Marbled Murrelet Habitat Protected For Now

U.S. Fish and Wildlife decides not to rescind habitat protections for coastal sea bird that requires old-growth forests for nesting habitat.

Federal wildlife managers have put a hold on plans to slash the amount of old growth forest protected for the marbled murrelet.  The small black and white sea bird nests in mossy branches of cedar and fir trees in coastal forests.

It’s listed as a threatened species.  Joan Jewett with U.S. Fish and Wildlife says plans to slash critical habitat by 94-percent were based on frameworks in place two years ago.

Joan Jewett: "Such as the Northwest Forest Plan and other plans that were in place that we felt were meeting the conservation needs of the species. Since then there have been proposals to revise management plans in Western Oregon.  So we no longer have sufficient information on which to base those exclusions."

The biggest concern is the Bureau of Land Management plans to ramp up logging in old growth forests in Oregon.

The proposed changes would nullify the Northwest Forest Plan, which  guides murrelet protections.

BLM expects to revise its plan by September, based on months of public comments.