What's New

A coalition of environmental and conservation groups filed suit against the Departments of Agriculture and Interior challenging the decision to eliminate the Survey and Manage program. On August 1, 2005, Judge Pechman issued an Order (Northwest Ecosytem Alliance et al. v. Mark E. Rey et al., No. 04-844P, W.D. Wash) that found the agencies deficient in three areas. On January 9, 2006, Judge Pechman set aside the 2004 Record of Decision and reinstated the January 2001 Record of Decision including any amendments or modifications to the 2001 ROD that were in effect as of March 21, 2004. To address the deficiencies identified in the August 1, 2005 Order, the agencies are preparing a supplement to the 2004 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to Remove or Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines (January 2004) and plan to issue a new Record of Decision in March 2007.

Please go to Survey & Manage 2006 page on the Regional Ecosystem Office website to access documents and the Judge's orders associated with the Survey and Manage program.

Background

On September 30, 2002, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior entered into a settlement agreement with Douglas Timber Operators and the American Forest Resource Council concerning a lawsuit involving the 2001 Record of Decision for Amendments to the Survey and Manage, Protection Buffer, and other Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines. The settlement agreement required the Agencies to examine, in a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) an alternative "that replaces the Survey and Manage mitigation requirements with existing Forest Service and BLM special status species programs to achieve the goals of the Northwest Forest Plan through a more streamlined process." The selected alternative in the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to Remove or Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation Measures Standards and Guidelines (January 2004) was Alternative 2.

The March 2004 Record of Decision to Remove or Modify the Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines documents this decision and the reasons for selecting Alternative 2. This alternative discontinued the Survey and Manage program and assumed transfer of selected Survey and Manage taxa to Agency Special-Status Species Programs (SSSP). Survey and Manage taxa that met the criteria for addition to Agency SSSP lists are now managed pursuant to the SSSP policies of the respective Agencies (BLM OR/WA and CA, USFS Regions 5 and 6).

Annual Reports

• Fiscal Year 2003 Annual Status Report
• Fiscal Year 2002 Annual Status Report
• Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Status Report

---

Last Updated: April, 2006

This is a US Government computer system. Before proceeding, please read this Privacy Policy, this FOIA, this Kid's Policy, and this Accessibility.

If you have problems using this website, please E-mail the WebMaster.