the treetops is like watching for a meteorite through a hole in the forest canopy. | Trying to see a murrelet fly toward its nest at sixty-five miles an hour above the treetops is like watching for a meteorite through a hole in the forest canopy. To be in the right place at the right time, you must traverse steep mountainsides by flashlight and be down in the canyon before dawn. |
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| Rather than go into the canyons where the murrelets are, the USFS tends to locate their survey stations up on ridgetop roads | Rather than go into the canyons where the murrelets are, the
USFS tends to locate their survey stations up on ridgetop roads -- there’s lots of
open sky to look at and it’s easy to get to. Unfortunately, that’s not where the
murrelets are. The Forest Service rarely detects the presence of the murrelets
using this method. We brought our concerns about this situation to the USFS Siskiyou Forest Supervisor and three District Rangers. We were told that we "might as well get used to the fact that all of the Matrix land in Elk River will be logged." (Under President Clinton’s Northwest Forest Plan, "Matrix", means the forest will be cut unless it can be proved that the area is being used by endangered species. The USFS surveys so far indicated there were no murrelets to preclude logging.) |
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| Every instance of verified occupation by Marbled Murrelets results in protection of 700 acres of forest! | In spite of this, Friends of Elk River wanted to protect Marbled Murrelets from extinction, to protect old-growth stands where murrelets nest, and to protect the fisheries and water quality these forests safeguard. Every instance of verified occupation by Marbled Murrelets results in protection of 700 acres of forest! It was unquestionably necessary that we conduct our own Marbled Murrelet surveys. We became certified to do so. |
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| We discovered twelve Marbled Murrelet nesting sites. In contrast, ... the USFS found only one | We began in a proposed timber sale area in Panther Creek. We discovered twelve Marbled Murrelet nesting sites. In contrast, during the same season, the USFS found only one murrelet area. Our 1997 survey program demonstrated how murrelet surveys should be conducted. It proved that approximately two-thirds of the Panther Creek drainage is currently occupied by nesting Murrelets. |
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| We found a total of seventeen occupied stations, ten of which lie in Matrix-designated areas. | During 1998 and 1999, FOER field-reviewed all remaining Matrix land in the Elk River watershed. We found a total of seventeen occupied stations, ten of which lie in Matrix-designated areas. We found nesting murrelets in the East and West Forks of Blackberry Creek, the mainstem and all forks of Panther Creek, Lost Creek and the South Fork of Elk River. Our 1998 surveys also revealed that two stands of old-growth forest clearcut during the Salvage Rider were inside occupied areas, constituting "takings" under the Endangered Species Act. |
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Unrelenting, the local Siskiyou National Forest USFS officials refused to accept our findings. To have them accept our scientifically valid results, we felt it necessary to go over their heads. We demonstrated the validity of our documentation to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In December 1998, the USFWS sent a strongly-worded letter of reprimand to the USFS "suggesting" that they follow FOER survey methods and acknowledge all FOER survey findings. Although USFS maps now have many of FOER’s occupied sites indicated, it remains to be seen if they are honored in future timber sales. |
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| The federal government is entrusted with protecting the murrelet in this region... Yet we are proving that this trust is being betrayed. | Our survey program in the strategic Elk River watershed has implications along the Pacific coast from Skagway, Alaska to Santa Cruz, California. The federal government is entrusted with protecting the murrelet in this region. The public has every right to believe that murrelet nesting areas are not being logged. Yet we are proving that this trust is being betrayed. |
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