Regional Ecosystem Office
333 SW 1st P.O. Box 3623
Portland, Oregon 97208-3623
Website: www.reo.gov E-Mail: REOmail@or.blm.gov
Phone: 503-808-2165 FAX: 503-808-2163

Memorandum

Date:

November 8, 2005

To:

Regional Interagency Executive Committee (see attached distribution list)

From:

/s/Anne Badgley, Executive Director

Subject:

REGIONAL INTERAGENCY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES FOR OCTOBER 18, 2005

Dave Allen, US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Terry Rabot, US Fish & Wildlife Service (Alt)
Elaine M. Brong, Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Mike Mottice, Bureau of Land Management (Alt)
Jon Jarvis, National Park Service (NPS)
Rory Westberg, National Park Service (Alt)
Linda Goodman, Forest Service (FS)
Jim Golden, Forest Service (Alt)
Bob Graham, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Dianne Guidry, NRCS (Alt)
Col. Thomas E. O’Donovan, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Curt Loop, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Alt)
Anne Kinsinger, US Geological Survey Western Region (USGS)
Carol Schuler, USGS Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Robert Lohn, NOAA-Fisheries
Mike Crouse, NOAA-Fisheries (Alt)
Tom Fontaine, Western Ecology Division, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Western Ecology Division, EPA (Alt)

Bernie Weingardt, Forest Service
Dave Gibbons, Forest Service (Alt)
Steve Thompson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
John Engbring, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Alt)
Phil Detrich, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Alt)
Michael Pool, Bureau of Land Management
Paul Roush, Bureau of Land Management (Alt)
Jim Sedell, Pacific Southwest Station, Forest Service (PSW)
Garland Mason, Pacific Southwest Station, Forest Service (Alt)

Robert Duncan Plaza, Third Floor Conference Rooms H&J

Time

Topics

Purpose

Presenter

8:00 a.m.

Housekeeping

Facilitator

8:10

Opening Remarks

Stage setting

Linda Goodman, incoming RIEC Chair

8:15

Introductions

Housekeeping

Facilitator

8:20

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS TOPIC LIST
- Overview

Stage Setting

Anne Badgley

8:25

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT - Fire-Prone Systems

Update & Discussion

Dave Gibbons

9:25

Break

9:35

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT - Adaptive Management/Monitoring

Overview of today

Tom Quigley

• Status of the assignments
• September 9 Meeting Outcomes and Impacts
• Survey Results, Summary, and New Questions
• Next Steps

Status, Discussion, Decision

Lisa Freedman
John Laurence
Jon Martin
Jon Martin

11:40

Feedback

Facilitator

11:50

Closing Remarks

Linda Goodman, Chair

12:00 p.m.

Adjourn

Topic: OPENING

Presenter: Linda Goodman, Regional Forester, Region 6 – 2005/2006 RIEC Chair

Summary of Discussion: Linda expressed her pleasure at the opportunity to chair the RIEC this next year and thanked members for completing the Adaptive Management/Monitoring surveys in preparation for this meeting. She also mentioned the Service First Meeting to be held on December 14 that will include Forest Service (FS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and potentially other RIEC agencies.

Topic: MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS – Follow-Up Actions

Presenter/Sponsor: Anne Badgley, Executive Director

Issue Statement: Anne provided an overview of the nine findings and implications that the RIEC identified at the April 21, 2005 RIEC meeting. She noted that the RIEC is currently focused on Adaptive Management/Monitoring and Fire-Prone Systems which were to report today. She also mentioned that the staff groups are making headway on some of the other issues. Issues that are yet to get much attention include: #5 - Additional Factors, #8 – Collaboration, and #9 – Human dimensions (shown below).

The Summary Chart is linked off the RIEC home page (http://www.reo.gov/riec).

The entire list of topics was provided in the prework and can be found online at http://www.reo.gov/library/riec/2005/2135Riec10182005.htm.

Mike Mottice mentioned that the Senior Managers Group is currently reviewing the management implications report.

Ref. #

Fed. Priority

Non-Fed. Priority

Team Lead:

5

3

0

Suggested implications: Incorporate what we currently know about these factors, and take steps to address the uncertainties.

8

5

3

Suggested implications: Continue seeking ways to improve collaboration. Make it more efficient; streamline processes, and build trust.

Elaine Brong

9

3

4

Suggested implications: Develop a more accurate understanding of the significance of the contribution of Federal lands and resources to the overall economy, and to communities adjacent to Federal forest lands. Use the new information to help shape Federal planning, decisions, and policies.

13

6

Communication with PACs/PIECs (Combined with #8)

Topic: MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS – Fire-Prone Systems Subcommittee - Restoration of Forests in NWFP Fire-Prone Regions

Sponsor: Bernie Weingardt (Forest Service, Region 5)

Presenter: Dave Gibbons (Forest Service, Region 5)

Issue Statement: Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) monitoring results indicate fuels management in dry forests has fallen short of expectations. The RIEC discussed avenues for increasing risk reduction treatments to reduce impacts from wildland fires.

Background: Late-successional and old-growth forests in the drier provinces of the NWFP area are at risk to habitat loss from catastrophic wildfire. Following the NWFP Science Conference, the RIEC established a sub-committee to pursue avenues for increasing acres treated for risk reduction in fire-prone regions of the NWFP. A questionnaire was sent to field managers to evaluate potential ways to increase fuel treatments.

Managers responded with a number of issues affecting their ability to conduct risk reduction activities including funding, Survey and Manage, Riparian Reserve management, project planning and Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation for listed species, and other issues summarized in the RIEC pre-work for the October 18, 2005 meeting. Following are issues discussed in detail during the meeting and follow-up actions assigned by the RIEC.

Tasks and Assignments: Work plans for the following issues will be developed and considered by the RIEC sub-committee in December.

1. Budgets: Field units indicated that increasing budgets will result in more fuels reduction work being accomplished. Units also said that changing allocation criteria from unit cost to acres protected, and balancing priorities will achieve more treatment acres.

2. Riparian Reserves (RRs): Field units reported that, in many cases, RRs are avoided for fuels treatments due to concerns with consultation, lack of science on treatment effects, analysis burden, etc.

3. Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) Habitat Management in Dry Forests: Field units reported fuels treatments are often avoided in NSO habitat in fire-prone forests.

4. Region 5 Programmatic for Fuels Treatments in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) in NSO habitat: Region 5 and FWS are completing a programmatic Biological Assessment/ Biological Opinion for fuels treatments in WUI.

Topic: ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT & MONITORING SUBCOMMITTEE

Sponsor: Jim Golden (R6) and Tom Quigley (PNW)

REO Contact: Becky Gravenmier (PNW REO Representative)

Issue Statement: Jim Golden (FS, Region 6) and Tom Quigley (PNW) are co-leading the RIEC Adaptive Management/Monitoring subcommittee. A small task group, led by Lisa Freedman (FS, Region 6) and John Laurence (PNW) was convened to evaluate tasks that might improve adaptive management and refine NWFP monitoring efforts.

Initial Tasks: Lisa Freedman reported on the status of the subcommittee tasks.

1) Ranking Regional Corporate Questions (focus of October 18 meeting)

2) Refine Adaptive Management Framework Paper

3) Develop Management Experiment Template–target completion date: mid December.

4) Develop Adaptive Management Implementation Plan–target completion date: mid December.

5) Decisions on Methods for Answering Corporate Questions–target completion date: January 2006

6) Draft/revise monitoring protocols-Summer 06

Regional Corporate Questions Discussion: Lisa Freedman led the RIEC through a discussion of the potential Regional Corporate Questions. The Corporate Questions will be used to guide investments in monitoring, extensive management experiments, intensive studies, and other potential activities at the regional scale. The RIEC suggested combining some questions and provided feedback on question priorities. Staff will further develop the list of Regional Corporate Questions to provide more detail for the priority questions identified by RIEC.

Decisions: The RIEC asked the task group to:

1) Refine Regional Corporate Questions--This staff work will include refining priority questions wording, eliminating redundancies, determining potential options to answer the questions, and providing costs and uncertainties for the options. Staff will provide an update to the RIEC in December.

2) Prepare to discuss with the IAC--Several facets of this work will be discussed at the upcoming November IAC meeting.

3) Summarize Work on Existing Management Experiments--The RIEC asked for a summary of the work accomplished to date on extensive management experiments such as the BLM Density Management Studies, Five Rivers, Fort Lewis, Olympic Habitat Study, and the work in the Sierras. Staff should summarize existing work including findings, outcomes, effort expended and costs. The RIEC felt that they might be able to learn from the work that has already been completed. Staff will provide a summary of ongoing management experiments and a draft template for future management experiments in February or March.

4) Develop a Proposal for Reporting Progress on Regional Objectives--A task group (Jon Martin, FSR6; Miles Brown, BLM; and Dave Busch, USGS) was identified to work with Tom Quigley’s proposal regarding annual progress reporting and regional objectives. Tom’s proposal suggests managers are to report their perception on progress in meeting regional objectives for every acre on a yearly basis at the watershed level. This information would be consolidated regionally and could be portrayed in a series of map products. The task group should prepare a proposal for RIEC review by December.

Topic: CLOSING DISCUSSIONS

Presenter/Sponsor: Anne Badgley, Executive Director

Issue Statement: There were several brief oral reports offered during closing:
- Updates on ongoing legal issues.
- News of a NOAA hearing regarding PCCFA; ruling is expected by November 22.
- Thank you to those who worked on the research package for the Joint Fire-Science Conference.
- Update on Fort Clatsop fire. The ground breaking on the new fort should begin around December 10.

Agreements:
- Positive responses regarding the field trip were received. The RIEC agreed to have another field trip in FY 06. It was suggested that the trip not be scheduled in August due to fire potential. May or June were suggested as more appropriate dates. It was further suggested that we look at potentially going to Washington State, perhaps the Okanogan/Wenatchee area which is fire-prone or select another subject. There may also be an opportunity to get the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Colville Tribe, and Washington IAC representatives involved.
- Next IAC meeting is scheduled on November 30, 2005.